Can Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Keep It Up? Producers Hope That Show Keeps Momentum It Gained Last Season
"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was one of the most heavily promoted shows last season. The first TV show to spin out of Marvel's hugely popular cinematic universe? It is going to be hugely successful right? The biggest show of the new season, right? Not so fast. The show opened huge, but then lost viewers until finally stabilizing around the midway mark of the season. What was the reason for the loss of viewers? Well, there are a few reasons that viewers could have tuned out. It's Tuesday at 8/7c time slot was tough. It was facing off against "NCIS," the most watched show on network television. No matter how many times I type that or say it or hear it, it is still hard for me to believe. It also faced off against NBC's reality powerhouse, "The Voice." "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", despite it's high profile pedigree, is still a genre show. Genre shows sometime have a hard time finding a wide audience.
It didn't help matters that the show didn't have a lot of momentum. The characters were good, but there seemed to be limited story progression. You weren't sure why you should care about what was happening. This was billed as a show that would impact the Marvel movie universe and vice versa, but it felt like it was constantly treading water. Turns out, it was.
In "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (SPOILER ALERT: if you've been living under a rock) turned S.H.I.E.L.D.'s world upside down by revealing that it had been infiltrated by the terrorist organization HYDRA. This revelation kicked the series into high gear, because it caused the titular organization to not exist. Throwing true believer and team leader, Phil Coulson, into turmoil. The pace picked up and never let down. From the reveal that do-gooder agent, Grant Ward, was actually a HYDRA agent to the season finale revelation that Coulson was promoted to director of an organization that doesn't really exist anymore.
The big question is: Can the show maintain this momentum and will modern day fickle viewers still care enough to show up to find out? As for the former, I think they can. Lots of great casting announcements have made the rounds over the summer. Lucy Lawless will be appearing as S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Isabelle Hartley, a bad ass who I expect to clash with Coulson and Ming-Na's, Melinda May. In preparation for the upcoming, "Agent Carter," which will be taking the show's place while it's on hiatus, Hayley Atwell and the Howling Commandos from the first Captain America movie will be appearing in flashback. The casting announcement I'm most excited about is Adrianne Palicki as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Bobbi Morse aka Mockingbird. In the comics, Mockingbird is the ex-wife of Avenger, Hawkeye. Does this mean that Jeremy Renner will be making a guest appearance? Probably not, but I can dream.
The show has lots of loose threads to pick up on like Skye's mysterious origin. It was revealed at the end of last season that Skye is an 0-8-4, or an object of unknown origin. We will get some answers to her parentage when Kyle Machlaclan shows up as her father who is just being id'ed as "The Doctor." For now. Coulson is still dealing with being brought back from the dead and the weird drawings that he was scribbling on his wall in the finale. Will Ward prove himself to the team and work his back into their good graces?
I have high hopes for the show's second season, and I think that it can keep up with the quality that it was producing at the end of it's freshman run. Are you ready for more Agents? Did you give up and are thinking about rejoining the fold? Let me know in the comments.
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