SHIELD: The Magical Place

I kind of stopped writing about SHIELD toward the end of last year. I mostly blame the holidays. Everything gets ridiculous and busy in December. But I'd be remiss if I didn't also say that there just didn't seem to be much to talk about. Instead of the deep, smart, layered show I was expecting last summer, I got something way more generic and it's hard to spit out words about that every week. And since I don't get paid to do so, there was really no motivation to keep going.

But it's a new year and I have a self-imposed quota to meet, so these are coming back. I'm trying to remind myself that Whedon's shows always take a while to get going The first five episodes of Dollhouse were bland and generic. Same with almost the entire first season of Angel. Buffy's first season is practically unwatchable, except from a nostalgia point of view. So there's precedent for things to get better. Even if Joss isn't nearly as involved in this show as he was in the first three. Regardless, I hope that SHIELD manages to pull itself together by the end of this season. If only because I can imagine, despite the lackluster "crossover" with Thor, a great setup for the next Captain America movie. Assuming that's what they're going for.

So. Tahiti. The Magical Place. Turns out this is a call and response that's been programmed into Coulson's brain, and he finally realized. The hint from a few episodes back that Coulson was a doll ("Did I fall asleep?") wasn't too far off the mark. We still don't know how they brought him back to life, but we know that they did some pretty serious messing with his brain. There's a Wolfram and Hart vibe going on with S.H.I.E.L.D. now, in that Coulson's contract appears to extend beyond his natural death. And Director Fury definitely looks like the bad guy.

But let's forget about that, since this episode raised more questions than it answered, and look at everything else. I really liked this episode. I don't know if it was actually better than the episodes from last year, or if the hiatus allowed me to adjust my expectations, but I had a bunch of fun. Seeing Skye off on her own and in her element being proactive and solving problems was great. Watching Coulson bounce off Raina, who really helped his doubts to flourish, was also fun. And the other characters were there, too.

I still groaned at some things (like when the plane turned around), but mostly I'm along for the ride now. The action scene at the beginning felt right, Mae's false betrayal to get Skye outside the system. And if the previews for next week are any indication, Coulson appears to be done keeping secrets. So more answers are on the way. I hope they end up being worth the wait.

This isn't even close to my favorite show on television right now (in fact, it's probably the most likely to get dropped if I find myself short on time), but it's entertaining. And I guess that's all I really need it be.