Agents of SHIELD 1x08 - The Well

[eleanorjane]

I thought this episode was quite thought-provoking.

This was the episode with the Asgardian Berserker staff and Peter MacNicol playing an extremely unlikely Asgardian. The Thor 2 tie-in was rather overplayed, since it was really just background for the opening scene and that was about it.

I liked Skye and Ward connecting, and I really liked that Ward recognised his own incapacity and recused himself (or attempted to). Ward and May spending the night together (implied) is an interesting development, and a welcome shakeup to the seemingly inevitable Skye/Ward alliance. I'm not interested in love triangles, but that should be interesting.

Coulson telling the professor all about his death seemed odd; Coulson seems more private than that, to me. I found his line to the masseuse interesting - "Did I fall asleep?" was a core quote from Dollhouse, spoken by the dolls after being wiped.

I can't imagine that Marvel would let Joss cross over one of his previous original creations, but it could easily be an easter egg for viewers paying attention. (Also, the masseuse's line about "it's a magical place" which shocked Coulson awake, and the whole unreality of that dream, and Coulson's reaction to it... all seemed to imply that Coulson's memories are fake/implanted.

Interesting stuff! As a Thor 2 tie-in it was a let-down, but on its own merits I thought it was a solid episode; nothing objectionable this week, although it didn't hit the same high notes as F.Z.Z.T (which has been the high-water mark so far for me).

Comments

[lilacsigil]

I really enjoyed it, too, especially that Ward being all Alpha Male at Simmons and Fitz was shown to be a bad thing, not an awesome manly character moment. The warping effects of Asgardians/other aliens on human cultures, no matter how benevolent, was well-shown, I thought, and generally a good set-up for the show going forward.