Still, the second season, which debuts on ABC this Tuesday, has a lot to do to prove that that season finale was no fluke. But I also don't want to be too much of a negative Nelly. So I've compiled a list of five things I do like about the show, but five things that need improving, stat!
Things I Like
* The Humor:
No, the gags on the show aren't perfect, but Clark Gregg couldn't fumble a one-liner if he tried. The supporting cast (who I'll talk about shortly, don't worry) isn't as perfect, but they do usually get some clever lines. As usual for a Whedon production, the laughs are usually extremely effective and rarely distracting.
* Phil Coulson:
I already praised Greggs ability with jokes, but lemme also just praise his knack for acting in general. The dudes really the only main cast member that's consistently good, and his ability to handle both humorous and emotional moments in an equally satisfying manner is terrific. A scene towards the end of last season where he broke down in a chilly environment was very effective, but his best bit last season had to be his "I found it!!" line after incinerating Bill Paxtons antagonistic character.
* Villains
I'm kind of surprised at how good this shows baddies are considering how weak the main cast is, but man are some of them delightful. While the show started out with just dime-a-dozen stereotypes like "bad CEO's" and "good scientists gone bad", Bill Paxton as a major HYDRA villain took things up a notch. Grant Ward was beyond unforgivable in his boring performances early on in the season ,but he certainly became far more interesting when he became one of the shows most malevolent villains.
* Connections to The Movies
At first, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main way of connecting to the movies was have someone mention Thor or The Avengers every five minutes. But once the events of The Winter Soldier took place, the show finally used the HYRDA uprising from that film and put it to great storytelling use. Not only did it give the show a definitive consistent villain, but it was also just fun to see the two worlds finally connected in an entertaining manner.
* Deathlok
When J. August Richards first popped up on the series premiere of this show, he had no idea where his character was gonna go, to the point where he actually belied internet rumors saying he'd wind up as Luke Cage. Instead, his character went from a normal guy to a robotically enhanced reluctant bad guy. His arc has more than a hint of tragedy to it, and to see him change and evolve over the course of the season was a real treat, especially considering how wonderful Richards was in the role. \
Things I Want Changed
* Lighting
Good luck if you found several of the action scenes in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. remotely coherent due to the shows weird decision to shroud all fight scenes in atrocious lighting. It's a seemingly simple aspect of any action scene, but it makes all the difference in the world. I'd like to see the shows battles, please and thank you, so fix that lighting pronto.
Most of the first season of this shows took on a standard case-of-the-week style that got repetitive way too fast, mainly because few of the characters were interesting (I'll talk more about the cast shortly). While Winter Soldiers events gave stories a boost late in the season, there's no movie to influence the show this season, so I'm really worried if they can actually come up with some compelling plots this time around.
* Be Aware Of Your Budget
One thing I really like about Arrow is that the more low-key action scenes and stories fit perfectly into the medium of television. On TV, you're not gonna get the same budget The Avengers got, and Arrow knows that and makes sure its stories fit into that parameter. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. however employs ton of bad looking visuals, which wouldn't be so much of a problem if the characters on the show were actually interesting. They're not, making the glaringly lackluster visuals stand out more. Be aware you're on TV this time around Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it'll help you to no end in terms of storytelling.
* The Main Cast
I've referenced the underwhelming cast several times in this editorial, and oh my God, they deserve way more mentions than they got. This cast is the main reason why this show has stunk so much. Grant Ward was a neat bad guy near the end of the season, but for so much of the first season he was the dullest human being ever made. Fitz and Simmons are kind of cute in their banter, but that's about it. Melinda May is supposedly used to be a bad-ass secret agent, but there's no depth to her beyond that meager cryptic background. But the worst of the worst is Skye, a hacker Coulson picked up in the series premiere and has remained prominent ever since.
We keep hearing about how important Skye is, to the point where her dad is supposed to be a major threat in season two. That's nice, but she's never given anything entertaining to do, her personality is bland, and boy howdy is she just outright boring. It's fine inherently if she has to be a major presence in the show, but for the love of God, make her interesting on some level.
* The Mysteries
For the entire first season, Coulsons resurrection was shrouded in mystery and it remained that way even after Nick Fury popped by in the season finale. Even when Coulson confronted the doctor in charge of the operation that brought him back to life, all it lead to was more cryptic mumbo-jumbo instead of answers. It's obvious that they're taking after the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which always leave the audience questioning what will happen next. But most of the MCU movies are extremely stand-alone, with only Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The First Avenger ending with direct cliffhangers. For the most part, dangling plot threads can be found in short post-credits scene that are designed to tease future installments.
Instead of just doing that tactic (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does have post-credits scenes for each episode) though, the show just uses the mystery of Coulsons past and other plot points to keep people coming back each week, never offering any resolution. That wouldn't be too much of a problem if the characters or plots were interesting, but their usually not. Instead of mysteries being used as another aspect of the storytelling, it's just being utilized as a substitute for things like character development and satisfying stories. It's totally fine to have mysteries or overarching plot threads Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the trouble is it's pretty obvious that's all you had for most of your episodes.
Hopefully in Season 2, things will improve because Clark Gregg deserves much much better dammit...
No comments:
Post a Comment