Agents of SHIELD: The Well Review

Thoughts: "The Well," the long awaited tie into Thor: The Dark World. Does it deliver Asgardian action we were hoping for?

*Spoiler*

Well ("See what I did there"), not so much. While "The Well" is about Asgard, only the beginning of the episode directly ties into The Dark World's storyline, which is both a positive and a negative. Even though something directly tied into the film would have been cool, I like that Agents of SHIELD is also trying to be its own thing. After a brief opening, narrated by Simmons, explaining what Asgard is, along with some footage from the films, and Skye and, surprisingly, May commenting that Thor is "dreamy," which was particularly humorous coming from May, the episode does not have a lot directly associated with The Dark World. It would have been hilarious if there was a "Loki-fangirl" in the episode though.
When Jakob and Petra, both part of a Norse pagonist hate group, find a piece of the Berserker Staff in Norway and kill some locals, the team is off to find them as usual. Coulson tells the team that he consulted Doctor Randolph about Asgardian mythology after Thor's hammer was found in New Mexico, and he returns to consult him again regarding the Berserker Staff. According to Randolph, the Berserker Staff sends the user into a rage and gives them super strength and presumably, enhanced durability. Ward unexpectedly encounters Doctor Randolph and inadvertently touches the staff, which brings back painful memories of Ward's childhood. "The Well" is one of the first episodes in a while to focus on Ward, who is probably the series' weakest character in terms of development and likability, and my least favorite of the cast since Fitz and Simmons have been fleshed out. My only problem with Ward's flashback to, presumably, his younger brother in the well, and his older brother telling him to leave the younger brother in there, was left unfinished. We never got to see what happened after he, again presumably, helps his little brother out of the well. SHIELD really needs to answer a few questions before it turns into a J.J. Abrams show. Other than that, Ward is really developed well in the episode and his character was finally fleshed out. The always mysterious Melinda May has some great moments as well, including a possible hook-up with Ward, which I will discuss later. But back to the story, where Coulson figures out that Randolph is actually an Asgardian, which is a cool and unexpected twist. To my knowledge, the character is not based on any pre-existing comic book character, but rather based on actual Norse mythology. Randolph enjoyed earth, particularly earth women, and decided he would stick around after his war campaign on earth thousands of years ago. Finally, fans get the superpowered characters we wanted to see on the show, unfortunately, he does not get to really use his power. However, Peter MacNicol gives a very fun and entertaining performance in the role. Hopefully he will return, because his character is the best guest star we have had on the show. The final beatdown with Ward controlling his rage and using the staff to take out pagonist group was very cool, and one of the better fights from the series, even if the flashbacks were distracting. May picking up the staff and seemingly being able to maintain complete control despite using the entire staff was quite interesting. Ward asks how she was able to do hold back the rage and she response that she faces them everyday, which is our real first insight into her character. During that scene, Ward and May really seemed to have connected, which sets up a later scene that I will be discussing soon. Skye also tells Ward that she will be there to listen if he needs anyone to talk to. 

The strangest part of the episode has to be May inviting Ward into her room. What exactly was going there? Was it just for drinks and sharing war stories, or was there some romance going on? The general consensus online seems to be romance, but I am not so sure. However, that will not stop the shippers from calling them "Way." Either way, that scene was intriguing and adds some complexity to the team dynamic, plus I think Ward might have better chemistry with May than Skye, even if May is 20 years older than Ward. What do you think: romance or other? I think they were probably just drinking without romance.

Coulson do not have a ton to do in the episode, however that is not particularly a bad thing since Ward and May were given the screentime. However, he did get the chance to shove his hand into an Asgardian as Simmons freaks out as to what she should do. Randolph talking to Coulson about him not feeling right was interesting and even though the episode did not do much in the "what the heck happened to Coulson" subplot, the after credits scene in Tahiti was interesting. Also Coulson mentioning to Randolph that he should move to Portland was a nice little reference to Coulson's girlfriend, the cellist, who was mentioned as living in Portland in The Avengers.

Action: Ward versus the Norse pagonist hate group was one of the better fights of the series. While they did not address it, I assume those people were also bulletproof, which is why they did not just unload a clip on them. May also using the staff produced a rather cool scene.

Acting: Guest star Peter MacNicol was great in the episode and he gave us a good look at the lower Asgardian peoples, who are not born into a royal family. His meager appearance did a good job of showing that. Both Ming-Na Wen and Brett Dalton stepped up their performances for the episode.

Production Value/Special Effects: For the most part, "The Well" was not an effects heavy episode. However, the cars flipping and the super strength of the users of the staff was executed surprisingly well. My main concern is that the Berserker Staff itself could have been better as a prop; how hard can it be to make something that actually looks like a metal staff?

Comedy: This was another mostly serious episode, with several memorably humorous moments. Peter MacNicol was particularly hilarious with the line, "No, I don't know Thor, but I did go to summer camp with two of the Warriors Three!"

Overall: 9.6/10- Overall, "The Well" might not have delivered the Thor tie-in we hoped for, but it give us some superpowered action and interesting character beats. It might be the best episode yet.

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