Catch Me Up on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
October 30, 2014 6:15 AM Subscribe
I bailed on Agents about halfway through series one. I'm now hearing that S2 is much improved and would like to start watching again whilst wasting as little time on any remaining terrible episodes as possible. Please help; possible spoileriffic details after the cut.
Judging from the AV club roundups, I'm pretty sure I made it as far as "The Bridge" or "The Magical Place" in the first season. I am also aware that Agent Blandy McBlanderson takes a heel turn at some point. So - are the remaining episodes of S1 good enough to be worth watching? Are there some pivotal ones I should catch? Is there a decent summary somewhere online that would suffice?
(fwiw I've seen all the movies. thanks all!)
Judging from the AV club roundups, I'm pretty sure I made it as far as "The Bridge" or "The Magical Place" in the first season. I am also aware that Agent Blandy McBlanderson takes a heel turn at some point. So - are the remaining episodes of S1 good enough to be worth watching? Are there some pivotal ones I should catch? Is there a decent summary somewhere online that would suffice?
(fwiw I've seen all the movies. thanks all!)
My recollection of the season is that you should start one episode before Turn, Turn, Turn, which kind of begins in medias res. But yeah, you almost made it to where the show suddenly, dramatically improves.
posted by gerryblog at 6:25 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by gerryblog at 6:25 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
I am nearly done with S1 after bailing around the same time you did, and I am glad that I have finally put in the time to finish the season. I'm really enjoying it now. I suggest you actually watch, and agree with the suggestion to start at "Turn, Turn, Turn." Maybe find a recap of the episode before that.
posted by Stacey at 6:43 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Stacey at 6:43 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
At a minimum, definitely do pick up around ep. 16, End of the Beginning, which is indeed just that.
Many times there's some variability in the quality of a TV series. As Fry put it in a Trek-themed episode of Futurama in 2002: "79 episodes. About 30 good ones." Referring to TOS of course.
The problem with Agents of SHIELD is that there are bits and clues scattered throughout, sometimes in the not-so-good episodes. It makes the whole thing worth watching, but sometimes it is incredibly frustrating at how uneven some episodes comes out. That hasn't entirely resolved itself this season, but it is at least better.
The best advice is probably to tough it out through the the remainder of season 1. There are probably a few that could be skipped (I can't recall "Yes Men" adding anything of value) but they're not actually terrible.
posted by jgreco at 7:22 AM on October 30, 2014
Many times there's some variability in the quality of a TV series. As Fry put it in a Trek-themed episode of Futurama in 2002: "79 episodes. About 30 good ones." Referring to TOS of course.
The problem with Agents of SHIELD is that there are bits and clues scattered throughout, sometimes in the not-so-good episodes. It makes the whole thing worth watching, but sometimes it is incredibly frustrating at how uneven some episodes comes out. That hasn't entirely resolved itself this season, but it is at least better.
The best advice is probably to tough it out through the the remainder of season 1. There are probably a few that could be skipped (I can't recall "Yes Men" adding anything of value) but they're not actually terrible.
posted by jgreco at 7:22 AM on October 30, 2014
Last half of S1 is better than first half of S2, IMO, so I'd just plough straight through.
posted by Leon at 7:35 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Leon at 7:35 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" takes place right after "End of the Beginning" and during most of the events of "Turn, Turn, Turn". The AV Club recaps will do a pretty good job of setting up the rest.
"Yes Men" is a fun stand-alone which features a guest-starring appearance from Lady Sif.
posted by inturnaround at 7:37 AM on October 30, 2014
"Yes Men" is a fun stand-alone which features a guest-starring appearance from Lady Sif.
posted by inturnaround at 7:37 AM on October 30, 2014
"End of the Beginning", yes. And in our house, Agent Blandy McBlanderson is referred to as "Agent Cheekbones"
posted by ersatzkat at 8:44 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ersatzkat at 8:44 AM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Honestly, you could easily watch Captain America: Winter Soldier and then skip straight to Season 2.
I'm a fan of S.H.I.E.L.D. and managed to slog through the early mediocre episodes, but really, if you don't want to do that, there's no other real way to skip ahead in a way that is meaningful.
At this point, I suggest that people treat Season 1 of S.H.I.E.L.D. like Season 1 of Star Trek: TNG or Parks & Rec. Fine to watch after you've already gotten to know the characters by seeing what the show evolved into, but not really necessary to understand the show in general.
I tried starting with "End Of The Beginning" and found it was just sort of a confusing mishmash if you don't know the characters yet in order to understand the importance of the big plot twists. It's much more interesting to people who've slogged through the previous 15 episodes.
posted by Sara C. at 9:11 AM on October 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'm a fan of S.H.I.E.L.D. and managed to slog through the early mediocre episodes, but really, if you don't want to do that, there's no other real way to skip ahead in a way that is meaningful.
At this point, I suggest that people treat Season 1 of S.H.I.E.L.D. like Season 1 of Star Trek: TNG or Parks & Rec. Fine to watch after you've already gotten to know the characters by seeing what the show evolved into, but not really necessary to understand the show in general.
I tried starting with "End Of The Beginning" and found it was just sort of a confusing mishmash if you don't know the characters yet in order to understand the importance of the big plot twists. It's much more interesting to people who've slogged through the previous 15 episodes.
posted by Sara C. at 9:11 AM on October 30, 2014 [3 favorites]
I think you should just pick up from where you stopped instead of skipping ahead a few episodes to Turn, Turn, Turn as others have advised. All the episodes you're considering skipping set up characters and plotlines that are important later:
The Magical Place reveals key details about how Coulson was resurrected
Seeds introduces Donnie Gill, who returns in Season 2
T.R.A.C.K.S. advances Deathlok's plot and sets up some important stuff for Coulson and Skye
T.A.H.I.T.I. is very important to Coulson's and Skye's character development
Yes Men's main plot with Lorelei isn't that important, but there is a really significant reveal about May at the end
End of the Beginning includes the key turning points of several important multi-episode plotlines
Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes place simultaneously with End of the Beginning and Turn, Turn, Turn, so I would rewatch it in between those two episodes for context.
posted by Jacqueline at 1:14 PM on October 30, 2014
The Magical Place reveals key details about how Coulson was resurrected
Seeds introduces Donnie Gill, who returns in Season 2
T.R.A.C.K.S. advances Deathlok's plot and sets up some important stuff for Coulson and Skye
T.A.H.I.T.I. is very important to Coulson's and Skye's character development
Yes Men's main plot with Lorelei isn't that important, but there is a really significant reveal about May at the end
End of the Beginning includes the key turning points of several important multi-episode plotlines
Captain America: The Winter Soldier takes place simultaneously with End of the Beginning and Turn, Turn, Turn, so I would rewatch it in between those two episodes for context.
posted by Jacqueline at 1:14 PM on October 30, 2014
Everyone else has this well covered, but I'd just like to restate that watching Captain America 2, The Winter Soldier, is 100% essential to understanding/enjoying the show.
Also it's my second favorite Marvel movie so far. Just thinking about it makes me want to watch it again. It's quite good.
posted by bbqturtle at 1:14 PM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also it's my second favorite Marvel movie so far. Just thinking about it makes me want to watch it again. It's quite good.
posted by bbqturtle at 1:14 PM on October 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I skipped from halfway through season 1 straight to season 2 for the same reasons, and it totally didn't matter. Took about 30 seconds to get caught up.
posted by lollusc at 3:12 PM on October 30, 2014
posted by lollusc at 3:12 PM on October 30, 2014
Everyone else has this well covered, but I'd just like to restate that watching Captain America 2, The Winter Soldier, is 100% essential to understanding/enjoying the show.
I'm not convinced that CA2 is that essential.
Yes, I've seen it - but I can barely remember anything from it and I certainly haven't (so far) sat up and gone "right, that was in The Winter Soldier!" or been completely confused about what is going on.
posted by mr_silver at 11:21 AM on October 31, 2014
I'm not convinced that CA2 is that essential.
Yes, I've seen it - but I can barely remember anything from it and I certainly haven't (so far) sat up and gone "right, that was in The Winter Soldier!" or been completely confused about what is going on.
posted by mr_silver at 11:21 AM on October 31, 2014
Response by poster: So, finally got back to watching the show - didn't skip any in the end. Just finished Turn, Turn, Turn and holy hell am I enjoying this show now. Thanks all for your help!
posted by ominous_paws at 3:40 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ominous_paws at 3:40 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
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You can probably start there, and just read the overviews of the other episodes you missed.
posted by jozxyqk at 6:21 AM on October 30, 2014 [2 favorites]