Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[Gaith]

^ I see your point, but I actually think being in the MCU holds the Netflix series back more. Luke Cage lives in a world where a Norse god and an alien army attacked NYC, but he thinks Jessica's belief in one mind-controller is improbable? Que?! And in a world where impossible 3D holograms exist, Hell's Kitchen has been a craphole for years? Whaa?

 

[matrixgrindhouse]

Well, this is unexpected.

Backdoor pilot for his own Netflix/ABC series, I guess?  It's weird to have a character like that playing second fiddle to Coulson's team.  
Not that I'm not happy!  The more connected the MCU is for me, the better.  Looking forward to seeing where they go with this.

 

[Gaith]

[img=425x250]http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/...ts-of-shield-logo-season-4.jpg[/img][/CENTER]

Just checking in on Season Four of the Phil Coulson Power Hour...

The show's still a great ride. The current Ghost Rider rode off after the midseason break (after a flashback cameo with a mostly offscreen Johnny Blaze), but the artifact behind his involvement with the team, an evil book called the Darkhold, is still very much in play. And John Hannah's been a great addition to the cast, though I doubt he'll continue to be a regular next season. Meanwhile, there's been no word from Bobbi and Hunter since their disavowal last year, though Patton Oswalt will soon be making his first appearance since S2. As of last week, the POTUS is still a man, but no word if it's still Ellis, or a new guy.

Most significantly for the MCU, however, SHIELD has been re-chartered by the government and reintroduced to the public, apparently under the supervision of General Talbot, with Director Jeffrey Mace at the helm, but our boy Coulson calling the shots behind the scenes. For the past few years, SHIELD's being undergound and secret has been a handy excuse as to why they haven't been showing to investigate the events of the movies or Netflix shows, but now that a certain web-slinging vigilante is openly operating around NYC, it'll be interesting to see what connections they make. Most likely none/next to none, but what with Cap being on the run and all, and Tony leading what's left of the Avengers, about now might be the ideal time for RDJ to show up for at least a dialogue-ony scene or two. Hey, a guy can dream, right?   ​

 

[matrixgrindhouse]

The whole LMD angle has given me a fun sense of paranoia I hadn't felt since BSG.  Shame they didn't pull this back when Edward James Olmos was on back in Season 2!

So... how public was Coulson's appearance at that hearing?

 

[Zamros]

I might be an even bigger fan of this LMD arc than the Ghost Rider arc. I love the way it's going at the moment, but I wish they'd drop the "SEE? WE'RE NOT THE CW! SEE HOW MUCH WE'RE NOT LIKE THE CW?!?!?" dialogue. While not as painful as most Arrow scenes, the Mac/Yo-yo scene was a little "See how we're subverting the cliche and shoving it in your face?"

As long as they continue taking influence from Ex Machina, I'm fine with it all.

 

[Gaith]

The Phil Coulson Power Hour has been renewed - hooray!

But they're reportedly looking to cut the budget... eek? Seems like this season has already cut back on the same, with the writing doing excellent work at maintaining quality, but I worry there may only be so many great stories to tell without much cash to back them up. What with the Inhumans series starting this fall, I hope ABC shortens the season rather than slashing the budget to grievous effect, as I don't mind fewer episodes as long as they continue to kick ass.  

 

[Nic]

The Phil Coulson Power Hour has been renewed - hooray!

So glad that this show gets to make it to syndication. I liked season 1 more than most (I'd argue the show got more consistent after Coulson got rescued), season 2 was good aside from having too many characters vying for screentime, season 3 is a reverse season 1 and got worse after it's winter break (though, one could make the argument it did X-Men Apocalypse's plot better than that film if you cut out all the Malick scenes), and season 4's the best it's ever been (AIDA is a better version of Ultron). I've really been enjoying the 3 mini-arcs this season, doing a lot of what I think Heroes wanted to do, only better. After this season, though, I'm not sure where else they can go. Moon Knight arc, maybe? Blade arc?  Set-up for Cloak and Dagger?

 

[matrixgrindhouse]

I go in to each season expecting it to be the last.  I wasn't ready to say goodbye, especially considering how good this season has been.  I wasn't a big fan of the Ghost Rider arc, but the LMD and Framework stories have been some of the best stuff the show has ever done.  

As for stuff they can do next year... We've got Black Panther, Avengers, and Ant-Man movies coming out - with many of the principle characters hiding out in Wakanda.  Maybe there's an angle there.  Or, depending on how Homecoming turns out, something to do with Peter's SHIELD agent parents.  But that might be too much of a retread of The Amazing movies.  Hm. 

Or, depending on how The Defenders resolves... Hell's Kitchen arc!  The Hand joins forces with the remnants of Hydra (with both trying to usurp power from the other).  We'll never get an Avenger to cameo, but surely the Netflix heroes are easier to procure, right?  C'mon.  You know you want The Punisher to borrow Mac's Shotgun Axe...

 

[addiesin]

I'm caught up now. Wow this show really can be anything when the writers are in their groove.

 

[Gaith]

After this season, though, I'm not sure where else they can go. Moon Knight arc, maybe? Blade arc?  Set-up for Cloak and Dagger?

Yeah, now that SHIELD is back in the open, it could well get awkward in terms of "Why aren't our heroes investigating Spider-Man?" again. That said, I'm sure there's a virtually unlimited amount of small-time comics-derived villains the team can fight, not to mention ones they can make up.

Or, depending on how The Defenders resolves... Hell's Kitchen arc!  The Hand joins forces with the remnants of Hydra (with both trying to usurp power from the other).  We'll never get an Avenger to cameo, but surely the Netflix heroes are easier to procure, right?  C'mon.  You know you want The Punisher to borrow Mac's Shotgun Axe...

We already got an Avenger cameo in Fury - and according to him, Coulson is an Avenger himself.  But even if we have to wait for the series finale, I don't want to give up hope for another major movie character cameo.

At this point, though, I've almost given up on Marvel/Netflix. Jessica Jones was the only good season to date, IMO, and I don't even like Jessica herself much; it was more the uniqueness of her story and the menace of Kilgrave. I fear that if her personality doesn't significantly evolve, and quickly, her cynical/witheringly sarcastic shtick  could become merely aggravating. Meanwhile, Luke Cage is dull, Matt/Daredevil isn't much better, and I see no reason to bother with the frat bro yoga guy. And, as I said above, I think the MCU connection hurts the Netflix shows much more than AoS - they can't even mess up New York all that much, what with Spidey now being an NYC presence, but they're also too gritty/realistic to embrace the comic book-y weirdness (Inhumans, other planets, the Darkhold, etc.) that's made the Phil Coulson Power Hour such a wild (and globetrotting!) ride.

And while I loved Bernthal's performance as Castle, I found his whole story incredibly stupid (in this day and age, a successful coverup of a mass gang shooting in Central Park? WTF?!), with an even worse conclusion, and while I appreciate the writers' decision to make it clear, via his skull wound, that he's deeply damaged in the head and not just a particularly unforgiving vigilante, I'm wary of him becoming the hero of his own show. (His assurance to Karen that she was never in danger when he shot up a frickin' hospital because he's just that good was some particularly odious bullshit.)

Anyhow, as much as I love the show, if AoS ends with this fifth season, I'll be satisfied. Given that it more or less started with The Avengers, the beginning of Infinity War seems like a natural enough place to conclude it. I just hope that, with proper planning on warning, they're able to really contribute something meaningful to the movies again (yep, even more than Theta Protocol), even if it doesn't get a spotlight in the movies themselves. At the very least, another Fury appearance would be welcome, but a quiet chat with Cap, bookending their hero/fanboy meeting with a much more equal vibe, would be fantastic also. Heck, given that Steve's gone rogue, having renounced governmental oversight and given up his shield, one could make an excellent case that Coulson is the world's Captain America now. Given that Coulson's screen time and appearance history isn't likely to be bested by anybody anytime soon, to have Steve tell him as much would be about as epic a talk as the MCU could deliver, IMO, and a perfect send-off for the character.

 

[Nic]

Or, depending on how Homecoming turns out, something to do with Peter's SHIELD agent parents.  But that might be too much of a retread of The Amazing movies.  Hm. 

Or, depending on how The Defenders resolves... Hell's Kitchen arc!  The Hand joins forces with the remnants of Hydra (with both trying to usurp power from the other).  We'll never get an Avenger to cameo, but surely the Netflix heroes are easier to procure, right?  C'mon.  You know you want The Punisher to borrow Mac's Shotgun Axe...

I really just want Pwter's parents to be scientists independent of SHIELD who died in an accident. Them being secret agents never really gelled with the rest of his character.

As for next arcs, I would really like either AoS or the Defenders to face off against The Real Mandarin, since they established he exists and was then never brought up again. 

 

[Zamros]

I really just want Peter's parents to be scientists independent of SHIELD who died in an accident. Them being secret agents never really gelled with the rest of his character.

As for next arcs, I would really like either AoS or the Defenders to face off against The Real Mandarin, since they established he exists and was then never brought up again. 

I'd prefer no info at all on Peter's parents. Their existing outside of their coitus to produce Spidey is entirely unnecessary.

I'd love if Agents of SHIELD does a Secret Invasion arc, although I think the Skrulls are a part of the Fantastic Four rights so that might not be happening any time soon.

 

[hbenthow]

I'd prefer no info at all on Peter's parents. Their existing outside of their coitus to produce Spidey is entirely unnecessary.

That's my view as well.

 

[Zamros]

 

[Gaith]

Finally all caught up. After the absolutely incredible penultimate episode, featuring the terrifying birth of a very angry child-like god, I'm afraid the finale itself was a bit of a letdown. Too much was crammed in too quickly; a two-part finale like S2 had would have been ideal. And in the end, Ophelia was taken down too quickly to really be effective; I wish her and Coulson's fight had ended somewhere more dramatic, like the side of a volcano or something, rather than returning to HQ to end up in a random hallway. (Maybe a budget thing?) I would also have liked a dash of visual weirdness for Radcliffe's final scene - like the sunset or even the sun itself degrading into pixelation and exposed code.

SHIELD being publicly reconstituted as an authorized agency was a surprise earlier this season, leading me to wonder if that meant agents would start appearing the movies again, but it looks as though that's being walked back.

All in all, however, another truly great (and arguably best-yet) season. I'm delighted that we're getting a fifth season, and a 22-ep one at that; I just hope the budget limitations don't show too obviously. What a show!

 

[Zamros]

Finally all caught up. After the absolutely incredible penultimate episode, featuring the terrifying birth of a very angry child-like god, I'm afraid the finale itself was a bit of a letdown. Too much was crammed in too quickly; a two-part finale like S2 had would have been ideal. And in the end, Ophelia was taken down too quickly to really be effective; I wish her and Coulson's fight had ended somewhere more dramatic, like the side of a volcano or something, rather than returning to HQ to end up in a random hallway. (Maybe a budget thing?) I would also have liked a dash of visual weirdness for Radcliffe's final scene - like the sunset or even the sun itself degrading into pixelation and exposed code.

SHIELD being publicly reconstituted as an authorized agency was a surprise earlier this season, leading me to wonder if that meant agents would start appearing the movies again, but it looks as though that's being walked back.

All in all, however, another truly great (and arguably best-yet) season. I'm delighted that we're getting a fifth season, and a 22-ep one at that; I just hope the budget limitations don't show too obviously. What a show!

I was hoping we'd finally get the Penance Stare from Ghost Rider. Ophelia wanted to feel, now she gets to feel all the pain she caused.

Agreed that the last episode was over with far too quickly, although I think Radcliffe's end was perfect. I hope they can magic up some bullshit to bring John Hannah back. I think there should have been an episode from the LMD arc removed and put into the Agents of Hydra arc, just to pad everything out better.

I'm pretty sure the movies are flat out ignoring the show at this point. Coulson was outed on live television, yet the Avengers say nothing? You'd think they'd care about the reason they assembled being alive again.

I think this season's budget was blown on the Ghost Rider transformations, and I'm glad it was, those scenes were glorious.

Agreed that this was their best season yet. Breaking the seasons up into pods makes a lot of sense, allowing the pacing to be much faster and let them tell much grander stories. Here's hoping they tell many more. #sixseasonsandamovie

 

[addiesin]

Re: The Avengers

Captain America 3: Civil War spoiler:

Reveal message

Most of them are underground or off world, and the other few from the first film signed the Accords. I think none of them are making public appearances as Avengers at the moment.

 

[Gaith]

Eh, I'm not hugely invested in the Avengers' reactions to Phil being back. Sure, it'd be great to see, and I still hope for at least one big-name cameo apart from Fury before the series ends, but it's not as though discovering he was resurrected would likely throw them off their years-long life paths at this point.

And I'm pretty well reconciled at this point to the reality that the movies and show will never significantly interact. (As for the Netflix shows, I'm really past caring about them at all.) My only concern at this point is that they don't wildly contradict each other, and having SHIELD be publicly reconstituted in the show yet completely absent from the movies would be weird... though I'm sure us fans would find ways to justify such moments. It's kinda what we do, after all.

And as much as I love John Hannah and his Radcliffe, I don't want him resurrected; let's move on to new great characters. Hell, my man Brendan Fraser might not be above taking a modest AoS check at this point...

 

[matrixgrindhouse]

Is it too late to resurrect the Bobbi/Hunter spinoff?

 

[bionicbob]

Is it too late to resurrect the Bobbi/Hunter spinoff?

You know there may be problem when the most interesting character is a giant teleporting dog LOL