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Agents of SHIELD S04E15 is among the MCU's very best

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J

jon bones

hot hot hanuman-on-man action
Lots of us have been extremely high on S4 on Agents of SHIELD - particularly because it's been using a very effective '3 arc' structure.

The season is broken up into 3 complete arcs that move at breakneck speed and build on one-another.

The first of these was Ghost Rider and serves as basically an 8 episode, self-contained GR mini in addition to building up the bigger season's story. If you're a fan of the character at all, there's no reason to skip it.

fc6a655f022fe74ee82b50fc2ff3f18571925015_hq.gif



The next arc ends at Self Control (episode 15) and is absolutely incredible. It's basically a dip into an MCU version of Alien/The Thing - super taut, tense and genuinely scary. It is the culmination of the second arc - which I won't spoil til below, but offers a crazy paranoid feeling throughout.

simmons-1.png


The final arc is still on-going, but it has effectively served up this whole season as a build up to arguably the greatest MCU villain to date.

If you stopped watching at any point before, consider picking it back up. It's so, so worth it.

This episode is too good - all the actors are great at playing LMDs, so much so that you end up feeling for the 'false' version of these characters as well.

The tension between Fitz & Jemma is so high, and the actors pull it off so well. LMD Fitz is legit terrifying in the reveal moment.

Daisy Johnson vs. Patriot is a great fight, and it's a nice little nugget of cape-stuff in the middle of the episode.

The Ascension of Aida is perfect, and is such a crazy-satisfying payoff for S3's mini-LMD tease at the finale.

The reveal of The Framework is bonkers and really well shot. The music over Hydra Triskellion made it all feel even more eerie.
 
Z

ZeoVGM

Banned
And before anyone asks: if you decide to jump in and marathon the series, don't skip episodes. Slow/mediocre starts are a lot more tolerable when binging and it's really only the first half of the first season.

(The second half is better and becomes very good near the end. Season 2 is fantastic from start to finish. Season 3 is split into a great first half and inconsistent second half. Season 4 has topped season 2 and is probably some of the best stuff in the entire MCU.)

If someone gives you some weird ass list of the first season which is missing like 4 episodes, ignore them. That's dumb. You'll be fine, I promise.
 
R

RyougaSaotome

Member
I keep meaning to catch up. I liked the first half of S3 a bunch and while the back half wasn't nearly as good, I wasn't as down on it as most. S2 was pure excellence.

I really need to make time to start S4. It sounds like my jam.
 
K

Khansolo1

Member
I think I might binge-watch this rather than iron fist.
I know this is a little off topic but is Iron fist even worth it?
 
M

Mariolee

Member
This show is so incredible it retroactively redeems how schmaltzy and cheesy the first half of the first season is and uses that to its advantage.
 
J

jon bones

hot hot hanuman-on-man action
Khansolo1 said:
I think I might binge-watch this rather than iron fist.
I know this is a little off topic but is Iron fist even worth it?
Click to expand...

I've seen every piece of MCU content except the back half of Iron Fist. I'll get to it before The Defenders but it'll be on in the background.
 
J

jb1234

Member
I keep hearing good things about this season. I stopped watching near the end of the third season because I realized that I had stopped caring about the characters.
 
B

BlazinSkatinAxel

Member
ZeoVGM said:
And before anyone asks: if you decide to jump in and marathon the series, don't skip episodes. Slow/mediocre starts are a lot more tolerable when binging and it's really only the first half of the first season.

(The second half is better and becomes very good near the end. Season 2 is fantastic from start to finish.S eason 3 is split into a great first half and inconsistent second half. Season 4 has topped season 2 and is probably some of the best stuff in the entire MCU.)

If someone gives you some weird ass list of the first season which is missing like 4 episodes, ignore them. That's dumb. You'll be fine, I promise.
Click to expand...

Bolded for truth. Cosign.
 
J

jon bones

hot hot hanuman-on-man action
RyougaSaotome said:
I keep meaning to catch up. I liked the first half of S3 a bunch and while the back half wasn't nearly as good, I wasn't as down on it as most. S2 was pure excellence.

I really need to make time to start S4. It sounds like my jam.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's a wild ride each and every episode.

jb1234 said:
I keep hearing good things about this season. I stopped watching near the end of the third season because I realized that I had stopped caring about the characters.
Click to expand...

S4 tightens up the crew and does incredible character work to really utilize their past season stories as growth.

Finish S3 and jump aboard, you will fall in love with the group like crazy.
 
A

AMUSIX

Member
For those who left the show in the first season, this is a graph of ratings the individual episodes have gotten.

fii9nAG.png
 
A

Altazor

Member
This season has been incredibly good. It's arguably better than S2, which was the previous high-mark of the series, but that's up to each one's preferences. Pretty much everything from S04E14 (the one before "Self Control") to this recent episode has been one hell of a run.

And in b4 "but it's so cheesy and it doesn't hold a candle to prestige dramas"... well, of course. It's not trying to be a prestige drama. As a comic book show, it's been really, really good.
 
O

Obliterator

Member
I straight up think the current season of SHIELD is the best live action TV Comic Show ever. It's going to be heart breaking when it's canceled.

I can't help but imagine if they had this level of quality right off the bat how much better the ratings would be. They just lost so many people along the way and it's a damn shame.

And yeah Episode 15 in particular was great.
 
K

kirblar

Member
Obliterator said:
I straight up think the current season of SHIELD IS the best live action TV Comic Show ever. It's going to be heart breaking when it's canceled.

I can't help but imagine if they had this level of quality right off the bat how much better the ratings would be. They just lost so many people along the way and it's a damn shame.

And yeah Episode 15 in particular was great.
Click to expand...
Insiders are actually thinking it's getting an S5. Mostly because a lot of ABC's lineup this season crashed and burned and you only want to launch so many new shows at once.
 
J

jon bones

hot hot hanuman-on-man action
Khansolo1 said:
OK you guys convinced me I'm definitely watching agents of shield but I think I'm going to skip out on iron fist.
Click to expand...

It takes half a season to find it's footing but stick with it. That just establishes the cast.

The Winter Soldier takes place after episode 16 and then show "really" starts.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
I'll have to check this season when it pops on Netflix. Hopefully it clicks better than the first couple seasons.
 
D

Dalek

Member
Tremendous show. The cast and crew deserve recognition for this amazing season.

It's brutal seeing these characters you grow to love get put through the ringer.
 
O

Obliterator

Member
kirblar said:
Insiders are actually thinking it's getting an S5. Mostly because a lot of ABC's lineup this season crashed and burned and you only want to launch so many new shows at once.
Click to expand...

That would be amazing. I just have heard the ratings have been really poor for it and I don't imagine the show is particularly cheap. There's a decent amount of special effects / stunt work done on it.

But yeah after how good this season has been and with everyone involved seeming to really hit their stride it would just be a shame to see it end like that.
 
Z

ZeoVGM

Banned
What's so damn crazy to me is how these characters have evolved. When AoS started, everyone spoke about Ward as the boring no-personality character. By the end of the season, he was a fan favorite and is now arguably the most complex and interesting character in the entire series.

Fitz? Where do I even start? I had a feeling early on that he was going with the type of character growth we saw out of Wes on Buffy and Angel. I just had a feeling. And now you can legitimately make the argument that he's one of the best actors in the entire MCU.

Coulson? Watching him in Iron Man and then jumping to the mid-season finale of season 3 (and the "angry Coulson" episode before that as well) is pretty damn great.

It's an incredibly rewarding show that doesn't treat the fans like idiots.
 
S

SwordStruck

Member
Season 2 was my previous favorite, but yeah I'd say season 4 has been well above anything else the show has done yet. It's been pretty incredible this season.
 
D

dancrane212

Member
Season 3/4 spoilers.

I am incredibly bored with
Ward and all his incarnations
. I meant to catch up on this season after having a tepid response to the the third but hearing that
he is back, yet again, in some way
killed my interest. Maybe I'll give it another look down the road but there's just too many shows to catch up on.
 
J

jon bones

hot hot hanuman-on-man action
dancrane212 said:
Season 3/4 spoilers.

I am incredibly bored with
Ward and all his incarnations
. I meant to catch up on this season after having a tepid response to the the third but hearing that
he is back, yet again, in some way
killed my interest.
Click to expand...

Don't let it. Forget that entirely and dive in. It is all worth it and it all makes sense.

And if they stick the landing, it will retroactively make you like S3 more.
 
slade

slade

Member
I love this show. It's the best of the Marvel shows by a mile. And it is all coming from Whedon's production company. I figured they would eventually get this show right since they were also behind Angel and Buffy.
 
C

clay_ghost

Member
You can definitely skip the 1st Half of S1 outside of a few to establish who is who. Don't force people to watch something that is not that good and turn off people before they can reach the good stuff.

I also think you can jump into Ghost rider mini Arc as a standalone mini season.
 
A

Altazor

Member
ZeoVGM said:
Fitz? Where do I even start? I had a feeling early on that he was going with the type of character growth we saw out of Wes on Buffy and Angel. I just had a feeling. And now you can legitimately make the argument that he's one of the best actors in the entire MCU.
Click to expand...

Iain de Caestecker has been killing it lately. I mean, we all knew what he was capable of during that scene at the start of Season 3
I'm talking about the one with the monolith, of course
but this season... man. He was scarily good in "Self Control" and then (HUGE SEASON 4 SPOILERS DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT)
Evil Fitz. Jesus fucking Christ. Probably the scariest antagonist they've had yet because of all the emotional connections the team has (and the ones the viewer has with the cast). I think poor Fitz is going to be an emotional wreck once he realizes what he's done... that's if the team manages to "get him back", of course. There's always a (heartbreaking) chance that the Fitz we once knew is gone forever, replaced by this evil bastard that looks dashing as fuck.
 
C

CopperPuppy

Member
Obliterator said:
I straight up think the current season of SHIELD is the best live action TV Comic Show ever. It's going to be heart breaking when it's canceled.

I can't help but imagine if they had this level of quality right off the bat how much better the ratings would be. They just lost so many people along the way and it's a damn shame.

And yeah Episode 15 in particular was great.
Click to expand...

These are exactly my feelings. It's fantastic.
 
T

The Silver

Member
I didn't care that much for the Ghost Rider stuff, the LMD and Hydra world stuff has been fucking incredible though, as much as Arrow got back in the game this season AoS easily takes top crown
 
Jag

Jag

Member
The Silver said:
I didn't care that much for the Ghost Rider stuff, the LMD and Hydra world stuff has been fucking incredible though, as much as Arrow got back in the game this season AoS easily takes top crown
Click to expand...

I honestly don't feel like Arrow has done anything except rehash the same crap over and over. AoS has at least taken chances and explored new directions. I agree this season has been fantastic. I don't feel the same about Arrow though.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Nyanmaruz said:
Is the writer strike going to affect the last couple of eps of S4 or all the scripts and filming done by now?
Click to expand...

It wouldn't have an impact. The season finale should be in the can by now.

I'll probably binge this show if the strike happens. Summer/Fall viewing. I'm honestly in no rush. I didn't care for Season 1 at all and working through a 22 episode series I don't care for sounds exhausting.
 
Z

ZeoVGM

Banned
jon bones said:
It takes half a season to find it's footing but stick with it. That just establishes the cast.

The Winter Soldier takes place after episode 16 and then show "really" starts.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this, though I would personally argue it starts at episode 13 with the train episode. It was the series' first attempt at doing something different with the storytelling. And I loved the tonal shift at the end where the episode goes from being a fairly lighthearted affair to something dark that a) pushed the main plot forward and b) introduced a new superhero to the MCU.

Following that is a huge episode that introduces Bill Paxton and is hugely important to the overall arc. And after that, right before the Winter Soldier tie-in starts, there's a fun episode guest starring Sif as well.

Also, an episode in the first half of the season called "FZZT" has the first early moment with Fitz and Simmons in the series where I was like, "Yeah. That's what I want out of this show."
 
G

GuitarAtomik

Member
ZeoVGM said:
And before anyone asks: if you decide to jump in and marathon the series, don't skip episodes. Slow/mediocre starts are a lot more tolerable when binging and it's really only the first half of the first season.

(The second half is better and becomes very good near the end. Season 2 is fantastic from start to finish. Season 3 is split into a great first half and inconsistent second half. Season 4 has topped season 2 and is probably some of the best stuff in the entire MCU.)

If someone gives you some weird ass list of the first season which is missing like 4 episodes, ignore them. That's dumb. You'll be fine, I promise.
Click to expand...

Truer words have never been spoken. Listen to this poster.
 
Z

ZeoVGM

Banned
Altazor said:
Iain de Caestecker has been killing it lately. I mean, we all knew what he was capable of during that scene at the start of Season 3
I'm talking about the one with the monolith, of course
but this season... man. He was scarily good in "Self Control" and then (HUGE SEASON 4 SPOILERS DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT)
Evil Fitz. Jesus fucking Christ. Probably the scariest antagonist they've had yet because of all the emotional connections the team has (and the ones the viewer has with the cast). I think poor Fitz is going to be an emotional wreck once he realizes what he's done... that's if the team manages to "get him back", of course. There's always a (heartbreaking) chance that the Fitz we once knew is gone forever, replaced by this evil bastard that looks dashing as fuck.
Click to expand...

SPOILERS. DON'T CLICK IF YOU'RE GOING TO WATCH.

The look on Iain's face when
LMD Fitz switches from pleading with Simmons to having no emotion
is so frightening.
 
T

The Silver

Member
I'd sooner tell someone to just start with season 2 than force yourself to watch the pure crap that is the entire 1st half of S1(guys theres a damn good reason so many people tuned out and never came back) just to get to the better but mediocre 2nd half, Ward is the only good part.


I tried to listen to the jokers saying watch it all and I could only handle 3 episodes of that shit before I skipped everything and just went to the Winter Soldier stuff, best decision.
 
M

Malyse

Member
People keep trying to argue that this is not the best part of the MCU and I'm trying to understand why they hold such wrong opinions.
 
W

wildfire

Banned
ZeoVGM said:
And before anyone asks: if you decide to jump in and marathon the series, don't skip episodes. Slow/mediocre starts are a lot more tolerable when binging and it's really only the first half of the first season.

(The second half is better and becomes very good near the end. Season 2 is fantastic from start to finish. Season 3 is split into a great first half and inconsistent second half. Season 4 has topped season 2 and is probably some of the best stuff in the entire MCU.)

If someone gives you some weird ass list of the first season which is missing like 4 episodes, ignore them. That's dumb. You'll be fine, I promise.
Click to expand...


There are episodes that can be skipped. From season 1 and 2. You shouldn't skip episodes after that.
 
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