Quarantine entry #6 - March 27

Obligatory disclaimer: real life continues to suck as more and more people are getting sick each day. Seriously, this is getting truly intolerable even by my standards, so this time, instead of watching JFC, I went back to DW. For a change, I watched a modern face-off – the ‘IRA vs. Taliban’ episode, and-?

And ever since I have watched it for the first time, I am being constantly struck by how openly prejudiced DW hosts had been on that episode. More specifically, this episode matched the Taliban’s trophy AK-47 vs. the IRA’s AR-15, and the show’s hosts twisted themselves into some amazing knots to justify giving the edge to the IRA’s AR-15. Why? Because on the earlier S1 episode, the Russian Spetsnaz actually took down USA’s Green Berets, fair and square, and the show clearly hadn’t recovered from this – ever. True, they tried to keep their future pro-American bias subtle in S2, but in S3? It came to the fore, and as I have written a long time ago, (when the DW S3 episodes were aired in real life and we were discussing each one individually, as each one was ‘piping hot’, pardon the clumsy pun), it was one of the reasons as to why DW went down for good after the S3. USA isn’t RF, (and even so, the Russians are becoming clearly against Vladimir Putin ruling them until 2036 unopposed, good for them), and for them such blatant propaganda, pro-US or not, was too much. …And yes, there were other reasons as to why DW was cancelled, but still…

…But why was I watching DW to begin with? Somehow, JFC became even more intolerable than when I saw it last, and so instead of it, I watched something else – DW ‘IRA vs. Taliban’ as I said earlier, as well as Impossible Pictures’ ‘Chased by Dinosaurs: The Giant Claw’ episode, and – ‘Mulan-1998’.

What can I say? Ming-Na Wen was already awesome as a voice actress, (and these days she is an actress-actress, staring as Melinda May in AoS, though at the end of S6 finale she got temporarily killed-off or at least – incapacitated). That said, the Shan-Yu and his horde were some of the least impressive villains of animated Disney. Why? In the movie, none of the Shan-Yu’s lieutenants really had names; yes, the various Wikis who specialise in this sort of thing, have their names, but the movie never acknowledges this. Harsh!

Moreover, the Shan-Yu himself… It seems that he had invaded China because he decided that the Great Wall of China is an insult to his manhood or something. Seriously? What is this? A reality show, ancient Chinese version? The Shan-Yu and his horde serve no other function than to be the distraction; the real adversary, of course, were the gender roles and norms in the society, and Fa Mulan proved that a woman could do a man’s job easily, etc. etc. How very 20^th century of her! (‘Mulan’ was released in 1998, remember? Technically, it was the 20^th century still, rather than the 21^st). It will be interesting to see how ‘Mulan-2020’ stacks up against this film.

…Yes, it was evident – Hell, Disney outright told its’ viewers that this was going to be more along the lines of the new ‘Dumbo’ film than TLK-2019 or the rebooted L&T. Fair enough, and hopefully the new villain, Borikhan or whatever his name is, will have a better motivation than his 1998’s counterpart did, but for now, it is too early to make premonitions – or too late, but in any case, thanks to COVID-19, now isn’t the right time. Moreover, what about ‘The Giant Claw’?

Not unlike JFC, this was a mix of education and entertainment, but more honest – it involved Nigel Marvin travelling through time – literally – to the Late Cretaceous Mongolia, 70 MYA, or so, in search of the titular creature. Spoiler warning – it was Therezinosaurus, one of the biggest purely herbivorous theropods, whose cousin the Nothronychus was mentioned earlier, when we were discussing Tyrannosaurus Rex.

And where was this dinosaur in ‘The Giant Claw’? Why, nowhere at all – it had not evolved in Late Cretaceous North America yet. Instead, this 30 minute special featured its’ cousin, Tarbosaurus bataar.

…Ever since this dinosaur was discovered, there was plenty of discussion, as to how it was related to Tyrannosaurus. These days the scientific community believes that while the two species were cousins, Tarbosaurus was more distantly related to Tyrannosaurus than some other North American tyrannosaurid species, such as Albertosaurus, Daspletosaurus and Gorgosaurus; Tarbosaurus’ bones, especially in its’ skull, prove that. That is fair, but ecologically wise, Tyrannosaurus and Tarbosaurus played the same role – that of an alpha predator; not even Velociraptors stood up to the Tarbosaurus.

What about the Velociraptors? They were depicted in ‘The Giant Claw’ as well, but they were much smaller and proportionally more realistic than they are in the ‘Jurassic Park’ franchise – turkey-sized predators, rather like modern coyotes with an attitude. They were shown hunting other smaller dinosaurs – the herbivorous Protoceratops, which about the size of a modern sheep, but had attitude of their own, and a powerful beak to back it up. (Something of the Protoceratops-Velociraptor interaction was shown in ‘The Giant Claw’, FYI).  Put otherwise, all of the Impossible Pictures’ series did their best to educate, or at least to inform, rather than to entertain – and did a much better job than the JFC did, in my frank opinion.

By the way, JFC did not have Velociraptors to begin with – instead, it had three of their cousins: the Deinonychus, the Utahraptor, and the Dromaeosaurus. The first two were bigger than the Velociraptor was; alongside the lesser-known Dakotaraptor, they were the biggest members in their family, comparable in size to their fictional counterparts from the ‘Jurassic Park’ franchise. By contrast, the Dromaeosaurus was the Velociraptor’s counterpart in the Late Cretaceous North America, but as I said earlier, it was not the contemporary of the T-Rex, so here the JFC lied…but we talked about it last time, so let us drop it.

Anything else? COVID-19 continues to march across the face of the planet, more and more public figures are continuing to get ill, and I have no idea as to when it all will end. The Donald is not entirely wrong when he is focusing on the economical aspect of it all, but he is not truly right either. Did I mention that the real life sucks? Because it does. Sad face emoji.

…This is it for now; see you all soon.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Meet the New Guy - Sep 27

…In ‘Meet the New Guy’, AoS continues to develop the plotlines that began in the season’s premiere. Too abrupt?

Let us try again. In ‘The Ghost’, AoS has introduced the new lay of the land as well as the Ghost Rider, this season’s heavy hitter, and also – a ghost. In this episode, firstly, we meet the ghost for real: it is a new character, and she comes with her own team of other ghosts, and a possible scientific explanation for their origin, rather than a supernatural one.

To elaborate, back in S1, AoS did feature a ghost-like villain, who proved to be misunderstood, and in love, and was able to pass on once the team was able to figure it all out. His roots were scientific, not supernatural, and so the case might be with those evildoers, (who are able to turn incorporeal and drive people crazy by going through them), although this Ghost Rider, Robbie Reyes, is clearly connected to them…possibly through his uncle? (Basically, Robbie became the second Ghost Rider because his deceased evil uncle fused their souls with their car…or something like that…we will probably learn MCU’s version in the future episodes).

Either way, ‘Meet’ has given us the greater, further, general shape of where Ghost Rider’s plotline is going to take us; Robbie is very different from Daisy, which means…that this is what was probably supposed to happen with her and Ward, but it didn’t. The end.

Well, just the beginning for Daisy and Robbie, though for now Daisy is on the outs with the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D., or at least – with Fitz. Mack and Elena – it is trickier to tell, but still. For the next few episodes, (and AoS is going to skip a week now, in real life), Daisy will be working with Robbie, opposite to the rest of the team, giving the show the possibility of depicting various episodes from different P.O.V.’s. They tried something similar with Grant & Hive back in S3, but this will probably be more polished than S3, because now AoS got some of the kinks out it as a show, so while it won’t be a smooth sailing, neither will it be so bad as it was with S2 & S3, right?

…While Robbie and Daisy are beginning to tentatively work together at the end of this episode, on the other hand we have the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D., who have a new director – his name is Jeffrey – and he is an InHuman. The show isn’t dismissing InHumans at all, (nor the Watchdogs), they are still going to be an important part of AoS, as it was shown first in the person of Jeffrey, and secondly, in the next episode’s promo, where the Watchdogs are back. So?

Well, Jeffrey appears to be some sort of a strange cross between Andrew Garner (Lash) and the Mayor from BtVS (S3). He has this really annoying bodyguard, but he is genuinely trying to be a part of S.H.I.E.L.D., too. Of course he is ruthless as well, as part of his plan concerning May, (who was driven mad by the ghost woman), is taking her somewhere in a straightjacket.

To be more precise, ‘Meet’ is developing new plotlines, (unlike ‘Ghost Rider’), as well as the old ones. It seems that the Watchdogs are the new main villains in place of Hydra, at least for now, (so maybe we will see more of ex-agent Felix too). The world has changed, it has accepted InHumans and other super-powered people – it just may not like them, and outright hate them, but S.H.I.E.L.D. will have to handle this hatred, and it will, especially now that it is a part of the U.S. government.

So: the plot continues apace. Part of this pace, apparently, is skipping a week – other shows have tried it, hell, S.H.I.E.L.D. itself always had a midseason finale, but this is something else. Hopefully not because they will have a shorter season, with less than 22 episodes. Previously, all AoS seasons had 22 episodes, S2 and S3 had two major arcs with 11 episodes each. If this will not happen in S4, this would be bad, especially since the Rabbs’ tree frog has just gone extinct – oops, this happened in real life, never mind.

On the other hand, this episode especially was full of references to the greater MCU – the scriptwriters, the cast, etc., are really trying to integrate the AoS into it. Considering that even judging by the commercial, they are already doing (going to do?) with Luke Cage (the TV show, not just the character), this may be just in time to do so. Why, even the latest Dr. Strange movie commercial mentions the Avengers directly, so go them!

Ergo, in conclusion: AoS has entered a new era, alongside the rest of MCU. Let us hope that it will have a better showing now, than back in S3 (and even the second half of S2). See you later. 

AoS S4 initial thoughts - August 11

Now, S.H.I.E.L.D – the site – has given out a brief update of how things will go at the beginning of S4. Daisy has split from S.H.I.E.L.D. for now and is ‘not’ robbing banks as Quake (or Tremors?). Coulson has been demoted – the president of the U.S. has appointed a new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Given that the department did not really flourish under his guidance in S2 and 3, the president’s logic cannot be blamed – what can be blamed is the fact that the new director’s name still was not revealed. The Hell? It probably isn’t Norman Osborn, (the man hasn’t made much of appearance in the MCU just yet), and so what is the harm in the lack of info? Are they trying to keep the excitement going?

…Yes, probably. AoS as a TV series has some strange sentiments towards excitement: in the second half of S3, especially, they worked so hard at keeping the excitement of the guessing game (which agent was going to die) that they overshot it, and by the last two episodes of S3 at least some of the fans just wanted it to be over already, and it didn’t work either – the S3 two-part finale had some of the lowest ratings of the series’ episodes, period.

…With movies, it is one situation: 2016’s ‘Tarzan’ did its best to depict the turn of the 20^th century political situation in the first half of the 21^st century – and may not have succeeded, according to some critics. The audiences loved it. ‘Ghostbusters’ 2016 remake (featuring a gender swap) raised a lot of controversy on the web, but the critics loved it (somewhat). The fans were less excited in the long run, (but not because of the Internet trolls, BTW), so now – no sequel (well, for the current being). ‘Suicide Squad’ – the critics did not really like it, but the audiences love it. For the films, too, audiences are key, but not because of ratings – because the admission fee, the price of tickets, etc. With sites like Netflix, it’s similar – it’s pay per view, and few people can master watching ‘Daredevil’, ‘Jessica Jones’, ‘Luke Cage’ (upcoming) in one go, so it all comes down to money, again.

AoS, however, is no more pay-per-view than ‘Chopped’ from the Food Network is, so it all comes down to popularity and ratings, and right now it seems that AoS is trying to bulk itself up via intrigue. It may work for fictional spy organizations and co., but in real life, for TV viewers? It does not.

Back to the fictional spy organization in question. Coulson got demoted and is working with Mack, May is training new recruits (?), Daisy is on the outs with S.H.I.E.L.D., the FitzSimmons have split-

Wait, what?

Apparently, somehow the new director is splitting the FitzSimmons up, with Fitz being on the periphery, and Simmons – a part of his inner circle; didn’t we do just that in S2?

Yes, we have. When Gonzales took over S.H.I.E.L.D. – sort of – Simmons joined him, and Fitz struck out with Coulson and Lance. Considering that for a while, Coulson had to share power with Gonzales (and May); this new S4 information appears to be yet another rehash of S2. One of S3’s problems was the lack of a clean break with S2; now we seem to get more of that same thing with S4 – and it has not even began. Not very encouraging, is it?

However, wait, there is one last thing – Dr. Radcliffe, the new member of S.H.I.E.L.D. (probably), and a friend of the FitzSimmons, is building some sort of a cyborg or homunculus in his lab. Isn’t this very exciting, to sound as Simmons would?

Yes, it does – but this is not the point. The point is that this sort of solution/resolution/plot twist/etc. has come fairly late in the series, as has the Ghost Rider. By now, a large part of the audience has stopped watching AoS, and no tricks are really going to catch their attention…well, maybe they will, but the trend in S3 was the decreasing number of viewers, no matter what the writers, the cast, and the rest of the team have thrown at them. Sometimes even a good show gets a bad turn, and AoS – after the successful S1 – was not that good at all.

In addition, is Radcliffe going to become another villain and be killed in the new season? Only time will tell; so far, his actor is not a member of the main cast, which is not a good sign, but it does not amount to anything: Luke, who played Lincoln, did become a member of the main cast, and still left.

So, for now we are left wondering at what will exactly happen in AoS S4, and will the show prosper or continue to flounder? We will just have to wait and see. 

S.H.I.E.L.D., Closure - Dec 1

And so, the mid-winter mid-season AoS finale has come upon us, and once more there are twists. More precisely, ATCU was taken out; both Price and Banks are gone. The fusion of the plotlines – Hydra, InHuman, alien – is coming to a head, with both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra boasting gifted people among them, while Coulson is going after Ward (and, unknowingly, Fitz) through another portal to planet/dimension X. It is only a matter of time until Thanos gets involved, as the final shots at the Age of Ultron had indicated.

Anything else? The writing team put their best effort into this, this is no hackfest as it was at the season finale of S2, this time everything makes sense, the plot is solid, as is the action...pardon me, the acting of the actors, it is also solid, without any gaps as it was in S2, especially in the beginning of that season, and even the setting, the scenery is very well done – but it had been so since the “Purpose...” episode and yet the ratings have continued to fall.

Now, we’ve talked about this; the problem is in repetition (the mid-season finale, for all of its good points, is very reminiscent of the finale of S1 – even John Garrett was mentioned), as well as in recycling – Price was based on S1 Raina, while Lash was more of a second-half S2 Raina; and then there are all of those ‘imitations’ – “Killjoys”, “Dark Matter”, “Blindspot”, perhaps even “Supergirl”, some of which are quite successful in their own right, especially “Blindspot”, with Kurt being a Ward-like character, and Jane/Taylor being a Skye-like character, and now their mid-winter finale introduced Oscar, a Lincoln-like character – someone on “Blindspot” is clearly an AoS fan, who wants it done right – never mind that those are all TV characters; anyone remember their 50^th episode featurette? Brett and Chloe did their best to point out that they were not Skye/Daisy and Grant, while trying to give ‘SkyeWard’ fans a bone – got to appease the viewers somehow, but we talked about this in a previous installment. This relationship is obviously finished, we got StaticQuake here now, but this is not the point.

Well, ok, the other fact is that the ship Philinda is back on – Price is dead, and so’s Andrew, but considering that Andrew, for one, had killed plenty of innocent people in his own right, as Lash, yeah, May is better off with Coulson anyways. The FitzSimmons? The show is clearly referencing back to S1, when Fitz and Simmons were underwater – sometimes Ward acts like a crazy, messed-up Cupid – but speaking of messed-up? There is the show’s site that is updated relatively irregularly; there are the comics, which have nothing to do with MCU; and then there the upcoming “Civil War” movie – AoS is trying to tie itself to it: the FitzSimmons got captured in an abandoned Stark facility.

That probably is not good – ‘Laws’ did its best to tie itself into the greater MCU, and as a result the writers delivered a very hackneyed, clichéd episode that they tried to bury themselves in the following episodes very successfully, so hopefully they won’t try to do that in ‘Maveth’ (does this word even mean anything or is it just a name) or in post “Agent Carter” S2 episodes. (That is right, Carter is coming back in January, so yay!) That sort of cliché can kill a show, you know?

But the upcoming “Civil War” movie (in May 2016)? Yes, that is something else. So far MCU had delivered beautifully, and this trailer promises this to be just as good. So let us buckle our loins, hanker down and wait – for the next week for AoS mid-S3 finale, for January for ‘Carter’, and for May for “Civil War”. Until then – peace out! 

S.H.I.E.L.D., tale - Nov 17

And so, keeping in mind that next week AoS is taking time off, let us recount as to what they have done in this episode.

They brought the strands together. Until now, the episodes tended to treat InHumans and Hydra separately, but now, they are bringing them together. Will is...sort of Hydra, just working for NASA and possibly not knowing this. Fitz and Simmons have finally kissed and are finally getting back together, because in worst-case scenario? Will is another knock-off of Ward, meaning a wolf in sheep’s skin. Ward himself...he is starting to play a greater role in S3, actually learning what Hydra is, what it stands for and what it does. The episode’s script is integrating the Avengers’ second movie into the plotline, and it is giving a new, bigger dimension to the show itself as well. Remarkable and Hydra nowadays is something more than just a Nazi death cult, something possibly worthy to go toe-to-toe with S.H.I.E.L.D., and especially Ward, since the next episode (actually aired in December) is going to put the end to ‘Ward’s revenge’ storyline once and for all, because S.H.I.E.L.D. needs something new and exciting to keep itself afloat, ratings-wise.

It is already doing that, mind, with making Rosalind not evil (supposedly), and Andrew – alive. Of course, as it may have been written before, redemption in S.H.I.E.L.D. is something of a select piece, almost anyone but Ward gets his or her chance of it so frankly, if Coulson puts Ward out of his misery in the next episode? It might be the better choice. It might also be the only choice, since the next month, December, is wrapping up the first half of AoS S3, for January? This is where ‘Agent Carter’ takes over. Agent Carter is a good show, though not as exciting as AoS...was, for now it is getting more straightforward and less unpredictable, and Carter is apparently going to Hollywood. You cannot get bored in Hollywood!

Back to AoS...there is not much left to discuss. There is hope for Andrew and May, Rosalind and Coulson, and Lincoln’s setting down. There are signs that Ward may be Hellfire, (which is a pity, he was a cool villain so far all on his own), though maybe they are just another plot twist and Fitz and Simmons finally kissed. Hooray! Go FitzSimmons! Lincoln and Daisy...they did not get too much time on this ep, but at least Lincoln has bonded with May, which is good for both of them. So yes, this is it for AoS this time around – a very exciting and informative episode to be watched.

S.H.I.E.L.D., Chaos - Nov 10

And so, the 50^th episode of AoS went past. Now it is time for the 51^st – and it still delivered, a very tense, dramatic episode. The Lash plotline had come to a mid-term resolution, as we learn what has happened to Andrew – or rather how. This is a story of a good man succumbing to darkness within, of becoming a monster and unable to stop it, of dragging his loved ones into this- Oh wait. Ward did in the second half of S1, and Cal actually underwent something similar throughout S2 – and this brings down to ratings.

Take this episode, “Chaos Theory”, for example. Both the main and the supporting cast did their parts without a hitch; the plot in many ways was as solid as it was in the episode 3x02 (the episode 3x01 should be killed and buried, BTW), and the conclusion of the episode’s finale was equally heart wrenching... spoilers alert – in this episode May got her heart broken, in the next – it’ll be Coulson’s turn, as the InHuman and Hydra plotlines appear to collide and yet the ratings continue to plummet. Why?

Because repetition. It began already in S2, as Gonzales infiltration of Coulson’s part of S.H.I.E.L.D. was reminiscent of Hydra’s actions in S1, save that it was done on a liter scale; the emphasis here is on ‘lite’. Yes, Mack and Bobbi seem to have made their peace with Coulson, (though their friends on Gonzales’ side, including the man himself, had died because of Coulson’s ideas, BTW), but this still was a repetition of what Ward and Garrett and other Hydra agents had done back in S1 – so it was up to the InHuman plotline to carry the day...and they failed. S2 finale was a bloodbath – an unnecessary bloodbath, and it did not get better in S3. Ward’s plotline doesn’t get resolved (he may be a villain, but not a very formidable one, if the site information is correct), the show is struggling with balancing InHuman and Hydra plotlines in general, and Andrew is really a repetition of Ward & Cal from the previous seasons – this isn’t very original, frankly.

And his resolution...it is something else. AoS was dealing the whole redemption angle rather badly, ever since the end of S1. For a while the show’s writers made redemption sound like a big deal, right out there next to teamwork, but then...

No, it is not about Ward, though the way Coulson had handled him in mid-season 2 was not very smart or logical. This is about Jiaying too – Coulson did offer her a chance to solve things peacefully with Gonzales and co., and she threw it back into his face and in a very nasty way too, not to mention deadly. Yes, she was killed, but Lincoln came back, or rather – helped in the first place – of his own will, S.H.I.E.L.D. got nothing to do with it...

By S3 AoS seems to have abandoned the redemption plot altogether. The good guys are good, the bad guys are bad...and they die. Kebo in particular, though von Strucker seems to have gone into a coma instead. This is simple, this works, but it is somewhat disappointing, in a simplified way. AoS already has to deal with competition that was inspired by its initial success, from ‘Killjoys’ to “Dark Matter’, from ‘Supergirl’ to ‘Blindspot’, and those shows are quite successful and dramatic, especially ‘Blindspot’, but none of them have any excessive plot twists as AoS does. ‘Blindspot’, for example, has a very ‘noir’ feeling lately, but it is not dependant on plot twists as AoS is.

And speaking of repetition, drama and relationships – Will, Jemma’s new cough friend cough back from ‘4722 hours’ is some sort of an evil doer? Gasp, shocking. Seriously, how this is (or will be once Will is back on Earth himself) different (if you look past the secondary details) of what Skye went with Grant or Melinda with Andrew? Not really. This is more of the same, and the same is not always good. AoS’ ratings continue to go down, and this is very sad, for it is a very good show – but all good things must come to an end...let us just hope that AoS will not end any time soon.

So: the Lash situation is resumed, and now it seems that it will be Ward’s turn next. Hopefully, the scriptwriters will do something more original to him rather than turn him into Hellfire. 

S.H.I.E.L.D., Devils - Oct 20

...One of the more important issues in AoS, now, is pacing and proportions. In S1 it was simple – first the team had to discover who the Clairvoyant is, and then they had to stop him and the rest of Hydra...well, his cell of Hydra, because we never really learned just how high up John Garrett was in the Hydra hierarchy.

In S2, the situation was somewhat different: the first part of the season was dominated largely by Hydra, the second half – by the InHumans. It also marked a change in the roles’ proportions: in S1 Ward was an equal part of the cast; from S2 onwards, his role began to diminish, or rather – his screen time did. His importance was something else, especially in the S2 finale, and its out-of-proportion hack/gore-fest.

In S3 this sort of situation continued: as Ward did receive proportionally less screen time than Hunter or May did, for example, let alone Mack, Coulson or Daisy. That is not to say that his importance became any smaller: through his sheer presence and taunting words alone he brought Hunter down to his level, and now Andrew Garner has paid the price (presumably). May will have an even bigger axe to grind with Ward nowadays, but she and Hunter have to resolve her issues too, and given how the Cavalry carries her grudges...well, Grant is going to die, eventually, probably by the season’s end, but Hunter is going to grovel, he has to – otherwise it’ll be even worse for him.

Back to the proportions and pacing? The Hydra and the InHumans plotlines are being pointedly kept apart, almost as if they were two different episodes or something along those lines – and perhaps they are. In S2, Hydra and InHumans took turns, so to speak – in the first half S.H.I.E.L.D. had to tackle Hydra, in the second – the InHumans. Now, in S3 the series apparently had S.H.I.E.L.D. tackle Hydra and InHumans at the same time, with rather mixed results. No, it is not about Andrew Garner being dead because Hunter was obsessed with the need for revenge; it is about the screen time. Try as they like, the series’ writers and co. just do not seem to mix the Hydra and the InHuman plot lines in the equal proportions; maybe they have to or they don’t have to (let’s not forget – the actors themselves are people with opinions and ideas, who may or may not get along with each other and other people, this probably plays a role in S.H.I.E.L.D. episode scripts), but this is what they do. The result – an unbalanced episode, such as the ep. 3x02 for example. If Grant Ward is to be an opponent to S.H.I.E.L.D. he just has to be more impressive, because otherwise, he just will not cut it. (On the other hand, there are rumors of yet another new character coming forth – one that is even more formidable than Ward is which frankly sucks, especially for Coulson.)

Also, speaking of villains, though not of proportions and pacing, Lash is even more formidable than how he has first appeared in ‘Laws’; (in fact, I think that the entire series team is doing its best to bury the embarrassing, cliché-ridden episode as much as they can): he is a shape-shifter as well, making him twice as tricky to capture. (Maybe it is a she, cough, but would not Lash have breasts too if this was the case?)

This brings us to Daisy, or rather – to Alisha. Once a minion of Jiaying, she has acquired some sort of a role in Coulson’s crew – fancy that. Maybe Daisy’s team of powered people just got its first new member – and a competent one, too.

So: Ward is largely a villain/plot device to move the series forwards; Hunter is on the outs with the rest of the crew; Coulson appears to have acquired a new friend, BTW; and Daisy continues to bond with Mack – and maybe she will bond with Alisha, too. Oh, and Simmons has to go back from wherever she came, too – but that is the topic for the next week’s episode. Until then – see you.

S.H.I.E.L.D., S.O.S. - May 12

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.

S.H.I.E.L.D., "Dirty Half Dozen" - April 28

And so, “S.H.I.E.L.D.” had delivered yet another surprising – in a good way – episode...as opposed to JW, whose surprises – like the I-Rex that is not even a tyrannosaur – are not as good. A carnosaur combined with several abelisaur species does not have much right to the claim of a T-Rex, period. 

With “Agents” the twists are in another manner. In the “Dirty Half Dozen”, Grant Ward had reached his ‘nadir’, and has confessed that he misses the team and sincerely regrets what he has done. However, it is still a bit too early for him to come back (at least, according to the overall plot of the series), so Jemma tries to kill him instead. Because Grant is better than she is in such a situation, Simmons has failed, (though she got Bakshi, but the latter has earned it), and has come to a realization that as far as people go, Grant is better than she is, at least at the moment, so far – no dead Grant, and no live one either, to Kara Lynn’s loss. It seems that no matter how had Grant tried to get over Skye – one good look at her, and it’s game over, it’s back to the skip SkyeWard, at least in theory. True, Skye has Lincoln, but considering that in the first part of S2 she had been paired with Lance Hunter instead, SkyeWard should not be dismissed just yet.

Whereas the ship Philinda...this is another story. “Dirty Half Dozen” has also attempted to connect itself with the upcoming Avengers film; the references to baron Strucker, to twins Wanda and Pietro, to Fury and Hill’s future involvement with Ultron abound in this episode. Yet what’s important here is the price that “Agents” had to pay to become involved in this film – Coulson has gone to the backs of him team, or rather – behind their backs, in order to get Hill (and Fury) the info about the Theta protocol & etc, rather than sharing it with May and the others. Considering that in the world of “Agents” anything that includes a team is wrong, Coulson’s actions are going to bite him in the back; he has already lost May (at least for a while), and also Simmons. (Considering that Fitz will not be happy about Jemma’s attempt to kill Grant, this couple just might have problems of their own.) 

On the other hand, Morse is growing increasingly dissatisfied with Gonzales’ leadership, and if she goes, so will Mack and Hunter, most likely. Since Kara Lynn appears to be hanging with them at the moment, odds are we are going to see some shifting loyalties on the teams in the future. 

On the other end of the world we have the Inhumans, who have not only learned that Skye is the daughter of their leader (one of their leaders), but who also have to deal with Raina, who has partially recovered from her own ordeal with the Obelisk and seeks to challenge Jiaying for the leadership – if she is able to master her powers of prophecy first. Skye may have her hands full in helping her parents keeping Raina in check – and helping her mom keep Cal happy and user-friendly, to quote her. Yet, since “Dirty Half Dozen” has emphasized the similarities between Skye and her mother, the following episodes may focus on their differences instead, causing Skye’s task to be increasingly difficult, especially since Gonzales continues to unveil his own master plan (such as it may be). With Hydra down for the count (or rather – fighting the Avengers in their own new movie), there’s nothing stopping S.H.I.E.L.D. in dealing with the Inhumans – and each other. What will happen, when Coulson and Gonzales go toe to toe, how will their respective teams react, and how will Fury (cough potential Avengers crossover cough), is anyone’s guess.

Let’s wait and see!

S.H.I.E.L.D., Melinda - April 14

Back on ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’, the plot to save Skye continues, whether she wants it or not, but before we get into that...

First, the pigeons have stayed, apparently – our (admittedly half-hearted) attempts to drive them off were unsuccessful, and we are not ready to call in the professionals just yet. Well, more power to them, I say!

Second, after the initial euphoria of Brontosaurus’ return has ebbed, the other scientists are once again claiming to take things slow, it is not certain yet if Brontosaurus is really Brontosaurus, or just another Apatosaurus species/specimen. Considering that even in ‘canon’ Apatosaurus can number up to 4 species, this is a reasonable approach.

Then we have River Monsters returning to Discovery channel. By its standards and the standards of Animal Planet, this is one of the best things that could’ve happened to it, because otherwise AP is just a load of crap, with pet shows and ‘Too Cute’, and DC’s ‘Shark Week’ is right there for comparison, too. I will not be talking about River Monsters in detail just yet, though.

Now, back to ‘Agents’. This episode had somehow gone all ‘girl-power’ – not only it had focused on Melinda May and her becoming the warm and fuzzy machine of emotion that we all know and love, but it focuses on other female characters of the show as well: not just Skye, Gemma and Skye’s mother, for example, but on Morse and Weaver (team Gonzales) as well, albeit to different degrees.

Let us start, then, with the star of the episode – Melinda May. In the flashback, 7 years ago-

Wait. Let us talk about chronology. Skye was born, according to her parents, back in 1988, making her, supposedly, 26 years old. 1988 + 26 = 2014: in real life, this was last year, back when these episodes were aired and filmed (?); in ‘Agents’ world 2014 – 7 = 2007, which was when Coulson and May went to Bahrain (a small island country, located near the western shore of the Persian Gulf in Middle East, if anyone cares) to try and bring-in an Inhuman woman from Russia, empowered with super-strength. Fair enough and aside from ‘casting the type’, the cliché works. The rescue had not. The woman had a daughter, whose gift was to mentally dominate the others and to take away their pain in the process, as well as free will. May had to kill her - alongside her mother. This is not S.H.I.E.L.D. way, and May asked for a job transfer to an office job, which she got and kept, until Coulson got her back into the field back at the beginning of the show.

So far so good, but we also get:

- More of Melinda’s ex-husband, Andrew. Not only in flashbacks, but also he gets mentioned in real life: Coulson had been keeping in touch with him; not because of their mutual bond with May, but also because Coulson just may be setting up something called ‘the Delta protocol’ that will enable him to run some sort of a colony or training camp for super-powered people such as Skye and Deathlok, and he has also empowered Deathlok further (maybe because he needs Deathlok’s help in confronting Ward?). Considering that May (and also Simmons) hadn’t heard about this, this means that either Coulson had been lying to May...or that team Gonzales (Bobbi, Mack, Weaver, etc) are lying to May in order to suborn her. May – even with Simmons’ help – will need all the smarts that she has in order to figure out the truth.

And the same goes for Skye, naturally. Her mother told her that story as well, but... firstly, she does not appear in the flashbacks, making one wonder just where she was all the time when May was fighting the rogue Inhumans and why she had not stepped in. She knows about S.H.I.E.L.D., but how and why are different questions that ought to be answered – maybe her scars hold the key? They look as if someone had tried to tear off her face with a clawed paw or something like that; when you are dealing with Inhumans, maybe this is exactly what has happened...but why?

On the other hand, we have, well, Skye’s mother per se: Cal had told Skye that Whitehall had killed her (Skye’s mother) and used her organs to rejuvenate himself. Considering that Whitehall had not aged for almost a century that certainly may be so. Only...now we’ve got Skye’s mother alive and well, and  this means that either someone is lying to Skye here, or ‘Agents’, as a show, had just hit their first plot hole – and it’s a major one! Well, only time – and future episodes – will tell us what version is correct.

What already can be seen, however, is that Skye’s dinner with her parents feels somewhat choreographed; well, it was choreographed by the actors, but it feels choreographed by the characters too. Skye’s mother wants Skye to remain in Afterlife, of course, but she also wants their relationship to be kept secret, for after the incident in Bahrain 7 years ago, the inhabitants of Afterlife take a dim view to the whole ‘bond between parent and child’ thing. This sort of duplicity is not healthy, and may be an indicator of darker things to come.

Conversely, though, we have Lincoln, whose own Inhuman gift is the ability to see the future, apparently (just think Rachel the Oracle in ‘Percy Jackson’ novels), and who had foreseen Skye having dinner with her folks that she had. This is certainly a twist in the plot and it is anyone’s guess what will come from that.

While Skye bonded with her parents, Raina bonded with Gordon, sort of. Raina is suffering from nightmares, low self-esteem (she looks like a chupacabra!), the realization that she just may constantly be in Skye’s shadow, to name a few. Gordon is having his work cut out for him...yet he has no intention of giving up, and he is firmly on team Raina – he honestly thinks she is beautiful. Considering that everyone else on the show ignored the flower girl, hated her, or did not know about her at all, (or any combination of the above), Gordon just might be what Raina needs to get herself out of the pit that she and Cal had made...

And so, in this episode Melinda took a trip down the memory lane and found herself in charge of the Playground, surrounded with allies who just might be trickier than any outright enemies, Skye took a training course from her mother and learned about May’s adventures in the past, while finding herself surrounded by family/allies, who just might be trickier than any outright enemies, Raina has begun to bond with Gordon, and Fitz (who had been mostly ignored in this episode) had not only hacked into Fury’s ‘toolbox’ (with an acetylene torch?), but has contacted Hunter and Coulson and together they will shake-off Fitz’s tail and get a move-on in saving Skye. Another great and dramatic episode, put otherwise.