Agents of SHIELD: Shadows Review

Season 2 of Agents of SHIELD hits hard and strong with a truly darker tone and visual aesthetic, and an exciting new direction for the series moving forward. 

Since many readers may not have seen the episode or the first season (my review here), I will review the episode without spoilers, and then add spoiler thoughts after the rating. Also, if you have not seen the episode, you can watch it on Hulu by clicking here.

From the first scene to the last, Agents of SHIELD is clearly a different show than last year. Compared to the glossy and bright look of the first season, season two is decidedly darker and more like a serious espionage thriller, with sci-fi elements. The new team is much more combat oriented and generally more bad*ss than the more tech oriented team of the first season. The special effects in the episode are a vast improvement over the previous season. It is obviously not quite movie quality, but it is better than most anything on television. In terms of acting, the returning cast is better than ever, although the screen time is split between the large cast. The new cast members include Lucy Lawless (Xena) as Isabelle "Izzy" Hartly and Nick Blood as Lance Hunter. While neither character is given a lot of screen time, they both served their purpose well. Basically, everything in the series is improved and generally a lot better than the first season. Of the series from this fall, there has yet to be a better opening episode. Also note that my future review scores are going to be generally tougher than last season, with the scores being more in line with my Doctor Who reviews.

Overall: 8.3/10- "Shadows" is a darker and all around top notch start for what could be the expansion to the Marvel universe that we all expected from the start.

*Now time for spoiler talk! Warning spoilers are ahead (duh).*

At this point, I assume you have seen this episode, season one, and the Winter Soldier. Wow, SHIELD is truly on the run from the government after the events of The Winter Soldier with General Talbot still trying to track the team down.

The new episode opens with a flashback to HYDRA's days after the death of the Red Skull back in 1945, with an awesome cameo from Peggy Carter and two of the Howling Commandos, Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita. It certainly makes me excited for the upcoming Agent Carter TV series coming next year!

In the opening scene, Skye has clearly become a competent field agent thanks to her training by May. In addition to the old team, the series adds two comic book characters Lance Hunter, Alphonso 'Mac' Mackenzie, and the aforementioned Isabelle "Izzy" Hartly, although she did not last very long.

The new antagonist, Carl "Crusher" Creel, is taken straight from the comics, and the series has definitely adapted him well, and even his alias, Absorbing Man, is given a quick nod by Lawless' character. His scenes were very well done in the FX department. It was obviously not quite film level but it worked. When attacking Talbot, there was even a throwback to his comic book look with the ball and chain. Hopefully the series can continue with the sly allusions to the source material.

Coulson is taking much more of a Nick Fury role as he tries to rebuild SHIELD without all of the resources that his predecessor had. Coulson even had to make a tough decision to continue the mission at the cost of Izzy's life, which is an excitingly dark direction for the character.

Ward returns as a prisoner in SHIELD's new secret base. Last season, Ward's shocking conversion from being the bland soldier boy to HYDRA agent was one of the best parts of the series. Now, Ward has a creepy obsession with Skye, and he has even tried to commit suicide on several occasions. This new creepier and demented Ward is a refreshing change, and having him captured in the base for some Silence of the Lambs like exchanges between him and Skye will hopefully provide for some interesting possibilities. However, there is a chance that Ward will be redeemed far too early, but let's hope that will not be the case.

Last, but not least, is the emotional punch to the feels twist with Fitz. Last season Fitz nearly drowned to save Simmons, and due to the lack of oxygen, he has suffered brain damage, thus leaving him mentally ill. During the early exchanges with Simmons, it seemed that Fitz was having a hard time and Simmons was just helping him. It did seem odd that Simmons was not helping the rest of the team out with the missions, but I ultimately dismissed it for her working on something. To almost everyone's surprise, Simmons is only Fitz's mental manifestation due to the brain damage, so he is only talking to himself, which is a very Whedon like twist. Thankfully, the series decided to actually have consequences for the actions of the characters, which is all too uncommon on network television.

What did you think of the episode? Please comment below and let me know!

Shadows Review by Tegan

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Agents of SHIELD Season 2 Premieres Tonight

Season two of Agents of SHIELD is premiering tonight at its new time 9:00pm! While the first season had a rocky, it ended on a very high note with an excellent tie-in to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and hopefully season two will continue to improve. The premiere episode is said to feature a certain cameo by another Marvel character, which I will not spoil. My current plan is to review the first episode of the season, and then decide whether or not to review the rest of the episodes. If you missed it, you can read my review of the first season by clicking here. Do you plan to watch Agents of SHIELD this season? Please check back Thursday for my Gotham review and check out my other post today about my most anticipated television of the year, by clicking here. 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Agents of SHIELD Season 1 Review

Today I will be reviewing Agents of SHIELD's first season, and this is a spoiler-free review so that those that have either not seen the series, or dropped it after the lackluster start can decide whether or not to pick up the series.

Agents of SHIELD follows the events of the Avengers with Coulson being sent back into action with a new team to takedown treats ranging from alien technology to evil organizations. After strong initial ratings, Agents of SHIELD is a series that has been met with a very mixed response by fans and casual viewers alike. Due to the inconsistent and somewhat slow start, many viewers dropped the series, but those that did, do not know what they are missing when the second half of the season delivered in spades with strongly written episodes are capitalized on the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The Good: Likable characters, Whedon's witty dialogue, Amazing Captain America: The Winter Soldier tie-in episodes, Unexpected plot twists, Effective use of comic book source material, Coulson is back!, Great chemistry between the cast, Impressive action scenes for TV, Great humor, Satisfying reveal (even if it took too long), Memorable quotes, Firefly reference, Bill Paxton was freaking awesome!, Fantastic finale,

The Bad: Lackluster start, A few so-so episodes, First half had too much glossy and cheap lighting, Problematic pacing, 

Plot: 8.1/10- Agents of SHIELD's writing is often inconsistent during the first half with the episodes feeling as though they are buying time by meandering along with a non-serialize episodic format. While episodic series can work out well, one or two episodes of the first half felt a little too derivative. For the majority of the first half however, the series was fun and incorporated a lot of sci-fi and comic book type elements, even if the writing was not always the best. Despite this, the first half did have some truly excellent episodes like "F.Z.Z.T." and "The Bridge." Unfortunately, the Thor: The Dark World tie-in, or lack-thereof, felt like a missed opportunity for a crossover into the bigger cinematic universe.

On the other hand, the second half of Agents of SHIELD is excellent! While the first two episodes of the second half were good, but not great, from episode 13, "T.R.A.C.K.S.," onward the series became focused and finally revealed some of the secrets that it was holding back for too long. In addition, the series took on a darker and more serious tone. Without spoiling anything, those that watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be greatly rewarded with how the series tied into the film's storyline. Also, watching the series in conjunction with the film provided an even more rewarding experience as the series left hints at what is to come with the film fulfilling on the hints in the best way possible.

Characterization: 9.2/10- In typical Whedon fashion, Agents of SHIELD is a very character driven series with an ensemble of likable characters. Unlike his previous work however, Joss Whedon only had a hand in writing the series and directed only the first episode, leaving the series to his brother Jed and his sister-in-law Maurissa. While they are not as consistent as Joss with their witty writing, they certainly know what they are doing most of the time. For example, Firefly managed to create and establish some of the best and most lovable characters on television. On the other hand, Agents of SHIELD took quite a bit longer to establish the characters on a similar level with the exception of Coulson, who we all were attached to from what happened in the films. In fact, the biggest problem with the characterization is that the characters are shown to have secrets and inner problems, which is great, but it takes nearly half a season before anything is revealed.

Fortunately however, once the characters are suitably established, they are likable and develop strong chemistry and believable relationships. Fitz and Simmons are among the most lovable characters, and their character arcs are satisfying. Melinda May is the cold and stoic "Ice Queen" of the team that kicks all sorts of butt throughout the series. While her character could have been developed more, what we got was adequate. Of the cast, Skye is the most inconsistent ranging from being a very well executed character to being more of an unnecessary addition. By the end of the series however, more of her backstory is teased with some unexpected twists. Agent Grant Ward is an interesting case considering that his character goes through quite a drastic change, albeit one that takes some time to see, but it certainly works out superbly in the end. 

Aside from the main cast, the series introduces characters from the comics like Agent Garrett and Victoria Hand, as well as fun cameos by SHIELD Agents from the Marvel movies, which I shall not spoil.

Action: 9.2/10- Aside from Arrow, Agents of SHIELD delivers the best action scenes on network television. While they may be significantly inferior to most movies, in comparison to television, the action and choreography is often quite good. 

Acting: 9.3/10- While a few members of the cast took some time settling into their roles, Clark Gregg was as strong as ever returning as Coulson. 

Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge as Fitz and Simmons had instant chemistry from the onset. Brett Dalton's performance varied from dull to great later in the series, and Ming-Na Wen effectively played the stoic character. Chloe Bennet as Skye varied at times, but ended up settling into her role well by the end. Bill Paxton was positively outstanding as Agent Garrett! His veteran presence brought a lot to the series giving the show exactly what it needed. Amy Acker has a small guest role in one episode, and you can never have enough Amy Acker.

Special effects: 7.2/10- For TV, Agents of SHIELD's special effects are not especially bad. However, due to the fact that superpowers are not particularly conducive to television, some effects are awful. On the other hand, the sets are mostly very good, even if the SHIELD offices are noticeably subpar compared to the ones in The Winter Soldier. My biggest problem with the effects and direction is that the first half of the series implemented very poor use of lighting, thus giving the series a cheap look and feel.

Soundtrack: 8.3/10- Bear McCreary, notable for composing the scores for The Walking Dead and Battlestar Galactica, does a fine job scoring the series with a memorable, albeit short, main theme. Unfortunately, the majority of the score is not available anywhere for me to listen to on its own.

Humor: 9.3/10- While not all of the humor hit the mark, most of it did. The dialogue between the characters is fun and filled with memorable quotes. 

Something that I forgot to mention during my review of episode 20 is that when Coulson learns of some interesting news, he just stares and utters a "Huh," which is obviously a reference to Captain Malcolm's response when he discover River on his ship in the first episode (gifs below).

Entertainment Value: 9.8/10- As a massive fan of Marvel, having the ability to watch something from the Marvel universe every week is incredibly satisfying. Almost every episode had little references for me to geek-out about and had something for me to get excited about. Even though I record everything on a DVR, Agents of SHIELD is the only series that I had to watch every night on Tuesday.

Overall: 8.6/10- Agents of SHIELD is truly a tale of two half seasons. The first half of the season, while fun, did not quite live up to the high expectations fans have come to expect from Marvel, and if I were to rate it apart from the first half, it would receive a 7.5/10. On the other hand, the second half, with the exception one or two episodes, turned out superbly as it became more serialized, darker, and tied in directly with the Marvel Cinematic universe as an extension to the overall universe rather than a sidestory, and rating it individually, it would receive a 9.6/10, which is how I end up with the final rating of 8.6/10. Anyone interested in the Marvel movies should most certainly be watching Agents of SHIELD, even if you have to slog through a few subpar episodes in the beginning.

Closing comments: While Agents of SHIELD certainly has plenty of room for improvement, thanks to a superb second half, the only season finale of the year not to disappoint, and a healthy dosage of Marvel fanservice, Agents of SHIELD ended up being one of the better shows on television.

Recommended for: Marvel fans, Joss Whedon fans, Sci-Fi fans, Comic Book fans,

For my full spoiler reviews of each episode, as well as other TV reviews, you can click here.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Agents of SHIELD Season 2 Promo

A new Agents of SHIELD promo/teaser trailer for season two has been released, and it briefly shows the series' possibly darker turn. Hopefully season 2 will continue the darker and generally high quality trend that the later half of season one set into motion. Since season two is right around the corner, my review of season one will be coming tomorrow, so please be sure to check that out. Also, check out the news about what superhero The Rock will be playing by clicking here.

Also, a quick shoutout to Tegan for making me aware of the promo over on her blog.

This is not official, but it still looks cool.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Agents of SHIELD: Beginning of the End Review

Agents of SHIELD's run is now over, and Marvel's attempt at expanding the Cinematic-Universe into the realm of television has been a rocky road to travel, but it most certainly paid off in this week's finale, which may be the best episode the series has offered thus far.

*Spoilers*

Because this is the finale and because it had so many quotable moments, I have decided to add a lot of cool gif sets instead of posting the full quotes for most parts.

Oddly enough, the episode opens with a scene in Cybertek with a head guy introducing a newbie to the tech. He refers to the "Incentives Program," which I am exactly sure what that means. The most likely conclusion is that it means that one of their loved ones is held hostage, but maybe it meant actual incentives. 

After 15 minutes of Garrett babbling on about like a mad man with everyone giving him strange looks, "Beginning of the End" picks up the pace with an action packed finale that hit the mark in every department. The first part of the episode almost had me worried that the finale was going to be a disappointment, but thankfully, that was not the case. After some ambiguity last episode, the container that Ward dropped Fitz and Simmons in did sink to the bottom of the ocean. Fitz confesses his feeling to Simmons, well, he kinda confesses in an indirect way, and he sacrifices himself to save Simmons, which was a very Joss Whedon type character moment. Thankfully, a one-eyed bada** happened to be around to save the duo, which I will discuss in a minute. To my surprise however, Fitz is not doing so well with Simmons essentially saying that he suffered severe brain damage, which will either mean Cybernetic enhancements to fix his brain, or Fitz is not going to be particularly useful to the team. Actually, the episode ended with, what I assume, is going to be the new team with Ward being replaced by Triplett, and no Fitz.  

Going back to the Nick Fury's appearance in the episode, I cannot believe he had such a crucial role! Even though I knew Samuel L. Jackson would make an appearance in the finale, I did not expect him to have an extended part in the episode! Seriously, he was in the episode just about as much as any of the team other than Coulson. Just the simple fact of seeing Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury on television is an impressive sight, but he was freaking awesome in the episode! He had a ton of hilarious and cool lines, like "You don't have to call me 'sir,' Coulson. Look at me. I'm dressed like I live under a bridge," as well as the perfect banter with Coulson, who we now know was originally recruited by Fury. At the end of The Winter Soldier, you may have noticed that Fury was going somewhere to respond to a distress signal before he burned his eyepatch, which likely refers to the distress signal that Fitz sent out (Jacob actually noticed this). Also, seeing Fury coming to Coulson's aid with the Destroyer gun from The Avengers was such an awesome callback to the Avengers! During the confrontation with Garrett and DeathLok, the entire dialogue exchange is classic! 

Later in the episode, Coulson finally gets to have the conversation about his resurrection with Coulson flipping out exclaiming "Yes, but that emergency was supposed to be the fall of an Avenger!" with Fury replying "Exactly. And I'm d*mn glad I did it, too." Any fan of The Avengers would agree that Coulson is an Avenger, and hearing Fury say it in the episode was incredibly satisfying. But that was not the biggest surprise of Sam Jackson's part of the episode. Coulson is now the new Director of SHIELD! Fury passed the torch to Coulson, and along with a cube that supposedly is going to help him rebuild SHIELD.

 For the finale, the episode certainly rammed up the action with probably the best action scenes to date from the series, particularly May vs. Ward. While it did not make a lot sense why May did not just shoot Ward with the ICER to knock him out, the action was certainly satisfying. She really nailed him during the fight (pun intended). Skye and Ward's dialogue before was perfect, and hilarious!

 

 Earlier in the episode, after Coulson made an inspiring speech, May's reply was great as well.

Coulson: "But Fury always said ... a man can accomplish anything when he realizes he's a part of something bigger. A team of people who share that conviction can change the world. So, what do you say? You ready to change the world?"

For yet another surprise, Agent Koenig is back! Well, not exactly. The team meets Billy Koenig, which is likely the brother that Eric mentioned playing Call of Duty with in the previous episode. However, my suspicion is that Koenig is a LMD (Life-Model-Decoy). A LMD is a robotic replacement that SHIELD agents, particularly Nick Fury, use as a decoy. Often times, SHIELD agents would use them to fake their deaths. Other possibilities include, Koenig being a form of AI that is at every SHIELD base, he is a clone, or, the simplest option, he is actually Eric's twin brother. 

Next, Raina tells a creepy looking monstrous figure that she has found his daughter. Who is this decaying figure? Before this reveal, I was thinking that Skye's parents could be Kree, Skrull, or Frost Giant, but this certainly rules out Frost Giant, and probably Kree. Skrull is still an option since they can shape shift, yet that seems unlikely. Maybe it is of the same race as the Asgardian fire demon Surtur (picture below), or, if Marvel wants to go the magical route with Doctor Strange on the horizon, she could be the daughter of Mephisto, or someone from that realm. Mephisto is not from one of the Nine Realm of Asgard, but rather, he inhabits a realm of fire and brimstone, and creatures from that realm somewhat resemble the creature at the end of the episode. However, a Doctor Strange movie is way too far off for it to be introducing concepts and characters from that. A popular theory is that Skye is an Inhuman, which are a race of altered humans that gained powers from being experimented on by Kree. An Inhumans movie has been in the works for a while, so that is a possibility.   

Ward's conclusion was mostly satisfying with him neither going back with the team nor dying. While killing off the character probably would have been better, using him to get information on HYDRA could result in an interesting dynamic. DeathLok also gets a solid resolution after Skye frees his son. He is likely to return to help the team in the future. Also, the episode ending with Coulson drawing those strange symbols that Garrett was drawing will hopefully be explained in the next season, because I have no idea what they mean.

One of the best parts of the entire season has to be the scene below with Coulson and Garrett! When Garrett started to pull himself up on the cybernetic thing, I was thinking, "How cliched can they get?!" Thankfully, in a very Whedonesque moment, Coulson walks into the room to grab the energy-ray thing from the second episode and completely disintegrates Garrett. Leave it to Whedon and company to subvert cliches in the most hilarious ways possible! It was such a classic moment; I love it!

Overall: 10/10- Thanks to Samuel L. Jackson's presence, hilariously subverting cliches, and a satisfying conclusion that provides the series a new direction, "Beginning of the End" is the best episode the series the has delivered to date.

At some point in the near future, I will post my full review of the first season as a whole, so look out for that, and please check back next week for the first part of my Top 100 Movies of All-Time List. 

For another opinion, you can check out Tegan's review by clicking here.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Agents of SHIELD: Ragtag Review

With the season finale later today, Agents of SHIELD is about to finish its first seasons, and the episode, "Ragtag," hints at some big reveals in the season finale.

*Spoilers*

"Ragtag" shows us flashbacks of Ward's past while simultaneously progressing the plot. While the young actor that plays Ward did not particularly look like the character, seeing how Ward was recruited by Garrett was interesting. Apparently, Ward went AWOL from the military and decided to burn down his old home with his older brother inside. Garrett giving Ward 10 seconds to decide was cool with the agents bursting in to extract Ward and Garrett. While not the most effective, the flashbacks were done well enough, and they tied in with Ward's "weakness" well enough. Also, Ward is obviously beginning to question Garret's judgement after DeathLok tried to kill him to force Skye to decode the information.

As for the rest of the episode, we got to see Coulson completely "geek-out" about the old Howling Commando tech from Triplett, and it was hilarious! Seeing such a big tie-in with the Howl Commandos made me geek-out some as well. 

Seeing Coulson and May as "tech geeks" was positively hilarious! The sweater vests, glasses, and the way they acted was priceless. Having all of Cybertek's files be physical files rather than computers is an interesting concept, and it makes sense to a degree. My favorite part of the Cybertek infiltration has to be the "Get ready for a large file transfer" joke because that was hilarious. Also, one mistake made is that Triplett shot a rope for the Coulson and May to slide down on, but he put it in the ceiling of an office building, and what he shot into has nothing behind to hold onto with, so that was kind of a dumb mistake.

While not terribly surprisingly, the team discovered that Garrett is a cyborg and that he was the first DeathLok. In the comics, Garrett is a cyborg so that is accurate, although I like the twist that he was the first DeathLok. Also, his distrust of SHIELD definitely seems warranted considering what happened. 

Fitz using the EMP joybuzzer to critically wound Garrett was clever, and Fitz's unreasonable belief that Ward is not all bad, while annoying at times, makes sense with the character. With Garrett injured, he was forced to the use the compound from Skye's blood samples, and I suppose we will see next episode what the serum is going to do to him. Also, making Garrett on death's door without the something to keep him alive gives him proper reasoning behind his obsession with serum. 

The other big reveal is that Skye's parents are "monsters" of some kind implying that she is most likely either Asgardian or alien, although alien seems likely with the Guardians of the Galaxy around the corner. 

On a side note, Skye and May's talk about Ward was a nice character for both considering the previous tension between the two. 

Overall: 9.3/10- While not quite on par with the previous few episodes, "Ragtag" sets up for the finale effectively and gives us insight into Ward's character.

For another opinion, you can check out Tegan's review by clicking here.

Lastly, when I was trying to write the part about May and Skye, I fell asleep while writing this review, and below is the result (I am not joking, but I thought it was too humorous not to post).

 talkrsasssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Agents of SHIELD: Nothing Personal Review

We are closing in on the season final and Agents of SHIELD has finally delivered what we expected from the start: lovable Joss Whedon characters and a story that is actually meaningful in the overall Marvel Universe.

*Spoilers*

After the Maria Hill tease at the end of the previous episode, the episode opens with Maria Hill, played wonderfully by Cobie Smulders, talking on the phone with someone about the whole HYDRA infiltration and that Stark is protecting her with the best lawyers money can buy. Even though we knew she is working with Tony after the brief clip in The Winter Soldier, I love how intertwined the series is with the movies! It is a direct continuation of the movie in many ways from Hill's perspective. If you noticed Hill's line about working with Stark to "Privatize Global Security," you might have noticed the reference to the upcoming Age of Ultron. While I will keep my full thoughts about this for another in-depth post, how do you think Tony is going to create global security? By creating an army of robots and drones controlled by a highly advanced A.I. that happens to be named Ultron, at least that is what I think is going to happen.

Also, if you happen to be a supergeek like me, you may have noticed Hill mentioning that she to explain what a "Man-Thing" was. In the Marvel comics, there is a character named Man-Thing, and he even got his own B-movie back in 2005 (haven't seen it but I have heard it was terrible). Man-Thing was a science experiment gone wrong, which turned Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis into a hideous Man-Thing, a creature with only basic mental functions. Maybe the team will encounter Man-Thing in season two, that could be cool.

Anyway, back to the episode. Seeing Skye try to stall Ward was fun to watch, and having drop-in was an unexpected surprise to say the least. While the exchange about Ward being a Nazi according to the SHIELD handbook was great, Skye saving Ward was a little annoying. Obviously, she has feelings for him and that basically had to happen for the plot to progress, but it could have been handled better. Also, why did the team not shoot DeathLok and Ward out of the sky after Skye and Coulson escaped? Sure, they want to keep the Bus intact, but come on! How can you let them get away with the data? They are essentially defenseless without a hostage! Also, the special effects for Lola falling out of the Bus were understandably terrible, but terrible nonetheless. 

Other than those minor complaints, getting to see Colonel Talbot in the flesh was fun, and the fight scene with Hill and Coulson kicking butt was great! Now that Hill is working for Stark, I imagine that she will be playing a slightly larger role. The humor was particularly top notch with the dialogue between Coulson and Hill especially humorous. Also, now that "How I Met Your Mother" is complete, hopefully Smulders will make more appearances next season.

The team hanging-out at the crappy Motel was another fun scene. I really enjoyed Fitz and Simmons' talk by the pool. It was nice and very well done. I hope we get a little resolution with their characters by the final. Also, did anyone else catch Skye referring to Fitz and Simmons as "FitzSimmons"? That was also a meta moment!

Wow! Coulson was behind the project T.A.H.I.T.I!? That was totally unexpected! Agents of SHIELD is continuing to surprise with its twists and turns every episode. From what I understand, Coulson led the project so that a dead Avenger could be revived. After threatening to resign, I assume Fury put the project on ice, but brought it back when Coulson died. I wonder who were the other lucky (or unlucky) test subjects of the procedure. Maybe it was Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man. In the comics, he actually died and resurrected three times (by different means of course).

Overall: 9.4/10- Agents of SHIELD continues to deliver yet again with another solid episode, and a more than welcome return by Smulders' Maria Hill. 

For another opinion, you can check out Tegan's review by clicking here.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.