Watch it, wiki it, or wait for the recap? Watch it.
Coulson’s team finally comes face to face with their nemesis, the Clairvoyant. But even if they can survive Deathlok’s attack, will they be able to handle the truth behind their persistent foe?
Yay my first live action television review! Although it’s rather late, given that Season has begun already, but we all have to start somewhere, I suppose. Agents of SHIELD took quite a while to pick up steam, but now that it’s built its own mythology and backstory, this is a pretty good series to watch.
“End of the Beginning” begins the final story arc of Season 1, and focuses firmly on the series mythology (instead of gallivanting around the Marvel Universe like in the previous episodes). It ties everything that we’ve seen so far into one big bundle, with the exception of Skye’s double agent secret. When are we going to see that again?
Highlights:
Team ups
Our heroes get to team up with other high-level SHIELD agents, demonstrating to us just why they’re the protagonists of the story. Sometimes, when you get to know characters too well, you lose a bit of respect for them – familiarity breeds contempt after all. But here, we’re given a powerful reminder of the skill and competency of our favourite heroes.
Deathlok’s final appearance
OK I’m not that big a Deathlok fan, but I do remember his involvement with Spider-Man in the “Return/Revenge of the Sinister Six” story arc. To see such a B-lister character given the spotlight and a proper comics treatment is rather impressive, and gives me hope that we’ll see other obscure but interesting characters appear.
The Clairvoyant
And then there’s the big reveal of the series villain! One thing still strikes me as weird though – in a world where Professor X, the Phoenix, and Emma Frost exist, nobody believes in psychic powers?
Twist at the end
If you’ve been reading New Avengers (well, a few years ago anyway), you’ll notice a particular character here who’s of dubious origin. More specifically, a former employee of Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin), although that isn’t referenced here. I’ve been waiting for this character to become a turncoat, and it comes to pass in this episode. Catharsis at last, providing the emotional gravitas to see this character go down in the series finale (I hope).
Letdowns:
Draggy opening
Comparatively speaking, the first Act doesn’t really pull you in like the rest of the episode does. It’s just some exposition and preamble. Fortunately, it doesn’t go on for very long, even though it does set up the expectation of an incredible showdown.
This episode ends on a spectacular cliffhanger, which dovetails well into the next episode. While it resolves some of the long running plot threads, it also generates new ones that’ll last us all the way until the end of the season. In any case, it’s got me waiting eagerly for the next ep!
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