Season 2 of Agents of SHIELD hits hard and strong with a truly darker tone and visual aesthetic, and an exciting new direction for the series moving forward.
Since many readers may not have seen the episode or the first season (my review here), I will review the episode without spoilers, and then add spoiler thoughts after the rating. Also, if you have not seen the episode, you can watch it on Hulu by clicking here.
From the first scene to the last, Agents of SHIELD is clearly a different show than last year. Compared to the glossy and bright look of the first season, season two is decidedly darker and more like a serious espionage thriller, with sci-fi elements. The new team is much more combat oriented and generally more bad*ss than the more tech oriented team of the first season. The special effects in the episode are a vast improvement over the previous season. It is obviously not quite movie quality, but it is better than most anything on television. In terms of acting, the returning cast is better than ever, although the screen time is split between the large cast. The new cast members include Lucy Lawless (Xena) as Isabelle "Izzy" Hartly and Nick Blood as Lance Hunter. While neither character is given a lot of screen time, they both served their purpose well. Basically, everything in the series is improved and generally a lot better than the first season. Of the series from this fall, there has yet to be a better opening episode. Also note that my future review scores are going to be generally tougher than last season, with the scores being more in line with my Doctor Who reviews.
Overall: 8.3/10- "Shadows" is a darker and all around top notch start for what could be the expansion to the Marvel universe that we all expected from the start.
*Now time for spoiler talk! Warning spoilers are ahead (duh).*
At this point, I assume you have seen this episode, season one, and the Winter Soldier. Wow, SHIELD is truly on the run from the government after the events of The Winter Soldier with General Talbot still trying to track the team down.
The new episode opens with a flashback to HYDRA's days after the death of the Red Skull back in 1945, with an awesome cameo from Peggy Carter and two of the Howling Commandos, Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita. It certainly makes me excited for the upcoming Agent Carter TV series coming next year!
In the opening scene, Skye has clearly become a competent field agent thanks to her training by May. In addition to the old team, the series adds two comic book characters Lance Hunter, Alphonso 'Mac' Mackenzie, and the aforementioned Isabelle "Izzy" Hartly, although she did not last very long.
The new antagonist, Carl "Crusher" Creel, is taken straight from the comics, and the series has definitely adapted him well, and even his alias, Absorbing Man, is given a quick nod by Lawless' character. His scenes were very well done in the FX department. It was obviously not quite film level but it worked. When attacking Talbot, there was even a throwback to his comic book look with the ball and chain. Hopefully the series can continue with the sly allusions to the source material.
Coulson is taking much more of a Nick Fury role as he tries to rebuild SHIELD without all of the resources that his predecessor had. Coulson even had to make a tough decision to continue the mission at the cost of Izzy's life, which is an excitingly dark direction for the character.
Ward returns as a prisoner in SHIELD's new secret base. Last season, Ward's shocking conversion from being the bland soldier boy to HYDRA agent was one of the best parts of the series. Now, Ward has a creepy obsession with Skye, and he has even tried to commit suicide on several occasions. This new creepier and demented Ward is a refreshing change, and having him captured in the base for some Silence of the Lambs like exchanges between him and Skye will hopefully provide for some interesting possibilities. However, there is a chance that Ward will be redeemed far too early, but let's hope that will not be the case.
Last, but not least, is the emotional punch to the feels twist with Fitz. Last season Fitz nearly drowned to save Simmons, and due to the lack of oxygen, he has suffered brain damage, thus leaving him mentally ill. During the early exchanges with Simmons, it seemed that Fitz was having a hard time and Simmons was just helping him. It did seem odd that Simmons was not helping the rest of the team out with the missions, but I ultimately dismissed it for her working on something. To almost everyone's surprise, Simmons is only Fitz's mental manifestation due to the brain damage, so he is only talking to himself, which is a very Whedon like twist. Thankfully, the series decided to actually have consequences for the actions of the characters, which is all too uncommon on network television.
What did you think of the episode? Please comment below and let me know!
Overall: 8.3/10- "Shadows" is a darker and all around top notch start for what could be the expansion to the Marvel universe that we all expected from the start.
*Now time for spoiler talk! Warning spoilers are ahead (duh).*
At this point, I assume you have seen this episode, season one, and the Winter Soldier. Wow, SHIELD is truly on the run from the government after the events of The Winter Soldier with General Talbot still trying to track the team down.
The new episode opens with a flashback to HYDRA's days after the death of the Red Skull back in 1945, with an awesome cameo from Peggy Carter and two of the Howling Commandos, Dum Dum Dugan and Jim Morita. It certainly makes me excited for the upcoming Agent Carter TV series coming next year!In the opening scene, Skye has clearly become a competent field agent thanks to her training by May. In addition to the old team, the series adds two comic book characters Lance Hunter, Alphonso 'Mac' Mackenzie, and the aforementioned Isabelle "Izzy" Hartly, although she did not last very long.
The new antagonist, Carl "Crusher" Creel, is taken straight from the comics, and the series has definitely adapted him well, and even his alias, Absorbing Man, is given a quick nod by Lawless' character. His scenes were very well done in the FX department. It was obviously not quite film level but it worked. When attacking Talbot, there was even a throwback to his comic book look with the ball and chain. Hopefully the series can continue with the sly allusions to the source material.
Coulson is taking much more of a Nick Fury role as he tries to rebuild SHIELD without all of the resources that his predecessor had. Coulson even had to make a tough decision to continue the mission at the cost of Izzy's life, which is an excitingly dark direction for the character.
Last, but not least, is the emotional punch to the feels twist with Fitz. Last season Fitz nearly drowned to save Simmons, and due to the lack of oxygen, he has suffered brain damage, thus leaving him mentally ill. During the early exchanges with Simmons, it seemed that Fitz was having a hard time and Simmons was just helping him. It did seem odd that Simmons was not helping the rest of the team out with the missions, but I ultimately dismissed it for her working on something. To almost everyone's surprise, Simmons is only Fitz's mental manifestation due to the brain damage, so he is only talking to himself, which is a very Whedon like twist. Thankfully, the series decided to actually have consequences for the actions of the characters, which is all too uncommon on network television.
What did you think of the episode? Please comment below and let me know!
If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.
Great review! :) I agree, it was an enjoyable episode and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree, the new Ward is much more interesting and I hope that he isn't redeemed since, really, I'm not sure he can be. I also was surprised by the twist that Simmons was just Fitz's imagination- yes, actions having consequences is definitely a Whedon thing(which is one reason why I like his shows) so that was good to see.
Looking forward to your review of the second episode.
If the writers want to redeem Ward, I am sure they will find a way, regardless of how ridiculous and unnecessary it is. :/ But hopefully, they won't. :) Right now, I am not sure if I will be reviewing the second episode. It kind of depends on what happens.
Delete-James
The episode was brilliant, heartbreaking, and edge-of-your-seating-ing. I don't think that's a word, but it'll have to do! The episode was a brilliant start to the season, and it's definitely a different show from last season. All of the characters have changed, some in small ways, others in large ways. Skye is starting to remind me of May, though, not to mention she was even dressed exactly the same as her. The scenes between Skye and Ward were exciting, and it made me feel a bit sad for Ward. This shows makes all the characters so likeable, it's almost ridiculous. Anyway, the main thing for me was Fitzsimmons. I was mainly expecting to see Fitz in a coma, and was excited to see that he was out of one, thankfully. However, the episode ended on heartbreak, finding out that Fitz was only imagining Simmons, who left-my main question was, where's she gonna go? She's a fugitive!-which was just plain heartbreaking. I'm interested to see how the rest of the season will pan out, and so far, I'm liking the new characters. Doesn't mean I trust 'em, but I like them. Excellent review, James, can't wait for the next one! And thanks for the link to my review!
ReplyDelete-Tegan
Agreed, agreed, and agreed. Thank you Tegan! And I'm glad to post the link. For some reason it seems my first reply got lost. :/
Delete-James
Maybe SHIELD was trying to redact your reply?
Delete-Tegan
LOL You could be right!
Delete-James
That's interesting the show has returned darker; but that sounds like a good thing! I enjoyed your non-spoiler part of the review! :)
ReplyDelete~Jamie
Yes, it is definitely a good thing that it is darker. :)
Delete-James
This is such a cool blog, amazing reviews you've written!!:D
ReplyDeleteI'm off to searching up this episode on google now haha!
I've followed you, looking forward to many other great reviews to come!
June
The Journeys' of my beating heart
Thank you very much for following my blog! :D I follow yours now. And thank you very much.
Delete-James
Such a wonderful blog. obviously show is amazing and again a wonderful story. I also heard lots of about Black lightning. Even I watch Black lightning season 1 episode 1 online trailer. This show is gonna released on January 2018.
ReplyDeleteClick agents of shield season 3 netflix watch free online now. This show is not about The Avengers it's about S.H.E.I.L.D. S.H.E.I.L.D appear in most Marvel comics X-Men, Spiderman, Fantastic Four etc. This story is about their fight not the super heroes. If your watching this show because of the Avengers, you will probably be disappointed.
ReplyDeleteThe story is very straight forward, new technology is out there, the rich, powerful, individual's and organization's around the world are trying their best to get their hands on it. Of course there doing this illegally and of course the innocent will get caught in the cross fire. S.H.E.I.L.D's job is to protect the world form it's new reality, since the Avenger battle in New York. The general dialogue and interaction is not great, but the humor of Agent Coulson(Clark Gregg) is good and the dialogue improves in the more 'serious moments'. The character's and acting again have some positives and negatives, Agent Coulson is a treat to watch, the two main S.E.I.L.D agents are solid and I am optimistic about their development over the season. The rest are cliché in a bad way and very annoying, I'd have to get into spoiler's territory to explain in detail.
It'll be interesting to see the how the grand scheme of the season develops(there better be one), I assume there will be an organisation or individual who will be the main focus down the line. Watch movies on yidio very great!
Watch more movies:
mad max fury road putlockers
imdb apocalypto