Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review S1/E3 (Spoilers!)

Style over substance? I'm ok with that. If you want substance, PBS is airing Shakespeare this month.

Intro

Have been given the green light to cover Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for Action A Go Go. Just wanted to take a few moments to show where I'm coming from. For after all, expectations are important.

Let's face it. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is not about substance. It's about style. It's about moments that make you go "Whoa...that was awesome." It's about cool dialogue. It's about characters that are easy on the eyes. It's about the occasional teaser arising from the rest of the Marvel universe. And perhaps most importantly, its about the occasional laugh.

My coverage of the series will not be an in-depth analysis of the impact of modern popular archetypes and how they convey meaning while exposing the collective conscience of early 21st century Western culture.

I watch the show to defrag. Hopefully, I can help you do the same.

The structure of this, and all future reviews will be the same: What Happened?, Alphas (the good), Deltas (the not so good), Dialogue of Awesomeness! and Final Verdict.

Let's begin, shall we?

What Happened?

A S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist named Franklin Hall gets kidnapped. Agent Coulson and the rest of the crew are responsible for finding and rescuing him.

Turns out the kidnapper is a billionaire named Ian Quinn who is intent on using a rare element called gravitonium to create a machine that affects gravity in ways that would have major global ramifications.

Upon discovering his secret lair in Malta, the agents are at a loss for what action to take, for fear of breaking international law.

Through her hacking skills and anti-establishment CV, Skye gets herself invited to Quinn's compound for a party intended for investors.

Turns out, Hall was friends with the Quinn in college where they'd discussed creating the very machine the billionaire is on the verge of finishing. He just kidnapped Frank for final touches.

The gravitonium generator. Nice!

With Skye's help from the inside, Coulson and Grant break through the island's defenses and reach the scientist...who doesn't want to be rescued. He devised the plan to be kidnapped so that he could destroy the machine, with the intent of sacrificing himself (and anyone else on the island) in the process. He didn't ask S.H.I.E.L.D. for help at the start, for he was just as fearful of a government agency getting their hands on it as he was of Quinn using it for nefarious means.

With the device activated, the billionaire escapes via helicopter. Coulson shuts it down by using gravity to suck Hall into the machine and therefore short circuiting it. The day is saved.

Although, is it? Am certain Quinn will show up again.

And the device? Hidden away in a S.H.I.E.L.D. vault. With the last fleeting image from the show being that of a fluidic, silver, CGI rendered hand arising from the machine.

See the hand? Mwahahahaha!

Alphas

1) First, the truck driver with the handle "Big Boy." A minor character, but...he had character! Only on screen a few seconds and I was already thinking to myself,"This guy? This guy's alright." Add to that element the fact that within the first minute of the show we unexpectedly see a huge, dark SUV flung through the air by some unseen force? And then another? And then an eighteen wheeler? A good start. A very good start.

Airborne heavy motor vehicles in the opening scene? Thank you Mr. Whedon!

2) The kidnapped scientist? Again, Whedon is doing an excellent job with picking actors for the minor characters. Just think "Anthony Hopkins gone geek."

3) Fitz/Simmons continue with the light, brief, geeky scientist awesomeness. Half the time their terminology is gibberish, but it's a fun exercise picking out the real science. Fitz is cool, but Simmons? In my mind, a doppelganger for Keira Knightley. This is a good thing.

4) Am fairly confident this episode settled quite clearly that Skye isn't going to be an "X" factor throughout the season regarding whether she's with S.H.I.E.L.D. 100% and not a double agent working for the bad guys. Glad to see she's aboard for real.

5) Melinda stepped up and clearly put forth that she wants to get in on the combat, counteracting previous episodes where she said she wanted to avoid fighting. This is awesome. Her countenance suggests that there's serious potential for Action A Go Go levels of coolness and I was dreading the possibility that they'd play the "I hate violence, but get sucked into it any way" card for the rest of the season. Let loose the dogs of war...and Melinda!

6) After the gravitonium generator is turned on, and just seconds before a commercial break, Coulson utters the words,"Something tells me that wasn't the off button..." and then suddenly gets pulled by gravitational force to the right. A brief moment, but the kind that adds humor to the show. And much welcomed in a world where people and shows take themselves a bit too seriously.

Deltas

1) There was a sub-plot between Grant and Skye where the former reveals having had a rough childhood. I think he handled it well, considering how melodramatic it was (even for Whedon.) I can write an entire article on the skilled craftsmanship of the show in general (and I probably will), however, the one weak link would be Chloe Bennet as Skye. Yes, a fine, firm, feminine form. But during the more subtle scenes such as this, I could hear the director off stage whispering,"Act...act!"

Her thespian skills may be lacking, but she can run. Very well.

Dialogue of Awesomeness!

Melinda: Without a man inside it's impossible, unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions.
Fitz: If we had a monkey, we could get in.
~
Grant: She's holding back sir. She says she wants to be an agent, but she won't commit. She doesn't listen. She makes jokes.
Coulson: Were you hard on her?
Grant: Sure. I tried playing nice too. I need a new strategy.
Coulson: Try no strategy. Stop thinking like an operative, start thinking like a person.
~
Coulson: (under heavy gunfire) We need a reset here Fitz...(more gunfire)...Fitz!
Simmons: Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!

Final Verdict

Fast paced. Fun. Shiny special effects. Digging deeper into the character's backgrounds. Some questions answered.This week's episode gets...

3 out of 5 Arnolds!

Am tempted to go with 4 out of 5, but the season is still young, and am expecting awesomeness levels to increase as the weeks progress. See you next week!  

Stephen Sumner is the science fiction columnist for Action A Go Go. His favorite sci-fi series include Firefly, Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/VierLights or on the Tumblr machine at http://vierlights.tumblr.com/.