What I’m Watching: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 1, Episode 14 “T.A.H.I.T.I” (B-)

In the month since this show has aired, I haven’t missed it the same way that I have most of the other series I watch. Despite having one of the best premises at the start of the fall, it just hasn’t quite delivered. It’s not all that bad a show, but there just isn’t the level of excitement there that should exist. Skye’s current state puts one of the show’s liveliest – and arguably most irritating – characters out of commission and prolongs her inevitable reawakening. Maybe making her conscious again will transform her into a very different person, which could make the show as a whole enticing, but I’m not so sure about that. All of this mystery about what happened to Coulson isn’t proving too fulfilling, and I’d much rather find out whether Skye actually has powers and confirm that there’s nothing officially alien about her. I don’t quite understand the introduction of Lorelei in the episode’s closing moments, an alien able to convince poor new husband Jimmy that he should be eternally loyal to her and leave his new bride behind. This show’s mythology was just getting going, and bringing in extraterrestrial forces at this point is an iffy strategy. The one compliment I will give this show is that it made strong use of Bill Paxton in a guest spot, not making him too showy but rather a very dependable soldier. I was almost sure the whole time that he was going to turn out to be a bad guy, and I respect this show for just making him a solid and truly noble character.