Agents of SHIELD
May. 27th, 2020 10:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaSo the last ever season of Agents of SHIELD begins today in the US – we still don't have a confirmed airdate yet for the UK but I'm really, really hoping it is soon, because I am going to get so spoiled and I'm not even going to try to avoid it. I wanna know everything, as soon as it happens.
Depending on when the UK airdate turns out to be, I might even make it through my full show re-watch by then. So far I've managed just over five and a half seasons since lockdown began, and I can honestly say that I have loved every moment, without reserve. This show is just so much fun! A wonderful wild rollercoaster ride from beginning to end – and definitely a show that rewards on re-watch, as hindsight reveals just how tight the writing is, with groundwork laid early on for twists that won't happen until much later, while the internal mythology of the showjust gets deeper and deeper as the years go by. Like, in later seasons they'll go back and pick up loose threads you hadn't even noticed had been left dangling years earlier, and weave them back into the tapestry of the storyline in new and interesting ways, and it is all really good.
I really love the way this show does arcs, with multiple storylines layered through each season so that no one plot ever has to get stretched too thin to fill episodes (even in season one, which famously had to kick its heels until Winter Soldier was released, every episode before the twist serves a purpose, laying the groundwork for what is to come). Instead each season contains a series of smaller arcs woven together so that as one plotline reaches its climax, the next is already in place to carry the story forward, and it works so very well. I also love the humour of the show, which flows naturally from the characters and their personalities and situations, without ever feeling forced.
But more than anything, I love the characters, every single one of them. I've always been a sucker for a found family, after all, and this show is All About the found family. The cast is stunning and has fabulous chemistry, for starters, while the characters themselves are all really complicated individuals with complex inter-personal dynamics that are constantly evolving as their circumstances and experiences change. You can mix and match the groupings any way you choose and it works and is interesting to watch. Plus, the cast is extremely diverse, and there are So. Many. Women. Honestly, this show gives us all the women, brilliant women, who are allowed to be friends with each other and who all get to be unique and complex individuals outside of any relationships they happen to have with the men, each with her own motivations and ambitions and dreams. Not a lot of shows can boast this much female strength and diversity and I love it.
Even the villains are entertaining, with complex and highly individual goals and motivations.
Honestly, the show is fantastic and everyone should watch it!
Depending on when the UK airdate turns out to be, I might even make it through my full show re-watch by then. So far I've managed just over five and a half seasons since lockdown began, and I can honestly say that I have loved every moment, without reserve. This show is just so much fun! A wonderful wild rollercoaster ride from beginning to end – and definitely a show that rewards on re-watch, as hindsight reveals just how tight the writing is, with groundwork laid early on for twists that won't happen until much later, while the internal mythology of the showjust gets deeper and deeper as the years go by. Like, in later seasons they'll go back and pick up loose threads you hadn't even noticed had been left dangling years earlier, and weave them back into the tapestry of the storyline in new and interesting ways, and it is all really good.
I really love the way this show does arcs, with multiple storylines layered through each season so that no one plot ever has to get stretched too thin to fill episodes (even in season one, which famously had to kick its heels until Winter Soldier was released, every episode before the twist serves a purpose, laying the groundwork for what is to come). Instead each season contains a series of smaller arcs woven together so that as one plotline reaches its climax, the next is already in place to carry the story forward, and it works so very well. I also love the humour of the show, which flows naturally from the characters and their personalities and situations, without ever feeling forced.
But more than anything, I love the characters, every single one of them. I've always been a sucker for a found family, after all, and this show is All About the found family. The cast is stunning and has fabulous chemistry, for starters, while the characters themselves are all really complicated individuals with complex inter-personal dynamics that are constantly evolving as their circumstances and experiences change. You can mix and match the groupings any way you choose and it works and is interesting to watch. Plus, the cast is extremely diverse, and there are So. Many. Women. Honestly, this show gives us all the women, brilliant women, who are allowed to be friends with each other and who all get to be unique and complex individuals outside of any relationships they happen to have with the men, each with her own motivations and ambitions and dreams. Not a lot of shows can boast this much female strength and diversity and I love it.
Even the villains are entertaining, with complex and highly individual goals and motivations.
Honestly, the show is fantastic and everyone should watch it!
no subject
Date: 2020-05-27 11:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-27 12:31 pm (UTC)I suppose a lot of it depends on your level of investment, mind. For me, AOS falls into the same bucket as Leverage - shows that I absolutely adore but am not fannish about. In a sense, the shows in that bucket are my favourites, because I love them at kind of a superficial level with no deep emotional investment to trip me up, the way that happens with shows I am fannish about. I don't invest emotional energy into shipping, so can't be frustrated if a ship plays out badly, I don't fret over details and continuity, and I'm certainly not bothered whether or not the show ties in neatly with the wider MCU canon. I don't over-analyse the episodes with meta and feel no urge to write fanfic. I just enjoy the ride - which is probably the best way to watch any show, and I wish I could achieve it with some of my more fannish fandoms! I love Doctor Who, for instance, but would enjoy it a whole lot more if I weren't so bothered by the details!
For lockdown, AOS has become my perfect bubblegum show.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-31 07:05 pm (UTC)