IGN Review
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: "0-8-4" Review
It's got a bar. A really nice one.
October 1, 2013
by Eric Goldman
Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
There was a point in this episode, as a gunfight was erupting outside, explosions included, while some of our SHIELD agents were inside grabbing an artifact from an ancient temple, that I thought, “This is like The A-Team meets Indiana Jones.” And then decided that was a pretty fun combo. Despite being tied into the current Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are elements of SHIELD that feel very much like an old school TV series, which is actually quite enjoyable.
The second episode of Agents of SHIELD wasn’t as strong as the first and did point out some issues the show will need to work on as it develops. Fitz and Simmons were the least developed characters in the premiere and while we spent more time with them here, they still feel too much like the same character, albeit with Simmons the sunnier, more cheerful one. And even though their similarities are obviously intentional, it still isn’t helping to make them stand on their own as we get to know these people and moments like them saying, “She’s the Cavalry!” in unison are pretty grating.
Also, yes, there are points – and I know this was a complaint others had about the pilot – were the characters here can be too quipy, since so many of them could be described as “quick witted.” Though it did help to have May -- the one character not prone to delivering witty barbs -- deadpan at one moment, “You guys talk a lot” to her teammates.
One thing I really liked about this episode was how very quickly the Agents of SHIELD writers are proving to be self-aware. Coulson was criticized by Ward and May for having “kids” on his crew in the form of Fitz, Simmons and now Skye. Later, Camilla chided him for, “surrounding yourself with young, attractive agents”, and saying it was part of his midlife crisis – in the process directly dealing with criticisms this show has faced from snarky internet folks from the second the first cast photo was released. While I found these criticisms overstated, I do really enjoy how the show is dealing with the team makeup so directly.
While Camilla was fairly pedestrian as far as her characterization, it was good to meet this piece of Coulson's past - someone who was tied into old missions and who he had a romantic history with, helping to give more shading to the life he's lived. And the continuation of his love of old collectibles is great.
On the Marvel Universe front, the McGuffin this week was a weapon tied to Hydra, while we got nods to Thor and Tony Stark during the episode. The Thor one might have been one too many, but overall, I’m enjoying how the show is tied into the Marvel movies while not being directly tied into their plots. And while it was sadly basically given away beforehand, it was certainly cool to see Nick Fury make his first appearance on the series – and that he was the one to bring up that Skye is a risk.
Speaking of which, Skye turning out to be a double agent is cool and it’s good to see things aren’t as simple as they seem with the team coming together. However, the fact that she already looked so damn torn when getting the message from the Rising Tide is undercutting things considerably. If she’s already this conflicted on her first week with SHIELD, it’s hard to see this playing out with anything but her eventually turning on Rising Tide and joining with SHIELD fully. But I’d love to be wrong on that
Meanwhile, we got Coulson once again describing Tahiti as “a magical place,” officially turning that phrase into something creepy – something it seems he is wired to say when the subject is brought up. I don’t mean that to say Coulson is a robot, mind you. But… well, hey, it certainly is one possibility!
