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Monday, October 14, 2013

Agents of SHIELD: The Asset Review

Thoughts: Agents of SHIELD does it again with an even better episode than before. Despite the criticism, I have to say that Agents of SHIELD continues to impress as we gain further insight into the characters' backstories. Also The Asset is the first episode of the series to be based on actual comic book source material, which I will go into more detail about later in the review.
*Spoilers*
The episode opens with some mildly impressive special effects with the cars flipping and the transfer truck being lifted in the air. Scientist Dr. Franklin Hall is captured by unknown enemy force using Gravitonium. In the comics Doctor Hall was a scientist that worked with Gravitonium and in an accident he gained the power to control gravity itself and fought the Avengers and SHIELD. While his origin a sizeable departure from the comics, the story was adapted well enough and considering that Graviton is a B-List villain, Agents of SHIELD is the best place for the character. Seeing him reach out of the Gravitonium orb was cool, albeit not unexpected since I knew about the comics. Also, you may have seen the character in the animated Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes in one of the early episodes.
Clark Greg had even more fantastic scenes in this episode, although he did not mention "Tahiti. It's a magical place" this time. His decision to kill Doctor Hall when there were no other alternatives was a great, and surprising, twist that shows that Coulson will do what needs to be done when necessary.
More information into Agent Grant and Skye's backgrounds were given this episode, and as usual for Whedon characters, they have troubled and conflicted pasts. Grant was bullied by his older brother and Skye was an orphan. Chloe Bennet and Brett Dalton are starting to have great chemistry together. Also I am in the somewhat minority in that I really like Skye as a character. She is actually one of my favorite parts about the series.

Graviton/Dr. Hall and Ian Hart

Action: Again Agents of SHIELD delivers action better than anything else on network television with well filmed hand-to-hand fights and a few shootouts.

Acting: Everyone is great as usual, except Bennet and Dalton where better than before. Ian Hart as Dr. Hall was alright, not bad, but not the best; he played his role well enough.


Production Value/Special Effects: While the opening scene with the cars flipping and the truck being lifted where obviously CGI, the effects where impressive considering the TV budget. Also the room with the changing gravity was a cool effect.

*End Spoilers*

Comedy: Another hilarious episode with several memorable parts. Skye's humorous witticisms where great, especially the part about the gun and her attempting to say something profound but completely botching it. Fitz had a very funny moment as well.

Overall: 9.2/10- Agents of SHIELD continues its upward progression with another fantastic episode showing the series' slightly darker side.

Closing comments: Hopefully the next several episodes will continue to be even better.

The full episode is below if you have not seen it.
 


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10 comments:

  1. I agree, this was the best episodes of the series yet! :D It was really exciting and played out a lot like a movie.
    That's really cool it came from a comic book story :) (I also expected the hand to come out at the end).
    I also am really enjoying the character development so far! Skye is really likable and I'm liking her even more as the show progresses; her backstory was a good one and I'm glad they had it just that no one wanted to adopt her instead of her being in a bunch of abusive homes, since her story is a lot more realistic. As someone who is learning how to fight, I appreciated that Skye, who was learning, didn't get amazing all at once(and neither did Agent Ward), since it takes a long time to get really good at it. Agent Ward's backstory was also a good one and gives some insights into why he acts the way he does. Coulson was, of course, as awesome as always! :) Definitely looking forward to seeing more of this show(along with Supernatural and Once Upon A Time, it's one of the best shows I'm currently watching).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As usual, we agree, cool! :D I also agree there, the scale and tone was much more theatrical than the previous episodes.
      I know what you mean, Skye's character is realistic and well developed, I really like where her character is going.
      It is definitely among my favorite shows on right now along with Sword Art Online! :)

      -James

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  2. This episode was one of the more consistent of the first batch, just not loving it as much as you are. Still watching though, so it's enjoyable enough.

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    1. I am glad that you are still watching the series though.

      -James

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  3. It's really getting better and better every week isn't it? And hopefully it'll only continue that way. I loved the Inception-y gravity changes bit in this one, very cool. I'm also like the character development -- they need more of that! Of the shows I'm currently watching, this is the one I look forward to the most, which is something since I'm a big Castle fan.

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    Replies
    1. I know, the show definitely did not peak with the pilot episode. I did too, anything Inception-y is always a plus. Same here, the show is so exciting, it is almost as if a Marvel movie is coming out every week! I need to watch Castle since Fillion is in it, that dude is awesome.

      -James

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  4. This was a great episode, I got really caught up in it once they sent Skye to the guy's party and everything went down. I actually didn't expect the hand at the end but a half a second before it happened I suddenly realized they were showing me the ball for some reason and I was like--"hold up is he still alive in there?--oh, yup, he is. holy macaroni." Sometime I just don't see the obvious till the very last second. Lol :P I liked learning more about Grant's past, it quickly made me feel more emotional connection to him. I still didn't connect with Skye though because I can't tell when she's lying or telling the truth. And I wouldn't be complaining as much as she was if I got to join SHIELD. Come on, that would be awesome, stop rolling your eyes! There, that's probably another reason why I haven't been able to really like her yet. :(

    However, she hasn't made me like the show less, and I so can't wait to see tomorrow's episode!

    ~Jamie

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    Replies
    1. It wasn't that obvious unless you read the comic, but I suppose others figured it too. :P I agree, Grant's character backstory makes it easier for me to connect with the character.
      Well, Skye didn't exactly signup for SHIELD though, and she is a hacker, not a field agent. :)

      I can't wait to see the next episode too!

      -James

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  5. So, I didn't read past the spoilers but I'm glad it's keeping up the awesomeness. I just saw the first episode and LOVED it. And there are some really funny parts too. :)

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  6. I finally got to see this ep over the weekend, and I really liked it! Especially the plot twist about how Dr. Hall was found by Ian Quinn. Who, I have to say, was a really fun villain -- I'd like to see him come up against the agents again.

    I like Skye too! She'd my second favorite, after Coulson. But I don't care much for Ward. He could be cool, but instead he bores me :-(

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