Agents of Shield: Season Wrap Up
by: J.D. Cook
The final two episodes of Agents of Shield really put a great cap on what was a great show for the most part. Yes it started a bit slow but as I said back then. It had to develop its characters! Would Deathlok mean as much to us as viewers if we didn’t see him start out as Mike Peterson (J. August Richards)? I don’t think so. Would Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) ominous heritage disturb us if we didn’t see her start out as a lost hacker chick? Again the answer is no. Finally would Ward (Brett Dalton) make a compelling villain if we hadn’t seen him as a hero for the majority of the first season? A big giant NO! So with that in mind what were the biggest themes and subjects brought up or unresolved in the first season of Agents of Shield? Let’s delve in!
The biggest one has to be Skye’s parents. Who are they? I’ve heard a bunch of different theories but one I really hope comes true is that she is the daughter of the actual Mandarin. Iron Man’s nemesis was confirmed as an actual character and not just Ben Kingsley’s humorous fake terrorist Trevor Slattery in Marvel’s short film All Hail the King. Since Iron Man 4 is still something of a mystery it wouldn’t be surprising if they used the Mandarin as the chief villain of the show next season. As a fan anything would make me happier than the version of the character I got in Iron Man 3. Although since Season 2 will take place after Guardians of the Galaxy the Mandarin’s rings could definitely show up in the show as they are linked to extraterrestrial life. How cool would it be if the Agents spent part of the season competing with the Mandarin’s shadowy forces to obtain the ten rings of power? Then we find out Skye’s none other than the chief adversaries own daughter! There isn’t a precedent for the Mandarin having a daughter in the comics but I’m open to it!
Another group that should pop up more because of the Guardians expansion of the Marvel Universe are the Kree. They are an intergalactic race that pops up frequently in Marvel Comics. They are rather human like except for their blue skin. It seems like they are the obvious species that Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Skye’s wonder drug was derived from. On top of that they are the source for the Inhumans in the Marvel Universe.
The Inhumans are essentially people whose ancestors were experimented on by the Kree thus giving them dormant super powers that can emerge. In many ways they can serve as the Marvel Cinematic Universes’ answer to Mutants since Fox Studios owns the rights to those characters. I wouldn’t be surprised if both the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are Inhumans in the upcoming, Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Since Skye and Coulson now have Kree blood who knows what super powers they might develop in future episodes! At the very least they got some kind of knowledge of where to find the Kree home world! Hence the crazy map drawing Coulson was doing at the end of the last episode!
I felt it was kind of hilarious that after spending so much of the show wondering why and how Coulson came back to life the answer ended up being as simple as Nick Fury felt like the world still needed him. There really wasn’t a very grand conspiracy. Samuel L. Jackson’s cameo in which this was explained was also fantastic, along with the return of Coulson’s gun from the Avengers!
As for Fitz (Iain De Caestecker)…well I think we all know he will wake up at some point. The one disappointing aspect of Agents of Shield this season was that the writers didn’t seem willing to kill off any characters except Bill Paxton’s super villain who served his purpose for the first season. Paxton’s presence on the show really served to elevate it in the second half of the season. I mean he stole the show every time he was in an episode and he had probably the most memorable final scene.
Next season I would love to get more thrilling self-contained adventures that wrap into the overall narrative. We need more episodes like Yes Men and The Bridge and fewer episodes like T.R.A.C.K.S. and 0-8-4. We also need to see some of those super villains who were created this season pop back up in a nasty way. I’m looking at you Graviton! Oh and Deathlok should become a primary character quickly in season 2 so that we have a true super hero to root for!
Alright that about wraps it up! It’s been a pleasure watching this show and writing this blog and I look forward to checking out what Marvel and Whedon do in Season 2!
Previous Episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Episode 20: Nothing Personal
Episode 19: The Only Light in the Darkness
Episode 18: Providence
Episode 17: Turn, Turn, Turn
Episode 16: The End of the Beginning
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