Category Archives: SHIELD Recap

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Looking back at season 1 and forward at season 2

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We’re just one week away from the season 2 premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and I can’t wait to see what this season has in store.  SHIELD quickly became my favorite show on TV last year, and despite some early struggles the final stretch of episodes were fantastic.  I had fully intended to write an in-depth recap of the first season, going through the major plot points and character progressions, looking at where the show succeeded and where it could use some work, but some unexpected illnesses and a fair amount of travel kept me from doing that.  (I also wanted to rewatch the first season before this one started, but the DVDs were released too late for me to fit it into my schedule.)  But I still wanted to post something before the next season starts, so here’s what you’ll find below: links to all of my recaps of season one, my top moments from the first season, some general thoughts on what I liked about season one and what I’d like to see from season two, and, most importantly, a request for feedback on what you’d like to see from my weekly episode recaps this season.

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Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Beginning of the End”

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I’m just going to go ahead and say it: I’ve never seen a more exciting, emotional, badass, hilarious, sweet and special finale to a show’s first season.  Not only that, but tonight’s episode of Agents of SHIELD is already up there on my list of top season finales of any show ever.  I have to give full credit not only to the writers and showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, but the cast, crew and everyone involved in the show for doing a truly spectacular job.  In an hour they managed to wrap up the dangling storylines left from last week and the entire season, not only as far as plot but also with the characters, set things in motion for next season by completely changing the direction of the show, work in the show’s best guest appearance thus far, while managing to surprise and send a fist straight into the chest of my emotions, pulling out one of my ribs in the process.  I could go on and on (and I will), but I might as well just jump right into tonight’s season finale, “Beginning of the End,” written by Jed and Maurissa and directed by David Straiton.

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Agents of SHIELD moving to a new time in the fall; Agent Carter to air midseason

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Just a quick update on the news from today’s ABC upfront about the scheduling for Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter.  The first news is that Agents of SHIELD will be moving from 8pm to 9pm, presumably in the hopes of improving its ratings.  For most of the 2013-2014 season, Agents of SHIELD has gone head-to-head with NCIS, the most watched show on TV most weeks.  This can’t have done the show any favors, even if there isn’t a whole lot of overlap in the target demographics of the two shows.

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. renewed! Plus, Agent Carter set to premiere this fall!

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That’s right, fellow Level 7 Agents, Agents of SHIELD has officially been renewed!  (Update: It’s moving to a new time in the fall!)  I thought we might have to wait until next week for the ABC’s upfront presentation, but the good news came tonight!  After much speculation, Coulson and his team (whoever survives next week’s season finale) will be back in the fall to continue to fight HYDRA and rebuild SHIELD.  After debuting to huge numbers last year, Agents of SHIELD steadily dropped in the ratings, though in the past couple of months viewership steadied and even rallied a bit.  The dramatic tie-in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier really helped, both in drawing attention to the show and in giving the show a creative boost.  The latest string of episodes has been edge-of-your-seat exciting, and I can’t wait to see where they take the show next season.

The other big news on the Marvel front was that the much-rumored Agent Carter series has been picked up for the fall.   Continue reading →

Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Ragtag”

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It’s the penultimate episode of Agents of SHIELD, and things are shaping up for a thrilling finish to the season.  After last week’s exciting showdown between Ward and Skye, as well as the rest of the team discovering Ward’s treachery and a great appearance from Maria Hill, tonight’s episode saw our crew digging for more information on HYDRA’s plans while we also got to see a bit of how Ward became the traitor he is today.  We also got some new revelations on a variety of fronts, and a killer cliffhanger leading into next week’s finale.  So let’s jump into tonight’s episode, “Ragtag,” written by Jeffrey Bell and directed by Roxann Dawson.

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Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Nothing Personal”

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Apologies, my fellow Agents of SHIELD/HYDRA/Nothing, for this week’s recap being late.  I’m at home sick with pneumonia, so my schedule is a little off.  We’re only a few episodes from the end of the season, and things have really gotten intense.  Last week we saw Ward kill Agent Koenig and head off with Skye, who had secretly discovered his ties to HYDRA, May left the base for complex reasons, while Coulson and the rest of the team rescued Coulson’s former girlfriend from a creepy, superpowered stalker.  This week’s episode was one of the most exciting, suspenseful, dramatic and emotional hours of the show yet, all while featuring the return of Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill.  So let’s jump right into “Nothing Personal,” written by Paul Zbyszewski & DJ Doyle and directed by Billy Gierhart.

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Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “The Only Light in the Darkness”

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Happy Earth Day, readers!  SHIELD is back with another dynamite episode!  Last week we watched as Ward and Garrett emptied the Fridge, while Coulson and company chased some mysterious coordinates to Fury’s secret bunker, Providence.  Tonight’s episode introduced us to a couple new characters, all while taking another big step along the “who can we trust?” boardgame.  Things are really starting to build towards the season finale in a few weeks, so let’s jump right into “The Only Light in the Darkness,” written by Monica Owusu-Breen and directed by Vincent Misiano.

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Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Providence”

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After last week’s game-changing episode of Agents of SHIELD, we were left with just as many questions as were our heroes.  This week both we viewers and the characters we watch got some answers, along with some clues about where the show goes from here.  There’s no way that this episode could live up to the huge moments of last week, and the show was wise not to try.  In many ways, it felt like the first episode of a mini series, heading into the finale of season one, setting up both the type of conflicts our heroes will face as well as the internal strife they must confront to find their place in a changed world.  So without further ado, let’s dive into tonight’s episode, “Providence,” written by Brent Fletcher and directed by Milan Cheylov.

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Recap: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Turn, Turn, Turn”

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A lot has happened since we last left Coulson’s crew just one week ago.  In the real world, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released this past weekend, setting box office records and generally getting rave reviews.  In the process it changed almost everything about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and by extension our beloved Agents of SHIELD.  (Needless to say, there will be spoilers ahead for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.)  Never before has a film had this level of impact on a TV show, and tonight’s episode resolved several mysteries, altered the lives of our heroes for good, and set the show on its path going forward.  So without further ado, let’s jump into “Turn, Turn, Turn,” written by our married showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen and directed by Vincent Misiano.

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Is Agents of SHIELD about to become The A-Team?

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Obviously, there are spoilers for Captian America: The Winter Soldier ahead, so wait to read this until after you’ve seen the movie if you don’t want it ruined for you.

Agents of SHIELD has recently been calling itself Agents of SHIELD: Uprising, along with momentarily replacing the SHIELD logo with Captain America’s shield, and the events of the last episode led up to the events of the film.  Clearly, Captain America: The Winter Soldier will have a big impact on the show going forward, not to mention the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I have some quick thoughts about what this might mean for Coulson and his crew going forward. Continue reading →