Less than 5 – Skip it, 6 – OK, 7 – Good, 8 – Great, 9 – Phenomenal, 10 – You owe it to yourself to watch this episode!
Now that is how you start a season! Absorbing Man, Peggy and the Howling Commandos, intense narrative and action, and HYDRA everywhere; ‘Shadows’ kicks things off with a bang and proves that AoS has heard the complaints and plans to show everyone that it more than deserves its status as a part of the MCU. Welcome back guys.
With SHIELD in disarray after the resurgence of HYDRA, Coulson is tasked with rebuilding the peace keeping organization from the ground up. Following the events of last season, Director Coulson and his team resort to hiring mercenaries due to the general distrust floating around the globe. Ward is kept locked up in the basement of the ‘Playground’ (the new SHIELD headquarters glimpsed at the end of season 1), Skye is a seasoned field agent under the tutelage of May and Triplett and Fitz isn’t quite feeling himself. Everyone feels as if they have a clear path ahead of them and, for the most part, everyone plays those parts very well. Even the new guys feel right at home.
The major complaint people had about the initial season was that it felt too isolated from the wider MCU and suffered from a lack of focus. Right out of the gate we are told where we are headed and how it’s going to happen. Agent Coulson is running around the globe recruiting for his new agency and the rest of his team is gathering Intel and tech to help rebuild the base of operations. Plus a cameo with Peggy Carter (the beautiful Hayley Atwell) herself and the Howling Commandoes (Kenneth Choi reprising his Captain America: The First Avenger role as Jim Morita and Neal McDunough as Dum Dum Dugan) doesn’t hurt things a bit. We also get to see a bit of the former HYDRA in action as well as how relevant they still are in the present day. This all adds up to create a much more streamlined and focused direction for the show and it makes a huge difference.
Before we get into our heroes let’s take a second to talk villains. Brian Patrick Wade as the Absorbing Man is completely badass. He is right up there with the Winter Soldier in terms of getting the job done; taking multiple magazines full of bullets, jumping out of buildings, flipping speeding vans and general absorbing shenanigans equals awesome. The more we see of Wade the better, and if he finds his way into a film than even more so.
Second on our list of baddies is Glenn Talbot (Adrian Pasdar), returning from season 1. He has seen a promotion due to his efforts in bringing down HYDRA and his newfound power will cause a problem or two for Coulson’s team. Pasdar does an excellent job as always, this time giving us a deeper look into his family life and personal feelings toward his vendetta against SHIELD and Coulson in particular.
Now to our good guys! Adding a little more grit to the mix is newcomer Nick Blood as Lance Hunter, a merc who isn’t afraid to question an order. Hunter provides a nice new dynamic we didn’t see very much of in the first season. Coulson as director will be making a number of tough calls as the show continues and it’s good to know someone will call him out if things sound too dangerous or illogical, as was clearly the case in the climax of ‘Shadows’. Nick Blood brings just the right amount of sarcasm to the character to keep him from feeling like a tool. He will be a thorn in the team’s side but in the best possible way. He may not agree with everything being done but he is capable and loyal to his friends. His loyalty to SHIELD is still up in the air but it will be an interesting ride to see how that plays out.
Along with Lance Hunter comes Isabelle Hartley (Lucy Lawless/Xena, Warrior Princess!), a SHIELD vet that has been undercover for a number of years, thus her allegiance with her mercenary pals. Hartley is immediately put through the grinder and proves that she is one tough cookie. For the premiere episode to provide such intense and emotional moments is fantastic but to have them feature almost completely new characters and make audiences elicit legitimate responses is nothing but brilliant. I have only known Hunter and Hartley for a whole 40 minutes but they have earned their spot on this team. Her undying loyalty to Coulson is yet to be explained but Lawless’ delivery instantly makes her a likeable member of the cast and a welcome addition to boot.
We also are introduced to two other new faces but they don’t get nearly as much attention as Nick Blood or Lucy Lawless. Henry Simmons as Alfonso Mackenzie seems like a good fit, he is likeable and imposing but with only a minute or two of screen time there is little else to say. The same goes for Wilmer Calderon as Idaho. He has a line here or there but his presence in the episode is minimal and as a supporting character its fine that way.
Now to our returning agents. Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson is always on point and we see that here again. As the new Director of SHIELD Coulson has his hands full and we can clearly see he is taking the job seriously but he still manages to get a good quip in now and again to remind us that this is still the Coulson we know and love, even if he is giving the orders now. Ming Na-Wen as Melinda May is her usual stoic self, kicking butt and taking names. ‘Shadows’ doesn’t do anything for her in terms of development but she is still a ton of fun to watch. Brett Dalton as Ward was fantastic. Ward is beaten and deranged, looking more like Hannibal Lector than his former self, he is locked up behind an energy shield secluded from the rest of the base. His slow and calculated speech pattern makes for an uncomfortable interaction between himself and Skye but it is excellent to watch. How and if he manages to redeem himself will definitely be a highlight of the upcoming season.
Speaking of Skye (Chloe Bennett), she continues to be one of the weaker links in the cast. She has grown into a competent agent but Bennett still lacks the attitude to pull it off. Her introduction scene had her half laughing when she delivered her lines and when she holds a gun she looks like a turkey. These are easily fixed with practice but it dissolves the illusion that this girl has evolved into a mini Melinda May.
Finally we have Elisabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker as Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz respectively. The last we saw of Fitz he was in a coma after sacrificing himself to save Simmons. Seeing him now is all the more heartbreaking. Suffering from brain damage he is no longer able to support the team as he once did, despite his best efforts. Iain plays it brilliantly every step of the way, you can’t help but feel bad for him (if you don’t you’re a heartless fool!). Henstridge is kept at a distance here but plays the consoling friend fantastically. The chemistry between these two from last season is still in full effect, I can only ask for more FitzSimmons. The twist between these two was completely unexpected and makes watching these characters in the coming episodes a major priority.
Featuring great character moments, intense and emotional action pieces, a crazy awesome villain and a razor sharp focus on the future, Agents of SHIELD is off to a phenomenal start, here’s to hoping it can continue for the rest of the season.
Overall this episode gets a 9.5/10