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

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 1, Episode 16 “End of the Beginning” (B-)

One of the things that has held this show back from achieve greatness since it first started is its dependence on the Marvel movie franchise to dictate its universe to a degree. But it doesn’t go both ways, and Coulson isn’t likely going to be appearing in any movies in the near future, so instead this show gets the least exciting elements of the film and uses them to drive its plotline. I saw “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on Monday night and didn’t watch this episode until Wednesday night. I immediately recognized Agent Sitwell, who has a slightly bigger part in the film, and then noted that the ending scene is taken from the film itself. Without giving much away, I’ll just note that the movie spells big changes for S.H.I.E.L.D, and I wonder how they’ll be implemented her. I think a lot of time has been wasted on perceiving May as the enemy, and unless that’s really the case, which I doubt, I hope that it will be resolved soon. Having Skye back in the field as an actual agent isn’t bad, and though she’s less pushy and temperamental, she’s actually still pretty interesting. Fitz and Simmons took a backseat in this hour, while Ward got to shine as he made the decision to kill who they thought was the Clairvoyant before he finished his haunting prophecy. Brad Dourif was a great choice to play the Clairvoyant, who bears an interesting resemblance to a character from “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” who may have a role to play in the coming episodes.