An ancient English saying says: “Best is
the enemy of good”. Last night’s S2 finale of “Agents” had certainly proven it
right.
Where to begin? The two-part “S.O.S.” had
been truly epic, containing several plot lines. 1) Jiaying, having proved to be
some sort of a life-sucking monster (BtVS grins and says hi from its new-old
home in the comic-world) as well as a bio-terrorist, who wants to destroy the
world – or at least, S.H.I.E.L.D. by using crystals containing the Terrigen
mist. 2) Cal is sent over to Coulson in order to destroy him personal. Silly
Jiaying – you cannot kill Coulson, Coulson can win over anyone (well, almost
anyone. Grant Ward does not count). 3) Grant and Kara Lynn kidnap Bobbi because
Bobbi had handed Kara Lynn over to Hydra between S1 and S2, and now the dastardly
duo want Bobbi to apologize to”} Kara Lynn – but things do not go according to
plan.
So
far so good, and on screen “S.O.S.” proved to be truly epic, as actors and
their characters delivered dynamic action sequences and tense dramatic
dialogue. It was a very great pleasure to watch it, but it was so overwhelming,
that it was too much. Breaks in the action – comedic or otherwise – would have
made this double-parter of a finale even better. Instead the tension just rose
and rose until people could not take it any more – and lost interest, or lost
the thread of a narrative, or the show suffered in other ways...
Take, for example, the death toll. At the
end of S1, only one person had died – Garrett, and yet “Agents” still gained
enough popularity to be renewed for the second season, and to sprout “Agent
Carter” on top of it. Here, conversely, we have Raina, Jiyaing, Gordon &
Kara Lynn (spoiler alert?). Plus, Cal had been treated by T.A.H.I.T.I. and no
longer remembers anything of his old life (just how did this procedure interact
with his altered biochemistry, one wonders?) and Bobbi will apparently be
leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. for good (reminiscent of some of the Avengers on ‘Ultron’?). Of course, considering that
there are rumors of her and Hunter doing their own spinoff, I would not discard
her just yet either. Or the ship HuntingBird itself.
...Yes, the relationships of all of the
agents (or “Agents”) have largely fallen apart at the moment. Grant had lost
Kara Lynn and has joined with Hydra (or rather decided to take it over, as
Garrett did in S1), forgetting all about Skye for the moment; Hunter and Morse
have their own issues to work out; Melinda has left Phil for her ex-husband;
and an 0-8-4 ate Simmons, just when Fitz was about to ask her out (but left her
alone with the alien thing for a moment). That, of course, is a monster of
cliffhanger in regards to the future S3 of “Agents”, but still raises some
questions even now, for example - does Simmons have alien DNA just as Skye
does, and that is why the new 0-8-4 had reacted towards her so?.. But these
questions can wait, for any answers will be short-circuited by the show’s
scriptwriters and the show’s general unpredictability.
About that. Unlike “Carter”, “S.H.I.E.L.D.’s” strongest
point was its unpredictability and ability to frustrate, shock or awe its
audience and fandom. That is good. But the S2 finale stretched this ability to
the limit; the audience has realized that no matter what happens, they will be
wrong-footed, and they are feeling overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted by
this; they need a break. Hence, of course, the break in the action between the
finished S2 and the upcoming S3 (whenever that will happen), but still...
Most of the characters who died did not have
to die! S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to be about justice, instead the evil
Inhumans got lynched, and Kara Lynn...didn’t deserve to die; unlike Grant, she
remained a wholly sympathetic character, whose death had been unnecessary and
accidental; with her around, Grant might return to the side of goodness much
sooner, if at all.
...Yes, this is “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”,
not “Skye and Grant show”, but still, Grant is beginning to become a ‘designed
evil character’ or something along these lines. Cal got redemption (via memory
working but still) – why not Grant? Skye fought with May – and got forgiven
post haste – why not Grant? Let us not forget – at the beginning of S2 he
actually cooperated with S.H.I.E.L.D., but got handed over to his brother for
all that...a decision that backfired upon S.H.I.E.L.D. and got Bobbi tortured
among other things. Seriously, if Grant is such a monster, then kill him
already! Don’t let him go on for more seasons than it is necessary! Even Angel
was Angelus for just one season of BtVS (more or less.)
The same can be said about the other
deceased – or otherwise departed – characters. Now the Inhumans of Afterlife
are leaderless; Skye and Lincoln can take charge of them and the other
Inhumans. Hooray?! Probably not, and not quite necessary. Sure, as the alien angle continues to develop
further in “Agents” the part-alien Inhumans will continue to grow in importance
(unlike Hydra?), so Skye’s connection to them will grow in importance too, yet
this mass destruction of ‘secondary’ characters is overkill. Until “S.O.S.”, “Agents”
had killed off relatively few people, and never at once, so this? “S.O.S.” is a
game changer for sure, and towards something more and more grandiose. Will this
be a good thing for the show or not? We will learn this only in the future.
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