I had a couple days off without much to do, so my catching up went quicker than expected. Anyway...
I didn't really notice a tangible "jump" in quality that I was expecting. Or, rather, I think this is because the early episodes weren't as bad as I was expecting. In either case, I see less of a difference between the early and recent episodes than the consensus seems to. Though I will admit that there was a needed 2-3 episode push during the Hydra stuff when they were doing things alongside Cap 2. I could feel the tension increase tangibly during that stretch.
It occasionally suffers from having to please too many masters, which is expected. It's trying to have mass appeal on ABC while dealing with an obscure niche of a nerdy fandom. Those two alone are a delicate balance. That the show is a success is, more than anything, a testament to the writers' ability to balance those things. Action drama or comic adaptation? Extension of the movies, or standalone? Do we have to leave the "big" stuff and big names for the movies, or can we tackle some of it on our own? Those are all questions that occasionally bog it down, but the show seems to be able to balance them well (though not necessarily transcend them).
There's a narrative drive toward quick fixes in shows like this, that the show runner(s) are doing well to resist. Ward turning, Fitz's struggles, for examples. There's a "happy ending" scenario that would be easy to give in to, and they may do that eventually anyway. But there's a lot to be gained by mining the darker periods of these storylines, and the fact that they're now 10-12 episodes deep in them is a good thing. I'm not suggesting Game of Thrones-esque morbid resolutions to these plotlines, but I'll be impressed if they resist the urge to tie them all up with a neat little bow. Coulson + May (or the cellist), Star + Ward, and FitzSimmons are the obvious pairings, and it will be a bit cringe inducing if they force feed us all three.
Enjoying it, but I'll be taking another break, at least until Season 2 is done. I also want to see what, if any, of this leaks into Avengers 2. Obviously Fury's still out there, but I'll be a bit disappointed if they push the SHIELD/Coulson-as-director developments out of the way entirely in the movies.
Originally posted by Digi
I also want to see what, if any, of this leaks into Avengers 2. Obviously Fury's still out there, but I'll be a bit disappointed if they push the SHIELD/Coulson-as-director developments out of the way entirely in the movies.
SHIELD won't figure too prominently in Avengers 2, considering avengers have to deal with a mad 8 foot robot hell bent on destroying humanity and all. Also, fury has nothing to gain from revealing that Coulson is alive and running SHIELD - as it'll only distract the avengers from the task at hand and further fracture allegiances.
I don't think AoS will be ignored though. News outlets reported that BJ Britt was on the Avengers 2 set.
Originally posted by Firefly218
SHIELD won't figure too prominently in Avengers 2, considering avengers have to deal with a mad 8 foot robot hell bent on destroying humanity and all. Also, fury has nothing to gain from revealing that Coulson is alive and running SHIELD - as it'll only distract the avengers from the task at hand and further fracture allegiances.
Sure. I'm just saying that, to date, AoS has been sort of the B-roll to the movies' A-list material. And they can pull in anyone they like for the movie. It's not like there's no reason for SHIELD to be around.
Originally posted by Digi
Sure. I'm just saying that, to date, AoS has been sort of the B-roll to the movies' A-list material. And they can pull in anyone they like for the movie. It's not like there's no reason for SHIELD to be around.
I felt the same way about season 1. Season 2, on the other hand, is really getting into that A-list material.
This isn't really a spoiler or anything, but S2 gets into the
Spoiler:arc. Which is pretty ballsy imo.
inhumans
Season 1, I think, was just a build-up to the Hydra reveal. At times it was just biding its time until Cap 2 came out.