Agents of SHIELD's third season has begun, so now's a good time as any to reminisce about how awesome its second season was.
The first season was a mixed bag, especially in its first half. The most glaring problems being the distracting reminders that this show takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that the episodes that didn't have much to do with the season-long mystery were kind of lackluster. The episodes that did, and the mystery itself, were pretty cool (example: Eye Spy). Things were looking good (for the audience, anyway, not our heroes) when the show tied-in with the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Agent Ward (the most clichéd character in the show up to this point) was revealed to be a HYDRA sleeper agent. Our heroes ended up foiling the big bad plot, Ward was imprisoned, and Coulson was named Director of SHIELD by Nick Fury. Oh, and started etching alien carvings as a result of being injected with regenerative alien blood.
When Season 2 begins, SHIELD and HYDRA are both in pursuit of an alien obelisk, which turns people to stone when they touch it. Some, such as Raina and Skye, are mysteriously unaffected.
Meanwhile, Coulson deduces his carvings are definitely connected to the obelisk's origins and that the carvings are a map to an ancient alien city. Raina tells Skye these aliens were Kree, and they came to earth and experimented on humans. If an obelisk is brought to the center of this city, and if the people in the vicinity of it are descendants of those experimented on (Raina and Skye) are hit with the Terrigen mist it emits, they get some powers. Regular humans are, once again, turned to stone.
Skye gets the INHUMAN (*winks*) power to make things QUAKE (*winking intensifies*), which she instantly is desperate to get rid of. She gets whisked away to a refuge for powered people (who are known as Inhumans) run by her mother, who turns out to be a psychopath. She tries to start a war on the rest of humanity, and plans to use crystalized Terrigen mist to find the rest of the Inhumans and exterminate everybody else. Her plan fails, and she is brutally killed by her husband. Coulson loses his hand, he and Skye start up the Secret Warriors, May goes on vacation, Ward declares himself the new leader of HYDRA, Simmons gets swallowed up by a Kree monolith, and everyone else probably lives happily ever after.
The Stuff That Rocks
The Inhumans: One of the first great things Season 2 does is get the ball rolling on the Inhuman mystery almost immediately, which makes sense looking back, since there was A LOT of ground to cover. And it's a really well-written one, expanding not just the world of the show but the MCU as well. It gives fans of the MCU an introduction to the lore of the Inhumans, so that they won't be hearing it for the first time when it's probably recapped for wider audiences in the Inhumans movie set for 2019.
The "Other SHIELD" Arc: Having the second half of the season primarily focused on Skye and the Inhumans could have been problematic. What were the rest of the characters supposed to do? Luckily, the writers found something. Turns out, in the wake of SHIELD's fall, another SHIELD was founded with the desire for more transparency in its leaders. Robert Gonzales, their leader question Coulson's role as Director and demands he hands over Fury's Toolbox. You find yourself wondering whether or not you should be hating these guys or siding with them just as some of the characters wonder the same thing. Plus, it works with the season's kinda-sorts theme of "the danger of secrets." I myself like to think of it as a meta-commentary of how so many shows thaes days revolve around the main characters keeping secrets from each other (I love you Arrow, but you've got this problem).
Old Friends: The original six leads are made way more interesting in this season. Coulson's director now, he's got his carving problem, he's struggling with all the secrets he's gotta keep. May's a bit more easy-going and we find out about her married life and how she earned the title of "The Calvary." Her relationship with Coulson is examined and put to the test. Skye finally meets her parents, gets some powers, and learns more about her heritage. Fitz is still reeling from the mental injuries he sustained in the first season finale, and his recovery is subtly chronicled over the course of the season. His friendship with Simmons is put to the test as well. We learn that Simmons isn't the saint she was kind of portrayed as in the first season, as she tries to kill Ward at one point. The negative feelings toward powered people she develops will probably play a large role in the third season.
And then there's Ward, who becomes all the more unpredictable. He gets a deadly reunion with his brother, a love interest, and a promotion to HYDRA leader. He's still the guy you love to hate, and that's the way it should be.
New Faces: One of the major changes that came to the series was the introduction of three new main characters. Hunter, Bobbi/Mockingbird, and Mack are given there own arc involving the "real SHIELD" mentioned earlier. It may not have worked since we were introduced to these characters only at the beginning of the season, but the three of them are so well-developed and likable that it does work.
But the standout new character is Kyle Machlachlan's Cal, AKA Skye's dad. He steals every scene he's in with either his maniacal enthusiasm or his longing to just be the father he always wanted to be. Skye's mother Jiaying (played by Dichen Lachman) is also a great addition, and it's cool twist to learn that it prbably wasn't Jiaying who saw the good in Cal but Cal who saw the good in Jiaying.
Scars: Many are quick to label S.O.S., the two-part season-finale, as the season's best episode, but I disagree. The previous episode, which sets up the events of the finale, is even better. Quick summary: A "peace talks" of sorts is being organized between the Inhumans and SHIELD. The two parties are going to be represented by Jiaying and Coulson, but Gonzales steps in and tells Coulson he's too close to this. His relationship with Skye may cloud his judgement, so Gonzales will go in his place. On the plane trip there, Gonzales is given a package that is said to contain an "insurance policy." Meanwhile, Raina tries to convince Gordon (Jiaying's teleporting second-jn-command) that Jiaying's involvement with the meeting will end in destruction. Gordon alerts Jiaying to Raina's plot, and she is detained.
So we get to the actual meeting and there's still an air of uncertainty: we want this to go well, but with Gonzales there instead of Coulson, and the fact that he has made some prejudicial remarks about the Inhumans earlier, we have a bad feeling about this. Surprisingly, Gonzales does a great job. His "insurance policy" is a necklace that Jiaying lost that she meant to give to Skye. Alright, we get some feels, things are looking good, but then Jiaying presents Gonzales with some crystalized Terrigen mist and then smashes it, turning Gonzales to stone.
Wait, what?
She then proceeds to wound herself with two gunshots to the shoulder, and emerges from the meeting place declaring war on SHIELD.
The way the episode subverted with my expectations and the slow burn toward the climax, which was just a peace talk, was excellent, and left me hungering for more. It's, in my opinion, the best episode of the season, and definitely the best-written episode of the series.
What Didn't Rock
You'll find this is quite a short list.
Lincoln: Lincoln is introduced late in the season, and his only job is to be human (or in this case, Inhuman) exposition, spending most of his time recapping Skye on their people's history and Terrigenesis and blah blah blah, and to be a potential love interest for her. Sure, he's given a bit more to do in the finale, but still not enough. Luckily, Lincoln's role in the third season looks pretty interesting.
Whitehall: The "big bad"of the first half of the season is HYDRA leader Daniel Whitehall. A brilliant German scientist who worked with HYDRA through World War II. He dissected Skye's mother to gain her gift of eternal youth, and so looks as though he hasn't aged since 1945. His backstory is very creative, and his catchphrase, discovery requires experimentation," is an eerie one. However, he doesn't do anything really makes him a memorable villain. He's certainly intimidating, but Reed Diamond plays him with too much charm to make him truly terrifying. His lieutenant, Bakshi, I found to be a bit more interesting. It must say a lot about your villain if people think his lackey was a better character.
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I'm hoping my review of Season 3's first episode is up by the weekend. So far, the new season's looking mighty awesome.
Noah
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