taste_is_sweet | Still holding out for a hero (or at least a decent flashlight).

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Still holding out for a hero (or at least a decent flashlight).

(Pony!Bucky icon because reasons.)

So, yeah. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., guys. Last night was episode three of the new season, and while I wasn't exactly surprised at yet more murky morality, three episodes in and it's already murky enough that it's hard to see. Like when you're in a vault.

Such as this one:

**But it's S.H.I.E.L.D., so it's fine. Really.**

Check it, O, best-beloveds--this is the door leading down the dark, narrow staircase that goes to the dark, dark, basement, where our remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. are now keeping their prisoners like fetishists in a Tarantino movie. Coulson even refers to them as 'Assets', which is in no way creepy or dehumanizing. (Though to be fair, I guess he can't use 'consultant' since it's probably not a volunteer position.)

The prisoners do get a bed, which is nice. But as far as I can tell, if they're not being interrogated the room is kept soundless and dark, and it's about three and a half meters wide and maybe five meters long. Larger than my kid's bedroom for sure, but he has a nightlight and a window. And he can also, you know, leave.

Naturally, I couldn't help but be reminded of this:

**At least he's safe! (Get it?)**

The Winter Soldier, in all of his shirtless, woobie glory, being kept in a vault like a particularly important document. Now he's in a bank vault, because Hydra is classy like that. But it's still, y'know, a vault. Like S.H.I.E.L.D.'s, only with actual overhead lighting. And it's used pretty much for the same purpose as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vault. Oops.

I'm assuming S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't going for the horrifically painful memory-wiping. Yet. But I have a feeling that being treated like a hamster in an aquarium (but without the adorable plastic wheel) would count as torture too.

These are not comfortable similarities, my darlings. They're especially uncomfortable when coupled with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new willingness to go for culling rather than trap and tag, so to speak. This ep, they went after someone ostensibly to rescue them from Hydra, but it became evident very early on that the 'rescue' part wasn't the priority. The actual priority was, 'if we can't have 'em, no one can,' like a psychotic ex-boyfriend. Or like Hydra, which had the exact same agenda.

And yet, it's not even either of these things--the hamster cages or the culling--which make me go, O.o, so much as the seeming casualness with which it's done. Yes, I'd like to see a little remorse among my heroes, beyond the expected 'gee, I just killed someone' moment. I'd like to see some reluctance, some unhappiness with the way things go down, even if there was truly no other option besides vaults and bloodshed. Hell, I'd really like other options to be overtly considered.

Nick Fury himself said that S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded to save people, because everyone is worth saving. But S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't seem to be doing much saving anymore. This isn't the S.H.I.E.L.D. who talked Mike Peterson down from literally going ballistic when it would've been far safer and easier to kill him; this S.H.I.E.L.D. would've put him down to make sure Hydra didn't get their hands on him first. And that's a bit too much like what Hydra itself would do. And when the good guys are just the same as the bad guys, then what's the point?

If I had to choose, I'd of course take the hamster cage over the agonizing mind-wipe, but I shouldn't have to choose the lesser of two evils. There shouldn't be two evils--just one evil, with many heads.

**I love visual metaphors.**

And sure, sometimes it takes a monster to defeat a monster. Except S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't supposed to be about monsters; it was supposed to be about heroes. But I've watched three episodes of the new season so far, and I'm still waiting to find them.

Holding out, if you will, for the heroes. Or at least I'll hold out for a few more episodes. But when you're in a vault, it's hard to know it's the end of the night.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. screen capture from screencapped.net

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I was starting to have problems with the show by the end of last season. :-( I've been watching this season and hoping it will be okay.I've been worried about Agent Carter--the series is supposed to start mid-winter--and I hope they don't screw it up. :-(

I was thinking of you when I wrote this. :) I had a feeling that you would be one of the possibly few who would feel the same way I do. On the AoS LJ comm, when I commented on my misgivings about what the hell they were doing to Ward, a couple of members replied that they didn't have enough room at the base for a larger cell, he was too dangerous to keep elsewhere, he'd use anything they gave him to relieve the boredom to either kill himself or escape, etc. But their base is huge, and if Ward was that suicidal he'd have to be naked with no sheets on his bed. So, me and S.H.E.I.L.D. are definitely having some ethical issues.

::Sigh:: I am looking forward to Agent Carter more than I was AoS. I really hope it won't leave a bad taste in my mouth like AoS seems to be doing consistently, sadly.

Well, I think you put it very clearly right here: This isn't the S.H.I.E.L.D. who talked Mike Peterson down from literally going ballistic when it would've been far safer and easier to kill him; this S.H.I.E.L.D. would've put him down to make sure Hydra didn't get their hands on him first. And that's a bit too much like what Hydra itself would do. And when the good guys are just the same as the bad guys, then what's the point?

This is where the show jumped the shark for me, and worse, when I complained I didn't like the direction the show was going (admittedly, I would have felt worse about Ward being a double agent if I'd actually *liked* Ward), I was surprised at how many people were cheering, "At last! The show is finally worth watching!"

There are still bits of last season I haven't been able to bring myself to watch. The cold-bloodedness with which Ward dispatched people in the last couple of eps staggered me. Mostly because I felt as though I'd been watching one kind of show and got blindsided when it turned into another altogether.

And if truth be told, I am heartily sick of dark, dystopian fiction, either in books, movies, or television. I tuned into the premiere of The Flash out of curiosity, but I'll probably give it a couple of episodes to see what it is like. The hero is engaging, his backstory, while dark, isn't *grim* in the way some are, and at least this time he's not an angsty brooding loner--there are enough team/buddy feels to make me give it a chance.

I want very badly to love Agent Carter. I'm going to be royally pissed if they screw it up.

I was over the moon when I found out that there would be an AoS series starring Coulson, to maybe give you an idea of how much I want to love the Agent Carter series. :) I'm totally with you.

I admit that I really enjoy some dark stuff. I love Arrow, which is of course the reason the CW had enough moxie and confidence to try the Flash. It really seems that people prefer light and hopeful to dark and sad, which I find hopeful in general. But at least with Arrow there was no question from the beginning what we were getting into--Oliver Queen returned damaged and desperate to a damaged and desperate city and has been slowly swimming his way upstream to fix it ever since. The show has actually gotten lighter as it goes along, with hope and victories that don't rip the heroes' souls out to achieve. Oliver even stopped killing people at the end of season one because his best friend was horrified by it, which is a nifty reverse on AoS, where they started out horrified and now don't seem to give a damn.

That said, Arrow is still very dark, but not because of the main team's decisions, which is where I think it surpasses AoS so well. Oliver is really trying to be a hero, even though he doesn't think of himself as one or even as a particularly good person (his dialogue with Barry on the subject was revealing, though good God, it was awful). But he's trying to be good, and to protect his city and the people he loves, and you can feel that even with the sad plots and annual major character deaths. I'm not saying you should watch it because I know it's not your thing, but I do happily because these are characters I can root for, no matter how bad things get around them. :)

But AoS, not so much. I didn't like Ward either, and I'm more curious about him now than fond. Honestly, what liking I have for him comes entirely from my own fanfic, which makes for an odd dichotomy, let me tell you.

I enjoy some dark stuff too. I just don't want a steady diet of it, you know? And I was watching Arrow for a while (really got into it) when it just began to wear on me, so I've stopped for a while (I was already behind to begin with though--was watching it on Netflix) I'm glad to see that the show is changing because the killing was one of the things that got me down. ;-)

His dialog with Barry was APPALLINGLY bad! :D Let's segue this new character into our established hit series with a brief, badly written cameo, eh? I found myself wondering how a kid like Barry would know Arrow *as Arrow* anyway?

I'm not saying you should watch it because I know it's not your thing, but I do happily because these are characters I can root for, no matter how bad things get around them. :)

My edit didn't take: But AoS, not so much. I didn't like Ward either, and I'm more curious about him now than fond. Honestly, what liking I have for him comes entirely from my own fanfic, which makes for an odd dichotomy, let me tell you.

I think we were definitely headed that way with a Mallozzi-written SGA movie script. He wanted to kill John Sheppard if he could, and if not, he'd have settled for character assassination. :-(

And ow, this: But AoS, not so much. I didn't like Ward either, and I'm more curious about him now than fond. Honestly, what liking I have for him comes entirely from my own fanfic, which makes for an odd dichotomy, let me tell you.

I can sympathize. I think I'd be feeling the same we if we'd ever seen any SGA movies and Mallozzi was still in charge. He was doing his best to character assassinate John Sheppard in S5... I think he would have done it completely or killed the character off if he'd gotten the chance to do his movie. :-(

That's the important part. And sadly, with AoS, I'm starting to shrug and not care. :-(

The thing is, I LOVE the Captain America movies! Funnily enough, I don't think Cap would be happy with Ward-in-a-cubicle...

Edited 2014-10-11 03:54 (UTC)

Steve would be appalled with how they're treating Ward, I'm certain. This wasn't the S.H.I.E.L.D. he signed on for, either. :/

Barry knew Oliver as Arrow from last season. Barry was about to get on his train to go back to Central City, when Oliver was improbably injected with a heavy-duty blood coagulant or some such. IIRC, Felicity and Diggs kidnapped Barry to do Science! and save Oliver, so Barry ended up being yet another member of the sekret hero club.

Well, from what you're saying, I'm very glad that Mallozzi didn't get the opportunity to assassinate Sheppard's character or body. That's pretty upsetting, that he'd even want to.

I love the CA movies too! All the Disney Marvel movies, really (or, at least I like some, love others). That's why I wanted to see AoS so much, especially for Coulson.

Steve would be appalled with how they're treating Ward, I'm certain. This wasn't the S.H.I.E.L.D. he signed on for, either. :/

No, it isn't. I am a bit afraid of where the storyline for Steve Rogers is headed.

IIRC, Felicity and Diggs kidnapped Barry to do Science! and save Oliver, so Barry ended up being yet another member of the sekret hero club.

Oh! That makes SO much more sense now! :-)

Well, from what you're saying, I'm very glad that Mallozzi didn't get the opportunity to assassinate Sheppard's character or body. That's pretty upsetting, that he'd even want to.

Oh yes. Mallozzi was very much a fanboy at first, but when Flanigan put a stop to his taking pictures of the cast on their breaks and posting them to his blog (which was one of the reasons his blog got so much traffic), the mancrush soured. Things steadily deteriorated. I'm guessing that when Flanigan walked into Brad Wright's office and walked out with The People's Choice Award, saying it belonging to the cast, that pretty much sealed the deal. Rumor has it, the award rotates among cast members. :-)

Flanigan was very closed-mouthed about things for a long time post SGA, but when it became apparent that there would be no promised movies, he actually negotiated to buy the rights to the franchise. The deal was in the works, had been given the clearance, and then MGM went into bankruptcy and the people who'd okayed the sale got fired (this is according to Flanigan, mind you). Anyway, he worked behind the scenes for several years trying to get the rights, and when that fell through, he became more vocal about what happened on the set.

I love the CA movies too! All the Disney Marvel movies, really (or, at least I like some, love others). That's why I wanted to see AoS so much, especially for Coulson.

I am *such* Marvel fangirl. :-)

I was a 'Marvel Mutant Zombie' back in the day, as we were called. I only read the 'X' titles. Good times, good times.

I remember reading about how JF had tried to buy the rights. That would've been really cool. Very sad story with him and Mallozzi! Maybe it's for the best then, that the series ended where it did. Thank you for the backstory there.

Maybe it's for the best then, that the series ended where it did. Thank you for the backstory there.

I was very upset at the time (I lived and breathed all things SGA!) but as time went on I came to believe it was by far the best outcome. I suspect the show would have gone in a direction that would have killed my love of it. :-)

Sounds it, alas. But I agree, sounds like the show ending when it did was the best, since we can imagine as wonderful a future for the McShep as we like. :D

Yikes! I'm starting to feel less concerned that I've missed so much of this show. Steve wouldn't approve of these actions and neither do I.

I know that sometimes the good guys have to make dubious choices if they're going to stand a snowball's chance of keeping up with, and eventually defeating, the bad guy. But that never seems to end well. (Michael the experimental Wraith, anyone?)

It's too easy to write the characters this way, and harder to keep them on task and find less odious ways of getting the job done, so that they don't turn into the people they despise.

On another note, I love that song! ::sings::

It's a great song. I have three different versions.

I dunno, Bru--I know my husband doesn't mind the way it's going, and I don't think my sister does either. So far the eps have been better than some of them last season, and it's nice to see an overreaching goal. So it's possible that the show's current atmosphere wouldn't bother you.

But yeah, so far the show has a definite Michael vibe, only with actually more killing. I mean, the character they shot on the show had been brainwashed, and I'm pretty sure the S.H.I.E.L.D. team knew it. But they took the killing shot anyway, instead of using their knockout bullets, which we knew from the episode before that they had (when they didn't kill a far more dangerous character who had killed two members of their team, come to think of it).

Steve would definitely not approve. I certainly don't.

Watch Arrow instead. It's awesome. :D

I'm with Steve. FitzSimmons, Skye, even Coulson - they were fairly bright-eyed and on the side of reason. I'd hate to see that perverted.

But they took the killing shot anyway, instead of using their knockout bullets, which we knew from the episode before that they had (when they didn't kill a far more dangerous character who had killed two members of their team, come to think of it).

This is very not good.

I couldn't get into Arrow. J watches that and likes it, though.

Well, at least J has the right idea about some things... :)

Very not good! Though now I'm thinking that they only left the other guy alive to use as a bargaining tool. ::sigh::

I really don't like this trend I keep seeing with shows, how the first season if more fun (despite any possible angst or dark tones) but by the time the second season comes around, things start taking depressingly dark turns. In the case of AOS, this already started at the end of season one, but I kept thinking it was just the usual cliffhanger stuff.

I haven't given up hope yet, but the first few eps of season two... *sighs sadly*

Yep, totally with you. I really hope it lightens up a bit, or at least the main characters who are meant to be good guys start acting like good guys again. This upcoming ep looks like it's supposed to be funny(ish); we'll see.

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Still holding out for a hero (or at least a decent flashlight).

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