Agents of SHIELD *** SPOILERS ***

[KeepTalking]

If they were looking for the Ms. Marvel angle, then I'm pretty sure they've already made references to Carol Danvers. They can't make Skye into Ms. Marvel if they've already mentioned the existence of Carol Danvers, or the comic book nerds will throw a fit. I'm pretty sure Coulson has her fighter pilot helmet among his "Easter Egg" trophy collection.

I don't know, they brought in Deathlok without reference to any of his previous incarnations. Then again, I think Captain Marvel is a bit more well know in the Marvel Universe, and the comic book geeks (we're geeks, dammit, not nerds!) likely would have a fit, even though Captain Marvel has probably changed alter-egos more than any other comic book character ever. The biggest strike against her I think, is that she has never been associated with SHIELD.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

So, any predictions of what will happen in the season finale?

The previews showed Super-Garrett fighting Coulson, so I figure Coulson will kill him and then say something snarky.

I think that they're going to have Skye manifest some kind of alien/super power. Something along the lines of Deathlok is about to kill her, Ward decides to save her and then Deathlok is about to kill him and then Skye punches Deathlok through a wall or the like. That's the last scene and they end the season with her saying "Oh, that was weird" and then deal with it in September. Ward will survive and they'll deal with him later on.

I hope Fitz and Simmons just make out already and don't drag this Ross and Rachel shit on for four more seasons before they get around to resolving it.

Also, the black guy will do some token heroic thing to confirm to viewers that he's actually become a regular cast member now, filling the role that Ward was slated for when he was playing good.

 

[Mumbles]

I'd actually be okay if Simmons died, and Fitz went on to become a genius field agent. Angry Fitz is is a real badass. ...well, not a *real* badass, but but a guy who really shows that he has what it takes, especially after he shorted out Garrett, and then just openly mocked him, and told Ward to stop following him.

If she lives, I'm actually cool with Simmons and Triplett. She does seem to have a thing for bulky black guys, as shown when she was admiring Mike Peterson way back. And Fitz does have that quarter that doubles as a tracking device.

Ward's evil as shit. You don't get to just walk back after shooting people in the head and dumping Fitz-Simmons in the ocean (you were told that there would be spoilers, no complaining!) If he turns good suddenly, I'd be disappointed. Now Raina...I could see her turning, maybe...

We are leading to whatever makes Skye an 084, I think...

But this is possibly the second time in the series where I haven't heard anyone really predict anything that I can say "that sounds good". We pretty much knew Peterson would come back, that the Gravitonium would be back, and even that Peterson would become Deathlok, but the folks I listen to...know Fury will show up, and that's about it.

ETA: Am I the only person who thought the Garett/Ward flashbacks were kinda...eh?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

ETA: Am I the only person who thought the Garett/Ward flashbacks were kinda...eh?

I think that they're going to try and take an Angel type of arc with him, where he's evil but trying to redeem himself and yada, yada, yada, so they wanted to set up the backstory of how he's evil but always had problems with being evil ... or something. He's a better character when he's straight-up evil, so I hope they don't waste too much time with the whole tortured soul thingy but I expect that's what we'll be getting.

What I found most "eh?" was all the 1940's tech that Tripp got from his grandfather. I get that they've got the Agent Carter series starting in September and they need to set it up a bit, but they overdid it and those things were kind of lame.

 

[Mumbles]

ETA: Am I the only person who thought the Garett/Ward flashbacks were kinda...eh?

I think that they're going to try and take an Angel type of arc with him, where he's evil but trying to redeem himself and yada, yada, yada, so they wanted to set up the backstory of how he's evil but always had problems with being evil ... or something. He's a better character when he's straight-up evil, so I hope they don't waste too much time with the whole tortured soul thingy but I expect that's what we'll be getting.

That's my worry. I'd accept it for Raina, since they've set up that she feels betrayed, or for Deathlok, who is clearly being forced to work for them...but Ward? Nah.

hat I found most "eh?" was all the 1940's tech that Tripp got from his grandfather. I get that they've got the Agent Carter series starting in September and they need to set it up a bit, but they overdid it and those things were kind of lame.

Heh, I was most weird was the "large file transfer"? The two nerds picking up a full file cabinet? Rappelling down a line that was stuck in ceiling tile? That's all ridiculous, but it was fun, so I was willing to go with it.

What I mean, is that the scenes didn't really do anything. I felt like "really, that's why Ward is an asshole, we get to see him hunt a deer and point a gun at his dog? That's it?" It struck me as a classic case of tv writers violating the "Show, don't tell " rule, although it could be due to budget constraints...

 

[Tom Sawyer]

What I mean, is that the scenes didn't really do anything. I felt like "really, that's why Ward is an asshole, we get to see him hunt a deer and point a gun at his dog? That's it?" It struck me as a classic case of tv writers violating the "Show, don't tell " rule, although it could be due to budget constraints...

I think it was meant to give more context to his hesitation to kill Fitz and Simmons. Fitz is kind of like a little puppy dog, so it harkens back to how he was questioning other decisions he's made along his path to the dark side and it'll seem more in character next episode when he betrays Hydra entirely in order to save Skye.

 

[blastula]

Post contains spoilers. If you don't want to read spoilers about the show, you shouldn't have clicked on the link.

Is anyone else watching this show?

It started out really slow and dull at the beginning of the season and I only continued watching it out of some weird sense of loyalty to the Marvel brand, but ever since the Captain America tie-in where they've started into all the Hydra stuff, it's become freaking awesome and the new episodes are about the best thing on TV right now.

I especially like the transformation of dull and bland good Ward into creepy stalker evil Ward. Even that cardboard cutout Skye became interesting and compelling in her scenes with him.

This has turned into a damned good series and I'm glad I didn't dump it mid-season and miss all the good parts when they finally managed to find their legs.

Which episode does it start getting good?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Which episode does it start getting good?

It was the one right before the Captain America movie came out. Don't know which episode it was.

 

[Unbeatable]

This episode, then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXSEv09hdp8. From the promo, it really doesn't look good.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

This episode, then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXSEv09hdp8. From the promo, it really doesn't look good.

It wasn't great. It was a step up from the previous episodes in that when I finished it, my thought was "I was entertained", as opposed to the previous episodes which ambivalently swung between "That had some decent scenes" and "That was disappointing". It was also a necessary precursor to the following episode which was just frigging awesome and they've kept it at that high level for most of what's come after.

 

[Unbeatable]

Apparently, they're just bad at making promos. 16-18 weren't bad. I still can't stand Coulson, and Ward is now the only interesting main character, but the strength of these episodes is that there's so much plot happening that they don't have as much time to waste on scenes devoted entirely to the relationships and feelings of Coulson and his team.

I suspect they don't have the budget to keep this up, though.

 

[Mumbles]

This episode, then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXSEv09hdp8. From the promo, it really doesn't look good.

It wasn't great. It was a step up from the previous episodes in that when I finished it, my thought was "I was entertained", as opposed to the previous episodes which ambivalently swung between "That had some decent scenes" and "That was disappointing". It was also a necessary precursor to the following episode which was just frigging awesome and they've kept it at that high level for most of what's come after.

Honestly, I liked the entire season, even though it did have some pacing issues. But then again, it's kinda following the Whedon formula - monster of the week, get to know the characters episodes for a while, but things eventually all pull together. But yeah, the episode you mentioned is when things really started to get dark.

ETA: I'm not sure if they're just going to tread water until Avengers 2 or another movie, or if they're going to push the Marvel Universe storyline forward, though. If the latter, you an safely ignore the entire series, obviously. I'm kinda hoping for the former, though. This season, they were clearly constrained because the Cap2 plot was finished before they began work, and would obviously have massive implications for them to deal with. Next season...well...

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Ya, I think that's the heart of the pacing issues. They were building up towards the big Hydra reveal, but they couldn't actually give any clues towards it due to wanting to save the whole thing for the movie. Combine with their getting their act together and it made for a weak first half. It was OK, but not all that compelling. Then again, Buffy sucked shit for most of the first season as well but then got really good. Maybe this will be good for a while and then we'll get an episode with Coulson singing and tune out until it shows up on Netflix a decade later.

 

[Mumbles]

Apparently, they're just bad at making promos. 16-18 weren't bad. I still can't stand Coulson, and Ward is now the only interesting main character, but the strength of these episodes is that there's so much plot happening that they don't have as much time to waste on scenes devoted entirely to the relationships and feelings of Coulson and his team.

I suspect they don't have the budget to keep this up, though.

I'll say this - the promos aren't just bad, they're often intentionally misleading. I would not judge the show by them.

But as I said, I think it's worth it to watch the show from episode 1, much as I'd say for the first season of, say, Arrow ( I've seen none of season 2 of that show, really). It's not immediately great, but it does hit it's stride. And watching some f the characters evolve and change (in this case, Ward and Fitz in particular, although Coulson does change as well) is entertaining. Also, you know what the storyline is.

Myself, I'd say that "The Well" was particularly bad, mostly due to the Thor 2 tie-in that (as expected) turned out to be crap, and the child abuse storyline, which I just always hate as a backstory. But the EP sawyer picked out is when things started to really pick up, and the episode after that...well, I hadn't seen Cap 2 at the time (and likely won't soon, for reasons), but that was when my jaw dropped - mostly because I know what HYDRA is.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Anyone else been following the Hail Hydra meme? It's gotten pretty funny.

 

[Mumbles]

Ya, I think that's the heart of the pacing issues. They were building up towards the big Hydra reveal, but they couldn't actually give any clues towards it due to wanting to save the whole thing for the movie. Combine with their getting their act together and it made for a weak first half. It was OK, but not all that compelling. Then again, Buffy sucked shit for most of the first season as well but then got really good. Maybe this will be good for a while and then we'll get an episode with Coulson singing and tune out until it shows up on Netflix a decade later.

Okay, I'll say it - I'm glad to hear someone else agree that Season 1 of Buffy was just...bad, mostly (and honestly, I only started to really like the series when Spike showed up). I'don't think much of season one of Angel, or probably most controversially, any of Firefly. Yes, they all showed potential. They didn't use it immediately, although in the case of Firefly, they didn't get any real chance until the movie Serenity.

But as I said, that's the basic formula. It was thrown a bit off by Cap 2, but aside from that, I'm actually kinda happy with the season, and looking forward to the Season 1 outro, and to season 2. I think they did well, given what they had to work around. I like Coulson, I like Evil Ward as a big shift from Good Ward, I like Fitz turning into an honorable asshole, I love J. August Richards playing Deathlok (a character I never thought I'd see on a screen at all)...

Yeah, unless the season finale really screws up, this was pretty good overall.

 

[Unbeatable]

But as I said, I think it's worth it to watch the show from episode 1, much as I'd say for the first season of, say, Arrow ( I've seen none of season 2 of that show, really). It's not immediately great, but it does hit it's stride. And watching some f the characters evolve and change (in this case, Ward and Fitz in particular, although Coulson does change as well) is entertaining. Also, you know what the storyline is.

I originally quit after episode 6, then checked back in for 15 for the actress playing Sif, then quit again until today. I don't think any of the episodes I saw before 16 were worth it. I'd have probably been better off not watching them at all, and instead just starting with 16 and using wikis to look up further detail on the bits requiring further explanation. This seems to be one of those shows where the only thing that interests me is the myth arc and the potential the setting offers(which I've never seen it actually live up to) for entertaining "X of the week" plots. Oh, and guest actors. But so far, even though the show's featured several guests that I like, the only memorable performance has been from Brad Dourif. Bill Paxton's a decent actor, but he seems to be just playing a generic Bill Paxton character.

 

[Jaecp]

Well, Episode 1 is good TV, but 2-15 were pretty much mostly bad. I remember liking the ward/fitz team up episode though where fitz flirted with that old russian lady.

And Arrow is pretty much good the whole way through, bah, bah I say. And Season 2 is great!

 

[Underseer]

If they were looking for the Ms. Marvel angle, then I'm pretty sure they've already made references to Carol Danvers. They can't make Skye into Ms. Marvel if they've already mentioned the existence of Carol Danvers, or the comic book nerds will throw a fit. I'm pretty sure Coulson has her fighter pilot helmet among his "Easter Egg" trophy collection.

I don't know, they brought in Deathlok without reference to any of his previous incarnations. Then again, I think Captain Marvel is a bit more well know in the Marvel Universe, and the comic book geeks (we're geeks, dammit, not nerds!) likely would have a fit, even though Captain Marvel has probably changed alter-egos more than any other comic book character ever. The biggest strike against her I think, is that she has never been associated with SHIELD.

Are you kidding? If they made references to Carol Danvers, and then made someone else Ms. Marvel, I would have a fit.

 

[KeepTalking]

If they were looking for the Ms. Marvel angle, then I'm pretty sure they've already made references to Carol Danvers. They can't make Skye into Ms. Marvel if they've already mentioned the existence of Carol Danvers, or the comic book nerds will throw a fit. I'm pretty sure Coulson has her fighter pilot helmet among his "Easter Egg" trophy collection.

I don't know, they brought in Deathlok without reference to any of his previous incarnations. Then again, I think Captain Marvel is a bit more well know in the Marvel Universe, and the comic book geeks (we're geeks, dammit, not nerds!) likely would have a fit, even though Captain Marvel has probably changed alter-egos more than any other comic book character ever. The biggest strike against her I think, is that she has never been associated with SHIELD.

Are you kidding? If they made references to Carol Danvers, and then made someone else Ms. Marvel, I would have a fit.

That's why I don't think they will reference Carol Danvers if they do go that route. Just like Deathlok, they would reboot the character for the series, but I really don't see them turning Skye into Ms. Marvel or Captain Marvel since both have recently been rebooted in the comic books, Ms. Marvel just this year, and Captain Marvel in 2012. In contrast Deathlok has not had his own book since 2000, and that was a limited run.