Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S01E06 – Review

By: Paul Zbsyzewski (story)

The Story: Yet another reminder that death can strike like a bolt out of the blue.

The Review: It’d be folly for me to lay down any hard and fast rules as to what does or doesn’t constitute a proper story, but I think we can all safely agree that a story essentially has two components: plot and characters.  And if you ask me, I’d say it’s really the characters who, more often than not, carry the story.  You can enjoy whole hours of practically nothing, plot-wise, if the characters intrigue you enough; indeed, most sitcoms offer little else.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s biggest struggle thus far has been giving you good reason to keep up with the cast, even when the plot is sub-par (as it has been in most of the episodes we’ve seen).  The show has made the mistake of fixating too much on the relationship between its prettiest members, Ward and Skye, which has to be built from scratch, while neglecting the characters who have history built in: May and Coulson, Fitz and Simmons.  This episode reverses this trend and gains a whole lot more emotional legitimacy for it.  Alert—spoilers ahead.