Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Series Premiere - Recap: Gods Among Us
Credit: ABC
Recap and review of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Series Premiere - Pilot:
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is finally here, and any concern about its potential to crash-and-burn is easily put to rest with this series premiere. While the pilot often relies on its connection to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for quick laughs and quicker investment in the show's world, the series premiere goes a long way in allowing the series to stand as its own serialized property. There is a clear shape for this series, and it's immediately stronger for being so clearly defined in not only its world but its structure. It's the most encouraging new show of the season so far.
Of course, this isn't to say the pilot is perfect. There is a lot of story to establish in not a whole lot of time, and a lot of characters to introduce within that story, and the end result is that two-thirds of the pilot feels a bit cluttered. But man, that last third. This show gets a lot right, from the snappy dialogue to characters who are instantly identifiable and relatable despite what little we know about them. The quality of the action setpieces and CGI is also worth mentioning. But the real standout is in how everything in the episode serves towards building to an exciting conclusion. It's similar to Smallville in its "Freak of the Week" stories, but it's also similar in the confidence and self-awareness the show has about its identity right off the bat. It's not high-minded drama, but it's not pulp either. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a weekly, one-hour summer blockbuster with an overarching mythology and a slew of procedural elements, an NCIS with superpowers. And it's damn good at being all those different kinds of shows at once: adventure serial, drama, comedy, procedural.
Credit: ABC
The show addresses the elephant in the room almost immediately: after a whiz-bang opening sequence in which Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) fends off attackers in Paris, we learn that Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) survived his apparent death in The Avengers after all. As Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) explains, Coulson's death was cooked up by Nick Fury to motivate The Avengers for the Battle of New York. Ward is recruited for S.H.I.E.L.D., and he's more than up to the task, even though the world still seems in disbelief that superheroes and gods actually exist. One person who has no such problems believing the changed state of the world is Skye (Chloe Bennet), a superhero fangirl and experienced computer hacker who has an inherent mistrust of S.H.I.E.L.D., claiming that they're trying to keep the public in the dark about what really happened in New York, among other superhero-related secrets. Though Ward and Skye both serve the same narrative function (as the audience surrogate), it's Skye who ties to disparate story threads together. When she witnesses unemployed father Mike (J. August Richards) rescue a woman from a burning building with his superpowers, Skye reaches out to him to warn him about S.H.I.E.L.D., as she believes the agency is coming after him. However, she soon finds the agency knocking on the door to her van and whisking her away for interrogation.
Credit: ABC
In one of the more fun scenes of the episode, Skye exchanges smarmy quips with Ward and takes advantage of the fact that Coulson has just shot him up with an advanced form of sodium pentothol to find out more about the agency and Ward's past. It's one of several scenes in the episode that helps establish who these characters are. In addition to Ward, Coulson's team also consists of "Fitzsimmons," a weapons technology/life sciences duo made up of Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge), and legendary semi-retired S.H.I.E.L.D operative, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen). But the real story of the episode isn't about the agents, it's about how absolute power has the potential to corrupt absolutely, particularly in a world with heroes and gods. This is a conflict represented in Mike, who sets out striving to do good, but ultimately ends up gradually sliding towards villainy when the universe doesn't seem to be willing to give him a break. But there's more to it than that, as we learn that his powers are the result of a project called the Centipede, which correlates to the Extremis project from Iron Man 3: volunteers are injected with a serum that transforms them into supersoldiers, but at great risk, since the chemical has the potential to cause the subject to go supernova. In many ways, the most interesting aspect of the episode isn't the CG or the excellently-choreographed fight sequences or even the witty banter -- it's the story of a father losing himself to the desperation to be a hero, to be like the superpowered gods and not simply be the person "they step on."
Credit: ABC
That tale of corruption fuels the intense climax, as we learn that the woman Mike rescued from the burning building was the head of the division overseeing Mike's development, and she angrily tells him that her bosses didn't want to be exposed. Worse, he's growing unstable and could explode at any time. This leads to a race against time as S.H.I.E.L.D. storms a train station to prevent Mike from detonating in front of a crowd of innocent civilians. Aside from the fact that it's a well-shot, exciting sequence in itself -- a live-action Saturday morning cartoon with a big-screen action sensibility -- it's also surprisingly poignant. Clark Gregg's performance does a lot to prove that Agent Coulson is a character worthy of leading a primetime drama, as he communicates a lot of warmth in his desire to protect Mike and turn him away from the dark path he's treading. It would be easier to simply kill him and have it over with, but that isn't an approach Coulson believes in, not as long as there is still the chance to turn things around without collateral damage. Ward tranquilizes Mike after Coulson pacifies him by saying that he still has the chance to be a hero, and it's an earned moment in an episode that does its best to build to this very point. Another moment the show earns is the ending scene, in which Coulson offers Skye a spot on his team. In every respect, the pilot establishes not only its stakes but its concept, in addition to its cast, in as clean and succinct a fashion as possible. Had the episode had a few more minutes to breathe, it might have been even better simply by virtue of not being so cluttered in the early going. But this is still a strong premiere regardless.
Credit: ABC
The show is simple on its surface, but there is room for a lot of depth, and it's that potential that will put this show above similar action-adventure shows, or dramas or procedurals. It's a singularly unique show that's worth giving a look. It's rare for a fall drama pilot to be this fun.