Friday 11 October 2013

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 1 Episode 3 "The Asset" Review


This has been a very entertaining and interesting TV series so far, as although it hasn't quite met the high expectations I had prior to the Pilot episode, it has still been a fantastic series, and continues to show a lot of promise, having some brilliant moments so far.

Plot


When a S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist named Dr. Franklin Hall is kidnapped by a man named Ian Quinn it requires the team to travel to Malta.

Review


This was a fantastic episode, and although it didn't stand out from the previous two episodes it was just as good. It was however much better story wise than the last two episodes, being very well structured, with some brilliant developments. It was however not quite as exciting as the last episode, but it did make up for that by being much closer to the type of series I expected it to be. I say this as I was really expecting this to be a cross between a superhero and spy type series, and it's started to do that here, having a spy like style. This episode also helped the characters to grow, as with them just being introduced in the pilot, and having little time for development in the last episode this was their first chance to stand out, and although they do still need improvement, they are starting to become very interesting characters.

This episode would kick off with a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport lorry being attacked by an invisible threat, and the asset inside, Dr. Franklin Hall being kidnapped. Now this was a very interesting way of starting the episode, as although I found it very far fetched to see a lorry with the type of technology that this one had in it, the scene as a whole was very exciting and suspenseful. I also enjoyed seeing a huge lorry get pulled into thin air and dropped, especially considering it was by something invisible. On top of this it was also interesting to see Phil Coulson and the lorry driver question whether or not there was a mole in S.H.I.E.L.D., due to the efficiency of this kidnapping.

This episode would see the first proper comic book character introduced into the series in the form of Dr. Franklin Hall played by Ian Hart. Now non comic book fans won't know who Hall is, but anyone who does should know who he is, and the type of character he is. For anyone who doesn't I won't go into any details in my review, but I will say my thoughts on the adaptation of him. Now I was very happy to see this character used in this episode, as although he could have been used more, it was still nice to see him. I also loved how they kind of worked an origin story around him in this episode, and am very interested to see if how the series works off this.

Dr. Franklin Hall

The villain in this episode would be a man named Ian Quinn played by David Conrad, who wants Hall's work for himself. Now Quinn isn't the best villain ever, and some could even say that he wasn't really a villain at all. I did however feel that Quinn was a very interesting character, being very conniving and dastardly, and overall was the perfect villain for this episode. I also really enjoyed the interaction between Quinn and Hall, especially when trying to persuade him. On top of that I felt that Conrad's performance was very good, as although I'm not familiar with any of his previous roles, he didn't half play a brilliant bad guy in this episode.

This episode would also see a lot of development for Skye, with her training with Ward, as well as going into the field when S.H.I.E.L.D. can't. I really enjoyed these developments, as it allowed for a lot more depth to be added to her as a character. On top of that I also loved how there were questions throughout the episode as to what her motives were. I did however also like how there were parts of Skye's development at the start of the episode that would come full circle later on in the episode, showing that every development was for a reason. I also really enjoyed the interaction that Skye would have with different characters in this episode, and how she got to act like a spy.

Skye with Quinn

Final Verdict


This was a very good episode, and is showing along with the last episode has shown that this can be an exciting and interesting series. It also did a great job of introducing a new character, and kind of giving him an origin story. The episode also had a brilliant spy like vibe to it, feeling closer to the series that I originally expected it to be. Due to all this I'd highly recommend watching this episode, as well as the other two episodes of this series if possible.

Rating: 8/10

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