S.H.I.E.L.D., Wake-Up - Jan 25

‘Wake-Up’ was aired last night. Moreover, it was good. Dr. Holden has his flaws, but he, (as well as Aida Mk II), are decent enough, and original, villains by now. Their treatment of May may not be as horrifying as the abuse that Kara went through at Whitehall’s hands in S2, but still evil enough (but more on it later). That’s point a.

Point b is probably Mack. Henry Simmons did not have much screen time this episode, but the scriptwriters still did their best to round him up. We know now that he had an ex-wife and a daughter who died just days after her birth, so while Mack and his ex are, well, exes, some connection between them remains. (BTW, AoS S3 had introduced Mack’s younger brother Reuben, remember?) Yo-Yo will have to work it in if she wants a relationship with Mack (and hopefully she does).

Point C is the failure of S.H.I.E.L.D. to infiltrate senator Nadeer’s office. Yes, S3 had an episode post-Maveth, but the truth is that any show usually has a limited amount of material, especially original material, to make a plot. AoS S4 has been underwhelming from the mid-season finale, so there is no surprise that this lacklustre streak has continued in the ‘LMD’ story arc. It still worked – S.H.I.E.L.D. could use a setback – so ‘Wake-Up’ was a good episode in this aspect as well.

The only problem was the finale, when Radcliffe has put May into a Bahrain-based mental stimulator. (Hello, ‘Matrix’?) It may sound strange, but is Andrew coming back? He was killed back in S3… as Lash, but still killed. If he is coming back, in whatever manner, then…

Then it is more of the recycling that has been plaguing AoS from S3 until now. Even official reviewers of the series, even its’ fans admit that the show is clearly recycling its’ old ideas, (see above), and this was one of the reasons why its’ popularity has dropped so sharply in S3, especially in its’ second half. AoS was aware of the issue, and it has subtly rebooted itself before S4…or at least tried to. By now it is obvious that the issue has not been put to rest, but continues to resurface every once in a while. Regardless, ‘Wale-Up’ was a still good episode, and I have honestly enjoyed watching it. Until next time, when we talk about ‘Riverdale’…maybe.

(So: AoS is beginning to get itself together, but it is not entirely successful yet. Good luck to it all the same.)

PS: And here is an NPC from Pathfinder. The new Worldscape comic has arrived, so I took a ranger from the NPC Codex and rebuilt him as a new archetype. Does it work?

JUNGLE LORD CR 19

XP 204,800

Human ranger 20

CE Medium humanoid (human)

Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +25

DEFENSE

AC 33, touch 18, flat-footed 26 (+8 armor, +3 deflection, +9 Dex, +1 dodge, +5 natural)

hp 184 (20d10+70)

Fort +20, Ref +22, Will +13

Special Attacks victory cry

Defensive Abilities improved evasion; Immune fire (120 points), poison; Resist cold 30

OFFENSE

Speed 40 ft.

Melee+2 longspear +28/+23/+18/+13 (1d8+11/x3)

Ranged oathbow +28/+23/+18/+13 (1d8+8/19–20/×3)

STATISTICS

Str 22, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 11, Wis 14, Cha 8

Base Atk +20; CMB +26; CMD 45

Feats Bleeding Critical, Blinding Critical, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Deadly Aim, Dodge, Endurance, Improved Critical (composite longbow), Improved Initiative, Improved Precise Shot, Manyshot, Point-Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus (composite longbow)

Skills Acrobatics +15 (+19 when jumping), Climb +19, Handle Animal +12,Heal +15, Knowledge (geography) +13, Knowledge (nature) +18, Knowledge (planes) +5, Linguistics +8, Perception +25, Ride +18, Stealth +28, Survival +25, Swim +14

Languages Common, Sylvan

SQ animal focus, brachiation, favored terrain (forest +2, jungle +4, mountain +2), hardened by nature, hide in plain sight, hunter's bond (animal companion), inspired moment, strong bond, swift tracker, track +10, wild empathy +19, woodland stride

Combat Gear+1 anarchic arrows (5), boots of speed, +1 flaming arrows (5), +1 frost arrows (5), +1 shock arrows (5), +1 unholy arrows (5), potions of cure serious wounds (2), potions of delay poison (2), scroll of neutralize poison, adamantine arrows (5), purple worm poison (2), smokesticks (5), tanglefoot bags (5); Other Gear+4 mithral chain shirt, +2 longsword, oathbow (+6 Str) with 30 arrows, belt of physical might +4 (Str, Dex), cloak of resistance +5, efficient quiver, ring of protection +3, ring of sustenance, 4,195 gp