"Marvel Agents of SHIELD" Recap: "The Asset"

After a slightly underwhelming second episode of "Agents of SHIELD," Coulson & Friends were back in fine form for episode 3, "The Asset."

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This episode was another "Problem of the Week" episode, as I assume most of them will be, but, like the first episode, there was an actual person involved along with a weird & wacky piece of technology. I think that is what is really going to work for this show - not just hunting down weapons and weird objects, but facing off against real people.



This week, a physicist, Franklin Hall (Ian Hart) was kidnapped while SHIELD was moving him from place to place in the back of a truck. A misguided business mogul, Ian Quinn (David Conrad) was behind the plot, because he wanted Franklin to help him with a machine Franklin designed in college that used the unstable element gravitonium. Using her super-hacking skills, Skye secured an invitation to a stockholder's meeting at Quinn's compound in Malta and got her first real experience as an Agent of SHIELD, much to Agent Ward's dismay. 

Two things really made this episode great and started to show what this show is going to be able to accomplish. The first was that the writers are beginning to get comfortable with their place in the Marvel Universe and didn't have to spend quite as much energy connecting the show to the Marvel movies. There was a mention or two, but overall they used a much lighter touch on that aspect. While I like the idea that the movies and the show exist in the same universe and they should definitely reference each other, the writers need to make sure that the show doesn't feel like an extended ad for the movies.

The other thing that really made the episode great was the fact that there was a good chunk of character development. I still feel like Agent Ward is a bit of a blank slate - he's a little bland - but we found out more about Skye, who was a foster child and a high-school dropout and really wants to be a part of SHIELD; got a glimpse at FitzSimmons' history together as fresh-faced nerdlings under the tutelage of Franklin Hall; saw Melinda's desire to get back in the field; and were reminded that Coulson, while being a fun, nice superior officer for the team, is not somebody to be trifled with. 

I felt like the team's chemistry was better this week too. I'm still utterly charmed by FitzSimmons, despite the fact that I really don't want to love the cutesy pair of British scientists. There's something that really works between them. As my husband pointed out, though, he hopes that Fitz & Simmons continue to develop as separate characters, despite how cute it is to call them FitzSimmons. I also felt some better energy between Skye and Agent Ward. I don't mean romantic or sexual tension, either. There's a real tension between them because of their worldviews that I think finally solidified this week. Ward is a rule-follower to a fault, while Skye is a total rebel. They can learn a lot from each other, and I felt like they finally started to give a little each way. I think their opposing worldviews will be a cause for a lot of drama and tension as well as comedy throughout the season, and possibly the series. Then, they're wonderfully brought together by Coulson, who has a little bit of rule-following and a little bit of rebellion all rolled into one. The three of them are starting to form a great core for the show. 

I'm feeling pretty great about the future of "Agents of SHIELD" after tonight's episode. I'm really starting to feel the show come together, and I'm excited to see what happens next.