Agents of SHIELD (S2E7) Review: Answers And Questions

One major flaw of Agents of SHIELD's first season was the way it constantly delayed giving the audience answers on pivotal questions, instead relying on lackluster storytelling to distract them from the fact that nothing of substance was getting answered. The major pivotal question that never got much resolution was Coulson's resurrection, which gets more clarity in this episode than it did in the entire first season.

Agents of SHIELD (S1E5) Review: All The Pieces Fall Together

One reason Agents of SHIELD has found so much improvement this season is because of the expansion of focus the show has had in the past few episodes. More characters (like Fitz, Lance, Simmons and Melinda May) are being given storylines with more depth and fun that really enhance them and make the stakes more dramatically effective. That's a stark contrast to last season, when most things in the show revolved around Skye, a character who last season was decent at best, absolutely grating at worst.

Agents of SHIELD (S2E3) Review: Chill Of An Early Fall

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

This particular episode of Agents of SHIELD made me realize just what this show was reminding me most of thus far in the season; The Empire Strikes Back. Now, the episodes we've seen so far haven't been as good as that Star Wars adventure, and A New Hope is infinitely better than the first season of Agents of SHIELD. However, this second season does share one extremely noticeable aspect with the 1980 Jedi adventure; they both take already developed characters and toss them in darker scenarios, testing them to their limits.