I am starting to look at this show in two ways. Hopefully from what I’ve read on what’s to come in second half of this season my small complaint won’t have to get larger. But a lot of this recap will deal with how much I love this show for what it is, not what it should be. Though maybe I’m not the person who should be dictating what the show should be, but what the reason is behind all of the complaints that I am starting to find to be somewhat valid. Perhaps we should just get it out of the way. Mainly I think the problem I have with the show is actually connecting it to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though every week the show drops a Marvel name from the movies or rants about a situation that occurred, I still feel that the show is disconnected. Maybe it’s just me and I am trying to reach for something more, but there is a reason that I look forward to Arrow more than SHIELD every week and I’m not alone, and Arrow isn’t even connected to anything else yet (they are just getting going on the first spin-off!). Even with Agent Coulson being the main character and his connection to everything in Phase 1, not so much Phase 2 since no one really knows he survived the battle of NY, I really think it’s time to bring in some bigger names and make some new references to Marvel stuff. For example, Centipede are the bad guys, who cares. Maybe someone can prove me wrong but this group was pretty much created for the show. Why are we diverting from an already rich stable of villains to choose from to bring in something original and unknown? While I can appreciate originality, there’s a reason why people are getting upset at this show and that’s lack of classic references. I think I’ve made my point on my love/hate relationship with the show, so on to why I love this show and a little bit of a recap on last night’s episode.
I love AOS because it’s a well written show and though my previous complaints are valid there are so many aspects why this is one of my favorite new shows of the year. First, FitzSimmons. Every week I’m going to tell you how at first I didn’t think I was going to like this duo but with their quirkiness and back and forth banter they make me laugh every week. Second, the show is about the team learning to work together, and after this week’s events it’s going to have to happen more now than ever. Third, when the show gets going it is action packed and doesn’t hold back. This week we see the return of Extremis tech “infected” super soldier, now SHIELD agent, Mike Peterson. He has been recruited by SHIELD and he is looking to make right his actions from the first episode when he went berserk and almost killed everyone. The episode starts off with some Extremis powered soldiers busting into a prison to break out Edison Po, remember this weirdo that was introduced to us when the girl in the flower dress, aka Raina, visited him in prison. Well ends up Po is a military tactics expert and seems to be one of the head honchos for Centipede. We learn this week that the group seems to be headed by an individual called the Clairvoyant, who may or may not be able to see the future. Since we have not been introduced to the character we really don’t know who he/she is. This is where I am hoping that it will end up being a classic Marvel villain. Coulson confirms that there are no true, reported Clairvoyants in the world so it is a mystery to everyone who this individual is. Centipede has been on the run from SHIELD but Po decides that it’s time to take a stand. So now it’s time for Peterson to prove that he is ready for a mission. Our team goes in, takes a beating but manages to take down one of the three Extemis soldiers that ambush them. Remember the episode Eye-Spy with Akela, and how Centipede had implanted a skill switch into the eyes of their subjects? Well the soldier they take down in the warehouse, Centipede quickly takes him out. The other two of course hightail it outta there! So now Centipede knows that Richardson has survived his Extremis implant and is now operating on his own, they realize that SHIELD has the answers what they are calling Stage 3 and they have a plan.
Peterson has been dealing with the guilt of facing his son after what happened at Union Station. So after a nice heart to heart with Coulson he decides to reach out to him and let him know how everything is going. Bad thing, Raina has located him and kidnaps him and now it’s up to Richardson to get his son back. The team heads to the meeting point where Richardson is to trade himself for his son, unfortunately this deal has a secret side to it. Centipede isn’t interested in Richardson, they want Coulson! The end of the episode is pretty intense and Richardson tries to make things right and goes after Coulson and Centipede but is seemly killed in an explosion! Centipede gets away and in the end credits scene we find out that they are very interested in why Coulson has returned from the dead and how. So that revelation is coming in the second half of the season. But the real question is how long will it be until the show actually returns? We were just put on a two-week hiatus and now we are looking at the next episode airing on January 7th, it is listed as the mid-season premiere and I really hope it is! Here’s a sneak peek at the as of now untitled episode!
Agents of SHIELD airs Tuesdays at 8pmEST on ABC!
Stay tooned 😛
~CynicNerd
