'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1.11 'The Magical Place' Review

ABC

The return of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brought with it a new mission: rescue Agent Coulson from the clutches of Centipede. When last we saw Phil he was taken away by mysterious girl in a flowered dress Raina, while his S.H.I.E.L.D. compatriots looked on helplessly and former Centipede victim Mike Peterson seemed to sacrifice himself in the explosion preceding takeoff. The main draw of tonight was finally being let in on what happened to Coulson when he died in The Avengers--a trip to the white sandy beaches of Tahiti it was not. So was it a secret whose reveal was worth spending half the season building momentum toward?

ABC

I guess it depends on what you truly expected from the storyline. If you wanted to see a ground-breaking science fiction twist that would blow your mind out the back of your skull then you may have been disappointed. Frankly, I still felt as though it was a half-answer more than anything and that is not what was advertised. What I am excited about though is my theory of a darker less S.H.I.E.L.D.-inclined Phil Coulson becoming part of the series. Plus there still isn't exactly a solid answer as to why of all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in all the gin joints of the world why he was worth all that extra effort from no less than Director Fury. It seems as though there's going to be more to the mystery than what we were given but I have my doubts about whether or not that's a good idea for the show.

ABC

If there's one thing that a serialized show should never do its try the patience of their audience. I'm sure quite a few people will come forward with their disappointment about Coulson's reveal if only because that ongoing mystery was an element that seperated S.H.I.E.L.D. from its functional core--a case of the week show with the ocassional superpower thrown in. What MAOS needs to do now that they're at the halfway point is stop relying on superpowers created by science gone wrong/mystical objects and start showing us the real deal. Various mentions of some ominous clairvoyant are not enough to maintain the true Marvel feel that the show does at times lack. I know for various legal reasons they can't use the term mutant but they could certainly try to show some once in a while.

I do applaud the show for trying to give depth to its various agents. It's clear we're at the point now where

ABC

the team genuinely cares for the well-being of one another. May especially seems to truly know what's best for Skye, and I can't help thinking that the grand parental mystery they've arranged for Skye's character will certainly involve Melinda in some way. She sure does get extra jumpy whenever Coulson speaks with Skye about it. It was also nice to see that FitzSimmons don't always agree on everything when it was clear that Simmons had far more sympathy for the henchmen of Centipede (as we've frequently seen many of their 'agents' work against their will for the shadowy organization) than her partner Fitz did. And we're still going to see more of Whedonverse alum J. August Richards since #PetersonLives even though he's definitely on the track for further torment at the hands of Centipede thanks to his new eye implant like Akelah's back in episode 1.04 'Eye Spy'.

ABC

The star of the episode other than Coulson and his revelations was definitely Skye on her own once more after a falling out with Agent Hand over the importance of finding Coulson vs. shutting Centipede compounds down across the globe. Her Agent May act was spot-on but she should probably never impersonate Melinda in her presence, she might wind up with a broken limb. She worked best while away from the S.H.I.E.L.D. umbrella but she did use quite a few methods she learned while there.

ABC

It makes me wonder if because Coulson's team is so outside of the box compared to the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. if we're in for some kind of big moment where the team becomes their own rogue outfit. When the severity of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s betrayal against Coulson comes to light I could see these agents following their leader into something new. It's been okay to see the exploits of the team but I have a feeling if they break away from their SH.I.E.L.D. overlords they could get mixed up in far more interesting endeavors, security clearance levels be damned. Overall, it was a very tight action caper, their pacing is most definitely improving from earlier episodes. Just don't get caught up with every flashy mystery and go along for the ride.