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Nov. 21st, 2013 09:16 amThe past 3 episodes of Agents of SHIELD have been the best of the season. Which doesn't mean they're anywhere near what I'd hoped for from this show, but I think three is enough to call it a positive trend.
Finally, we're getting stories that are interested in Fitz and Simmons as people. Finally we're getting stories that crack Ward open a little to examine what's inside. Finally we're moving away from Skye as the show's only POV character- Simmons delivered the opening monologue this week! Finally we're getting stories that actually do grapple with the wonder of being an ordinary person in a world of aliens and superheroes, like the Peter MacNicol guest appearance this week (Peter MacNicol!!!) that for the first time in my memory put people like Simmons and Ward in the position of gaping in awe. Finally, the writers are figuring out Melinda May's relationships with Ward and with Coulson.
The more this show becomes an ensemble piece, the happier I'll be. The less it is about beating up arbitrary terrorists, the happier I'll be. The closer we get to putting Coulson's mystery behind us, the happier I'll be.
But I should note the fatal flaws still plaguing the show. The Level 7 stuff from the premiere has been mashed up at this point into absolute nonsense, with the introduction of Level 8, which made it incredibly glaring that Skye and Fitz and Simmons SHOULD NOT KNOW THAT COULSON LIVES. I don't think I'm alone in wanting this show to be about the tension between the office politics and bureaucracy of a top secret government agency and the comic book physics they are grappling with, and the meager offerings of 'The Hub' did nothing to satiate that desire. The position of Coulson's team as a red-tape cutting machine makes the writing easier, but doesn't make the stories more interesting, especially when we don't see them actually cutting the red tape. There are ways to embed meaning consequences into the narrative that the writers of Agents of SHIELD are ignoring. And SHIELD as an actual secure agency is a joke by this point. It's hard to be sold on their competence when they keep Skye walking around, and when they act like Ward is a bad guy for taking a little while to forgive her. Not to mention the Sitwell thing: I think the writers just have no idea when to go for the joke and when to go for the serious moment, and it's a major tonal problem for the show.
But eh, I'll keep watching and hoping they figure out more of the problems.
Finally, we're getting stories that are interested in Fitz and Simmons as people. Finally we're getting stories that crack Ward open a little to examine what's inside. Finally we're moving away from Skye as the show's only POV character- Simmons delivered the opening monologue this week! Finally we're getting stories that actually do grapple with the wonder of being an ordinary person in a world of aliens and superheroes, like the Peter MacNicol guest appearance this week (Peter MacNicol!!!) that for the first time in my memory put people like Simmons and Ward in the position of gaping in awe. Finally, the writers are figuring out Melinda May's relationships with Ward and with Coulson.
The more this show becomes an ensemble piece, the happier I'll be. The less it is about beating up arbitrary terrorists, the happier I'll be. The closer we get to putting Coulson's mystery behind us, the happier I'll be.
But I should note the fatal flaws still plaguing the show. The Level 7 stuff from the premiere has been mashed up at this point into absolute nonsense, with the introduction of Level 8, which made it incredibly glaring that Skye and Fitz and Simmons SHOULD NOT KNOW THAT COULSON LIVES. I don't think I'm alone in wanting this show to be about the tension between the office politics and bureaucracy of a top secret government agency and the comic book physics they are grappling with, and the meager offerings of 'The Hub' did nothing to satiate that desire. The position of Coulson's team as a red-tape cutting machine makes the writing easier, but doesn't make the stories more interesting, especially when we don't see them actually cutting the red tape. There are ways to embed meaning consequences into the narrative that the writers of Agents of SHIELD are ignoring. And SHIELD as an actual secure agency is a joke by this point. It's hard to be sold on their competence when they keep Skye walking around, and when they act like Ward is a bad guy for taking a little while to forgive her. Not to mention the Sitwell thing: I think the writers just have no idea when to go for the joke and when to go for the serious moment, and it's a major tonal problem for the show.
But eh, I'll keep watching and hoping they figure out more of the problems.