There are spoilers in this review. I will, however, do my best to minimize them while reviewing the show. Also, I'll tell you this upfront because some of this review may not sound like it, but if they keep making episodes of this quality, I will keep watching the show.
Expectations are a terrible thing; they can take a wonderful experience and diminish it or make us avoid it altogether. They can make a wreck of our nerves. But when they match the end product, the anticipation makes the enjoyment so much sweeter.
That said, Marvel: Agents of Shield fell a little short of my expectations. To be fair, it was a first episode and had to spend a certain amount of time away from plot and action introducing the characters and their personalities/abilities. (A few quotes and almost quotes: “I can disarm nuclear bombs, but I work alone.”, “That simulation is like magic...or unappreciated genius”, “I beat your guy’s high-tech security with a laptop I won in a bet.”) Also, I was in a bad mood unrelated to the show, and that does tend to color a person's enjoyment of it.
The basic premise of the series is that Phil “His first name is Agent” Coulson is secretly alive and well after the events of The Avengers, and is leading a hand-picked team for SHIELD, who's purpose is to – cover up superheroes? Help superheroes deal with their new identities? Oh-oh, I know! Save the world, one superhero at a time.
And who is on his hand picked team?
- Grant Ward, a standard-issue “I want to save the world” superspy who prefers to work alone (and has a soft spot for his grandma)
- Melinda May, an agent who's been off the field at a desk job by choice, but is hinted to be something of a legend
- Fitz-Simmons, a supersmart science agent. No wait, sorry, a supersmart tech guy, with a cute accent, named Leo Fitz and a supersmart bioscientist named Jemma Simmons
- And, in an unsurprising twist, Skye: a hacker who has, at some level, outwitted SHIELD's technology for an unknown period of time before this episode.
In the first episode, J August Richards plays an unemployed factory worker with newly discovered superpowers. He gives a great performance, and the greatest tension of the episode comes down to his acting. Will he be a hero, or a villain? Will he survive? I hope to see more drama and action like this in the next three known episodes and beyond.
To sum up: This was an introductory episode with action and drama. A few lines fell flat for me, but not unforgivably so. There are enough twists to satisfy for this episode, and plot threads left open for the future. Worth watching, even if you haven't seen The Avengers or its related movies.
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