Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Might Not Need An "Afterlife" . . . But It Gets One With A Decent Episode!

The Good: Moments of character, Decent plot development, Good performances
The Bad: Serves a VERY large cast, so it feels somewhat soap operatic
The Basics: "Afterlife" continues the sprawling story of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. well-enough, with some legitimate surprises, but without truly delving into any of the characters substantively enough to be compelling.


It is a rare thing that Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. beats The Flash in my estimation. Last week, though, was one of the rare weeks where Marvel's Tuesday night television show kicked the ass of The Flash. "One Door Closes" soundly thumped "Trickters" (reviewed here!) and left Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. with the momentum coming into this week. The new episode is "Afterlife" and it manages to take the potentially disappointing end of "One Door Closes" and run with it in a good direction.

"One Door Closes" (reviewed here!) ended (not a huge spoiler) with Coulson on the run and his only immediate asset was . . . Agent Hunter. Hunter has been, arguably, the least-interesting new character on Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Hinging a major plot on him is a risky proposition, but given how "Afterlife" focuses on Coulson with Hunter as a wisecracking sidekick, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. makes it work.

Coulson attempts to buy a new car when Agent Hunter steals him a new one and the two head off to try to rescue Skye. Skye is in the care of Gordon, where she has been for two days, and he is "healing" her. Back at Coulson's headquarters, Gonzales and his S.H.I.E.L.D. cel try to figure out what is in Fury's "toolbox" and Fitz and Simmons opt to quit, rather than help him. Meanwhile, Skye learns about her Inhuman heritage from Lincoln Campbell, who tells her about the society of people who are prepared for transformation at Gordon's enclave. There, Skye is frustrated when she it told that the transition is irreversible and Gordon cannot undo what has happened to her.

Coulson and Hunter remain in the bunker designed for Bruce Banner where they await Gonzales's S.H.I.E.L.D. team. While they are able to initially incapacitate the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, Gonzales's team turns the tables on them. Fortunately, Coulson has some surprise back-up and that plays remarkably well for getting him and hunter the Quinjet that they need. While Fitz abandons Simmons (based on her machinations), Skye finds Raina at the compound and that leads to both revelations and a reunion she was not expecting.

"Afterlife" is, ostensibly, the proper introduction of the Inhumans to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Skye is an Inhuman (though the difference between Mutants - X-Men - and "Inhumans" seems to be more a matter of choice and engineering at this point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and by having Gordon and his whole compound revealed, it seems like Skye is a logical transition from Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. to the announced Inhumans film that is due out in several years.

As The Avengers: Age Of Ultron looms, "Afterlife" seems to be doing exactly what fans of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe would expect. The Avengers: Age Of Ultron will feature some cataclysmic events which might fundamentally change the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. are now the most regular part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the only excuse not to have its members in the film or suffering dealing with the consequences of the film is to have the characters in this corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so overwhelmed with their own conflict and plots that they cannot possibly be involved in the events of aftermath of the big cinematic event. "Afterlife" actually sets that up incredibly well. Having a schism between Gonzales and Coulson makes for a reasonable conflict that would keep the Agents out of non-S.H.I.E.L.D. conflicts.

Because "Afterlife" has threads with Coulson, Skye, Gonzales, May, Bobbi Morse, Jiaying and Calvin and Fitz, the character element of the episode is stretched ridiculously thin. Skye learns about her nature, but the only real development comes in the rather unlikely form of Simmons. Simmons has been waffling about working around Fitz and in "Afterlife," she chooses S.H.I.E.L.D. over her lab partner. The plot-heavy nature of "Afterlife" makes it hard to develop all of the characters or give any of them significant attention.

Ironically, in the plot-heavy "Afterlife," the best performance comes from Elizabeth Henstridge. It's impossible to write about what Henstridge does as Jemma Simmons without spoiling the end of the episode, but Henstridge's performance is what sells it.

"Afterlife" is an engaging hour of television in which a lot happens, but the scatter approach makes for an episode filled with stuff, but not a lot that is easy to describe. The episode moves Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it has some decent surprises, but it is more pulp television than great television.

For other works with Stoney Westmoreland, please check out my reviews of:
World Trade Center
Matchstick Men
"Muse" - Star Trek: Voyager

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. - The Complete Second Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the sophomore season here!
Thanks!]

7/10

For other television reviews, please check out my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Finds Itself In “The Magical Place,” Which Is Starkly Realistic.

The Good: Fleshes out Coulson well, Adequate performances
The Bad: Somewhat listless and straightforward without much zest or originality, Very plot-focused
The Basics: Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns with “The Magical Place,” an episode that is anything but charismatic and interesting, instead focusing on delivering answers to the first major mystery of the series.


When it comes to current television, there are very few shows I watch religiously anymore. In fact, I can count the shows I pay attention to in their first-run (prior to their DVD release as a full season) on one hand. Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of them. And yet, even though I knew the series was returning from its midseason hiatus with “The Magical Place,” I found myself so ambivalent to the show – based on the first ten episodes of the series – that I actually failed to tune in to it last night. It’s not a good sign for the show when it’s so forgettable or that one does not anticipate it with enthusiasm.

And yet, “The Magical Place” picks up where “The Bridge” (reviewed here!) left off with the promised reveal of what happened to Agent Phil Coulson after he was killed in The Avengers (reviewed here!). In fact, it is impossible to discuss “The Magical Place” without spoiling the end of “The Bridge.” Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns to the story it left off with a cliffhanger mere hours after the climactic events of “The Bridge” . . . and yet the team has gelled in a way that has it working together like an efficient fighting force (much like how the survivors were re-introduced to viewers in the third season premiere of The Walking Dead, reviewed here!).

Opening with a mercenary selling a piece of foraged Chtari metal from the attack on New York, Agents Ward and May from Coulson’s team break onto the scene to recover the alien technology. Thirty-six hours after Coulson was turned over to Centipede terrorists, Agent Hand is in control of Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. cell and she, sensibly, relieves Skye of duty. Given a satellite phone, Skye escapes S.H.I.E.L.D. custody so she can contribute to the team effort to find Coulson without S.H.I.E.L.D. scrutiny (or resources). Coulson awakens in the care of Po, who reveals that his clairvoyant cannot understand how Coulson came back to life and he begins torturing Coulson to discover his resurrection secret.

While Skye works to get access to clues, Coulson stages a jailbreak (which only reveals to him where he is imprisoned) and Ward begins interrogating the seller they captured to find where Coulson is. Impersonating May, Skye interrogates Rathman about his clients, who are dealing in stolen alien technology. Hand’s obsession with putting the heat on Centipede puts the S.H.I.E.L.D. team on edge as she de-prioritizes finding Coulson. As Coulson is tortured for information, the agents work to find and recover him.

“The Magical Place” is one of the better episodes of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., though it is entirely unsurprising for those who have been paying attention to the series. The revelation of what happened to Coulson is somewhat anticlimactic to fans of Marvel comics and films, though it does not make “The Magical Place” at all unpleasant to watch. Coulson’s character continues to be enhanced through some additional backstory elements (it turns out, Coulson is Batman – wink, wink!) and Clark Gregg wonderfully plays Coulson cool. In “The Magical Place,” Gregg is given an understated part to play and he does it well. Even as he is threatened, Coulson is scanning the room, scanning Raina, assessing his situation masterfully. Gregg takes a very limited role in “The Magical Place” and manages to rule every scene he is in.

The relationship between Ward and May gets strained over Skye’s involvement in the investigation. But even as May seems to betray Ward’s interest in Skye, the intuitive viewer will figure out long before she reveals it, that May was cutting Skye loose from S.H.I.E.L.D. scrutiny. None of the performers in the b-plot truly shine, but none of them are bad, either. They deliver for a very plot-centered rescue operation and that does not give the regulars a chance to shine.

“The Magical Place” leaves the first season of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. with only one resounding mystery – that of Skye’s parents and backstory. The series began with the fundamental question of how the dead character of Agent Coulson was being resurrected for the television show; “The Magical Place” finally gives explicit-enough answers to that and writers Paul Zbyszewski and Brent Fletcher do what they have to with remarkably little flair or charisma. For a show that started with a real tongue-in-cheek appreciation for what they were creating, “The Magical Place” is not bad, but it is very dry.

The result is a necessary progression of the Agent Coulson plotline and character that leaves the series dangling for the next big arcs, as opposed to truly feeling like it is part of a serious, complicated, story.

[Knowing that single episodes are an inefficient way to get episodes, it's worth looking into Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. - The Complete First Season on DVD or Blu-Ray, which is also a better economical choice than buying individual episodes. Read my review of the debut season here!
Thanks!]

6.5/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Television Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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