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

Well, I finally know what S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for.  It only took me about five years, but this show finally hammered it in my head.  I would say I regret putting off watching this show until now, but that would have meant that I couldn't binge watch it all on Netflix in less than a month.  Pros to procrastination.

The best part about the show by far was the characters.  I didn't care that much about Phil Coulson in the Marvel movies, mainly because there were so many superheroes around that I didn't have much attention to spare for some stoic-faced agent.  However, this show gave me a chance to see Coulson's character on the ground level, as a human being with a good heart and real struggles.  In a way he reminds me of the pre-serum Steve Rogers, a guy who was considered a nobody but who had so much faith and strength that it's hard not to root for him.  I imagine Coulson would explode at my comparison if he were to read my review.  As for the other characters (in season one and two), I fell in love with every one of them--even the character who I knew ahead of time was going to be a traitor.  I knew it was coming, but the moment that character turned, I still gasped.  I had the sense that I was supposed to like this character, as much as I tried to hate them with every ounce of my body, so I was very interested to see what happened next with them in the following season.  Too bad the person ended up becoming a true blue psychopath, but, well… spoiler.

Can I say how much I enjoyed having so much diversity among the cast of characters?  Season one gave us a main cast that was half full of badass woman, two of them being women of color.  Both seasons gave us a slew of other women and people of color, both as major and minor characters.  Thumbs up for that, Marvel!

And oh, THE CAMEOS!  Nick Fury, Maria Hill, in the FIRST FEW EPISODES of the first season.  And then Sif came, too!  And then Peggy Carter came in for the first episode of season 2.  I could hardly handle that much awesomeness at once.  The show had so many connections to the Marvel Cinematic Universe via characters, plot lines, and references.  You can easily see the events of Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Avengers Age of Ultron play out in the lives of the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  It really felt like the characters were living in the same world as the Avengers.

Ties to the overall Marvel universe are not the only thing that the writers kept an excellent handle on; within the show itself are a multitude of multi-faceted characters who have new mysteries to discover all the time.  The many and complex threads in the various episodes were almost always consistent, which is impressive considering the episodes are long and numerous.  The writers kept their hands on the reins throughout the entire crazy ride of spy adventures, uncovered secrets, more uncovered secrets, character development, shocking turnarounds, and more.  My dad compared the series to a soap opera, which is very apt considering I could not stop watching until I absolutely had to.  By the end of each season so far, little is left undone or overlooked.

Honestly, anyone who appreciates good writing, well-rounded characters, thrilling action, oodles of sarcasm, or Marvel in general would appreciate Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  So if you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?