Lauren Douglas
I want to start this by clarifying. I enjoy ”Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”. It’s got the trademark Whedon humor, the special effects are insane for a TV show; it has Ming-Na Wen and COULSON LIVES! But I don’t love it.
I’m a Whedon fangirl from way back. I have all of ”Buffy” (and ”Angel” and ”Firefly” and ”Dollhouse” and even ”Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog”) on DVD. I am also a huge fan of the recent Marvel movies. ”Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” should be my favourite new show.
But it’s not. They are only 5 episodes in and while there are some good things to look forward to (a cross-over with THOR: THE DARK WORLD is coming up) there are a few things I think the show could do to improve:
Character Development: The character we’ve gotten to know the best is Skye, the hacker, and unfortunately, she is also the most boring. Agent Melinda May and Grant Ward are both slowly being developed but could have serious potential with a great backstory. Fitz and Simmons are currently relegated to the exposition and explaining their fancy gadgets. All these characters are just as (or far more) interesting than Skye. I want to know about them.
Coulson’s Backstory: Clark Gregg is amazing. His Agent Coulson had been a high point of every Marvel movie he has been in. So tell us what happened. Let us know how he came back from the dead. Let us know how he came to work for S.H.I.E.L.D, let us know about his childhood and let him be the character that we are rooting for. You have a ready-made character that is beloved by the audience. Use him.
Skye: Skye isn’t a bad character. She’s funny and smart, and has the makings of being a real secret agent. She has great chemistry with Agent Ward. But her double-crossing got old quickly. I’m on the side of S.H.I.E.L.D. and when she was going against them it wasn’t endearing her too me. I’m hoping with the reveal about her parents that she will start to be more sympathetic to me, but at the moment she isn’t a favourite.
Overarching storyline: Monster of the week is a great formula to stick too, but I need something pulling me back every week. One thing Buffy did amazingly well was having a season-arching villain as well as its monsters of the week; I think S.H.I.E.L.D. could benefit from this style of storytelling. Which brings me to:
Bad Guys (and girls): Marvel has great villains. People love Loki. People will love The Winter Soldier. S.H.I.E.L.D. needs a villain to carry us through out the season that people with love to hate and cheer when finally defeated.
More Ron Glass: I saw him in the pilot guys, you can’t give me Shepard Book and then take him away. Also make sure you have Cobie Smulders booked for season 2.
Basically I feel ”Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”. has a lot of potential that it isn’t living up to yet. Luckily for me, they have a whole season to figure it out, and I’ll be there to wait and see.
