Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Season 2, Episode 11: Aftershocks
The midseason premier was pretty good. Speaking of which, when did midseason breaks become a thing? The first time I heard of them was with season two of “The Walking Dead.” That damn Walking Dead! To me midseason breaks just seem like a way to build up anticipation for extra ratings.
Anyway, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. started off REALLY slow. They were very largely focused on character development in season one with a little plot sprinkled in here and there. It was a long road to becoming an interesting series, but it finally got there when it paralleled Captain America: The Winter Soldier’s plot. S.H.I.E.L.D. was shown to have been infiltrated by Hydra all along and the agents of this globe spanning powerhouse of an organization with unlimited resources and backup suddenly became a ragtag group of highly trained people on the run, but still sticking to their principles.
Season two has been pretty decent so far. Agent Ward in particular has become the most interesting character since beginning as the most bland and vanilla character in the series. The thing that has made this show better is its commitment to permanent changes for characters. Starting as a show that reversed a significant character death, I’m sure anyone can understand why that’s a surprise. Fitz’s mental condition after saving Simmons has been a wonder to watch and seeing sky go through her road to realization and change becomes more interesting by the episode.
The two big things about this episode were the the introduction of the Inhumans as a force that is secretly a major presence in the MCU and Raina’s change from absolutely gorgeous and in always in control to unstable, hideous monster on the edge of insanity. I really liked seeing both of those things, as it continues to bring this show into what its existence promised us: Normal people dealing with superpowers in their world.
Another good thing was seeing everyone’s emotional state. No one is walking through the events of the series unscathed and that is what makes the characters believable. Everything that happens in the real world has long term effects on people and their surroundings. That’s what these characters are going through, nothing is too small to bother them.
All of that said, the one thing I didn’t care for was the establishment of Hydra as much larger than Whitehall, only to kill off everyone else on the council. I mean I get that Coulson is becoming much more like Fury as a more ruthless and efficient peacekeeper, but that should’ve been dragged out for at least a couple of more episode. I mean, Hydra’s council could’ve equaled an entire season’s worth of stories! I suppose the men behind the curtain are trying to kill some of the spy versus spy action and get more in tune with the rest of the MCU.
Aftershocks was a pretty good episode. Seeing the gang mourn over Triplett was pretty touching, I just wish they would’ve revealed more about his connection with the Howling Commandos before sacrificing him. Overall, I am very eager to see where everything is headed. Especially with Daredevil premiering on Netflix next month and the upcoming Inhumans movie.
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
