TV Retrospective: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 episodes 7-10 review

It's time to take another look at old episodes of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

The Hub

Well that opening established absolutely nothing.

We arrive at the hub, a big SHIELD base and meet Victoria Hand. She explains that a separatist group has a device named Overkill (because… comic books) that can trigger weapons. They need a team of 2 specialists to enter, one whom who can dismantle the bomb on site without the specs. Ward and Fitz fit the bill

Ward tries to use his connection to get across the border but it turns out he’s dead and they’re captured. The new boss is about to have them shot but then the lights go out and the television turns off. Since she’s a sports fan this p*sses her off. Fitz fixes the power and earns her trust.

Skye isn’t happy about being kept in the dark, so she and Simmons try to get answers from Coulson but he tells them to trust the system.  Simmons is convinced by Skye to start hacking the system (because that worked so well for her... oh wait) but is confronted by agent Sitwell. He’ll be The Winter Soldier (which was about 6 months away when this first aired) and… more on that later. Gee, Simmons is a terrible liar.

Ward and Fitz cross the border where Fitz revealed he sabotaged their power to earn their trust. They’re attacked by a border patrol but Ward distracts them so they can get away. They hide in a sewer pipe, waiting for them

Simmons is caught out and shoots Sitwell with an icer, I am trying very hard to hold back Winter Soldier spoilers. Still, she gets the drive in and gives Skye access, although Simmons has to call Agent May to deal with Sitwell.

Fitz gets out his sandwich (which Simmons made for him earlier because...) but Ward throws it away, trying to keep attack dogs off their scent.  Skye gets in and notices files about her parents but before she can access them, she finds out that Ward and Fitz have no extraction plan. This horrifies Skye, and, while he won’t admit it in front of her, Coulson is horrified as well.

Fitz and Ward find the overkill and work to disarm it. Coulson’s team head off to become an extraction team. Device disabled, Victoria hand launches a massive S.H.I.E.L.D. assault. Fitz and Ward make their way out, with Fitz using a miniaturised overkill to disarm a couple of the rebels. The Bus arrives to pull them out. I wonder how much of that Victoria actually planned for.

Coulson finds the file, it regarded a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that took Skye to the orphanage and didn’t have much more intel on it that would be useful. Coulson knows more, but he only lets onto May, they agree to find out more together.

This is another largely character focused episode, introducing a few features to be used later on, like the Hub and characters like Victoria Hand. It doesn’t really advance anything in the overall narrative, although it does develop the sub-plot about Skye’s parentage.

Again, not a bad episode but lacking what’s needed for a good one too.

Rating 7/10

The Well

It’s time for a Thor: The Dark World crossover.

SHIELD is checking out the ruins of the Greenwich University following the battle between Thor and Malekith in the movie, which came out just prior to this episode. This episode does not spoil any important plot points that I know of and I will not yet be spoiling any more important plot points from the movie. I will have to in a later episode however.  Simmons gets a call from her parents (both on the same line for some reason) and rejects it.

In Norway, a couple spraypaint a sign and saw down a tree, finding a piece of a staff inside. The Norwegian forest rangers (speaking English for some reason) respond; the wife dispatches them with ease.

SHIELD is sent to investigate. The staff must’ve been in the tree for at least 1000 years, given how old the trees are. Fitz discovers that the staff is Asgardian. The couple sparked a rebellion in Oslow, writing the message 'we are gods' on the road (because if you're an asshole with power, flaunt it)

Coulson wants to head to Seville to question Professor Randalf. He’s played by Peter MacNicol: who’s done voice acting for a lot of stuff I like (Arkham City). Anyway, looks like it’s a piece of the bezerker staff which was broken into 3 pieces.

They find the second piece of the staff but so has Randalf, Ward touches the staff and sees people in a well. Plot point. Actually, it isn’t really… More a character moment; something to lead to some events of season 2.

Skye finds ward, but Randalf is already gone, but the couple pass him. They attack him, and they leave with the second piece of the staff. Ward is clearly badly effected by touching the staff, he continues to remember the well. He tries to punch it out but it doesn’t work.

Our crazy couple tries to use the staff to create an army. Ward alerts Coulson that he may be compromised but Coulson lets him loose on Randalf, Randalf fights back, bending back a knife with his bare hands, proving that he’s Asgardian.

Coulson threatens to expose him to Asgard unless he reveals where the final piece of the staff is. It’s in Ireland (not so much scattered over the world as much scattered in Europe) Randalf shows the way but the couple have already found it. They stab Randalf through the heart and Ward takes out the piece, taking them on, whilst Coulson and Fitz and Simmons try and help Randalf.

We see the full scene of the well. His brother drowns in a well because he’s too scared of his brother to throw the rope down in time. With only the wife left and Ward down May takes up arms against her. She seems somewhat less effected than Ward.

Simmons finally takes a call from her dad. And Ward reveals something to Skye.

Ward’s character development pretty much ends here until the big reveal. (Aside from the sleeping with May stuff which starts here) we get a bit of character development on Couslson’s side but once again this episode is just stalling just to have an excuse to sort of tie into the Thor movie. It’s not an exceptionally good episode for that reason

Rating 6.5/10

Repairs

We open with a guy being a dick to a woman and the gas station he works for mysteriously exploding. Roll credits!

So May and Ward have done it and now they’re heading to mission. A potential telekinetic potentially caused by the explosion of a particle accelerator (they did this the same year as the Flash did it) the town don’t like her because they think it’s her fault.

When a violent situation causes a car to run nearly get civillians, May shoots her, and the activity stops, this will not make any sense later on.

In the awful subplot they wanted to cram into this, Fitz and Simmons discuss the pranks they pulled at SHIELD academy and want to pull one on Skye.

Coulson and May want to talk to the girl. She’s clearly remorseful about her actions.

As the awful subplot continues, Fitz and Simmons explain a theory as to why agent May is called “the Cavalry” it’s all bullcr*p as anyone who’s seen the 'Melinda' episode of SHIELD would know. And of course they want to continue. Joy

The lady continues to explain that there was reports of a fault from a man named Tobias that there was a fault in a component, they replaced and triple checked the old component but clearly “she missed something” and she believes God has abandoned her and sent demons (and naturally the first thing demons would do is protect her and punish those who make her scared, that makes perfect sense)

So the “demon” begins moving items and banging on the door. Oh, if only I had supernatural abilities I might be able to get through a wall without using a knife. Fitz fetches a coupling whilst Simmons discovers the accelerator opens a dimensional portal, at which point the computer is smashed and the plane’s power cut (because crashing the plane totally falls under the mandate of protecting a woman inside) Fitz is locked in a cupboard (which he totally survived the crash in despite no safety belt or anything during that rough landing) apparently a knife was used the jam the door

Coulson tries to call for help but the satellite is sabotaged. Skye delivers the news to the lady that she isn’t responsible, using a phrase nuns gave to her while she was growing up. “God is love.” Ward, Fitz and Simmons were attacked by the “demon” Ward manages to hold off for a little while, but is knocked out and Fitz and Simmons are trapped.

According to Simmons, the guy is passing between worlds. Skye theorises that it’s Tobias. He sabotaged the particle accelerator to get her attention. May takes the lady out the way to lure him out away from the bus. Skye eventually comes up with the fact that he likes her, and he sabotaged the particle accelerator. Tobias finds May and they fight but the lady orders him to stop. May gives a cold if actually quite brilliant speech about letting her go, and he does so.

This episode is another one after which I stopped watching, but looking back the a-plot, although yet another filler one, is actually quite brilliant. But the whole story is brought down by the stupid pranks sub-plot.

Rating 7.5/10

The Bridge

It’s time for a mid-season finale, and of 10 episodes this is the 5^th with anything to do with the plot, and only the third directly tied to centipede and the clairvoyant. When half the season has been filler, we can see why people have a problem with this show at this stage.

So we start with a centipede attack on the prison, Edison Po was their breakout target, and our SHIELD team is tasked with tracking him down. They’re joined by a new ally, Mike Peterson from the first episode, who has maintained the super-strength for the centipede serum.

May is not on board with the idea, but of course the last time they met he threw her into a wall. Ward is also against the idea… They identify one of the assailants who organised the jail break, a guy with a sister in the University of Ohio. Also with Mikes help they identify the girl in the flower dress as Raina, and hear about the mysterious clairvoyant for the first time

Down in centipede, they’re on the run from shield, moving every few days, Po says it’s time they stopped running.

Ward goes undercover and asks the sister about her brother. While she doesn’t give any info she calls him, and they manage to track them down to California, but it’s an ambush and they all get their asses handed to them by the soldiers.

Mike defeats one and the others are ordered to retreat whilst the one Mike defeated is killed by an eye implant. It seems centipede invented them as well. Raina sees Mike and realises he is the key to a more stable extremis serum (the others needed to be constantly topped up to work) Po speaks to the Clairvoyant and is naturally cryptic about what he’s found out.

Coulson convinces Mike to call him son and it’s revealed he’s been captured by Raina. The deal is Mike for his son. Or so he leads everyone to believe. Fortunately they use an odour tracer so they can follow him. But… Turns out Mike set Coulson up, and it’s Coulson they really wanted.

After some debate, Coulson surrenders himself and Mike’s son is released but when Mike tries to go back to help massive explosions happen and both he and Coulson disappear.

It’s certainly intense but it lacks in progression, sure bad things happen but we’re no closer to figuring out how it all links together. In season 1 of Arrow we knew Merlyn’s plan at this point, In season 2 we saw Deathstroke, we find out who killed Sara in season 3, in Flash season 1 we were introduced to the Reverse flash and found clues to who he was. This episode didn’t reveal very much, in fact the clairvoyant wouldn’t be revealed for another 7 episodes.

Rating 8/10

For more reviews click here

Images used in this review are from Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use.