Agents of the Shield, love it or hate it?

Both? I was disappointed initially. I'm a long time Whedon fan and was expecting something that would live up to his caliber of TV writing. But I think too many suits got involved early which muddle the direction and homogenized the product for as large an audience as possible.

It grew on me throughout the season though. Still not a fan of Ward at all really, but he's better on that villain role than as a good guy. I liked the addition of Trip(I think that was his name) at the end of the season as he worked better in that dynamic than Ward ever did.

Skye grew on me by the time the Hydra plot kicked in as did Fitz and Simmons. Coulson and May we pretty strong from the beginning.

I'm excited to see if Season 2 builds on what the momentum they got towards the end of Season 1 or if they backtrack more into that bland case of the week style they had early. But I'm optimistic.

 

Is it just me, or is this show actually getting interesting since the return from hiatus? I mean its had some high points and low points in the past. And it is by no means perfect. Lots of rough acting and forced plot contrivances. But in general, I'm more engaged in the episodes than I ever have been in the past. It feels like it matters and it feels like I actually know and care about the characters and what will happen to them next.

I mean I wished they had earned the Mac/Simmons inhuman bigotry more instead of rushing it for plot convenience. And some of the Skye/Mockingbird/Mac/Simmons acting has felt a little heavy handed (and I was a big fan of Simmons in season 1, so it pains me to say that). At times it feels like the actors and directors don't get the tone of the script and it comes off as forced. (Similar to the first X-men movie in how they botched the style of Whedon's wit and it came out as too forced).

I know I just said a lot of bad stuff about the show. But I really am enjoying it more than ever. Between this and a strong first season for Agent Carter, I'm actually optimistic for things to come. Too bad no one is watching these shows. They may not have long to live to realize that potential.

 

So far so good. The action has been top notch this season, and the characters work has taken a big step forward. I just hope they dont' get too bogged down in this slow moving rogue Quake story line. It's started nicely, but if they spend the whole seasons watching Daisy "not learning the lessons of team work" it could get very old very quick.

 

In the show's defense, it does seem that the time slot change has rid them of some of those "network note" symptoms. Not all, but a noticeable amount. Whether they stick with that who knows. But it feels much more like a real TV show this season, rather than a mish mash of conflicting ideas and priorities as it has at times in the past. Some of this last episode I found legitimately thrilling. Which is something I rarely say about this show.