I've talked about how Agents of SHIELD has been in the running for my five favorite TV shows for a while. It's no secret that I love this show. But against every odd, they have consistently crafted a better show every season, wrapping my investment up more and more tightly with each episode. Season 4 just finished, and I want to talk about what it is that makes this show unarguably one of my favorite shows of all time.
Okay, it's Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. They're the reason. So yeah, short. Pithy. But let's talk about what they're doing that makes the show so flippin' amazing.
The first thing that really sells Agents of SHIELD is, obviously, its connection to the MCU. The way the show works themes and concepts from the wider Marvel universe into their storyline is really well handled from a perspective of "we don't have anything like the budget necessary to get Robert Downey Jr. to show up." But instead of dealing with the high-level massive stuff that the movies deal with, AoS is much more focused on the lives of regular old humans dealing with how the world around them is changing. It deals with the themes of change better than the movies do, I think.
The second thing that really sells Agents of SHIELD is the cast. They are, just, perfect. I rewatched the original Iron Man the other day, and was impressed with how Clark Gregg was as amazing in 2008 as he is now. This cast is packed with enormously talented actors, who can make the most ridiculous techno-bable sound legit, and who make you feel their emotions without needing to say a single line. They sell these characters flawlessly, and with a show that requires you to buy in to some really crazy stuff, that's really important.
Which brings me to the third thing that really sells Agents of SHIELD, the characters. One of the things that bugs me about a lot of main stream shows is that the characters are basically static. Friends ran for 10 years, and ended with characters that were pretty much exactly the same as when they started. They didn't have character arcs, they didn't change from season to season. They were just, there. Basically all sitcoms are that way, but they're not alone. Psych, Bones, Sherlock, Grey's Anatomy, you name it. They all have essentially static characters. The show tries to keep you interested by jumping relationships around, or maybe putting people's lives in danger, but the characters don't evolve. Sure, Bones and Booth end up getting together, but does that change them? Or are they the same people afterward as they were in episode 1?
This isn't necessarily bad, but it makes shows that run a really long time get boring. AoS doesn't do this. The characters have evolved from season 1, and they keep evolving. It's not just 'who's hooking up with who' but why they're doing that and how their experiences over the past four years have influenced that result. May was emotionless and married to her desk at the beginning. Now she's emotionally invested with the team and dedicated to action. Skye was an anti-government hacker. Now she's a secret agent for the organization she started out attacking, and goes by Daisy. They've all evolved, but never suddenly or in service of the plot. It's all nice, logical transitions based simply on what they've experienced.
Which brings me to the last thing that really sells Agents of SHIELD, the writing. And I'm not just talking about the screenplay, which is excellent. Lots of humor and emotional moments interspersed with great action. The dialogue is punchy, tense, and emotional exactly when it means to be. It's really good. But mostly what I love is the overarching direction that guides the storylines from episode to episode and season to season. It makes it all feel so very interconnected, and it drives tension by setting up promises early and then delivering on them later on. They don't put twists in the story for the sake of surprise, and they also don't just throw crap in without an explanation (or a promise that an explanation is coming) like JJ Abrams with his stupid mystery box.
I watched that TED talk recently, by the way. Could someone please explain to me what the heck he was even talking about?
No, AoS is very consistent in presenting well crafted stories that prioritize character arcs and earned emotional payoffs over nonsensical fake-outs and manufactured drama. And in a world where all the other superhero shows are being cancelled by Fox or live on the CW, that is, just, so remarkably refreshing. This is why Agents of SHIELD gets better every season, and why I believe they'll be able to eventually end it gracefully, unlike basically every other show on TV.
The show is excellent. Jed and Maurissa are killing it. Season 4 made bigger promises than ever before and delivered on every single one, while also leaving plenty of questions that I'm sure we'll see answers to in season 5. If you haven't watched AoS, you should absolutely give it a chance. Start at the beginning. Understand that everything that makes this show great relies on you getting to know these characters, so it'll take a few episodes, maybe even more than the first half of the first season before you really start to see what I'm talking about.
But give it a chance. I really don't think you'll be disappointed. Unless you consider reality TV to be the best TV, in which case I'm pretty sure you are what's wrong with the world.
Okay, it's Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen. They're the reason. So yeah, short. Pithy. But let's talk about what they're doing that makes the show so flippin' amazing.
The first thing that really sells Agents of SHIELD is, obviously, its connection to the MCU. The way the show works themes and concepts from the wider Marvel universe into their storyline is really well handled from a perspective of "we don't have anything like the budget necessary to get Robert Downey Jr. to show up." But instead of dealing with the high-level massive stuff that the movies deal with, AoS is much more focused on the lives of regular old humans dealing with how the world around them is changing. It deals with the themes of change better than the movies do, I think.
The second thing that really sells Agents of SHIELD is the cast. They are, just, perfect. I rewatched the original Iron Man the other day, and was impressed with how Clark Gregg was as amazing in 2008 as he is now. This cast is packed with enormously talented actors, who can make the most ridiculous techno-bable sound legit, and who make you feel their emotions without needing to say a single line. They sell these characters flawlessly, and with a show that requires you to buy in to some really crazy stuff, that's really important.
Which brings me to the third thing that really sells Agents of SHIELD, the characters. One of the things that bugs me about a lot of main stream shows is that the characters are basically static. Friends ran for 10 years, and ended with characters that were pretty much exactly the same as when they started. They didn't have character arcs, they didn't change from season to season. They were just, there. Basically all sitcoms are that way, but they're not alone. Psych, Bones, Sherlock, Grey's Anatomy, you name it. They all have essentially static characters. The show tries to keep you interested by jumping relationships around, or maybe putting people's lives in danger, but the characters don't evolve. Sure, Bones and Booth end up getting together, but does that change them? Or are they the same people afterward as they were in episode 1?
This isn't necessarily bad, but it makes shows that run a really long time get boring. AoS doesn't do this. The characters have evolved from season 1, and they keep evolving. It's not just 'who's hooking up with who' but why they're doing that and how their experiences over the past four years have influenced that result. May was emotionless and married to her desk at the beginning. Now she's emotionally invested with the team and dedicated to action. Skye was an anti-government hacker. Now she's a secret agent for the organization she started out attacking, and goes by Daisy. They've all evolved, but never suddenly or in service of the plot. It's all nice, logical transitions based simply on what they've experienced.
Which brings me to the last thing that really sells Agents of SHIELD, the writing. And I'm not just talking about the screenplay, which is excellent. Lots of humor and emotional moments interspersed with great action. The dialogue is punchy, tense, and emotional exactly when it means to be. It's really good. But mostly what I love is the overarching direction that guides the storylines from episode to episode and season to season. It makes it all feel so very interconnected, and it drives tension by setting up promises early and then delivering on them later on. They don't put twists in the story for the sake of surprise, and they also don't just throw crap in without an explanation (or a promise that an explanation is coming) like JJ Abrams with his stupid mystery box.
I watched that TED talk recently, by the way. Could someone please explain to me what the heck he was even talking about?
No, AoS is very consistent in presenting well crafted stories that prioritize character arcs and earned emotional payoffs over nonsensical fake-outs and manufactured drama. And in a world where all the other superhero shows are being cancelled by Fox or live on the CW, that is, just, so remarkably refreshing. This is why Agents of SHIELD gets better every season, and why I believe they'll be able to eventually end it gracefully, unlike basically every other show on TV.
The show is excellent. Jed and Maurissa are killing it. Season 4 made bigger promises than ever before and delivered on every single one, while also leaving plenty of questions that I'm sure we'll see answers to in season 5. If you haven't watched AoS, you should absolutely give it a chance. Start at the beginning. Understand that everything that makes this show great relies on you getting to know these characters, so it'll take a few episodes, maybe even more than the first half of the first season before you really start to see what I'm talking about.
But give it a chance. I really don't think you'll be disappointed. Unless you consider reality TV to be the best TV, in which case I'm pretty sure you are what's wrong with the world.
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