Aaron Sarnecky – Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.

People seem to be forgetting about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first venture into television, due to Marvel’s Daredevil on Netflix being a runaway success (which I haven’t watched yet). In fact, many viewers nowadays are dismissing anything that is not Daredevil as second rate. But let’s not get carried away. After all, Marvel hasn’t abandoned broadcast television, even if it is more focused on Netflix at the moment.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did get off to a rocky start after a much-anticipated premiere directed by series creator Joss Whedon; the audience was hit with a barrage of episodic storylines with infuriatingly sparse hints about how Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) returned from the dead. It wasn’t until the latter half of the season that things picked up regarding Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. in general. If you’ve kept up with the MCU, you know that a plot twist in Captain America: The Winter Soldier rocked the shared universe. During this time, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. became one of the most exciting shows on TV, and it almost felt like a continuation of the movie. However, the season finale fell short of the mark with a somewhat disappointing resolution to Coulson’s quest for answers and the larger story at play (at least in my opinion).

But while it’s debatable whether or not the show has reached those heights again, it has definitely attained a more consistent quality. This can be attributed to several things, the first of which is the addition of Cal Zabo (Kyle MacLachlan). MacLachlan gives a wonderful performance that is villainous yet ultimately sympathetic. Cal has a sincere sentimentality when it comes to his family that makes it hard not to care about him. His family, of course, includes Agent Skye (Chloe Bennet), who goes through a dramatic change during the series’ Inhumans storyline; so by the end of Season 2, Skye and the show start living up to their potential.

In the second season, the show also benefits from its cast of other characters. Characters like Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) continue to be fleshed out, while likeable agents like Bobbi “Mockingbird” Morse (Adrianne Palicki) and Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) are added to the mix. Meanwhile, Coulson continues to be a capable anchor to the show. After watching him in Phase One of the MCU movies, as well as seeing what he went through in Season 1, you have to feel for the guy.

Despite all that, the show still isn’t perfect. Characters like Mack (Henry Simmons) continue to be underutilized, as is Ward (Brett Dalton), to a lesser degree (though he’ll have a more prominent role in Season 3). The writers also seem a little unsure whether Skye or Coulson is the main protagonist. However, the biggest issue plaguing the show is Marvel’s unwillingness to fully integrate the show with the movies, because while the show references the events of the movies, the movies don’t acknowledge the TV show. And, for the most part, only minor characters like Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) can be found popping up in both. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. shouldn’t be required viewing to understand the movies, but come on!

Whether it’s having Captain America or Black Widow showing up for an episode, or inserting the likes of Fitz and Simmons into the movies as minor scientist characters, something should be done. It’s not even the showrunners’ fault, but the heads’ of Marvel. But at this point, the greatest hope for any true crossover lies with Skye showing up in the announced Inhumans movie.

Still, if that day never comes, we will have Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. And if it continues down its current path, I can live with that.

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