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

Casting our minds back to 2013, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was in a very different place. Off the back of Iron Man 3, the MCU released their first attempt at a TV show. Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. was designed to follow a unique team of S.H.E.I.L.D. agents led by the resurrected Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg). While the ‘pilot’ episode may have been confusing due to Coulson’s revival, it did lay the groundworks for an overarching series plot while establishing fun and exciting characters within the team.

Creating a series with new characters that haven’t been seen in the MCU was always going to be hard, but the pilot did a good job of making every character that was introduced unique to the team. May (Ming-Na Wen) gave off vibes similar to the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) as there was a sense of mystery around her character, while the other combat agent, Ward (Brett Dalton) showed off his skills in the field which allowed for a leader of the team to emerge. Introducing Fitz (Ian De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) as the scientists in the team was also a stroke of genius as their popularity only grew across the seasons, but it was the pilot which established their love from fans.

While the team of S.H.E.I.L.D. agents was filled with characters with lots of potential there always felt like something was missing, which leads to the story of the pilot as well as the first season. Introducing Skye (Chloe Bennet) as a hacker working against S.H.E.I.L.D. that was recruited to Coulson’s team added the wildcard dynamic as well as potential clashes of personality. As a result the series was set up perfectly as the question mark around her character and whether she would side with S.H.E.I.L.D. if her beliefs came into question added the intrigue to the team dynamic that was needed.

Despite setting up the team well in the pilot, the let-down came with the plot within the episode. Mike Peterson (J. August Richards) never came across as a villain and Project Centipede never felt like a major threat to the world when the credits rolled, especially as this was set after phase 1 when aliens had invaded. If the Pilot had been released in phase 1 then the danger would have been heightened as the expectation of a threat would not have been as high as it was when the episode first aired.

This is the main problem with the episode. The stakes never felt on the level as other properties that Marvel had released at the time. Therefore, we were never going to consider the show on the same level as the movies. As such there is a sense of disappointment with the episode as it was clear the threat wasn’t on an Avenger level which is what brings excitement to Marvel content.

Although there was disappointment with the pilot due to its lack of stakes, the first episode tells us immediately that it isn’t meant to be an Avenger level threat and instead should be viewed for what it is. If we took the Avengers out of our minds, we can enjoy the episode without thinking the world will be destroyed. Moreover, while not delivering the movie level drama, the pilot allows for a different story to be told to the movies. A more isolated story within the Marvel universe always had to be fun to watch and there is no question the pilot set up a fun series.

However, the elephant in the room was always going to be Coulson and his return from the dead. After dying in the Avengers movie many fans had questions over his return. This is the part of the pilot which is successful in creating an overarching story to the show. Without question everybody wants to know about Coulson’s revival and this is set up in the pilot with the Level 7 access which is granted to Ward immediately telling us there is more to the story than meets the eye. Even if it seems Coulson is more obsessed with his car Lola, fans were excited to see what the reason for Coulson’s reawakening was.

Overall looking back to the beginning of Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. there is a sense of nostalgia. Knowing the journey each character goes on, it is nice to see them at their routes, where everyone is being introduced into the crazy world in the Marvel universe. For that reason the pilot is a good episode and for me one of the best across all 7 seasons. Despite not living up the expectations of the films, the show introduces us to a different side of the MCU which although not holding the same stakes as the films, can be enjoyable and fun.

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Marvel