There is a lot to like about Luke Cage, the latest Netflix series set in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. For a start, it's an unabashedly black TV show in a time when the default remains lily-white, and it's full of the kind of things that great TV relies on - interesting characters, a great cast, and a strong sense of style. Unfortunately, this is all undermined by a lack of direction that comes close to derailing the entire thing at times, which raises the questions - at what point does something stop being flawed and start being... simply not all that good?
Set in Harlem, we follow the super strong, bulletproof Luke Cage as he attempts to get his life back to normal after the events of Jessica Jones. He's working multiple jobs off-the-books, including sweeping hair at a local barbers and washing dishes at Harlem's Paradise, a club owned by gangster Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes. But after three kids ruin a gun deal between the local gangs by stealing the money at gunpoint, Cottonmouth starts searching all of Harlem for them, bringing him to conflict with Luke.
Between the super-powered brawl that opens the episode, an assault on SHIELD by the primitive Inhumans, a last-ditch attempt to stop Hive's master plan and the death of a series regular, you'd be forgiven for thinking that "Ascension", the third season finale of Agents of SHIELD, runs the risk of feeling rushed. It's not like Agents of SHIELD hasn't produced it's fair share of episodes that are overstuffed, after all - even the first half of this season suffered thanks to how much it tried to do in just ten episodes, a focus on telling the story quickly over telling it well that robbed the show of it's ability to properly dramatise it's most important moments.
Fortunately, "Ascension" understands the difference between story elements that can be dealt with quickly and story elements that need some real time devoted to them, and in doing so offers us what may well be the most emotionally engaging episode of the show to date. Individual moments are given plenty of time in order to allow us to really feel them rather than just see them, an aspect of "Ascension" that also helps highlight how good the writing and performances are here.
My biggest fear going into the third season finale of Agents of SHIELD was that it would constantly be passing YoYo's cross between characters in order to keep us on our toes about who is going to die. Character death can make for excellent television when done well (hell, just see the latest episode of Game of Thrones for proof of that), but by having the advertising for the finale lean heavily on the fact that someone would die, I began to worry that Agents of SHIELD had nothing else to offer beyond that. It felt cheap, an easy way to raise the stakes without doing any of the legwork required to make it actually matter.
Thankfully, Agents of SHIELD has proven me wrong. Although there is an element of "Who's it going to be?!?" here, I'm glad to see that it isn't even close to being to focus of the episode. Instead, "Absolution" is content to simply let the SHIELD vs Hive story that the show has been building to since the mid-season finale play out, and in that respect it doesn't disappoint.
Now that's more like it. After last weeks "Failed Experiments" disappointed in a big way thanks to it's status as filler, this weeks "Emancipation" chooses to make up for that in a tight, important episode that smartly acknowledges the events of Captain America: Civil War before quickly getting on with what the show has been building up to for some time instead.
This week sees Coulson trying to convince General Talbot that the Secret Warriors need to remain a secret in the wake of the Sokovia Accords (which apparently included a clause on the registration of enhanced people - new to anyone who saw Captain America: Civil War), while Hive continues his experiments to turn regular people into Inhumans. But the main plot has Daisy hacking into SHIELD and talking to Lincoln, who is still cooped up inside his own little quarantine and getting more frustrated with his situation by the minute.
Opening with a brief flashback that shows us how Hive was first created by the Kree, the main plot of "Failed Experiments" sees SHIELD on a mission to try and kill Hive, or at least find out if they even can. At the same time, Fitzsimmons continue their work on an antidote for his ability to control Inhumans, while Hive starts work on a process that will turn regular humans into Inhumans.
I've got to say, I find myself quite disappointed with "Failed Experiments". Last weeks "The Singularity" was a surprisingly good episode of Agents of SHIELD that went to some interesting places while dealing with the consequences of "The Team". "Failed Experiments" seems to want to do the same, the problem being that it ends up hitting many of the same character beats as last weeks episode without really adding anything new. Again, we see Daisy threaten someone we know she cares for deeply thanks to Hive's influence; again we see the lengths Lincoln is willing to go to in order to help Daisy. It's repetition for no reason, something that even the first season of Agents of SHIELD managed to avoid.
It's no secret that the best part of Agents of SHIELD is and always has been the duo of Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons, collectively and affectionately known as Fitzsimmons. Their semi-romantic, will-they-won't-they friendship has been an important part of the show since the first season, and people genuinely care about them; something well-known by the shows writers, who take every opportunity they can to tear them apart, test their friendship, and break them in every way they know how. Fitzsimmons have been through a lot over the course of the last two seasons, so when an episode finally gives them the break that they deserve it feels both hugely satisfying and totally earned.
It is that which makes "The Singularity" such a good episode of Agents of SHIELD. The main story sees SHIELD dealing with the fallout left from last weeks "The Team" while also trying to get to various Inhumans that they know about before Hive can, but it is the side-plot that sees Fitzsimmons searching for someone who might have created a cure for Hive's mind control that really held my interest throughout.
Last week I said that I was disappointed with "Paradise Lost" thanks to how varied the quality was throughout. Although the main story of the episode was interesting, the other two side-plots only really existed to set up storylines for later on, and the episodes overall slower pace killed a lot of the momentum that the season had been building. I said at the time that it is now up to this weeks episode to not only be a significantly better episode, but also to provide a satisfying continuation of the story left unresolved by "Paradise Lost" - and "The Team" manages to do just that.
Picking up where we left off in "Paradise Lost", "The Team" opens up with Daisy and Lincoln forming the Secret Warriors in earnest before heading to the location where Coulson and Co (now fighting off wave after wave of Hydra goons) were redirected to by Giyera. But the main thrust of the episode takes place after the opening rescue mission, and deals with the paranoia experienced by SHIELD when they find out that Ward-thing (now officially referred to as Hive) may be controlling one or more of the Secret Warriors.
"Paradise Lost" is one of the most uneven episodes of Agents of SHIELD in a long time. It's a clear attempt to return the shows focus to the season-wide plot that made the first half of Agents of SHIELD third season feel so fresh, something I've been clamouring for since the mid-season finale - but "Paradise Lost" fails to really balance all three of the plots that it deals with, resulting in an episode that varies wildly from genuinely interesting to... well, a bit boring, frankly.
Now that SHIELD have learned that Ward has somehow returned from Maveth, "Paradise Lost" sees Coulson sending Daisy and Lincoln to find out more information about ancient Inhumans from someone Lincoln used to know, while the rest of SHIELD investigate a facility owned by the company Gideon Malick's version of Hydra took over last week. Meanwhile, Gideon begins to realise that he may have bitten off more than he can chew with Hive, and we get to learn more about Gideon's past in a series of flashbacks.
I've been criticising Agents of SHIELD since it's return from it's mid-season break for one very frustrating reason - for the most part, it has felt as if the season wide plot established by the seasons first half has been dropped in favour of the "monster of the week" type structure that defined the shows first season. But I'm beginning to feel like I may have been just a little short-sighted.
Without noticing it, Agents of SHIELD has been subtly progressing the season wide plot each episode, making fairly significant changes to the position of both SHIELD and Hydra within the show while focusing on smaller stories each week. We certainly aren't in the same place now as we were when the show returned after it's mid-season break, but the way that Agents of SHIELD has chosen to show those changes has made it feel very natural, to the point where it's been difficult to really notice that some fairly important shifts have taken place.
There has been a problem with Agents of SHIELD that has gone unaddressed for a long time now. It's never been a huge problem, just a minor frustration from time to time, but it's been there ever since the start of the second season and has shown up in a variety of ways in various episodes. And it all boils down into one, very simple question.
"Exactly how big is SHIELD now?"
It's not an unfair question. Between the enormous "garage" we see from time to time, the many extras that have appeared over the course of the last few seasons, the large scope of Coulson's SHIELD and the fact that they actually had a freaking Helicarrier in storage at one point, it seems safe to assume that they are fairly large - at which you point you have to ask how they have managed to stay underground given the hundreds of employees they have, the large areas of land they must use and the cost of all that military grade equipment. There is an inconsistency there, one not helped when "Watchdogs" has Coulson call Mack into work on his time off thanks to resource issues caused by the loss of Bobbi and Hunter.
It's rare that something setting up spin-offs actually works. Films like Iron Man 2, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and even Avengers: Age of Ultron to some degree have suffered by trying to set-up other films, bending over backwards to include unnecessary scenes that simply don't matter to the story at hand. It almost always feels cheap, a decision made by studio executives that reduces the quality of the thing you are watching in order to squeeze more money out of the next thing they have planned - so it's refreshing to see Agents of SHIELD do it well, especially when the show itself has been much-maligned by people because of its status as a spin-off in the first place.
After stowing away on Gideon Malick's plane at the end of last weeks "The Inside Man", "Parting Shows" opens up by showing us that Bobbi has been arrested before flashing back to explain how that happened. It's an episode focused almost entirely on setting up the upcoming Most Wanted spin-off show, but the reason that "Parting Shot" works is that it isn't trying to fit this set-up into an episode with something else going on. "Parting Shot" is very much Bobbi and Hunter's episode, putting them in the spotlight and (most importantly) giving them a proper send off, a satisfying ending even if you were to never watch Most Wanted. It sounds simple because it is, but you'd be surprised how often things trying to set other things up fail to do this.
For a show that has been slowly crafting an incredibly interesting story over the previous nine episodes, it has to be said that Agent Carter has somewhat dropped the ball in the season finale. Conveniently and unconvincingly dealing with the cliffhanger ending of "A Little Song and Dance" as soon as possible, "Hollywood Ending" goes on to deliver an unsatisfying conclusion to the season wide story, an uninspired affair that is quite easily the episodes biggest and most noticeable flaw.
Well, that and the complete lack of musical numbers this week.
Following on from last weeks reveal that General Talbot is now in charge of the ATCU, "The Inside Man" sees Director Coulson and General Talbot attend a meeting of world leaders in order to discuss the Inhuman outbreak. However, Coulson believes that Hydra leader Gideon Malick may have an inside man at the meeting, and as such he brings along Hunter, May and Bobbi in order to find out who that might be.
The biggest issue I have with "The Inside Man" is the exact same issue I have with the show as a whole - as usual, I have no idea if the film side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is ever going to pay any mind to the TV side of things. That was OK when Agents of SHIELD was operating in the shadows of the larger universe, but the scale of the Inhuman outbreak and the response to it means that it should have had pretty big ramifications on the rest of the universe by now. But the fact is, it is really unlikely that Captain America: Civil War will in any way reference the fact that there are many more super-powered people in the world now, which (given the focus on ensuring powered people are responsible for their actions) only helps make Agents of SHIELD feel even less relevant to the world it inhabits.
Opening with a knowing, tongue-in-cheek dream sequence before transitioning smoothly into a vibrant musical number, "A Little Song and Dance" isn't quite what I've come to expect from an episode of Agent Carter, at least throughout the first few minutes. This isn't a bad thing - it's a hugely entertaining sequence that I enjoyed very much, and although it doesn't really fit in very well with what the rest of the episode is actually about, it does show us where Peggy's head is at regarding Dr Wilkes and Daniel Sousa, as well as giving us the much awaited return of fan-favourite New York waitress Angie, from the first season.
Beyond that, "A Little Song and Dance" is as captivating an episode as Agent Carter has ever produced. Picking up on where "The Edge of Mystery" left off, we at first split our time between watching Peggy and Jarvis try to escape from captivity while Daniel Sousa, Jack Thompson and Dr Samberly attempt to deal with the situation they have found themselves in after firing the weapon.
Most people (myself included) thoroughly enjoyed the first season of Daredevil. It wasn't perfect by any means, hampered by an increasingly meandering story as it went on and a finale that dropped the ball in a multitude of ways, but as an introduction to this new part of the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe? It did a good job of setting the tone for the rest of the Netflix shows, something followed up by and capitalised on by the significantly better Jessica Jones.
Although the second season of Daredevil fails to reach the heights set by Jessica Jones, it's still an improvement over the first season in nearly every way - primarily thanks to the way that show-runners Doug Petrie and Marco Ramirez seem to have listened to and acted on criticisms of the first season. The most obvious strength that the second season has over the first is also the most simple - the second season of Daredevil has enough going on to actually justify it's length.
There are two fairly distinct stories at play in the second season of Daredevil. The first sees the introduction of fan-favourite character Frank Castle (also known as The Punisher) to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a murderous vigilante who is terrorising Hell's Kitchen as he seeks revenge for the death of his family at the hands of criminals. The other sees Matt reunite with Elektra Natchios, an old girlfriend from Matt's time in college who is significantly more dangerous than she may appear at first glance.
Opening up with a brief "3 months from now" teaser that seems to be hinting at big things for the finale of Agents of SHIELD's third season, "Bouncing Back" is an episode that despite being forced to do a lot of set up for future episodes (a common problem when a show comes back from any kind of break) still manages to entertain in a big way thanks to a compelling story and a greater understanding of what people have always wanted from this show.
The main plot sees SHIELD travelling to Colombia in order to deal with an incident that they believe is related to the Inhuman breakout. A shipment of guns has been stolen from the police, but it soon transpires that not everything is as clear cut as it may seem. Meanwhile, Director Coulson (and his new hand) restarts the search for Gideon Malick after being given the go ahead by President Ellis, first introduced in Iron Man 3.
Following on immediately from the cliffhanger ending of last weeks "Monsters", "The Edge of Mystery" sees Peggy and Daniel attempt to free Dr Wilkes from captivity by trading him for the nuclear bomb cores that Whitney Frost wants. Meanwhile, Ana Jarvis lies in a hospital bed, trying to recover from the gunshot wound inflicted by Whitney Frost and wake up from the coma she has subsequently fallen into.
As a title, "The Edge of Mystery" is apt, and not just because it sounds so fantastical. This is an episode that skirts right up against one of the most out there, comic book-y concepts that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced so far, but the shows refusal to push the audiences suspension of disbelief that little bit more (or, more likely, the shows lack of necessary budget) means that it does only feel as if we are on the edge of something bigger and better. As much as I'd like to see Agent Carter take that step into the unknown that is teased towards the end of "The Edge of Mystery", I can't help but think that the show either won't be willing to or simply won't have the time to go as far as I want it to - but I'm more than willing to be wrong about this.
In a lot of ways I feel sorry for those who jumped ship during the first season of Agents of SHIELD. In fairness, I don't think anyone was really happy with the superhero-lite crime procedural that Agents of SHIELD was when it started, but those that stuck with it have since been rewarded with a rich and interesting show that isn't afraid to change based on fan feedback. Are things too episodic and self-contained for you? Well here's a Captain America: The Winter Soldier related twist and a move to a more long-form type of story telling. Not enough super-powers? Well here's the introduction of the Inhumans. Things still moving a little slow for you? Here's a vastly quicker pace and a much more eventful show.
My point is that in doing this, Agents of SHIELD has gone from being an OK show to a good show to a great show, and the mid-season finale "Maveth" only further confirms that Agents of SHIELD knows what people want to see from it. Picking up from where we left off in "Closure", "Maveth" follows Coulson, Ward and Fitz on the alien planet as they search for revenge and the ancient Inhuman respectively, while the rest of SHIELD prepare to assault the Hydra-fortified castle where the portal is located - one half of the team trying to gain control over the portal room, the other on a mission to find and rescue Simmons.
"Monsters" may well be the most eventful episode of the second season of Agent Carter so far, a brisk pace quickly taking us through several big plot points. After Dottie was taken captive by the Council of Nine (now led by Whitney Frost) in "Life of the Party", we follow Peggy and Jarvis as they attempt to break her out and take her back into SSR custody. Meanwhile, the vial of blood that Dottie successfully obtained from Whitney can now be used to try to restore Dr Wilkes' physical body.
In my review of "Life of the Party" I talked about how I was beginning to feel that Dr Wilkes was holding the story back, his presence in episodes a constant reminder that his story hadn't really developed since the second episode of the season. I can see now why that was - his return to corporeal form seems to be important to the direction that the show is now heading in, and even if it took too long to get here (it's been a good 4 episodes or so since he as a character had something to add to the show) it looks like he might be very important again to the way that things are progressing, and I'm glad to see him return to the forefront of the show, at least for now.
Opening up with a scene that I'm sure will pretty much kill portions of the Agents of SHIELD fandom as well as reminding us why we all love Director Coulson, "Closure" offers anything but what the title of the episode would indicate, its position in the season meaning that it has a lot of set up to do as it attempts to ensure that all the characters are in the right place for next weeks mid-season finale "Maveth".
It's a fairly straight forward episode in a lot of ways, using SHIELDs hatred for ex-agent Grant Ward and the reveal of Hydra as a significantly older organisation than we previously thought in order to get everyone in roughly the same place by the end of the episode. As far as side plots go, there really aren't any - with the entire team taking part in the new Kill Ward mission, it is full steam ahead, and one of the unfortunate problems this creates is that "Closure" feels rushed in it's back half.
