It's official.. Marvel's new TV series is.. S.H.I.E.L.D!

[JeyNyce]

If you put Jessica Drew in the show (not Spider-Woman), let her wear a SHIELD uniform and keep her powers down low, don't use then in every episode, it can work.  Just because a person has super powers doesn't mean they are going to come in and steal the show.

[Tomato]

Except that BECAUSE it is Jessica Drew, you have fans wanting to see her more because she's a character from the comics, she will, just by being there, upstage the other characters. Plus, because that's an existing Marvel character, they won't be able to explore storyline options that might occur to writers naturally over the course of the show.

Look, I'm not saying none of the cast can ever have powers, nor that we should never have cameos by this or that character that we'll probably never see in the films. I'm merely saying that as part of the CORE CAST, we should not have characters like Luke Cage or Iron Fist on this team. As recurring characters or in a big season long story arc, sure, but the core cast is fine as-is.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Agreed.  This is not a show about superheroes, it's a show about the people that deal with the behind the scenes stuff in a world of superheroics.  That is different and it is also interesting.  As Tomato said, as a once time guest character, or as part of a storyline, heroes make perfect sense, but not in the main cast.  I do expects pieces of upcoming storylines from the films will show up from time to time, however.  Don't be surprised if the first hints of the Winter Soldier show up in the series, for example.

[Uncle Yuan]

I'm about a day behind from watching on Hulu, but I will agree that the second episode was much stronger.  On the whole I like the cast.  I found Fitz Simmons to be much more comprehensible this time around - I could hardly understand a word they said in the pilot.  May and Ward are a little too similar in their potential roles, and while I think it's clear that May is the REAL hardcase I hope they keep that seriously under wraps for a long time.  Otherwise she becomes the better, cuter Ward and that would diminish both of them.  I think Skye is MUCH more interesting this time through, last scene notwithstanding.  I worry that Skye may be a little too cookie cutter, though, so we'll have to see how her story line develops.  As it stands now it's looking a little predictable.  My real concern is actually Colson.  I think a large part of the reason he worked so well in the movies is that he is such an understated character.  He had a bit of mystery and that famous reserve and I worry it won't hold up well with the brighter spot light.

And of course, the epilogue was AWESOME.

[Podmark]

If they introduced a character with powers as a regular cast member that wouldn't bother me. I'm sure they would find a way to work. It just depends on the type of power and the character's role in the series. A precog, psychic, or teleporter could work really well.
Probably be best to use an original character though, or someone really obscure.

[Starman]

There are tons of characters that would fit into the show, in both story context and with regards to "cheap looking" powers. Personally, I'd like to see Mentallo and The Fixer as baddies.

[crimsonquill]

Those who caught the next episode preview have a good hint to the first major super powered origin that Colson and his team discover.

And according to casting sites the character's name is Dr. Franklin Hall (played by Ian Hart).. I'm pretty sure the gravity of his appearance will be the ultimate test for the whole team.

- CQ

[JeyNyce]

Those who caught the next episode preview have a good hint to the first major super powered origin that Colson and his team discover.

And according to casting sites the character's name is Dr. Franklin Hall (played by Ian Hart).. I'm pretty sure the gravity of his appearance will be the ultimate test for the whole team.

- CQ

Ha ha ha ha

I see what you did there....

[BentonGrey]

Shogun, right!  There is tons of potential in this idea.  I certainly wouldn't mind a cameo in the Avengers 2 from some of the team.

'Mato, that's a great point about the respect for life that the agents display.  I hadn't really thought about it, but isn't that awesome?  It's interesting that Ward seems a bit conflicted about what he's been trained to do.  It's a bit subtle now, but I hope they'll bring that out a bit.  I love how this ties into the idea of the non-lethal hero that is so central to American superheroes.  It just fits perfectly.

As for the super powered cast-member question, I'm in the camp that thinks they should at least hold of on anything like that.  I don't imagine there is much chance of them adding in any super powered team-members any time soon, though.  I agree that it would likely overshadow the others.  Yes, I'm sure it could be done well, but this show already has a great number of tight-ropes to walk, so why add another?

CQ, nice.

[crimsonquill]

"The Asset" ended up being a pretty good story and very much what I hoped for when I heard which character was appearing. Makes me very curious to how they will handle the villain once he makes his official post-origin appearance in much later episodes.

Skye was handled pretty well this time around and starting to show that her character is working multiple angles not only for herself but the Crimson Tide.

- CQ

[JeyNyce]

This was one of the best episodes so far.  The Wonder Twins stayed in the back to give support while the rest was out on the field.  Let's hope that they can keep this up

[Shogunn2517]

Clip from next week's episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkbIAOhaEps&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Theme from next week's episode:
I want to marry Melinda May.

[detourne_me]

it's painful to watch that clip. 

[Shogunn2517]

Good episode.  In MY opinion, best so far. 

Spoiler

It might be a coincidence that this was more "super spy" than "super hero", but that's the dynamic I like about this show.  At any time it can be a show about super powers and/or spy vs spy fiction.  I like how the writing is gelling.  I like how they're actually making light about Skye's lack of seriousness(saying bang when firing a gun).  I like the science-meets-action theme we saw.  Of course, I liked Melinda May being Melinda May.  Moreover, I like the direction they're going.  How the bad guy their chasing isn't the bad guy, just another pawn, a lingering thread, which is now starting to collect: what really happen to Coulson?  What is Skye really trying to do?  Who is the villain controlling villains?  Could the control via right-eye be a sign for a leader of Hydra?  And I have to say, I'm starting to look forward to the "post-episode" scenes that Marvel does well.  As for the next episode, could that be Sunfire?  Would they even be allowed to do that?  Or could he just be a mutant?  Could they be allowed to introduce this element?

Good stuff.

[Starman]

It's the best episode so far but still pretty bland.

Interesting to note that people with mental powers and cybernetic enhancements don't exist in the MCU. The bionic eye was technology more advanced than anything they'd seen :/

[detourne_me]

ok, i retract my previous comment.
it looks like the show is just finding its sea legs.
the mystery behind coulson is pretty interesting.

[Podmark]

Yeah the Coulson mystery is one of the things I'm most interested in this show. The two biggest theories I've heard are he was resurrected by magic or he's really an LMD. I lean towards the LMD route myself.
Decent episode, the show still hasn't really drawn me in but it's still enjoyable to watch.

[JKCarrier]

I imagine we'll have to wait for the season finale (if not later) to find out what the deal is with Coulson. The ex-agent's line, "What did they do to him?" is nicely ambiguous -- was she just referring to changes in his personality, or did she actually see something (like robot parts) with her x-ray eye?

The show has gotten incrementally better each episode, but aside from Coulson and May, I just don't like the characters very much. I'd rather see a show about the guest-stars: Super-Strong Dude from the first episode, Graviton, and Cyber-Eyeball Lady. Now that would be an interesting team.

[BentonGrey]

This was definitely the best episode so far.  Lady Grey, who has thus-far been fairly unimpressed with this show, going so far as to play on Facebook when we sat down to watch it, gave this episode her undivided attention. That speaks volumes, methinks.  This episode had great tension and lots of interesting twists and turns.  I definitely like the super-spy bits best, but I also love the variety of plots that this show can employ.  They are really working to make Skye less obnoxious, and they are beginning to make some headway with her.  She's still got a long way to go, though. 

I also am loving the Coulson mystery.  I loved the little line from cyborg girl at the end.  That's great.

Spoiler

I'm hoping that this shadowy organization is Hydra, or at least the real A.I.M.!

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Well, the whole Sky storyline got resolved a lot more quickly than I expected.  Granted, it introduced a new one and wasn't exactly resolved the way I expected, although kinda still was.

Spoiler

She's caught meeting with her partner/lover who's in turn associated with Project Centipede.  Both are arrested, and ultimately allowed to assist in the situation of the week.  Sky is allowed to stay with the team, but only after confessing her true motives--her search for her parents who's identity has been redacted by SHIELD for unknown reasons.  She's now essentially on parole and forced to wear a tracking/control bracelete.

Also it's revealed the SHIELD's been tagging and monitoring supers for years, although it generally lets them live their lives as long as they behave.

All in all Sky's motives at least make her conflicted behavior make sense, so we'll see where her new arc leads.  As for the bad guys, they essentially win this one, which is a lot more interesting than the bad guys always losing and therefore never really being much of a threat.

[JeyNyce]

I really wanted this show to be a hit, but I had my doubt after the first 2 episodes.  Now it seems that with each episode the show is getting better and better.  For a minute I thought the guy was a mutant and was going to be Sunfire at the end, but I was wrong.  So who do you guys think are the villains in this show? Hydra or AIM or somebody new?

[thalaw2]

I'm really not impressed with this show.  Perhaps it's just too fluffy for me.  It's like Baywatch in the sky and without the eye candy.  I'm trying to get through more episodes because everyone here seems to like it and I really want to like this show, but...maybe I'll be giving up and switching to Blacklist.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I checked the numbers, and it looks like this show has a questionable future.  It's premiere was huge, but it dropped to 2/3rds of it ratings the next episode.  Good news it that's it's stayed steady ever since, but if the show's as expensive as it looks like it is, it doesn't look so good for it.

[crimsonquill]

I checked the numbers, and it looks like this show has a questionable future.  It's premiere was huge, but it dropped to 2/3rds of it ratings the next episode.  Good news it that's it's stayed steady ever since, but if the show's as expensive as it looks like it is, it doesn't look so good for it.

.
It's biggest problem was the network slanting it against NCIS which has a far bigger attraction in that time slot and STILL not having enough recognizable comic elements show up from time to time. I'm sure there is a huge arc that is building up to reveal some major menace for S.H.I.E.L.D. to clash with on a regular basis and possibly some costumed villains to appear near the season end (Graviton among them). I'm thankful it got picked up for a full season so they can allow the team and storyline to play itself out but I'm starting to doubt a second season until they seriously kick it up a few notches.

- CQ

[BWPS]

Nothing some superheroes wouldn't instantly fix.  It's like  making a show about some regular kids who go to school with the Power Rangers but never really talk to them.  It doesn't matter  how good the show is,  there's still a level of disappointment attached to using the Marvel U.  That said, I  enjoy the show, Skye is the best character,  Ward and Fitz/Simmons  could all just go home and I wouldn't care. I also think there should be done kind of animal sidekick,  perhaps a talking ferret.

[thalaw2]

A ferret getting poked with a stick...hehehehehe

[BentonGrey]

BWPS...occasionally you say things that just mystify me.  Sky is the best character?  Really?  Are we watching the same show?  

This episode was about half gold, half dross.  There were some pretty painful moments.  I like what they're doing with Skye's character, but I still don't care much for her.  She's not really a strong enough actress to sell it, methinks. 

Spoiler

I LOVED the conflict between the desire to save lives and the need to put this guy down.  Coulson's line, "We don't want to hurt you...but we have to," was really quite excellent.  The trouble was, as good as some of those moments were, this loser's descent into madness was pretty bungled.  He goes from, 'I want to be a famous magician' to 'I want to see the world burn' almost instantly.  It was like Anakin's turn to the Dark Side.  One moment he's killing murderous Sand People because they tortured his mother to death, the next he's murdering children in cold blood.

[Starman]

There were only two good things about the episode: Skye's extended underwear dialogue scene, and Ruth Negga as the woman in the floral dress.

Ruth Negga is a dish (despite having a slightly mangled American accent), so I'm glad she is the show.

Otherwise, this episode had nothing that hasn't been done better in Heroes or Alphas. I really wish they'd draw on Marvel comic storylines and characters more.

[detourne_me]

The thing about this show, in my opinion, is that there is no real central character.  It could be Coulson, but it shouldn't be,  Coulson should be the guy on the side that can get things done quietly.
They could do more with Ward, but he doesn't really have the gravitas to pull off leading man status, yet.
Maybe that's the issue, Melinda and Coulson aren't Ward's mentors, they're his guardians.
Melinda could probably take on the leading role...she seems like she has a dark past that they could explore, but then what do you do with the four young hangers-on?

Ensemble casts only really work if there are multiple locations/storylines to follow, while in this show, the team is just a bit too big to do one thing well (follow a central character) but too small to be branching out into multiple storylines.

[BlueBard]

For a minute I thought the guy was a mutant and was going to be Sunfire at the end, but I was wrong.

I read an article on Wired that surmised that mutants are all off-limits because of Fox having the X-Men licensing locked up.  So I would tend to expect that we won't be seeing any hint of Sony-Man's world, either.  But the licensing for TV and for Movies can end up being different, so who knows.

Very disappointed that I haven't been able to watch this show yet.   Am I missing a good thing?  Or should I just wait until Netflix picks it up after the season run?