Review: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ‘0-8-4’

Last week on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we got introduced to the show along with the team that we shall be seeing doing super-hero investigation things for the rest of the season.  A brief look into the world, we got to see that we are indeed in the Marvel universe and that things can get a little bit weird sometimes.  While the last episode was met with some degree of cynicism from the viewing audience at large, it is the course a show takes that matters and one episode does not a series make.  This week, ‘0-8-4’ brings us a little further along on our journey through what Joss Whedon has put together.

So this time around, the team is off to investigate an 0-8-4, which basically means they have no idea what they’re in for.  They head down to Peru to check out some Incan ruins and discover a spooky artifact.  As it turns out, it happens to be remarkably similar to some H.Y.D.R.A. technology that was around back when Captain American was beating the snot out of Nazis.  But they’re not the only ones interested in it.  The Peruvian military and some rebels also want their chance to check this thing out.

Eventually, it is discovered that the artifact is a weapon of great power.  A struggle then ensues between our agents and those that wish to take the device from them to use it for their own nefarious purposes.  Action abounds and people get sucked out of a plane as the battle for the artifact unfolds.

One of the things I like about this show is the presence of the fun little techno devices everywhere.  You get a very real sense that you’re in a world that plays by different rules.  Plus, the connection to the movies and the Marvel universe as a whole is obvious and those of us that grew up on the comic books will see many things that those who have only seen the movies will miss.

My biggest beef, and I may have mentioned it last week as well, is that Clark Gregg - AKA Agent Coulson - just doesn’t have the acting chops to carry this show.  He made a decent liaison character, but as a field agent in the series he comes across incredibly two-dimensional.  He doesn’t carry the military authority or presence and his reaction to comedic moments is almost the same as his reaction to action or tension.  Whatever you think of the guy, they really need to move on to letting the rest of the cast be in the main spotlight.

Other than that, there is still a bit too much corny dialogue as well as some inexplicable logic where it comes to airplanes and cabin pressure, but hopefully it will steer away from the comic book perception of reality as an inconvenience and become more serious.  Whedon has a habit of creating levity during the early part of a season to brace people for the horrible crap that comes later and I’m really hoping he follows the same pattern here.

All-in-all, this week wasn’t too bad.  If people are expecting The Avengers when they watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., they will be sorely disappointed.  If you see it for what it is, you might just have some fun.

For a sneak peak at what the show has to offer next week, head to this site here.

Photo Credits -           

0-8-4 courtesy of comingsoon.net