Is It Worth Holding Out Hope For Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

[Primetimer]

The show comes back with more action and more answers (sort of), but is it too late? Or should we stick it out for Joss's sake?

Read the story

[ApathyMonger]

This seems a good a place as any to speculate about what Captain America: Winter Soldier means for the show.

So, no more SHIELD. I guess we're going to see the team go underground, hunting HYDRA agents and such?

I can't imagine them having any of our core characters turn out to be HYDRA plants, but I wouldn't be surprised if Paxton or his sidekick is.

The producers will obviously have known about what was going to happen from the start; hopefully they'll have something decent planned for the new status quo.

Edited March 27, 2014 by ApathyMonger

[Actionmage]

Maybe what is ham-stringing the show is that while Jed and Maurissa were ramping up the spy world, there was some disconnect in Marvel  trying to integrate this property into the universe. Granted, the MCU is bullet-train slick, but  Agents of SHIELD seems like it's Kevin in the Home Alone movies-Where's Phil and his little friends?!

If we get a season 2, maybe Movie Marvel (which seems to be first in the pecking order, for reason) could actually have someone liase (sp?) with the writers of SHIELD so that there can be more organic meshing, closer to "Yes Men" than "The Well"? Or am I just being a hope-fool?

[Raachel2008]

If we get a season 2,

 

But isn't the show already renewed for season 2?

[Sarahastro]

If we get a season 2,

But isn't the show already renewed for season 2?

No. ABC has not announced any renewals yet. Just based on the ratings, it seems likely that the show will be renewed (see, for example, TV by the Numbers), but there has been no official word.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Sarahastro

[JayKay]

I wonder if they'll have a slashed budget next season if it gets renewed. Maybe being forced to be more resourceful will bring out some innovation in the writing and refocus the show.

Edited March 28, 2014 by JayKay

[cko]

So I entered this board with trepidation, unsure of what I wanted to say, and then I saw this thread, so whew. So much this from the Hope-Watch piece:

What AoS needs more than anything is to become weirder.

What I've been saying. My gosh, why so bland, so deadpan? Camp it up, people! Anyway, topic. I am still holding out hope, due to loving the premise, the plane, the tech, and the hope that J. August Richards will un-automaton and become one of the team in a loose, fun way. But my hope is fading. Someone, give me a reason to believe.

[Danny Franks]

As long as they insist on focusing on Coulson and Skye, I don't hold out much hope for the show.

I did like Skye to begin with, and thought she was a fun everyman character, an eye into this crazy world of secret agencies and superpowers. But then they went and made her the specialest snowflake that ever fell out of the sky, and I lost interest in her. The fact that everyone on the bus goes on about how great she is, and angsts over her getting hurt like it's the end of the world, and pulls out all the stops, breaks the law, sacrifices people, to keep her alive? None of it rings true, to me.

And Coulson? Yawn. He was a yawn in the movies, as a snarky little bureaucrat, and he's an even bigger yawn here as a tragic, identity confused undead super agent. Or whatever the fuck he is. I saw spoiler news the other day that Amy Acker was set to guest on the show, and thought, 'oh cool. I wonder who she's going to be playing... oh. She's the cellist. That fucking cellist that was mentioned in some throwaway line in The Avengers. Don't care.'

For me, the most interesting characters are the ones who have been given much less to do. Simmons and Ward. I know Ward got some stick for being bland, but I don't think he is. I think Brett Dalton has made the most of what little he's been given. And Elizabeth Henstridge is an absolute gem. But I think the two actors, and Chloe Bennet when she's allowed to play light stuff, give off the most fun vibe on the show, and I'd rather they focused on that instead of dark secrets of whatever.

[MacGuffin]

If the Clearance Level Ten spoiler thread is to be believed (I didn't actually read the linked spoiler), something is going to shake up the show this next episode. It needs it.

[Cranberry]

I actually like Skye (although I would like to see her step back and let this show become more of an ensemble in the next run of episodes), but Coulson's been boring me lately. I don't feel that his sudden "screw S.H.I.E.L.D.; we're getting some answers!" attitude has really been earned. I also think it's hypocritical of him to say that and then claim that he has to hide things from his own team in order to protect them. You've got an elite team here, Coulson! Let them in on stuff!

Interestingly, Clark Gregg and Chloe Bennet got the biggest cheers/round of applause when introduced as their characters during the PaleyFest panel, so maybe we're of the minority opinion on those two.

I do have high(er) hopes for the remaining episodes. We can discuss this more on Tuesday and once people have seen Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is going to affect the show in a bigger way than the Thor tie-in did.

[Jeezaloo]

 

Just based on the ratings, it seems likely that the show will be renewed

Yeah, this site also shows that AoS has been on a slow but steady upward trend in terms of fan approval (by IMDB rating). I can't imagine why ABC would s#!tcan a show with a fan base that continues to grow in both ratings and viewer appreciation. But then again, TV networks also brought us Manimal and Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo!, so, there's no telling what might happen.

[romantic idiot]

I desperately want this show to improve - I don't want a Whedon show to be bad. But, if they continue to focus on Skye…I was so badly burnt by Smallville (don't judge me, I blame Omar G's recaps) that I'm not sure I can live through another Lana Lang. 

[rainsmom]

I watched the show initially because it was a Whedon show. I didn't love it, but I stuck with it -- and it got better. I got to the point that I was actually enjoying everyone except Skye... and then it began to nosedive. At this point, the only characters I want to see are FitzSimmons. I don't watch the movies, so I find the disconnect between the show's direction and the movies' direction to be tiresome.

Can it be saved? I don't know. The special snowflake and everyone's love for her may make this Must-Avoid TV.

[ChelseaNH]

I could live with the show not being weirder if it just got smarter.  What I want:

• Competent professionals
• Actual character histories instead of "shocking secrets!" that aren't

Doesn't sound like much, does it?

[Glory]

I desperately want this show to improve - I don't want a Whedon show to be bad. But, if they continue to focus on Skye…I was so badly burnt by Smallville (don't judge me, I blame Omar G's recaps) that I'm not sure I can live through another Lana Lang. 

Nail. Head. You hit it. 

Sky is the Lana Lang of this show and it's killing me. I have never rooted for a character to die as terrible a death as I wish upon Sky. 

And while I've heard some people say that Chloe Bennett is a nice actress, I feel that it's her as the actress that is a great deal of the problem. Her line reading are... not good. She has two modes - snarky and angst and it's just not working for me. At all. 

[frenchtoast]

I have never rooted for a character to die as terrible a death as I wish upon Sky.

My 11 year old son remarked that it would have been a good thing for Skye to die. An 11 year old, who likes some really questionable things (like Jar Jar Binks, shudder) because he's 11, said that. (Or maybe his mom and dad are finally rubbing off on him? And he'll start hating Jar Jar.) That's not good, though I had to say I agreed with him. 

I'm sad that a show I thought would be terrible, Star Wars the Clone Wars, has turned out to be a pretty darn good show and Agents of SHIELD, which I thought would be awesome, isn't. Maybe my expectations were too high? I don't know, but sometimes it feels like a chore to get through and it shouldn't. The Marvel movies all have a certain element of fun, a twinkle in their eye, and this show just doesn't. However, it's only the first season, and if I can get through season 1 of Star Trek TNG, I can get through this. AoS season 1 is better than season 1 of TNG, so I have hope.

Edited April 1, 2014 by frenchtoast

[Danny Franks]

Give me a choice between Skye dying and Coulson, and I'd pick bland and balding for the axe, every time. I've said it before, but I think the thing that made Coulson pop as a character in the movies was that he was a boring, dry little bureaucrat, surrounded by larger than life, colourful and brash superheroes. So taking him out of that environment and making him the centre piece of a show is, in my view, an utter disaster.

Clark Gregg does not have the charisma to hold my attention. Seriously, I have found myself drifting off and thinking about any number of other things, whenever he's on screen. He is visual valium to me. And at least Chloe Bennet puts some sort of inflection in her line readings, rather than reading them all with the same bland smugness that Gregg does.

[myril]

Give me a choice between Skye dying and Coulson, and I'd pick bland and balding for the axe, every time. I've said it before, but I think the thing that made Coulson pop as a character in the movies was that he was a boring, dry little bureaucrat, surrounded by larger than life, colourful and brash superheroes. So taking him out of that environment and making him the centre piece of a show is, in my view, an utter disaster.

So far agree, that Coulson popped in the movie because of contrast. Compared to the superheros around and particular the eccentric personality of Stark Coulson seemed colorless, a boring bureaucrat, an agent of an organisation trying to keep things under control and away from the normal public maybe, the type of heeding procedures and bending to rules and paperwork. But to me even in the movies Coulson didn't struck me as the all normal agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , more as one who compared to most agents was somewhat eccentric on his own, a dreamer and romantic in private (dates a cellist, is existed about vintage trading cards), a guy to get things done, not easy to impress by anything or anyone, wtih plenty of experience in the field, open not to be all slave to the books and rules, but to sometimes bend rules. Not the average agent, but still a human being, no superpowers but super training.

And as I understood it, the show was meant to be about the more or less normal agents, the   normally faceless people in suits, doing the work behind the scenes, while the superheros take the spotlight. Compared to us boring little citizens these agents are though more exciting, have no superpowers but higher than average intelligence and a super and special training. They are the ones dealing every day with strange things and strange people, with more or less superheros and supervillans and wannabe supers, the first to respond and the last to leave, while the superheros drops by whenever it pleases them or for the mega big supers, so to speak. The problem of the show is maybe, that they lost that a bit by now, and think adding more supersomething (because people so love their superheroes) and special effects no matter how bad and senseless will do the trick, while the problem is character development and plot logic. The basis of the show is okay, not so much though the writing and execution.

Not quite sure where Sky fit's into that image of the everyday agent work, but I am not sure if the writers have figured that out for themselves. I like the character even, just not sure, how she fits in, and more important, annoyed by the other characters singing a constant song of praise now. Unless that is caused maybe by some superpower of her, as it is said she's a 084.

Undecided about the show after last episode (3-16) and having seen the movie. See potential, it could get interesting, but I am not so sure if these writers can make it interesting. Will see the next episodes.

[writersblock51]

Chiming in to add that I've been trying to like this show, and I have been sticking with it but ... I have found it lacking.  I think it has potential but with Cap 2 and the fallout from it, I have no clue what to expect on AoS now.  I'll watch this week but that's probably it for me. 

I wasn't expecting any fo the big wigs to show up on the show.  I appreciated that the show recognized that they were focusing instead of the smaller details of the agency. The now & again references to 'the Battle of NY' were fine.  What I did not like was the name dropping that didn't materialize into anything other than... name dropping.  We knew Thor wasn't going to show up - so stop mentioning him.  I loved that the Asgardian we met turned out to be a regular Asgardian who made the most of his now-uniqueness once he was on Earth.  I have no idea if that twist was well received or not but I really liked it.

Coupling was going to be inevitable with pretty people in constant danger all confined on the Bus.  I was wary about how things would work themselves out with the team dynamics.  I love FitzSimmons (not as a romantic couple, though, they sibling-ish to me) but then again, I gravitate toward the science-geeks on a cast.  I think Melinda May's stoicness works now that we see the side-eyeing and little cracks. I also like that Ward presents one facade while we learn about what made him that way.  And May & Ward's hook up was a bit unexpectedm and I liked how it played out.  So far, so good, for the new members of the team.

But then there's Skye.  I didn't like the character from the beginning because I didn't trust her.  And I could not understand what Coulson wanted from her or saw in her.  I wasn't a fan at all and I've now grown to dislike her a great deal because the show went from Coulson & Co. to Skye & Coulson.  If the show had been hyped as such in the beginning, I wouldn't have bothered watching past the 3rd episode.  But it's been promoted as an ensemble with Coulson in the lead.  That's not the show I'm watching.  The 'special snowflake' has sucked out a lot of any enjoyment I had for the show.

I happen to love Clark Gregg's Coulson, so I'm fine with his journey - with some wariness, though.  The Tahiti thing just... hard to describe, really, but it seemed like it wasn't as well thought out as I was expecting.  But what has pretty much ruined his character for me is the blind attachment to Skye.  I think Coulson's character would be better off working with May, Bill Paxton's character, Ward and FitzSimmons.  I even enjoy the banter he has with Agent Hand.   But revolving Coulson around Skye's character is doing him a disservice, IMO. 

And with it, there goes my interest in the show.

So I will watch 'Turn, Turn, Turn' because we enjoyed Captain America 2 so much and my curiousity is piqued.  Maybe I'll tune back in once Agent Hill is firmly entrenched on the show, too.  But I'm not optimistic.  I think the show's focus on Skye is here to stay.

[SimoneS]

Usually I don't give up on shows that I think have potential until the second or even third season, but I am done with AOS. I gave last week's episode a miss and refuse to give the show one more minute of my time. I just don't see the writers' unimaginative and boring vision of the show changing.

[Cranberry]

Having read detailed spoilers for tonight's episode (it went up on Hulu for a while this morning), I think you should watch it before making a decision. It sounds like the show is going to change quite a lot after tonight's.

[LJonEarth]

I could live with the show not being weirder if it just got smarter.  What I want:

• Competent professionals
• Actual character histories instead of "shocking secrets!" that aren't

Doesn't sound like much, does it?

And, although it's not the show's fault, but there are no real stakes and you can tell. None of the main characters are ever going to be in real danger unless someone wants out of their contract. That's fine for a show that isn't built around suspense and action. But we need to fear that the villains could actually win. If the show were more fun, like "Chuck" or "Psych" I wouldn't mind know that everyone's going to be okay. But, like you said, there's minimal character development, the villains are lacking and the show is just so drab.

I'm on the fence about dropping before the season is over.

[RapBert]

I stopped watching after the laughable resolution to the mid-season cliffhanger, but reading some of the posts in this and other forums, I might give it another chance. I'm going to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier this evening and watch the latest episode after that. Hopefully it's going to be a lot better.

[Sarahastro]

For all of those people saying that the show needed a creative retooling, we basically got that in Episode 17, and it sounds like it was planned from the beginning. If you dropped the show, I strongly recommend watching this one and giving it another chance because they really do change the entire setup. I do wonder about the wisdom of changing the tone so dramatically this late in the season, but I have to give them credit for doing something surprising. However, I wonder what this will do to the fans. It seems like a lot of the fans like the more lighthearted, shippy tone of the beginning, and those fans are probably very upset by how dark and serious the last episode was. Fans who might have preferred the darker tone, on the other hand, might have been turned off in the beginning by how lighthearted and silly the first few episodes were.

Edited April 10, 2014 by Sarahastro

[Cranberry]

I keep an eye on the Tumblr tag, and while those people tend to be the biggest shippers (a lot of Skyeward and Mayward, a lot of FitzSimmons, more and more Skimmons every week), they also seem to be surprised and excited by this shift in tone. I'm seeing the usual Tumblr gif-heavy reaction posts and many exclamation marks. There's some of the same speculation we're seeing here, too. Overall, they seem to be into it.

I think the bigger issue is that a lot of fans tuned out before this episode aired because they didn't think the show was going anywhere. Hopefully this one will get some of them back -- I really want a second season.

[Sarahastro]

I'm on tumblr too, Cranberry, but I think the reaction really depends on who you follow. I have been seeing a lot of people who seem very upset or insist that Ward must be a double agent because he truly loves Skye/May/Simmons/Fitz. I've even seen people claiming that the writers have messed up their own continuity when IMO everything we've seen Ward do is consistent with him being with Hydra.

[Danny Franks]

I'm afraid that as long as the show has Coulson at its centre, it will not be a success for me. The guy is as bland and lifeless as can be, and I just cannot bear to watch scenes featuring him.

Plus, making Ward a Hydra agent would be annoying to me, because he's one of the characters who seemed to actually have potential, and who seemed to be getting a clearer sense of character, through the first ten or so episodes. But... whatever. I might tune in again sometime, but the Super Special Snowflake Show, starring Cuddly Coulson and Snarky Skye? Probably not.

[Grammaeryn]

I gave up on the show after four episodes but got drawn back due to a Marvel comics nut friend.  While I do agree overall about the complaints regarding the show but there are aspects that point to show salvageability (for me at least)

• I am actually interested in the overarching mysteries - blue alien juice and Clairvoyant
• I care about what happens to more than half the cast. 
• Seeing what the writers are able to produce when let off the MCU yoke is exciting.

[KirkB]

Based on recent interviews it looks to me like a lot of the problems people were having in the beginning may have stemmed from the fact they had to hold off on a lot of character growth and were hamstrung by what characters and plots they could use so as not to give away their big secret. Now, this last episode was IMO the best the series has done to date, and for all I know it may get even better from here. But as I've said before, it doesn't matter if the last six episodes are the finest hours of television ever to air if the first sixteen were dull, plodding or otherwise turned the viewers away in droves. The slow burn can make for good television, so long as the payoff is worth it, but you have to be careful not to go TOO slow in the first place.

Edited April 11, 2014 by KirkB

[Cranberry]

I'm hoping that people will come back and check out the final ones. ABC is re-airing episode 17 next Tuesday in the usual time slot, then showing episode 18 immediately afterward, so hopefully they'll pick up some more viewers after people have had more time to see CA: TWS. Word of mouth is good right now. Guest spots/cameos from Cobie Smulders and Sam Jackson should push numbers up some, too.

Even if the show does end up being cancelled, it's nice to see that ABC's pushing it hard with tons of ads, special posters, re-airing the big turning-point episode, etc.

[IndependentMind]

Get rid of Skye. She was annoying from the very beginning.

I care for May and Ward. The rest I could care less.

[Raja]

For all of those people saying that the show needed a creative retooling, we basically got that in Episode 17, and it sounds like it was planned from the beginning. If you dropped the show, I strongly recommend watching this one and giving it another chance because they really do change the entire setup. I do wonder about the wisdom of changing the tone so dramatically this late in the season, but I have to give them credit for doing something surprising. However, I wonder what this will do to the fans. It seems like a lot of the fans like the more lighthearted, shippy tone of the beginning, and those fans are probably very upset by how dark and serious the last episode was. Fans who might have preferred the darker tone, on the other hand, might have been turned off in the beginning by how lighthearted and silly the first few episodes were.

The way Marvel probably see's it is that the fans are there and the TV show is to support the bigger moneymaker, the movies. Now ABC wanted the show in the fall to cash in on The Avengers. I still think even if ABC decides to cost benefit doesn't fit them unless there is some kind of license issue it will work just as well on a USA or a new tent pole for SyFy. In the end it got past the set up phase that Firefly didn't and now with Big SHIELD being half Hydra we have something besides Warehouse 13 marvel style to look forward to.

[Lisin]

Well, this article on Deadline says:

Then there is Marvel’s stealth Agent Carter project. Last year, the company went into Fort Knox mode on its Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot, which was kept under lock and key. They took that a notch further this year with carterAgent Carter. Because there is a prototype — the project is inspired by a one shot, which was featured on the Blu-ray release of Iron Man 3 — word has been that it would forgo a pilot and go straight to series. The script was finished more than three months ago (“the script is great,” ABC’s Paul Lee said back in January), the option on one-shot’s star Hayley Atwell came up and was extended, but the green light never came. Now there is talk that a pickup for Agent Carter may come along with a renewal for Marvel’s freshman Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., with the new series possibly serving as a bridge between the fall and spring portions of S.H.I.E.L.D.

So maybe it will get the second season! I hope so, because this tie in could be great.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I wonder what timeframe the Agent Carter series will take place, because of the scene in CA:TWS where

Cap visits Agent Carter in a hospital where she appears to be very old (she would have to be nearly 100) and bedridden

.

I would favour the new series showing the initial establishment of SHIELD as it transitions from the SSR.

[Sarahastro]

I wonder what timeframe the Agent Carter series will take place, because of the scene in CA:TWS where

Cap visits Agent Carter in a hospital where she appears to be very old (she would have to be nearly 100) and bedridden

.

I would favour the new series showing the initial establishment of SHIELD as it transitions from the SSR.

I have heard that's the plan. It would be a short series (~13 episodes) and take place in 1946.

[Cranberry]

Man, I would watch the hell out of that. Agent Carter was my favorite of the shorts.

[HistoryGirl]

Man, I would watch the hell out of that. Agent Carter was my favorite of the shorts.

Plus they'd get a chance to play more with Howard Stark. 

Genius little Marvel minions! 

[Idiotboy]

AoS has lost me. This week's episode pretty much summarized it, with the team following Coulson blindly and looking foolish. Coulson's decisions fall into three categories: A) questionable; B) bad; C) worse. And he's a terrible judge of character. It makes me wish the others would stage a coup d'etat and put May in charge. The team could use more of her skepticism.

[KennedyHawk]

AoS has lost me. This week's episode pretty much summarized it, with the team following Coulson blindly and looking foolish. Coulson's decisions fall into three categories: A) questionable; B) bad; C) worse. And he's a terrible judge of character. It makes me wish the others would stage a coup d'etat and put May in charge. The team could use more of her skepticism.

Then why even keep watching?

If you didn't notice the fact that 3 of the 5 team members openly questioned Coulson's decisions and a 4th was just afraid too, then maybe the show really has lost you?

[ChelseaNH]

 

Then why even keep watching?

I think that's what "has lost me" means.

Sure, people question Coulson's decisions, but May is the only one to confront him openly and even she backed down from forcing the issue.  They might be willing to bring the issue to a head now that they've found a haven, but it hasn't been that kind of show so far.

[Raja]

the team is going through what the entire SHIELD organization is. Every leader was blind to the Nazis Hydra among them.

[formerlyfreedom]

Renewed.

[missbonnie]

Good deal! Now all I need is for Nashville to get picked up and I am set for next fall.

[jhlipton]

missbonnie:

Now all I need is for Nashville to get picked up and I am set for next fall.

 

 

You have your wish! ABC renews 'Nashville' for a third season

[morgankobi]

Didn't see a whole season thread and didn't want to start one for just one question. Hope y'all don't mind!
We started watching and gave up after about 3 episodes, I think. Heard it got much better. Where should we pick it back up? (We did see Winter Soldier, if that effects your opinions.) Very sorry if this has been discussed, but I skimmed to avoid spoilers.
Thanks in advance.

Edited June 1, 2014 by morgankobi

[FurryFury]

I had dropped the show at about episode 10, then also heard it got better and came back. For what it's worth, I liked it, I liked it a lot. But for me, it only got really good with episode 17.

[kitlee625]

Yeah, I've watched it from the beginning, but I was losing interest before 1x17, Turn Turn Turn. After that episode, it really picked up momentum and became must see TV. If you weren't a bit fan of the earlier episodes, I think you could start there or with 1x16, The Beginning of the End, and not be too confused.

[FurryFury]

I dunno, the reveal in ep 17 retroactively redeemed a few storylines I was pissed about. And the previous episodes do reveal the truth about Coulson's resurrection, but TBH, you won't lose anything if you just read about it somewhere. That was kinda anticlimactic.

[MacGuffin]

What I think season 2 will reveal:

 

Whether the blahness of the first 2/3 of the first season was due to the fact the show runners had their hands tied, or whether their handling of the characters in those first 15 episodes is what they think the show should be like.

[ChelseaNH]

I'm not buying the "our hands were tied by the movie" excuse.  So what if they couldn't say "Hydra"?  That doesn't prevent them from making their characters interesting, or telling interesting stories in an interesting way.