Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 5, Episodes 1 & 2 Review
Because, ultimately, that's all this two-part episode has to offer: set-up. Subsequent episodes I'm sure will pay-off most if not all of these dangling plot-threads (this season's finale has been written as a series finale), but for now its difficult not to find "Orientation" a little lackluster, at least in terms of plot and character development. The fact that they needed the full 80-odd minutes to establish the new story-line for season five would be worrying for some shows, but most often waste a considerable amount of a whole season to actually get to the point. Here, Agents of SHIELD opts not so spread out the set-up over half a season, but to get it all over and done with to progress the narrative in new and interesting ways over the next twenty episodes.
That's not to say that what we have here is dull by any stretch. The characters all feel fully-developed, or at least developed enough for us to feel comfortable with spending 80 minutes with them wandering around endless corridors in a huge space station. This season, the characters are clearly out of the depth: stuck in space ("of course, that's the one thing we haven't done yet" cites a worn-out Mack), with no chance of getting home (having been kidnapped by mysterious men in black and time-traveled into an apocalyptic future), no gadgets (Coulson's opted for his "normal" hand as opposed to something Inspector Gadget-style), no Fitz (who apparently was busy filming Cloverfield 4), and the over-bearing presence of the sinister Kree.
In introducing the Kree as "big bads", Agents of SHIELD has done itself a favour. Yet another broader MCU reference in the bag (the Kree appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy, with Ronan the Accuser serving as their Kree "big bad"), but also sets up some interesting story potential for later. Coulson's been resurrected with Kree DNA, and Daisy and Yo-Yo are both Inhuman (descendants of Kree experiments on prehistoric Earth), putting them in an interesting position. Simmons, meanwhile, has become a servant of the station's Kree leader, intent on having "perfect" servants; while the rest of the team have to make their way through this eerie space station with its slightly unhinged human occupants. The station itself doesn't look particularly interesting, but the visual effects used for the exterior space, planet and spaceship shots all look pretty solid for any TV series. Regrettably the Kree themselves are merely painted blue, and despite some creepy-looking eye-changing contact lenses, they don't look nearly as impressive as they could've done. Mind you, Yondu's basically a blue guy with a fin and he made everyone laugh and cry last spring with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, so there's no reason why they can't be an intimidating presence on-screen.
While the stock colour grade on the series is maintained (its been used since the start of Season 2, and looks a bit bland and grey sometimes, if intentionally so), series composer Bear McCreary has adjusted his typically orchestral score to something much more synth-heavy. The closing theme has been nicely remixed for this season, and makes for an eerie end to this extended episode.
A strong season opener, "Orientation" feels more like a checklist of relevant plot-points, with some nice character beats sprinkled in for good measure - the shot of the team huddled together as they make their way down the dark and dangerous corridors to avoid splitting up is a wonderful moment in the episode. I expected perhaps more from the series, but its such early days that I'm sure the better episodes are yet to come. Hopefully with more Fitz sometime soon.
Comments
Post a Comment