This season featured a lot of new characters as well as the evolution of old characters. Which character(s) (old or new) did you connect with the most and felt had a strong arc from start to finish? In addition, was there any character(s) that you had trouble following in the second season?
Andy Behbakht: I was surprised over how much I connected with Fitz by the time we got to the finale. As I was getting more attached to him, I was starting get incredibly disconnected with Simmons, who I feel was one of the weak aspects of this season because she was acting way out of character too many times. In terms of new characters, Mockingbird was my absolute favorite one and getting someone as talented as Adrianne Palicki was one of the reasons why Bobbi was so good. But to me, Skye stood out the most because I remember how people felt about her in the first season, and then seeing her in year two was an extraordinary evolution. People will say that I exaggerate, but I honestly do feel that Bennet’s character could be seen as one of TV’s new Buffy Summers (granted, this show is coming from the Whedon family so it’s not that surprising that we are seeing this effect), but that’s not a title that is easy to get.
Jasef Wisener: My favorite character arcs this year (among both old and new characters) were the Fitz/Simmons arc and the Bobbi Morse arc. Throughout most of the first season, both Fitz and Simmons were almost carbon copies of each other (to me, at least), and that made it really hard to connect with them at all. After the crossover, the writers really did begin to give them some character development, and that progression carried over to this season. I don’t have much to say about Bobbi other than that I really loved all of her story, and I am so excited about getting more of her in the future. I think the show can potentially use her in her Mockingbird role as a connection to the films if Marvel will allow, and I think that would be good for both mediums. There weren’t really any characters that I had trouble following, but I do wish that the writers had used Coulson a little better this season. His development became incredibly troublesome around the middle of the season, and it was almost the end before they brought him back around.
Blaise Hopkins: Honestly, I think my two favorite character progressions were Cal and Hunter this season. Hunter was a fun character who essentially was Tripp’s replacement. He was a nice comic relief character to start out, but I really liked seeing S.H.I.E.L.D. and the other characters impact him enough to want to stay and join them. At the end of the season, with Bobbi’s life on the line, he went into full bad*** mode, and I had a lot of fun watching him. With Cal, I honestly had been waiting for the appearance of Mr. Hyde the whole season. He was another fun character that essentially knew how powerful he was and had confidence to back it up. I think that Kyle MacLachlan is an awesome actor and really did a great job with the character this season. I’m glad that Lincoln is coming back because I think his character was a nice addition, but he definitely needs more development. It will be interesting to see what they do with him next season, but there is obviously some sort of plan.
Nick Hogan: I liked a lot of this season’s character arcs. Various arcs resonated with me for different reasons. However, perhaps the strongest feelings I have are about Iain De Caestecker’s Leo Fitz. When we saw Fitz at the end of Season 1, we knew he would live, but we wondered how things would change. As we moved through imaginary Simmons, to struggling past his brain trauma, to returning slowly to the Fitz we all know and love, I couldn’t help but be sympathetic. I have an emotional connection to this show, but who knows how strong that would be without Fitz. I also really enjoyed the journeys of Cal (Kyle MacLachlan was PHENOMENAL), Lance Hunter, and Melinda May, just to name a few.
Chris King: Skye’s evolution, which really began last season, was great to watch, as was learning her true identity and the extent of her powers. I also really enjoyed the introduction of both Bobbi and Hunter this season and thought they added something new and fresh to the S.H.I.E.L.D. team. The only places where I would say Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. disappointed me this season were in the relationships between Fitz and Simmons and Coulson and May. Too many times in Season 2, it felt at least one of them was acting out of character purely so the writers could have drama. All four of them appeared to be getting back to their old selves by the finale, though, so I’m hopeful that this continues, with no more setbacks, moving forward.
This season, we had one movie tie-in which was with Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. How did you feel about this crossover as opposed to last year’s tie-in with Captain America: The Winter Soldier?
Andy Behbakht: Was the tie-in big like last year? Absolutely not. It’s hard to get to that level; the show basically rebooted after Winter Soldier. But was it something I appreciated? Yes, it was, and while I think there should have been some bigger presence of the TV show in the film, the fact that we know that Coulson is basically the reason why the Avengers were able to save all those people at the end of the film with the Helicarrier is pretty awesome. Last season, the show’s biggest challenge was to prove that it can stand on its own in the bigger MCU, and I think Season 2 proved that it can. So that’s why it was disappointing that Coulson didn’t even get a single mention by Maria Hill or Nick Fury and instead made it look like Fury is now back in charge of this other S.H.I.E.L.D., even though we all know who is really in charge.
Jasef Wisener: I don’t think the crossover was handled well at all. It was very clear that the Age of Ultron connection was thrown in simply to give some perceived relevance to the show, and it easily could have been scrapped with zero repercussions. That said, I did like that it was Coulson’s actions that led to the introduction of the film, and it was nice (even if the films won’t acknowledge it) that the Helicarrier from the final act also connected to the show’s S.H.I.E.L.D.
Blaise Hopkins: I thought that last season the tie-in with Captain America was subtle and fun, but the aftermath was what saved the first season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This season, I thought that it felt way more forced for less of a payoff. Although I wish there was more of a way to tie it in afterwards, I liked that there was only small mention about what happened with Age of Ultron. I don’t want Marvel or the writers of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to force connections if they aren’t there; Season 1’s was very natural. I’m hoping to see a good incorporation with Captain America: Civil War next year.
Nick Hogan: It’s hard to compare to the tie-in with Captain America: The Winter Solider because it gave the show arguably the greatest creative surge of anything on TV in 2014. The whole world in which Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. existed crumbled around them, and the show was forced to pick up the pieces. I didn’t care for the tie-in with Avengers: Age of Ultron for that same reason. Other than a brief appearance from Maria Hill, and a wink and a nod from Nick Fury in the film, we didn’t get anything that tied them together. Having a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier is not nearly as exciting as S.H.I.E.L.D. crashing down because of Hydra. I would prefer a world in which the shows and movies acknowledge each other and clearly exist in the same world without forcing things. The tie-in with Captain America didn’t feel forced. It felt like a natural reaction to the shared world that has been created.
Chris King: It was pretty unnecessary. Frankly, I’d rather Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. just focus on being a good show all on its own and not worry about whatever the Marvel films are doing. While Winter Soldier‘s twist definitely helped kick-start the show’s creative resurgence in Season 1, the only thing that Age of Ultron seemed to do was make Coulson look unnecessarily shady for a string of episodes, and he didn’t even get any credit for helping the Avengers in the movie.
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