Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is finally back, and I was surprised to find myself eager to tune in. Would the series take a step forward from its jumpy and awkward first season and reach its potential? I very much hoped so. Unfortunately, while we have made some progress, the show still seems to be stuck in a rut.
Spoilers below the jump.
Well, this was going to be a Once Upon A Time review, but I’m still not caught up in that, so I’m turning my tender attentions to the polarizing first season of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first foray into television: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was so hyped by fans and Marvel alike that, in retrospect, I’m not surprised we were initially disappointed. Coming off the success of both The Avengers and Iron Man 3, I suppose we were in a place where the MCU delivering a terrible story seemed even less likely than DC casting a Wonder Woman. Oh, how times have changed.
Now that I’ve watched the whole season, I wouldn’t consider it irredeemably bad, although I was certainly tempted to drop it several times midseason. I just wish it had been shorter and tighter, and had gotten more interesting more quickly.
Basically, I’m not mad, S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m just disappointed.
Spoilers for Captain America: The Winter Soldier and AoS’s Season 1 below the jump.
The trope of the siren seductress is probably one of my least favorite things. A story involving this trope usually goes something like this: evil woman with otherworldly powers seduces good man (or men); man does her evil bidding against his will; good women are betrayed and jealous but have to save the day anyway. It’s sexist: it promotes the idea that female sexuality is an evil thing; it’s heteronormative: it assumes that men are only attracted to women, and women are only attracted to men; and it’s insulting to both men and women: it boils them down to base sexual interactions and stupidity.
Imagine my chagrin when I tuned in to watch Lady Sif guest star on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and discovered that the plot was the most boring and predictable iteration of this trope.
“I’m here to fuck up the patriarchy. Why aren’t we fucking up the patriarchy?!”
Trigger warning for discussion of rape beneath the cut. Continue reading
Like loads of other fans of Marvel superheroes, I was initially pretty excited when they announced the Cinematic Universe’s spin-off TV show, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Even the pilot looked pretty promising—you’ve got Agent Coulson, a fan-favorite character, putting together a crack team of misfits with a particular set of skills to save the world. It felt very Avengers-y, at least in theory. S.H.I.E.L.D. has all the elements of what makes a great geek-friendly show. It should be a runaway success, with a huge, ready-made fandom. True, it’s the number one show on ABC for the male 18–49 demographic on ABC and pulling in around 7 million viewers a week (about average). But it seems like there are just as many people watching because they think it’s good as there are people who wish it were good. Average viewers seem to like it well enough, but geeky viewers aren’t as impressed. Why?
Spoilers abound below the cut.
Wow, that acronym is a pain in the ass to type.
Anyway.
How y’all doing, True Believers? I probably won’t make a habit of reviewing this show weekly, but given the hype it seemed just plain wrong to not a) acknowledge that the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. show has started airing and b) tell you what I thought about it.
Our episode opens on a blue-collar, down-on-his-financial-luck black dude and his kid out and about in the city. An explosion rocks a nearby building, and the guy sneaks off and, demonstrating superhuman strength, climbs the side of the building to rescue a woman trapped inside.
Elsewhere, Agent Coulson emerges from the shadows to assemble a not-so-crack squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, whose mission is going to entail keeping tabs on the ever-increasing members of the superpowered population.
Spoilers after the jump.
Lady Geek Girl and Friends 