Season 1, Episode
Air Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2013, 8/7c on ABC.
Rating:
“You were right; he’s Asgardian.” – Ward
ABC decided to take that kind of advertising to the next level while hyping “The Well,” saying, “In the aftermath of the events chronicled in the feature film THOR: THE DARK WORLD, Coulson and The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. pick up the pieces — one of which threatens to destroy a member of the team.”
“The Well” really has nothing to do with Thor 2 other than the two-minute scene during which Coulson and the Agents literally pick up pieces of debris inside a building that was apparently damaged in the movie. While the Thor 2 connection is short, it does have its funny moments.
Coulson: “It would be nice if for once Thor and his people sent down the God of Clean Up After Yourself. They probably have a magic broom for this kind of thing.”
***
Skye: “I wouldn’t mind getting my human hands on Thor; he’s so dreamy.”
Coulson: “Sure he’s handsome but…”
May: “No, he’s dreamy.”
The first one involves Jakob Nystrom (Michael Graziadei) and Petra Larsen (Erin Way), a young couple in search of the Berserker Staff, an Asgardian staff that gives whoever holds it supernatural powers while simultaneously putting them in a state of uncontrollable rage. Like every other bad character that has appeared on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Jakob and Petra are pointless and unconvincing as real bad guys. Almost instantly, you forget everything about them other than being the punching bags for Ward (Brett Dalton) and May (Ming-Na Wen).
We also learn more about Ward’s backstory, which, apparently, the audience is supposed to end up caring about but with the backstory spread throughout the entire episode, it fails to register any kind of emotion. Instead, it reminds me of an earlier episode where Skye (Chloe Bennet) jokingly asked if Ward was a robot. In the end, I found myself thinking, “Boo hoo, you have childhood issues but you’re a S.H.I.E.L.D agent now so get over it.” I’ll be honest, I think killing off Ward would be helpful in moving the show forward, especially since May is back in the field, and I find her so much more interesting.
Coulson: “So the myth is your autobiography.”
Randolph: “I didn’t write it. I didn’t want anyone to know about me. Then I had to open my big mouth.”
Ward: “Were you captured? Tortured?”
Randolph: “Horny.”
I found myself wanting to learn more about Professor Randolph. I hope this isn’t the last we see of him because frankly, I would love to see MacNicol join the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D as a regular. He brings an interesting dynamic to the cast that is greatly missing; truth be told, he sngle-handedly saved the disaster this episode is. Imagine having an Asgardian on the team who is more scholar than warrior, and then wonder how that could be played out.
In an episode directed by Star Trek’s Jonathan Frakes, and given the direction Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is heading, I had high hopes for “The Well.” Not to mention the episode was advertised as a follow-up to Thor 2, which basically ended up being a lie. The studio spent so much time pretending this episode was something it wasn’t, they failed to realize the good parts of “The Well” and expand on them more.
Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “The Well.”
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: <Ward> Brett Dalton, <Coulson> Clark Gregg, <Simmons> Elizabeth Henstridge, and <May> Ming-Na Wen.
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Photos: © 2013 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Greg Staffa
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