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| Coulson for president in 2016! |
Since the first episode, have been actively promoting Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. amongst friends, family and associates. Many seemed to be down on it and when I asked why, the key culprit seemed to be expectations that people held.
People were expecting the next Lost or 24. They were expecting intensity carried by drama-driven scripts.
However, as a fan of Joss Whedon, particularly his show Firefly, I felt like I understood what AoS was intended to be: light, action packed and funny.
But after tonight's episode, it seems I was a victim of my own expectations.
What Happened?
Diamonds are being stolen across Europe. Coulson decides to pursue the case, not because he was directed to by S.H.I.E.L.D., but because he believes he has a personal stake in the matter. And he's right.
The jewel thief is a former trainee of his thought lost on an mission a few years back. She was listed as a casualty, but no remains were ever found.
Coulson and the rest of the agents track her down only to discover she's been stealing the diamonds in order to raise enough capital to buy herself a way into a secret European laboratory. But her actions are not of her own free will.
After the op from a few years back, she was taken prisoner by an unknown agency, and was fixed up with an eye that can send images, view things through the X-ray spectrum, and receive typed communications. Another nifty aspect is that it's also equipped with a device that can kill her if she does not follow the commands given. Who's giving her the mission instructions? She does not know. She only knows to follow them or die.
In the end, the agents save her, and realize the goal of breaking into the secret laboratory wasn't to kill someone or steal an object; it was simply to record data written on a white board. The bad guys didn't get the data, but Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. did. Fitz/Simmons are unable to identify what it's a formula for. The best guess? It's alien!
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| These guys are getting on the train? I believe this is my stop. |
- The opening sequence, involving dozens of identically dressed men, all outfitted with matching suitcases and red masks, began things with some intensity. Who are they? What are they up to? What's in the suitcases? What is going to blow up?
- Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May got a little more screen time than she has in previous episodes. In last week's show, she stated she wanted to step up and get back into combat. That came to fruition this week in a most excellent fight scene in a hotel room with Coulson's former protege. Lightning fast editing and creative use of thermal-imaging made it a true scene of awesomeness.
- This may be an over-generalization, but I gained joy from the simple fact that a character like Coulson is a major player on a prime time show this season. We live in a day and age where anti-heroes reign supreme, and many shows are simply vehicles to see how deep into darkness characters can go (**cough**gameofthrones**cough.) Having Coulson as the primary character, a genuine good guy intent on honor, compassion, reason and loyalty, is a factor for which I'm appreciative every week.
- Bret Dalton as Grant was in his element during the escape from the secret lab. The entire sequence was well crafted.
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| 0.23 seconds after a knife is thrown at her. Yes. She is awesome. |
- The show attempted to take on a more serious tone this week much to its detriment. The first three episodes seemed to want to establish that it's not meant to be seen on the same plane as Battlestar Galactica or Lost. To speak in Whedon-esque terms, on the spectrum between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, AoS was leaning more towards the former: fun, funny and action packed. The intensity of the opening scene was excellent, but was never recaptured during the rest of the episode.
- In line with the above Delta, there was a focus in this episode between Coulson and Skye. He carried his weight in the delivery of lines, however, from my perspective, she did not. Chloe Bennet is certainly pleasing to the eye, but her skills as an actress would be better suited for a show like General Hospital. (Is there any way we could restart the season, but this time casting Nicole Beharie of Sleepy Hollow as Skye? She's probably the best actress on TV this fall and deftly handles cheesy dialogue.)
- Excellent actors have been chosen for minor/supporting characters...up until this episode. The actress who played the jewel thief had only one facial expression throughout: "Look angry". Subtlety was not her strong point, but one that was very much needed.
Dialogue of Awesomeness!!!
Skye: If you think this woman deserves a second chance, we should give it to her. Even though she tried to kill me and I kind of hate her guts.
Action A Go Go or Action A No No?
Since it began airing, AoS has been about style over substance, wit over drama. The creators of the show attempted to take a more serious route with this episode, which although admirable, was ill-conceived. At the center of it all were two actresses that couldn't carry the weight. It receives...
Two out of five Arnolds!
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 Sumner@vierlights or on the Tumblr machine at NX01Sumner.
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