Coulson and his team have had a roller coaster of a ride during the first season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They were hit by critics, fans and the ratings only to fight their way back to the top again, critically. The show was recently given a green-light to a second season and given a companion series as well in Agent Carter. It took them a while to get on their feet but the show is now firing on all cylinders.
The season one finale episode was called, “The Beginning of the End,” and however ominous that sounds, the finale was pretty open ended. Many of the plots were finally closed, but many more were left open and some new questions have finally been revealed. I’ll get a bit spoilerish, so be warned!
This episode was non-stop action. We got a fantastic action sequence with Coulson and Trip in a rocket launching HumVee, May taking on Extremis soldiers while using an Asgardian staff. Then there was a kick-ass fight I’ve been waiting for with May laying the epic beat down to Ward.
The fate of Fritz is still left up in the air. We know he is alive but we have no idea if he’ll be able to rejoin the show next year as a regular. The big suprise was the major influence of guest star, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. He was almost like a hobo James Bond or a living Deus Ex Machina. Just when you think someone is going to die he shows up with an item or something to save the day.
They’ve set up a whole new status quo for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s season two. The big news is that Coulson is now in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury is all but retired and given the keys to Phil. We also get to meet who might be the big bad for next season and he has some ties to Skye. A lot of seeds were planted. I’m wondering what role Ward will play next year. Yes…he did live. Garett, however, was dispatched in a funny and surprising way. We never got to see Gravitron. We kept getting teases but nothing happened. Looks like Deathlok will be a new member of the team next year too. That should give them some extra needed power in case they encounter more super powered villains next year.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended on a great note. Sure there are still a few cheesy things, but some of the jokes really do work and make up for all the silliness. Some of the resolutions came a bit too easy at the end, but I’m super excited about the future of this show. I can’t wait to see Coulson rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D next year. Maybe we’ll even see the formation of S.W.O.R.D. Lets see how much Guardians of the Galaxy affects the show now.
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i really want to like this show. it just has been very underwhelming so far. here’s to hoping they bring out some ACTUALLY interesting marvel characters in season two.
it sounds like the show finally picked up. I remember watching early on, and it just wasn’t catching me, I wanted more of the universe. Like arrow expanding farther into DC, I anxiously waited for AoS to do the same. I guess i stopped watching too soon.
I have loved this show from the start. My family and I waited eagerly for each episode. By mid-season, this was an amazing show and well worth the wait. The finale was awesome. The comedy is not so heavy that it makes it a sitcom, it is more that it is placed at just the right intervals to relieve some of the scenes that would just be too dark and heavy for a show that is supposed to be fun and interesting. It feels like the best parts of any Whedon show. and my favorite line was Coulson saying yeah, I know how this works and then blasting Garrett with the same weapon he used on Loki in the Avenger’s movie. Great stuff.