Saturday, 17 March 2018

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Review: “Principia”


(Hammer)Time to go
(This review contains spoilers!)

          I’m just gonna cut right to the chase here: I thought this episode was terrible. Like, full blown awful. The whole story about collecting gravitonium wasn’t really interesting, the character dialogue was pretty cringey, and the subplot with the return of Werner Von Strucker was just plain sad. I’m not even sure what purpose he and Dove Cameron’s character serve in this season aside from being a new Hydra or Watchdogs that Team S.H.I.E.L.D can fight their way through while trying to complete an objective as well as a way to tie up any loose ends the show has left hanging.

          So today instead of recapping the episode and talking about a few specific things I did or didn’t like, I’ll instead be talking about why I think it’s time for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D to hang up its lanyard and join Agent Carter on the big broadcast network in the sky.

          I am proud to say that I have never missed an episode of S.H.I.E.L.D. The show has had its ups and downs over the years, but I have always been there to see what Coulson and crew were up to next. I remember that when the show was at its best I would literally count down the days until the next episode would be on. I adore this show.

          But with the announcement that the writing staff are going to be deliberately designing the season finale as a potential stopping point for the series, I think it’d be in their best interests to leave the show there. I have a few reasons for this.

          First of all, the MCU has changed dramatically since Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D premiered back in 2013. Initially designed to tie in with the epic shakeups to the Marvel world brought in by Captain America: The Winter Soldier, once Hydra had finally been removed from the fold once and for all this show was kinda left as a rebel without a cause. Season 4 was quick to solve this problem by bringing in three separate storylines that capitalized on the fun and adventurous parts of S.H.I.E.L.D, but after what I can only assume to be a dramatic budget slash Season 5 has been little more than talking in dull grey hallways with barely any fun to speak of.

          Why not end a show based on an organization that has barely even been mentioned in the MCU movies since Phase 3 started and replace it with something that ties in closer with the films that seem to be getting more and more successful with each passing release? Why not have a show set in one of the wilder parts of the Marvel Cosmic Universe or in Wakanda or somewhere we can’t see anywhere else but in a Marvel property? Just because Inhumans stank like a rotten egg on a summer’s day doesn’t mean that a Marvel galactic-themed show can’t work with a different creative team.

          Plus with Infinity War and its sequel next year the MCU as a whole will be changing dramatically, and that means having to let go of some of the stuff from the past. I think S.H.I.E.L.D will fit comfortably being remembered as the MCU’s first and most popular TV show in a pre-Infinity War world.

          And that leads me to my last point: this season has been so disappointing that I’d rather see one of my favourite shows go out with some dignity left than have another season twist the knife even harder. I want to remember S.H.I.E.L.D as a show that had our heroes fighting Ghost Rider, evil Inhumans and Grant Ward, not a show where they stand talking in a hallway with no discernible end goal in mind.

          So, yeah, that’s my thoughts on why a show I love so dearly should end. This episode was crap, and I’ll see you next week.

FINAL SCORE
2/10

Awful

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