The steadily improving "Agents of SHIELD"

I think.  Really, it's been mostly over the past 2-3 episodes (with a poorly timed break in there), as some of the stakes have been raised. But …

SPOILERS (and not just the pic) …

…. the inclusion of Sif as a guest star, as well as the ratcheting up of some of the conspiracies going on have made this, net-net, a better show.

But far from perfect. They're still struggling, I think, with the banter vs grimitude factor. 

And SHIELD's whole handling of Lorelei in the most recent ep was (as +Margie Kleerup acidly observed) blitheringly stupid. I mean, you're pursuing an Asgardian you are told can dominate men's wills at a word (if not, then a touch), and you still (a) don't send an all-female SHIELD team, at least as your point team, or (b) don't issue ear plugs to any men you do send; (c) don't worry about those two male cops waiting outside the place you know she's in, and (d) don't worry about sending guys on your team out of sight around the back of said place. 

I can believe in Asgardian enchantresses-of-men, but I SHIELD being willfully that stupid is offputting.

Margie is also (and I can't fully disagree with her here) not convinced by the Coulson storyline. Part of it may be the side effect of Clark Gregg playing him (so enjoyably) as such a calm, controlled, internal kind of guy, until he occasionally erupts in an emotional frenzy. I'm willing to go along with it more than Margie is, but the dots in his character arc are not as clear to connect as they ought to be.

Still, all that aside, I've enjoyed the last few eps a good grade more than the ones preceding them. I hope it continues to improve.

Reshared post from +Curt Thompson

Remember when I gave up on Agents of SHIELD?**

I have to admit that I've watched the last three episodes and they didn't suck. Actually, there was a marked improvement in each one. Tighter scripts, much better pacing and the Colson reveal was retconned ….clarified to mean something much more interesting and fun.

And then there was this week. I'm not going to lie, I am a sucker for superheroes. I love all that junk. And seeing Sif casually kick a 30 foot airstream trailer (circa 1960 or so) into the path of bad guys was just what I needed to engage with this series.

All of the sudden, this show went from being written by the Whedon version of Billy Carter to actually being written by a Whedon who is (for all his faults) really good at the genre. 

And even the trademark 'This is going to cause so much drama soon' reveal was perfect, rather than annoying.

But it kills me that people are looking in the wrong direction for the secret of T.A.H.I.T.I. (I won't say more so I don't spoil it, but damn, Sif even tells us what the answer is by process of elimination in the latest episode, if one reads the comics and knows the Marvel universe.)

TL;DR version: This show is suddenly worth my time.

**(Look, I'm still not punctuating that, we're not there in our relationship yet.)