Ever since the show ended in 2020, I’ve done at least one full Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. rewatch every year. It’s my favorite TV show, and I love the way it expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe with fleshed out characters and intriguing storylines over its seven seasons. Just the first season alone builds upon the early MCU world so much by offering complementary and supplementary narratives, from Lady Sif’s cameo and Asgardian relics to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fall.
Even on my umpteenth viewing, I never get tired of revisiting these stories or sharing my thoughts on them. So here are some random things I noted while watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1:
I love the Bus.
In terms of S.H.I.E.L.D. planes, the Bus is easily my favorite. The Zephyr is more high-tech, for sure. But the Bus feels like the best of both the S.H.I.E.L.D. world and the civilian world. It has S.H.I.E.L.D. necessities like an interrogation room and a lab for FitzSimmons, but it also has shared living areas where the team can bond, hang out, and play games. Not to mention a nice bar, which I find cool even as someone who doesn’t drink alcohol. The only downside of the Bus is the bunks really are just that and nothing more.
The characters and team dynamic are established right away.
In ensemble shows, it’s easy for the characters to feel uneven. Some will be more fleshed out, and others will be underdeveloped. But what’s nice about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is that everyone on Coulson’s team is pretty well-established early on. By episode 1×02, it’s clear what everyone’s roles and basic backgrounds are—even if they are somewhat stereotypical.
Obviously, from there, we get more details about what makes each character the person they are. Even though we learn more about Skye’s and Ward’s upbringings more than Fitz and Simmons, I never felt like I didn’t know who they are as people. Generally, we know who they all are beyond S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. I feel like that’s one of the most crucial aspects to creating characters in a setting that focuses on their work.
I don’t mind the case-of-the-week episodes.
In general, I’m not a fan of procedural shows—mostly when they concern legal, civil, criminal, medical, and/or emergency personnel environments. They tend to be very focused on the work at hand and don’t usually offer the character-building I prefer. My exception for procedural-style shows, however, tends to be if they’re science fiction and/or fantasy stories.
That’s why I’m confused by criticisms of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1 featuring case-of-the-week episodes early on. Procedurals are popular, and the way Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. handled procedural-style episodes was fun and interesting, adding depth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They often still tied back to the overall narrative of the season, too. We got to see one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy schools, and we got to see Lady Sif return and work with Coulson’s team! In the end, those villain-of-the-week-type episodes may not have been the best of the season, but they were still enjoyable.
Why wouldn’t civilians know Steve Rogers?
I don’t know why Raina thinks people wouldn’t know Steve Rogers. Yes, she’s trying to make a point in episode 1×04: “Girl in the Flower Dress” that more people know superhero names versus the superhero’s civilian name. But we’re talking about Captain America. Cap has his own exhibit at the Smithsonian. Steve became the world’s first superhero. He was the first super soldier. He was a World War II veteran. All of that is likely more than enough to get him into schools’ American history books in the MCU. A kid at the Smithsonian even recognized Steve in civilian wear—not in a single piece of Captain America uniform. So it’s tough to imagine most civilians wouldn’t know the name of the man who holds the Cap mantle—even outside of the US.
We don’t need to remember that one ship ever happened.
If you’ve seen Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., then you know what I’m talking about. (If you haven’t, then I’m not sure why you’re reading this, and I’d apologize for the spoilers, but those should’ve been a given.) But I like to pretend that certain pairing and their storyline never happened. But rewatching season 1 unfortunately means revisiting it. Honestly, the season would’ve played out the same if it never happened. It just added a bit of extra motivation in the end.
Most men are weak—but not Daniel Sousa.
Technically, this is only partially related to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1, but it’s still generally relevant to the MCU. (This is also just how my mind works, so sue me for thinking of my favorite characters even when they’re not around!) But, when I was rewatching episode 1×15: “Yes Men” and saw Lorelai controlling all those men, I instantly thought that Daniel Sousa would’ve been impervious to her powers. If Coulson was unaffected, then there’s no reason to think Sousa wouldn’t have been fine, too. After all, Sousa has no issue with strong women and respects them!
Antoine Triplett
That’s it. That’s the thought.
Part of me wanted to see the Simmons/Trip ship come to fruition. But only kind of.
I do ship FitzSimmons. However, it would’ve been intriguing to see something come out of the low-key flirting Trip engaged in with Simmons. That’s not to say I wanted them to be in an actual relationship, because I didn’t. But it was so blatantly obvious from the pilot that FitzSimmons was going to be a thing romantically, so the thought of something happening between Simmons and Trip piqued my interest.
John Garrett even makes a comment in episode 1×14: “T.A.H.I.T.I.” about Trip having “eyes for that biotech gal.” Nothing really comes of that, though, besides Fitz’s misplaced jealousy and dislike toward Trip. So something even as simple as Simmons and Trip hanging out and chatting over drinks (and not just them being assigned would’ve been an interesting detour on the way to the inevitable FitzSimmons endgame. And I know FitzSimmons will have to overcome a lot to ultimately reach their happily ever after, but having Trip be a more legitimate obstacle would’ve been a lower-stakes, less traumatic way to hold off on that endgame.
I also know very well how much FitzSimmons has to go through before they ultimately get together—and even after they do. But, even after countless rewatches, my stance on wishing something more came from Simmons and Trip remains the same.
Garrett saying “turn, turn, turn” in the episode right before the Hydra reveal makes me want to scream.
Foreshadowing is one of my favorite literary devices, so I appreciate the “turn, turn, turn” line in episode 1×17: “End of the Beginning.” It’s so well utilized, too. Garrett is the one who says it, and he says it in reference to Ward—both his relationship with him as Ward’s supervising officer and Ward’s relationship with Skye as her supervising officer. It’s all right there without us even knowing it yet. But as great as the foreshadowing is, I still want to scream when I hear it, because, well, he’s Hydra!
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the best way to experience the Hydra reveal.
I adore Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It’s not only one of my favorite Marvel movies but one of my favorite movies in general. But as painful and thrilling as it is to experience the Hydra reveal in Steve Rogers’s second solo film, the Hydra reveal in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1 hits different. The show immerses you into the organization like no Marvel movie has. You follow ragtag team handle missions across the country (and, sometimes, even on a different continent) and see that shift from colleagues to people who genuinely care about one another. That found family dynamic is what makes the Hydra reveal and fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. all the more heartbreaking in the end—and for years to come.
I wish we got an explanation for why Skye named herself such.
“Mary Sue Poots” sounds like a name most people wouldn’t want to keep, so I certainly don’t blame Skye for going by something else as an adult. (Or maybe she went by “Skye” even earlier, and we don’t know it.) But some insight into why she picked it could’ve added some further depth to her character, especially because she never seemed like someone who would’ve just chosen a name for the sake of having something else to go by.
Skye values meaning. She gets nostalgic. There’s a reason why she was doing work on her laptop while hiding out in one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s vehicles. There’s a reason why she had a fondness for that hula girl figure she had stashed in her bunk on the Bus. That said, it’d be tough to think Skye had no specific explanation for her name.
“A part of something bigger!”
Garrett misunderstanding Nick Fury’s message as “one man can accomplish anything once he realizes he can be something bigger” feels terribly accurate to American society today. Garrett forgets just two words from Fury’s speech, but they’re oh so crucial to the purpose.
“Usually, one person doesn’t have the solution. But 100 people with 1% of the solution, that’ll get it done. I think that’s beautiful: pieces solving a puzzle.” – Skye, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode 1×02: “0-8-4”
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