Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2
DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD has been wonderful from the very beginning, but it seems as if, with each new episode, they continue to raise the bar. The characters become ever more complex, with the types of deep motivations and reasoning that you would expect to see in people who have dedicated themselves to a covert agency. The fact that there is so much betrayal and shifting alliances only makes further sense when you consider that this season dealt with the fallout from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Clark Gregg and Ming-Na Wen continue to deliver flawless performances that suck you into the drama. Even if some of their reactions and decisions seem corny when viewed from a realistic perspective, the show manages to balance the emotional impact of the real-world and the fun and entertainment of COMIC BOOK LOGIC in a way that is entertaining and leaves you on the edge of your seat for more.
The supporting cast continues to shine as well – the mystery surrounding Grant Ward’s true allegiances is beautifully balanced by the acting of Brett Dalton. Skye continues to be the eyes and ears into the world of SHIELD for those of us who are “normal”, and with her own story arc this year that not only continues to progress from last season, but develops her as a character with a ton of emotional impact.
The inclusion of Adrianne Palicki (Bobbi Morse a.k.a. Mockingbird), Nick Blood (Lance Hunter), and Henry Simmons (Mack) only deepened the drama this year as loyalties were tested and new members brought in to give us a look at how the fallout of Winter Soldier affected members of SHIELD outside Coulson’s core team.
All in all, an excellent second offering for this show, and I eagerly await Season 3 next fall!
-phoenixqueen
Season 1 often slugged on as “case of the week” episodes chasing an overly-mysterious “clairvoyant” which just turned out to be an egotistical former SHIELD agent driven nuts by alien blood. Some episodes were interesting, some weren’t. It was the characters of Coulson and Agent May and the interplay between the scientists FitzSimmons that worked the best.
Season 2 has stepped up the game of Season 1. Ever since the fall-out episode from “Captain America: Winter Solidier”, “SHIELD” has found new purpose. Hydra is out there and on the loose. There are multiple shades of evil out there, from the extreme of Whitehall looking to achieve nothing more than Hydra’s and his own agenda, to a more nuanced Ward character (still morally-corrupt, but in love with Sky) and Sky’s father Cal Hyde. IMO, Kyle MacLachlan’s addition as Cal Hyde has been great for this season — every scene he’s in carries weight and is riveting to watch. We’ve also been immersed more in Marvel’s world since “Winter Soldier” — Hydra’s been more prevalent, a few Marvel characters like Crusher Creel and the Kree/Inhumans at the end. These are all awesome developments. Character development has grown as well, not only between FitzSimmons, from Coulson and with Maggie May, but also the constant interplay between Hunter and Bobbi Morse is always entertaining and often hilarious, any scene the aforementioned Cal Hyde is in, and even Raina’s character has become a shade more nuanced. Overall, a good show with a lot of promise has become a very good show with the promise of greatness.
What is left for the show to work on? First off, there need to be more action scenes and they need to be better shot. This is based on a comic universe with a lot of action and i need to FEEL that action. The one episode where the action really worked was the one with May vs. Evil May with the closed-corridor fighting that extended back into the room — that was fast paced and expressive. Very well done. Season finale for example — a little bland and boring. Also, some characters haven’t been that developed yet, which granted, is tough with how many characters they are adding to this show. Most specifically: TR.I.P., Mack, some of those characters from the first couple episodes, Ward’s brother, Donny (“ice man”) and the main baddies of Whitehall and his #1 henchman.
But there’s only so much you can do in 44 minutes a week when you’re trying to progress the overall story to a Marvel Universe endpoint (and i hear SHIELD will be influenced by “Age of Ultron” as well). So i’m willing to give a little for the massive improvements made between seasons 1 & 2. Yes, my review comes only after season 2’s midseason finale, but I have little doubt season 2 won’t continue its upward trajectory.
-paladisiac
Disclaimer: I was a comic book freak as a 10 year-old in 1976. Since then I have done quite a bit of acting directing writing, stand up.. I can’t believe I am saying this, but episode 21 and 22 of season 2 are the penultimate of all the T.V. I have watched in over 40 years, and so much better than 95% of all the movies I have gone to in the theaters in my life time. The directors and producers did a far more admirable job than Walking Dead or The 100, or anything else out there in the world, but those are still great shows. Jia Yin and Gordon should not be forgotten they were incredible characters. That was an Epic series Finale! I love you Skye/Daisy!
– vic tailor
DVD Wholesale Main Features :
Actors: Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Clark Gregg Chloe Bennet
Language: English
Region: Region 1
Number of discs: 6
Rated: NR-Not Rated
Studio: Unbranded
Run Time: 904.00 minutes
