Agents of SHIELD continues to build steam in the back half of its first season and my enthusiasm for the future of the show continues to grow. In my opinion, "Yes Men" was the best episode since "FZZT," nine episodes ago. Sif's guest appearance worked well and didn't feel forced. AoS even worked in some Cinematic Universe backstory and new continuity as well. More on that later.
Jamie Alexander was excellent and really made the most of her chance to take center stage. The internet has been crying for prominent female superheroes and I think tonight was a big victory in that regard. I know my ten year-old daughter was pretty fired up about it. Once again there was some solid character development as well as nice comedy and action pieces. The comedy was primarily provided by Fitz and Simmons who were on their game in limited roles. One exchange between Coulson and an entranced Fitz actually made me laugh out loud.
Not many criticisms on this one, but I'll pick at it a little. The fight choreography basically stinks. And, not to get too "inside baseball" on you, but the fights were sped up in post and the frame blending process was obvious. Somebody in the edit chair was in a hurry.
Now, turn away from the screen Agent Ward fans. I don't want to make you cry, but Ward hurts the show. He is the weakest character and it seems no one knows how to make him compelling. If I'm a writer and the show ever needs a death to serve a story... I know where I'm starting. Ouch, I know, I'm ruthless. Also, AoS writers, if Ward knows Lorelei's power set and has his tranquilizer gun pointed right at her, why does he not fire it, allow her to speak to him and touch him? Somebody has to catch stuff like that, because that was just dumb. Try this: she sneaks up behind him, touches him and speaks: easy peasy. (Lemon squeezy.)
- Admirable exposition to set the scene between Sif and the team. Why is Coulson alive, etc. Coulson asks to tell Thor himself. More setup if they want to use it.
- Coulson probes Sif for information on blue aliens. She says she knows plenty and goes through the list... Trust the comic guy: it was all blah, blah, blah, Kree. (Told you so.) She does mention frost giants but that notion is dismissed and the guy in the tube was no giant, nor did his features resemble one.
- So... another outer space alien. Hooray. (Again, I'm sorry, but aliens really are the explanation for everything in the MCU. Switch it up a little guys. You've even been calling Asgard a planet. Stop it!)
- Lorelei was a good choice as the villain. Her power over men actually provides a good reason for Sif to be the only Asgardian who pursues her.
- Ward is "as lethal as any"? No. I've seen nothing that makes me think that at all. Writing problem. If you want me to believe that, you're going to have to show me. Brett Dalton's performances can be stiff, but this is on the writers.
- I actually felt some emotion for Lorelei's predicament. Kudos.
- Here's a big one: Odin wants Lorelei back alive... But Odin isn't Odin is he? So somebody else actually wants her back alive. Heh? Hehhh? If you've seen The Dark World, you know who I'm talking about.
- Sounds like Ward and May's tryst is over for now.
- Lorelei intimated that Ward has feelings for someone else. (Skye. Duh.) Although they could possibly play a Simmons switcharoo on us.
- They really upped the stakes at the end of the episode and I bought it. Fury vs. Coulson?
- Agent May is in on it (with Fury?) and has apparently been providing inside info for some time.
Theories
- Skye is a human/Kree hybrid, orphan which is what makes her an 0-8-4 and why she reacted even better than Coulson to the freaky alien juice they injected her with.
- Would they go so far as to make the alien in the tube a direct relation to her? I lean towards no, because I think we were being led to believe the alien had been there since the 40s or 50s.
- If they ever use AoS to advance the Loki storyline, people will lose their minds and the ratings will be even higher than the premiere.
No episode next week. Looks like they're having a promotional special for all the Marvel properties in general. Some of those Deathlok clips looked pretty cool. His bionic/cyborg eye was exposed. Are we going to keep inching closer to the look of Deathlok from the comics?