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

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 1, Episode 17 “Turn, Turn, Turn” (C+)

I wasn’t so fond of this episode for a few reasons. The main thing is that this episode being a tie-in with “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” meant that you had to see the movie to truly appreciate what was happening and to understand why the closing credit featured the insignia of Hydra replaced the insignia of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the very end of the episode. It does mean major changes for the show, and I get that, but, had I not seen the movie before I saw this episode, I would have been totally lost. Additionally, my initial praise of Bill Paxton’s Garrett not being a traitor didn’t pan out so well, and having him be a gun for hire who chose the stronger side rather than actually believe in its ideals isn’t as interesting as the notion of a full-fledged Hydra operative. I’m also not impressed by the fake-out of having May be one of Fury’s loyal acolytes, who, despite her duplicity, is actually one of the good guys, while Ward, who no one would ever have suspected, is in fact a devotee of Hydra. Something tells me the whole story hasn’t yet unfolded, but that would make all this a waste of time. I don’t think this show is going to get a second season anyway, so it might be a moot point, but, if it actually wants to stick true to its game-changing events, it should kill Ward off and add a few bring in a new character or two. I wasn’t a big fan of Victoria Hand, though there was something intriguing about watching her prepare to kill Coulson because he was Hydra when in fact none of them were. It’s all about where this show goes from here now.