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Plane Safety Manual. Review: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D – “0-8-4”

Season 1, Episode 2

Air Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2013, 8/7c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

 

“I told you they were good.” – Coulson

I love the S.H.I.E.L.D technology

When a mysterious object is found in the jungles of Peru, Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team are sent in to investigate. But when Camilla Reyes (Leonor Varela), a woman from Coulson’s past, shows up, things get complicated and the entire team’s lives are put at risk.

While the “Pilot” introduced us to the new characters, “0-8-4” is about them forming a team. Coulson seems to be the perfect man for this task, using many of the lessons he learned when assembling the The Avengers. But the rest of the group doesn’t  understand what Coulson sees in them until the S.H.I.E.L.D plane is hijacked. Suddenly, they realize in order to survive, they must work together and become as a cohesive unit.

We finally get to see Coulson kick some serious ass in some very exciting action scenes, including an airplane sequence that feels similar to the plane scene from Iron Man 3. While the action sequences are great, I find myself really enjoying the one-on-one scenes with Coulson and the other characters due to the great writing and camaraderie among the players.

Grant Kicking Some Ass

At times, some of the distant landscape visuals appear cheesy but that is made up for by the stunning set pieces that sometimes make you feel like you’re watching a movie rather than a TV show. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is both a serial-based and episodic show, meaning the episodes are not self-contained. It takes time to build the story arcs and “0-8-4” is a perfect example of that. Other than the initial set-up, there are basically only two extended scenes. —finding the 0-8-4 and the plane hijacking. Great action but the mysterious object is nothing more than a plot device. Time will tell if it will have a bigger role in future episodes.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D makes no apologies to people who miss out on key items if they haven’t seen any of the Marvel films. As someone who has seen all the films, I appreciate that Marvel isn’t dumbing down the TV show in an attempt to gain new viewers.

Coulson: “Peru. That’s where the 0-8-4 was reported.”

Skye: “And a 0-8-4 is?”

Coulson: “An object of unknown origin…kinda like you. Team goes in, determines if it’s useful or if it poses a threat.The last one turned out to be pretty interesting.”

Skye: “And what was the last one?”

Coulson: “A hammer.”

Finally get to see Coulson in Action

This is a reference to the end credit scene in Iron Man 2 where Coulson finds Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) hammer in the middle of the New Mexico desert, which is the basis of the Thor movie. Is it important to have seen those two movies? Probably not, but it makes it that much more fun for the fans in the know. In fact, I’m surprised at how many references are made to all the films in the franchise, including the “0-8-4” item as it has ties to both Captain America and the Incredible Hulk.

Keeping with the Marvel movie tradition, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D gives fans a brief bonus scene at the end of the episode as they continue to intertwine the Marvel Universe. While it’s fun to see Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in “0-8-4,” I can’t help but wonder if they are resorting to guest appearances too soon. It’s not like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is lacking in the hype department. My guess is during the time of filming, Jackson was also shooting his roles in Thor 2 and Captain America 2, and it was easy to bring him in to do a cameo.

Coulson keeps referring to his recovery in Tahiti after the battle on New York. I doubt I am the only one starting to wonder if Tahiti stands for something else entirely. There is still a lot of mystery to be explored concerning Coulson’s death in The Avengers. So far, Coulson acts as though it’s no big deal but at some point, he will have to face what really happened.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D feels like a show that’s been around for a while given the universe Marvel has created. By having so many films to draw from, writers are able to mention things that happened four years ago despite the show being only two episodes in. I love that Marvel respects its fans, and I look forward to learning more about these characters, as well as their back-stories, especially Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), who seems to have a very mysterious past. I’m excited that the Marvel Universe is continuing to expand, and I’m curious to see how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D fits into the upcoming Marvel movies.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “0-8-4.”

 

 

For more on the show, go to http://www.agentsofshield.com/.

Follow Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D on Twitter, as well as some of the cast: <Grant> Brett Dalton, <Coulson> Clark Gregg, <Simmons> Elizabeth Henstridge, and <Melinda> Ming-Na Wen

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Photos: © 2013 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.

Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.