When I started watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I knew that the plot would reveal that S.H.I.E.L.D. was actually evil, but I didn’t guess the specific Captain America: The Winter Soldier plot twist. My story was better. I saw Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a show about a man whose priorities changed after death. He had to lead a team of people to protect others, but was unable and unwilling to endanger them thus leading to a conflict with S.H.I.E.L.D. once he realized that his employer didn’t share his values (think The Asset, The Hub, The Only Light in the Darkness-S.H.I.E.L.D is sketchy as hell with or without the CA:TWS plot twist). I ultimately envisioned Coulson as an emerging enemy to S.H.I.E.L.D., but a hero to the audience. Instead of staying the course, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ultimately pulled back and deleted a potentially more interesting conflict in favor of vindicating Coulson-his life had meaning, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is sugar and spice and everything nice. Coulson is S.H.I.E.L.D., a good man and his sacrifices were worth it rather than a man STILL facing the reality that he wasted his life for an ideal that didn’t exist, and how can he still do good and teach others to do good despite a huge obstacle. His disillusion is no longer relevant although there are hints to a cheesier twist that absolves him of any agency if he ends up becoming an enemy after all. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a very old fashioned show that doesn’t stand on its own without the movies. I find it disappointing that Coulson’s screams of outrage at the end of Turn, Turn, Turn dissolved into nothing by the last show, and he was ultimately pacified by a compliment from his superior and a promotion.
After The Walking Dead ends, I’m planning to devour every comic. I’ve been told repeatedly that it is faithful to the comic book. I guess that I’ll skip reading them. I have been a faithful Whedonite: BTVS (the movie & the series), Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Dollhouse, hell even Alien: Resurrection! I thank God that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t a pure Whedon vehicle because otherwise I would say that he no longer produces cutting edge tv. In a world of Hannibal, Game of Thrones, TWD and even Parenthood with fewer episodes, but richer, intriguing story lines, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s story is full of filler and unwieldy. 22 episodes were an unnecessary number of episodes. It tells. It doesn’t show. It isn’t must see tv. I’m not on the edge of my seat to find out what happened, and when I do find out what happened, it doesn’t matter because there are little to no long-term consequences. If you cut the majority of the first half, it doesn’t matter. The show is dated complete with Dynasty explosions, cheesy plot devices and lazy dialogue. Only a handful of episodes felt surprising, shocking and emotionally resonant, including Eye Spy, FZZT, The Magical Place, Seeds and T.A.H.I.T.I, but the health of every great Whedon show is the relatability of sensational situations and characters to the audience. I tried to imagine it as the unofficial sequel to Firefly meets Dollhouse meets Alias (every ABC show seems to become either Lost or Alias), but unfortunately it has more in common with Get Smart in terms of blue screen, gadgets and the effectiveness of these spies. The cast may be too large as well with most of the actors not ready for primetime. BTVS’ Allyson Hanagan and Nicholas Brendan were engaging and believable from the start so lack of experience can’t be blamed. The characters don’t feel like real people. Mike Peterson is the most disappointing example of this failure, and I love Gunn. Honestly Aidan Quinn was like a low rent rich villain. Only Flowers felt suitably sinister. When the main baddie appeared, I thought that surely they couldn’t be using the Law & Order rule: the most famous person is the bad guy, but they did. I feel Flowers’ pain. It was disappointing. I feel like Clark Gregg is dancing as fast as he can. He fills in the blanks left by the script. Ming Na has a largely thankless role and isn’t given much to do, but have one emotion. I still like her though. The hints about Skye becoming BTVS/River/Echo are more interesting than the actual character except when she had to face off against Ward, whom I called The Face since the beginning, but may have to change to Faith since that seems to be where the plot is heading. I was actually hoping that Iain De Caestecker was actually evil because his voice kept changing from the Scottish accent or he would suddenly seem sinister, but no, my story was once again more interesting. If I wasn’t a completist, I would jump ship, but I’m stuck until the bitter end since Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been renewed. Don’t be me. If you are like me and have become an employer of the Marvel franchise, I would recommend watching it in bulk-a marathon-instead of live or individually because it suffers when juxtaposed with other shows.