Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Review: “Meet the New Boss”

Back with a vengeance
(This review contains spoilers!)

          So after I really disliked last week’s premiere, I was hoping that S.H.I.E.L.D would do what it always does and bounce back with a crazy surprise of some description.

          While this episode wasn’t exactly up to the lofty standards the show’s set for itself in the past, it was a clear improvement on where we started, and left me looking forward to what’s coming next.

          The central focus of this episode was establishing the ghost storyline that began last week, as four of the spookums gathered to…do something. I guess they’re trying to get revenge on whoever turned them into ghosts, but it wasn’t made clear. Ultimately, they were the weakest part of the episode, with some pretty lackluster effects and acting. Fortunately, Ghost Rider returned as well, and he was just as awesome as last week.

          The other major focus was May, who’s been cursed by one of the ghosts and is slowly going insane. Her descent was excellently portrayed by Ming-Na Wen, who continues to be the show’s secret weapon. I really feel that May’s sort of been benched these past few seasons as characters like Daisy and Mack get more of the spotlight, so it’s nice to see her in a starring role again.

          Speaking of Daisy, I’m sorry, but I can’t take her seriously in that outfit. She looks like a 14 year old goth kid after a Hot Topic shopping spree, and acts the part too. With Hunter, Bobbi and Lincoln all gone, she’s easily my least favourite character on the main cast right now.

          While we didn’t see much of everyone else this week, we did get our first look at the new director, who goes by the extremely intimidating name of…Jeffrey.

          In all seriousness though, I found everything about the new director to be fantastic. I love that he can be charming and cool when he wants to be, but that there’s a definite darkness there. I love how he made the ultimate decision to send May away after her insanity peaks because he knew Coulson couldn’t do that himself. And I think the fact they’ve made him an Inhuman is a fantastic idea. One has to wonder if the Sokovia Accords have anything to do with him being appointed as director.

          This was a real return to form for S.H.I.E.L.D in my eyes. After the joyless premiere, this was an excellent way to come back with more of the things I love about the show. I’m still not sold on the ghosts (nor do I like the robot subplot, which was thankfully absent this week), but I’m interested in seeing where it goes. If we can get more episodes like this, this season just might be able to save itself from its clichéd plotlines.

FINAL SCORE
7/10

Good

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