Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 2, Episode 3 Review
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| "How could you waste Blizzard?" [Image © Marvel.com] |
Donnie Gill was truly wasted in the episode. While I did get the impression a lot of CGI work and set-dressing was done to bring his powers to life, his character didn't enhance the story of the episode and after such great set-up for Blizzard last season I thought they would do more with him, but alas not. I suppose he could still return (death is not the end in the MCU for most characters), but I doubt it considering his death scene. However, the brainwashing element was a great twist, and the menacing HYDRA agent did an excellent performance. Sadly though, even that plot element was wasted. I was hoping for some cool super villain action in future episodes, but no. Maybe it was too expensive to do, so the production team decided to give him a send-off episode. There were so many directions they could have taken (not all of them that expensive, I'm sure), but they took the worst one, and wasted what could have been a fantastic element in the series.
I was also surprised at the lack of focus on the friendship started between Fitz and Donnie. It got a few mentions, yes, but I felt it was something that really should have been explored thoroughly. Again, had they kept Donnie alive they might have been able to explore that in subsequent episodes, but again, that is sadly not the case.
However, the scene where Fitz meets Ward was absolutely terrific. Fitz was terrified, angry and upset all at the same time, and actors Iain De Caestecker and Brett Dalton did a fantastic job at bringing it to life. That scene was easily the best of the episode, even if it did seem a little too short for my liking.
I also loved the almost creepy line of Fitz's at the end saying "I'm not a killer". I have a feeling that will come into play later on this season, but there was something almost menacing about it.
Of course, we also have Simmons working undercover at a HYDRA laboratory. Even though the plot hole does come up of 'how did it take HYDRA so long to work out she'd worked for SHIELD' and 'why is the secret HYDRA laboratory so freakin' obvious?', its something I can live with. I hope its explored further, but for now, I'm intrigued to see where they go.
There was also a sub-plot included about Skye's first kill, although this was focused on so little that it was jarring how big a moment the final scene was for her. Skye seems to have had such little focus the past three episodes, especially considering she was a big focus from the Pilot onwards. Its like the writers forgot about her (and most of the main cast) to focus on developing boring new characters. The series has developed such a large cast hardly anyone gets focus in each episode. Characters are developing, but with such little time you don't get to experiment with that or notice it while watching. They're just suddenly very different people.
Agents of SHIELD took its time last season developing its characters and story arcs, but this season we seem to have rushed through so much in these first three episodes that its almost impossible for me to be engrossed in these characters and their plight. Hell, even the creepy HYDRA boss feels a little tacked-on and the brainwashing element, yet again, was wasted.
Maybe Agents of SHIELD needs to get a lot out of the way before it can take the story further, but these past few episodes have proved to me that it needs to slow down its pace, use everything it has and develop its main elements. The stories of six episodes seem to have been crammed into three. 6/10
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