Episode 3 of Agents of SHIELD continues, I am sad to say, to be workmanlike. We get some glimpses of character development, in particular from the friction between the consummate pro Ward and the ultimate dilettante Skye, and from another hint as to what actually happened to Coulson, but that leaves fully half the main cast with not a lot to do but stand around a table.
Now, it's a good cast, but they are basically standing around a table, and Agents of SHIELD needs to nail down the pacing needed for a 45-minute ensemble arc show or kill half of them off, because at the moment its just not quite there; for me at least, although I really want it to be. It's got everything in place to be great and it has its moments, but so far, it's only okay, and in today's genre-rich environment, that isn't quite enough.
Moving on to something that still isn't as good as Agents, but has the distinction of being better at least than it has on paper the right to be, and that is Atlantis.
In A Boy of No Consequence, Jason leaps to the defence of an old ma and winds up punching the queen's nephew. This means, thankfully, that we get some actual character development for a female character. Not Ariadne, who remains pretty bland, but the wicked queen Pasiphae, who seems to have two strikes against her already, being both a wicked queen and Ariadne's wicked stepmother, whose loutish nephew is both Ariadne's intended and the jerk Jason lamped in the street.
As a consequence, it's the bull-leaping for our band of pals, and Jason must get his team to work together to avoid a life of jumping over angry cattle. Add a little Greek voodoo and a sudden but inevitable betrayal, mix well and serve with some doubtful CGI.
And yet, I find it hard to look away.
Now, it's a good cast, but they are basically standing around a table, and Agents of SHIELD needs to nail down the pacing needed for a 45-minute ensemble arc show or kill half of them off, because at the moment its just not quite there; for me at least, although I really want it to be. It's got everything in place to be great and it has its moments, but so far, it's only okay, and in today's genre-rich environment, that isn't quite enough.
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| Ladies and gentlemen: Our hero. |
In A Boy of No Consequence, Jason leaps to the defence of an old ma and winds up punching the queen's nephew. This means, thankfully, that we get some actual character development for a female character. Not Ariadne, who remains pretty bland, but the wicked queen Pasiphae, who seems to have two strikes against her already, being both a wicked queen and Ariadne's wicked stepmother, whose loutish nephew is both Ariadne's intended and the jerk Jason lamped in the street.
As a consequence, it's the bull-leaping for our band of pals, and Jason must get his team to work together to avoid a life of jumping over angry cattle. Add a little Greek voodoo and a sudden but inevitable betrayal, mix well and serve with some doubtful CGI.
And yet, I find it hard to look away.
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