Originally written May 13, 2014

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a pretty risky experiment for Marvel. This is the first time (that I know of) that Marvel has tried to create a TV series that has tie-ins with its movie universe, where events from the movies impact the show as it goes along. It’s an interesting kind of show to try, and it definitely had its successes and failures in its first season. However, while the show definitely had a rocky start, by the end of its 22 episode run, it got really good.

Part of the hardships Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. faces is trying to be connected with the Marvel movies while also trying to be its own show. Once again, this is a problem that was more prevalent in the beginning, where they were overly referencing the movie universe for no reason, but by the end of season 1, the show really found its groove and it earned its own individual place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I do think it might be one of those shows where you have to be heavily invested in the Marvel universe to enjoy though. After all, the movies are about superheroes, larger than life beings. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is simply about a team of human agents, with no exciting powers. The team is headed by Agent Coulson, who has appeared in many Marvel movies but was assumed to have been killed in The Avengers. However, he’s back from the dead, and one of the most obvious mysteries present in season 1 is how did he survive being stabbed through the heart by Loki.

The team he leads is a cast of entirely new characters created just for the show though. There’s Grant Ward, a serious, stoic guy who is a specialist and the most physically intimidating member of the team. There’s Melinda May, a reserved woman who is best at combat. There’s Fitz and Simmons, two best friends who function as the scientists and tech specialists of the group. And finally, there’s the newcomer, Skye, who has a mysterious, unknown past and functions as the computer hacker of the team. Admittedly, in the beginning of the show, these characters are really hard to get attached to, and you don’t really care what happens to them for a while. However, they all develop greatly as the show progresses, and I really enjoyed them all by the end of it. They all brought something pretty interesting to the table.

I honestly don’t remember too much from the earlier episodes since the show aired over the course of 8 months, and because the most noteworthy stuff of the season happens in its second half. Honestly a lot of the earlier episodes are just like weekly cases that the team looks into, with some stories more interesting than others. It was more of an episodic format, and I would have been fine if they stuck with it as long as it was executed correctly. However, in the second half of the season, they fixed a lot of their mistakes and just winded up coming up with an overarching continuous story that spanned the rest of the season. While the episodic format had its hits and misses, its continuous storyline is where it shined.

Actually, one of the biggest things the show benefited from was the recent movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Some major events happened in that movie that severely impacted the Marvel universe, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization particularly. Because of this, the show dealt with the fallout of this, and so the last 7 episodes of season 1 were nothing short of fantastic as a result of the Captain America tie-in.

So, it’s not that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was ever a bad show, in my opinion (although many disagreed early on). I enjoyed it all the way. It’s just that in the beginning it was only about a 6/10 quality show, but by the end it progressed into 9/10 territory. If it keeps its strong momentum going into its second season, the show could wind up being a real treat. Overall though, for a show that was pretty much just a big gamble, I thought its first season turned out really well, and I’m looking forward to what comes next.

4/5