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., 50 ep - Nov 3

And so, S.H.I.E.L.D. celebrated its 50^th episode. Let us start with that.

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a great show, with many well-developed and thought-provoking plot twists. Tonight’s twist, which revealed that Dr. Garner is actually one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new enemies, proves this is true. It also shows agent Morse recovering from Ward’s shot, Hunter living with the consequences of his recklessness, and Ward, well, Ward actually has been offered redemption. Since for him the word has some very unpleasant connotations...no. Just now, Malick has probably judged him correctly, but who knows? The show’s writers have not finished with him yet, because his big showdown with Morse and May hadn’t occurred in this episode – instead, the younger von Strucker seems to be gone, and so’s Kebo. The show’s scriptwriters have done it to perfection! That anniversary video on YouTube has depicted it very neatly. (Ward may be a villain, but Brett and Chloe still go around; it's cute, in a weird way, and there's the talk of redemption...yeah).

Sadly, the other aspects of AoS universe lag behind the visual/auditory ones – i.e. the show itself. The comic is...actually not related to the show; rather, it is a series of adventures, mostly of Coulson himself (Daisy/Quake actually appears to have a series of her own) that deals with saving the world. So far it is only him and May, Fitz and Simmons – and that is it. Ward, Raina, Whitehall, Garrett – they are all gone, at least for the moment and probably are not making a proper appearance; Hell, the regular Hydra villains are not making much of an appearance, and the latest comic installments seem to lack a common story arc (the first 6 issues had that at least). Plus, unlike some other comic series, (“Arrow” for example), the S.H.I.E.L.D. comic is not really a part of AoS universe, it is just inspired by the series...and only loosely so. Ouch.

And as for at least one of the show’s sites (marvel190 dot com), it suffers from irregular updates...and just plain sloppiness; one of the last season’s clips is described as having Ward and May...going after Ward. Somehow the site got Lance and Grant, aka Nick and Brett confused, and considering that the two of them are two very different-looking people, which are just sad.

But in any case, S.H.I.E.L.D. has delivered a very beautiful episode number 50, which was very pleasant to watch, to put it lightly. Hopefully, the following episodes will keep this up, and the ignominy of ‘Laws’ (episode 3x01) will be put behind us.

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!

JW and S.H.I.E.L.D. - April 21

Once more, Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” have a delivered a very good episode; but before we get into it, let us talk about a certain upcoming future film – “Jurassic World”. 

What is the film’s premise? 22 years in the future after the events of the first JP movie, InGen – or a similar company – has restarted the dinosaur theme park thing, making it bigger and better. When I say bigger, I mean literally – aside from the I-Rex, there was also a vastly oversized mosasaur (Tylosaurus?) that swallows great white sharks whole: in reality, mosasaurs were very big animals (8-12 m long on average), but that wasn’t big enough to swallow a modern great white shark (or its Cretaceous analogue – the Ginsu shark) whole; it would rip and tear into pieces first, instead. What JW presents here, though, is already an imaginary, impossible, artificial creature, making the producers’ use of the I-Rex redundant.

And as for the I-Rex itself... Aside from various rumors – that it possesses telepathy and similar amazing mental powers – there is the fact it is not a Rex! There is not any tyrannosaur in this monster’s genetic makeup: apparently, it was created from the DNA of Giganotosaurus and various abelisaurs instead. We will get to Giganotosaurus in a moment; first about the abelisaurs. They were a group of Cretaceous carnivorous dinosaurs, descendants of the Jurassic Ceratosaurus and the like; formidable hunters in their own right, they were smaller – on the average – than Tyrannosaurus was, or than Giganotosaurus, for that matter. They also had very small front limbs – even smaller than those of a T-Rex, though they had three or four fingers instead of T-Rex’s trademark two. The Carnotaurus from Disney’s “Dinosaur” film, for example, was an abelisaur – and it did not look anything like an I-Rex. Or the I-Rex does not look anything like an abelisaur – instead it looks like a carnosaur.

What is a carnosaur? It is a group of carnivorous dinosaurs, which in the Jurassic were represented by allosaurus, saurophaganax; in the Cretaceous – by Giganotosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Mapusaurus and so on. Compared to tyrannosaurs and abelisaurs, the carnosaurs were more gracile, so to speak: they had longer and thinner legs, lighter skulls, less powerful jaws (more designed to rip and tear rather than to grip and crush), and correspondingly – longer and stronger front legs and claws, as you can see for yourself in a museum, or a paleontology book, or online. The I-Rex has these features too – especially the front limbs – so why is it a Rex? You could have as well called it a “Megalo-raptor” or something along those lines, and it would be just as true! The real T-Rex should sue this impostor for the unlawful appropriating of its name or something...

Anything else? There is the blatant disregard or mocking of the modern paleontological discoveries – JP3 had its own share of problems, but at least its’ raptors had protofeathers, and the Spinosaurus featured there was not so much wrong, as it was outdated, just as the featherless raptors in the first JP films were. Speaking of raptors: for Crichton, in the original novel, velociraptors were not a name of a specific species, but a term that he used as a synonym for a generic ‘raptor’, to describe such dinosaurs as the Deinonychus (a bigger, stronger species of ‘raptor’ than the Velociraptor was) instead; once again, he was more scientifically accurate than his followers in the field of mass media are.

As for the latest incarnation of JP (-related franchise) raptors...yeah. They are still the size of Deinonychus, but are still – apparently – identified as velociprators by fans and filmmakers. The fact that they are featherless and scaly is only an extra insult to an injury, but still. The telepathically communicating dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles put all science (paleontology?) out of the window, which contrasts sharply with the main message of the film – artificial animals are bad, Dr. Frankenstein was wrong; man should not meddle with what he does not understand in the name of science, etc. I would not go that far to say that JW has been sponsored by creationists to discredit science in general, but discredit science the JW cast and crew do all the same.

(And on top of all the paleontological inaccuracies JW had some legal problems as well, mainly in regards to who had actually written the story – the WGA had to get involved; I’m not sure if it was Writers Guild of America East or West, but that’s not the point; the point is that the film hadn’t been yet aired, and yet there already are legal problems with it. Sad.)

While JW is dealing with problems legal and scientific, “Agents” have to deal with Hydra instead. Well, most of them anyways; Skye has to deal with her parents instead. So far, she’s got a delusional, perfectionist father, who puts insane into ‘insane genius’, and has physical prowess not unlike that of the Incredible Hulk, just like in the comics, and a mother, who is obsessed with research and protecting – and running – her town of Afterlife; a typical modern American family gone nasty, in the other words. To make things more complex (potentially), there is also Lincoln, a young man she may have developed a crush on; Raina, who is Raina, and Gordon, who may be Raina’s only friend in the world for the moment. Together, combined, these people may make life in Afterlife more complex...even if one forgets about the fact that Lincoln was captured by Hydra alongside his new potential friend Deathlok the Cyborg...and Skye’s mother appears to be the sort of a person who doesn’t like complications...then again, she had lived with Skye’s father, who is a complex character, in an insane sort of way...where were we?

Right, the rest of the team. They got Grant Ward and Kara Lynn, sure enough, but somehow this plot line did not have the same impact as the one dealing with Skye and her family did. Grant’s re-integration into the rest of the team just did not feel natural, but rather rushed; and the team itself appeared to lack the moral high ground that is needed, when dealing with Grant and 33; Coulson’s idea of a carrot – S.H.I.E.L.D. erases Grant’s memory and makes him a normal man – is flawed, and not just because this is a lot like the mental/memory manipulation that Whitehall and the rest of Hydra had practised... yeah. (And Kara Lynn was not even included in the negotiations – who did Coulson think he was by dealing with her in such a high-handed manner? Headmaster Dumbledore? Aye and Fitz almost got his throat slit for this.)

Moral ground aside, this plotline also feels rushed and forced: Coulson and Ward switched from arguing with each other at gunpoint to watching each other’s back within an episode (though that came as a surprise to Coulson, admittedly.) So did Lance and Kara Lynn, of course, but considering that Bobbi is getting rather friendly with Mack...who knows? Maybe the ship HunterBird is more broken-up than it initially looked like. True, there are rumors of a Lance/Bobbi spin-off going around, but, firstly, it all depends on the actors, and secondly, not unlike the “Agent Carter” plotline it could be a filler arc that takes place in the past (with more of agent Isabelle/Xena/LL thrown into the mix, maybe?), so all bets are still off.

And finally, the villains (not counting Grant and Kara Lynn). Dr. List is ruthless and efficient; Bakshi is back being charge and something of a creep; Cal and his ex-wife were already discussed (though it is anyone’s guess if they are villains or not); and there was an official mention of the good baron von Strucker too (and a possible tie with the upcoming new Avengers movie). Hydra villains are getting badder, basically – will S.H.I.E.L.D. be able to stand up to the challenge? Only time will tell.

Until next time!

S.H.I.E.L.D., Afterlife - April 7

And so it happened that yet another episode of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” was aired on TV. Awesome! But first – few other bits of info.

First of all – real life here – we appear to have acquired a couple of pigeons on our balcony. We have no idea of how to get rid of them, and barely more intentions if we want to in the first place. So far it seems that the pigeons are roosting there, and not nesting, but I would not bet on it, so for the moment the pigeons are there to stay.

Second – also real life here – it seems that the scientists (paleontologists) have decided that Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus are two different dinosaurs. Leaving aside that the Apatosaurus family accounts for up to 4 different species, this is really exciting news; it seems that the main different between the cousins is that the Apatosaurus is the slightly bigger and bulker dinosaur. Neat.

Third – here we go to TV land – is that the fifth season of MLP: FIM has begun to air. The season starter concerning the cutie marks was good – it introduced a new villain into that universe, the Mane 6 weren’t the ones to save the day, actually – and MLP: FIM in general has changed its tune: now the villain isn’t bringing chaos and change into Equestria, she – Starlight Glimmer – is bringing order and monotony instead. Clever move on Hasbro management, maybe they have experienced some change of their own...

Finally, about the latest “Agents” episode, “Afterlife”. In this particular episode, several things happened – primarily Skye has arrived at the titular destination; fortunately, it isn’t what one expects, but rather some sort of a Shangri-La-like place, where Skye should be able learn how to use her powers in peace. The catch is that both Raina and Cal are there as well – let us talk about them for a bit.

It is easy to dislike Raina – all she did had been stirring up trouble for Skye/Daisy and her coworkers, but conversely she had always been dominated by someone else (like Cal) and she was always in Skye’s shadows, a replacement, and not a very good one, perhaps. It is always bad to be perpetually stuck in second place, and to add an injury to the insult, Skye, who had never wanted it, has become something of a prototype superhero (agent Quake from the comic-verse, perhaps?), while Raina, who had been always eager, has become a chupacabra instead. One could start to feel sympathy for Raina here, you know?

With Cal it is more straightforward – just like his comic-verse counterpart, Mr. Hyde, Cal is insane, selfish, and bipolar. However, Gordon (the grimlock to Raina’s chupacabra) apparently can handle him well enough, as can Cal’s wife (Skye’s biological mother?). Her character has just made an appearance, but there is already something of a Fu Manchu vibe about her, suggesting that there is a snake in Aftermath’s paradise, so to speak.

Then again, Skye already does not seem to find Aftermath to her liking – it is too static and quiet for her: she is a woman of action, of strong ideas and ideals, and the quiet and serene retreat of Aftermath just may not be the place that she’ll want to stay permanently – though perhaps she could be persuaded to stay awhile...

And while she stays, Coulson and Hunter are planning to find and rescue her (and given the universe of “Agents” their attempt will probably not be misguided). To do that, they will need help – and it comes in the shape of Deathlok, also known as Mike Petersen. This is really good, for Deathlok was very important in the previous season, and so far he has proven to be more formidable than before. That is good, because Coulson and Hunter will also need Grant Ward to help, and as it was shown in the “Love” episode, Grant has apparently cooled his ardor for Skye quite a bit, and his parting with Coulson was even worse. Odds are, this is the sink or swim moment for Grant’s character – he will either start returning to the good guys’ side and become a proper S.H.I.E.L.D. agent once more, or will become fully a villain and probably die soon enough (Simmons, for example, wants to kill him). Considering that “Agents” tend to provide the unexpected it can go either way.

As for the rest of the team... Fitz and Simmons have made up, and have smuggled Fury’s toolbox – a vibranium cube – out of the Playground. Captain Gonzales and his people may be quite competent, (and apparently they got the numbers on their side too), but so are Fitz and Simmons – they have come a long way since their naive debut back in S1. They may no longer be able to talk in synch, as they have done before, but they have become much more mature as well – Mack, Morse and others will not know what hit them.

But finally we have Melinda May, who has issues of her own – and since the next episode deals with her back-story, well...let us leave her for next week as well. 

So: Deathlok is back, Coulson is starting to fight back and to recollect his team, Fitz and Simmons have proved their mettle, Grant may get a last chance to get his, Skye is going to get rescued whether he wants to or not, and May will get a special episode about her next week.