Shadows

Agents of Shield returns and it comes back with a new tone, some new cast, familiar faces and a new threat. And for the most part, it works.

Let's start with the new tone in the show. Shield basically doesn't exist anymore so they operate in the shadows and its even more intriguing because they don't have the money and manpower available to them in the first season. I also love how Skye is an actual field agent rather than a hacker.

With a new season, comes some new cast members. We have Agent Mack, an engineer who's built like a tank, Hunter, a merc with a mouth yet not Deadpool, Hartley, played by Lucy fricking Lawless, and Idaho, who is there. Half of these don't make it through the first episode, and while I'm not surprised or sad that Idaho is gone, I am sad that Hartley is because Lawless brings something great to anything she is in like Xena, Spartacus or Parks and Rec.

We also get familiar faces from a Marvel movie, The First Avenger, as Agent Carter, Dumb Dumb Dugan and Jim Morita make a cameo that is very welcome and reveals something cool about a villain in this season. A head of Hydra has been around since the 1940s and not only that, but he hasn't aged, which is a great twist and mystery to be explored.

This episode's villain was Carl "Crusher" Creel. While this is a great nod to Daredevil, where Creel was involved in one of Daredevil's pivotal moments, this is where we actually see him. While his personality wasn't anything new or interesting, his powers sure were. And it was really well done for a TV show to show him change his body into any substance.

The humor and writing were also on pace with the last third of the first season, which I enjoy as it is already starting to feel different and better than the first season.

+ Carter and the Commandos + Tone, writing and humor +/- Creel + New Cast - Some gone though

Final Score: 8.7/10

An absolutely stellar star for the season, this episode establish a grim tone that will haunt the show for the rest of days, but it works! Shield is in the crossfire, held together by the willpower of few agents, those who come back from season one are changed by the months that passed, some have left? new faces arrive and some old faces return,some come and leave right away, which sucks because I liked them a lot just in that one episode! The heartbreaking stuff with Fitz is not easier on rewatch, particularly for anyone who watched past certain episodes in later seasons, because Fitz's arch and growth is a pillar of this show, it's almost uncanny watching it unfold! I also really loved the music in this episode, as well as the production design, Creel's powers are dope and Coulson's speach game was on point! so many good quotes!

Rating: 8/10

Season 2 kicks off with a bang in "Shadows", showing us that Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. has evolved-and it's better for it. The episode brings higher stakes, a grittier tone, and much more confidence in its storytelling.

The opening flashback featuring Peggy Carter and the SSR is a fun throwback for MCU fans and cleverly ties past and present together. The main plot introduces us to Carl Creel (The Absorbing Man)-a visually cool and physically imposing villain who actually feels like a real threat. His powers are well-executed, and his presence adds some much-needed superhuman danger to the show.

The emotional core of the episode lies in Fitz's heartbreaking condition after last season's trauma. His scenes are powerfully acted and give the show much-needed depth. The twist involving Simmons is both shocking and sad, and sets up what looks to be a compelling arc.

There are some minor logic issues (infiltrating military bases a bit too easily, some underexplained villain backstory), but overall, the writing, pacing, and direction are much sharper than Season 1's early episodes. Coulson feels like a real leader now, the team is fractured in interesting ways, and the moral grayness is finally being embraced.

If you gave up early on this show, this episode is proof that it has found its footing. It's darker, smarter, and more ambitious-and it's finally starting to live up to its potential.

TL;DR: A strong, moody season opener with real stakes, emotional weight, and a villain worth watching.

This season premiere is definitely a huge improvement over Season 1's, wish the executives had just let the show do its own thing from the very beginning.

The dialogues, I think, was the worst thing in the ep 1. The Coulson's speach about Fitz in the last five minutes, for exemple. And why the Nazis, in Austria, was speaking in english?