Why Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Should Be Taught In Comic Book TV School 

It still amazes me that Iain hasn't won any awards for his work on agents of shield.

I honestly feel like AOS is better than a lot of the MCU movies. Not saying all of them, but a fair amount of them.

A video that praises agents of shield thumbs up before you started.

The structure thing is so spot on. In terms of sheer mechanics, SHIELD has possibly the most airtight plots not just of the MCU, but possibly in all of television. It spends 8 or 9 episodes laying a foundation, and then it goes balls-to-the-walls with a finale that incorporates all of those elements. Each finale resolves what came before while laying the groundwork for what will come next. They change the status quo and evolve the world and characters without ever sacrificing the core of their appeal. Continuity is carefully preserved. Things _matter._ Even things the show seemingly forgot; the fifth season turned out, in a shocking mid-season twist, to be traced almost entirely back to a plot element that was seemingly abandoned back in season *one.* Every aspect of the show, from the writing to the performances, reeks of care and attention. These people really, truly care about what they are doing, and it shows.

Season 4 is an exercise in masterful storytelling

This show has some of the best, if not the best, character development I've seen and it manages to keep pointless drama to the minimum and each season feels unique and fresh.

Season 1 - Fitz Season 2 - Brain Damage Fitz Season 3 - Agent Fitz Season 4 - The Doctor Season 5 - Doctor Fitz

You are so right! The lack of resets is AoS biggest strength. It never goes back to the status quo the way more or less all the other shows (not just comic book shows) do. (And yes, Fitz hooked me on the show, too).

this show has gotten so fantastically dark, twisted, exciting, thrilling, tantalizing that i actually miss the simpler and happier times in season 1(pre winter soldier) lol. not surprising that agents of shield is the only comic book tv series to get 100% on rotten tomatoes.

The 3 part arc structure isn't just a great thing for comic book TV it's great for TV in general. TV owes alot too this show, and I love Daisy.

Other RU-vidrs: "Daredevil is Marvel at its finest" Funny way of spelling "Agents of SHIELD". In all seriousness, I love DD, but there's just this charm and awe in seeing AoS go against the flow and make itself better over the years.

They have somehow managed to not only be consistent but improve every season. They always thrive to do something completely different and unique every season. I'm gonna miss them.

I'm so glad they broke the formula. Not defeating a villain until the very end is what makes the netflix shows so hard for me to watch. It's just 10 or more episodes of one bad thing happening after the other, and it's just not fun. The whole time I was watching Daredevil I was thinking 'can they just take Fisk down already' and watching Jessica Jones it was Kilgrave. With AOS having a 'mideason finale' around episode 10, the show can take a breather, focus on different types of villains, and it's just fun watching something good happen for once. Especially with season 2 when Skye/Daisy got her powers and by the end of the season she had gotten a good grasp of them. It's so much more rewarding. The only time it was hard to watch AOS was the end of season 5 when it seemed like they couldn't break the loop. I hope they keep it up with season 6!

It's not only become the best comic show, its flat out one of the best shows on TV.

SPOILERS I always thought that the setup for Agents of Shield helped a lot. First off, because they established it as a team dynamic, that means that we can have an episode focused on one of the "side" characters without harming the narrative. For an example, if you ever watched Blacklist, any episode that focused on a side character, like one of the other agents, always felt like a distraction because you want to see more of Redington and Elizabeth. But if you took an episode to focus on Ward, or Fitz Simmons, or Mack, or Yo Yo, it felt natural. Second, by taking place in the MCU you naturally have a lot of different threats out there. Focusing on the team that deals with those threats on a regular basis to keep the public safe means that the stories can go in any genre or direction they want. Magic, time travel, robots, spy stuff, it's in a scenario where one team dealing with all of these makes sense. To give another example, while the MCU has set up that these take place in the same world, it wouldn't feel as natural if Thor came down to Earth to defeat Obadiah Stain or the Winter Soldier. While it's set up, that's just not the bad guys that Thor really is meant for. The same if Iron Man starting fighting Dormamu. Yeah it's possible, and I'm sure comics do those crossovers, but it's not the face off that feels normal. But with Shield kind of being the connecting point between all these heroes and the regular people, you can have them face any one of these threats and it feels normal. Third, going off of the last point, because the show can tell stories from any genre they want, even if they fall into the trap of telling a story that's already been told, or using cliches from other sources, it never gets stale. What I mean by that, is that the show is constantly using tropes from movies and TV shows we've already seen. They copy Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Terminator, Matrix, every time travel story known to man, and practically every spy trope we've ever seen (I dare you to watch Ward's first scene on the show and not think of James Bond). Now if a show that was allowed to do only one genre did this, it would get old very quickly, to the point that shows often repeat their own tropes after a while. But even though they'll have one season going through all the time travel tropes, they can do something completely different in the next season, or the next "pod", meaning they won't keep using tropes from the same genre. My point is, by setting up the show like this, you are already building a solid foundation to keep it from feeling stale

Not only comic book but one of the best television shows I’ve ever seen.

this show constantly evolves and changes, it's one of the few shows that is never stagnant, someone looking at Agents of SHIELD now in just the season 6 promo, if all they ever saw was season 1 would be like WTF IS THIS???? and that's just something Agents of SHIELD does so well, it's never just the same old same old, sometimes you barely even recognize it as that tiny little show that was the first show to start out of the gate for the MCU

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is my favourite TV show by far.

This is so spot on! like you I understand people not jumping into AoS right away, but it's unfair that other shows cost on the name recognation and fan service, while a show that puts effort into it's own mythology get overlooked. I hope you don't mind if I share this video around, gotta spread the good word!

I love what you said about character change and stagnation. This show is always moving forward. Plus people would get angry if wou try to drastically change characters like Barry Allen or Matt Murdock. Fitzsimmons and may are original characters so you can do whatever you want and build a strong story. Also the devil complex is an example of 5 seasons of character development.

I would add foreshadowing/writing along with structure & characters. I am not saying other comic book shows have bad writing, just that it feels like most seasons don't have an end goal in mind until like half way though their season. Where as with Agents of SHIELD, they know where the season is going from the very beginning. We know this to be true because when you're rewatching the show, you will notice that the writers had put so much foreshadowing for the big reveals that happen throughout the seasons. So when the big reveals do happen it's more satisfying to know the writers knew what they were doing :).

Coming at this as an erstwhile screenwriter, I've been echoing this about AoS for years. It's amazing what preparation in the writers room can do. It's also clear, as you mentioned, that trying to maintain a 22-episode arc (or 15.4 screen hours) focused on one major antagonist is asking a heck of a lot from the creative team (the original SW trilogy only spent 6 hours battling Vader/the Emperor). Worse, if that antagonist doesn't connect with the audience, you've essentially wasted a season and a whole lot of network money. Marvel TV's ace in the hole is that Marvel has traditionally been more about who the heroes are vs what the heroes do -- the old character vs plot dynamic. This was even explicitly outlined in a 1970s documentary about the two comics giants, DC and Marvel. The storytelling axiom that good characters can save a bad plot more effectively than a good plot can rescue bad characters has ensured the margin of error has been greater with Marvel shows. More than most shows, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is very much about its characters and who they are. It had to be.

As soon as you said it is one of the absolute best, you got a thumbs up from me. It is the BEST comic book TV show by far!!!

One of the smartest written shows on TV, barring the mediocre first half of S1. The narrative is always shifting and surprising, and I don't think I've ever been more invested in such a large cast of characters. The casting is strong and diverse, but never contrived or pandering. The show almost always does right by them.

So true. And the way you analyse Fitz evolution is brillant ! I never thought about that before but it's a good point of view !

I completely agree. AoS has amazing characters and a very twisty plot

I'm so glad people are giving more attention to AoS. It's an amazing show that deserves more respect.

The huge changes that Fitz goes through are honestly mind blowing to me. Season 1 Fitz is a completely different character from season 7 Fitz, but his changes all feel believable. Absolutely love AOS

This is as true today as it was when this video was first uploaded back in 2018.

Thank you, I've been saying that always. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is my favorite show of all time.

Shield is life

AoS was a groundbreaker in stories as well. Magic, Space Travel, time travel if endgame hadn’t been pushed up. And if canon is to be believed, its the original live action or tv medium what if. ( what if coulson had lived) Shame on Marvel for having ignored this property

the other thing that this show, along with the other marvel shows, but AoS does best, are the fight scenes. the fight scenes in this show are second to none with daredevil hot on its heels. i think the reason for this is that the DC shows spend all their money on sets (which i love by way, it's nice that not everything is CGI) whereas AoS can use a couple of sets and make it work. Daredevil has great scenes, but has a tendency to put all of it's efforts into one epic fight scene (which really is absolutely amazing and is actually almost worth the putting the rest to the wayside). the DC fight scenes, which aren't necessarily bad, all have one thing in common and it happens in almost every scene across the board (as in, every show: flash, arrow, etc): you can always see someone waiting to take the planned "hit". whether it's the hero, the villain, or the foot soldier, you can always see someone waiting to take the next choreographed hit. in all every episode of AoS, the fight scenes flow so smoothly and almost... enchanting.

Agents of Shield is the MCU at it's best. Great video!

One of the main reasons I stopped watching most of the CW super hero shows is cause most of the episodes felt like filler and like you said never would happen until the season finale. My favorite thing about Shield is the status quo would change multiple times in one season.

AoS is good at developing each of its characters through tremendous trauma. The traumas changed them, and they would never be the same people again. It changed them into much serious and stronger people. They aren't ashamed of being defective and 'it's okay not to be okay' situation. Just try to put all the traumas of Daisy and Fitz. They both went through much more worse things than all MCU characters combined...

I absolutely agree with this. SHIELD is my favourite show... which is also why I get sometimes very upset with it. i expect excellence from it. and sometimes i don't like the risks they take. sometimes, i think they push the characters just a little too far (the main case of this being Fitz in last arc of s4). sometimes i just want my characters to heal a little. i agree the pacing, tone, action, and creativity of this show is amazing. but i am so deeply invested in the characters... that sometimes i just want to get more closure for them. and sometimes I miss how much simpler things were in season 1. And sometimes I worry where else they can take the characters... maybe they took a step too far and there's no more growth left... unless they want to all go to therapy???

Thank you for this video, you're spot on, and like another commenter I'd add that foreshadowing is a major strength of the show because it makes re-watching it even better. AoS is not just the best superhero show, it's the best American action show of the last decade, period. Critics were dissing the first half of s1 but many of us saw it for what it was: a heavy set up for what was coming up next. And what a ride. I just finished marathoning the season finale and I'm so grateful to the show runners and actors for the hard and consistent work they put through all these years. I've never cared for such a big cast, I thought it impossible. Fingers crossed that the amazing season finale won't make AoS the best show of this decade too. Real life is a bit uncertain with Covid19 right now but I don't mind waiting a couple of years until another underdog show blows my mind the way AoS did. One thing that the show has done brilliantly from beginning to end is reminding us what we're fighting for, mentally, physically and emotionally: family. Please friends, be responsible during these holidays with unprecedented challenges. Whether or not you believe that Covid19 is real, it's flu season in the northern hemisphere too. Protect yourself so you can protect your loved ones. Let's reunite for another video on another cool show in a few years with a light heart. Peace.

Best. Show. Ever. Iain is a good. Fitz is the best character in the existence of characters EVER.

agents of shield is better than most disney+ shows, which is weird because Disney + marvel shows can spend close to 25 million per episode while agents of shield has 10 mil for each episode. agents of shield has good writing and good effects/visuals, disney+shows have ok writing but good effects

AoS is the best Marvel tv show, period.

Almost 3 years later, I'm glad I found this video :)

I totally agree, especially with the character part. There are, for me, only 2 characters in the Netflix shows that I like nearly as much as the characters on AoS (JJ and out of all the Netflix shows, one from Iron Fist: Mary Walker).

Being chained down by 'continuity' with connected media can hamper a show's enjoyment. Not having to worry so much about it let this show get very suspenseful, particularly during S3. 22 episodes of the same villain get definitely get stale fast. At the least, have a character start out different and slowly develop into that villain, such as AIDA or Skye's mother.

Why aren't comic book tv school an actual thing?

i wish i relive the show again

I see that you used "A spy's goodbye" score in your video. ill be right back gonna cry for a bit.

Cute that you used the the words "Big Bad". Are you aware that Joss Whedon is the one who coined Big Bads? It started with my favorite tvshow Buffy the Vampire Slayer! A must see 😊

Dude! 👏👏👏 So well put! And the choice of images throughout really shows the range of stories and character arcs throughout the seasons. Perfection 👌

needs more praise

The best TV show I've seen to date. Constant improvements and such, and writing so good that season 1 has you needing more!

So glad I watched this, from when it first aired. Also who here thinks AOS has a much more earned finale than arrow/COIE.

Don’t forget the amazing music by Bear McCreary!

The characters are probably AOS’s biggest strength. I love practically every single team member minus 1 of them. Daisy and Fitz are by far my favourite characters in the show, the amount of development and trauma/shit they both went through is uncountable. This show has by far some of the best character development I have ever seen. I love Daredevil so much but… where was the character development for the characters? By 36 episodes in Daredevil and AOS, Daisy and Fitz were already more developed than any of the DD characters. I’m not shitting in DD a cus I love that show so much still.

Ty for keeping the spoilers minimum!! I can show this to my friends to convince them to watch 🤩

Sometimes This show treats your emotions like a punching bag

Subscribed. Fantastic video for the best comic book tv show out there.

Another great video! U got good tastes, also the expanse one.

They love the characters. Tony Stark, Steve Rodgers and... Hawkeye.

Marvel Screwed over Agents of Shield by not letting them in on what was happening in the movies after civil war. Despite being out of the loop for the latter half of it's run they still made a show better than the Disney + Shows made to directly tie into the movies.

If they ever make a HunterXhunter live action adaption then I want the SHIELD writers to helm it. There story structure really does remind me of HXH.

How much of the show is underrated can be found when people don't know at all about the fantastic role of Iain as Fitz, literally no one even Tony Stark/RDJ imo can top this character, I mean it's so sad that people will praise some MCU movies and some characters in it, like people would love to just geek on about Cap picking up mjnoir and Thor arriving in Wakanda because they like to see superpowers and big bad cgi sequences, but they will never ever know how much of a brilliance is this show and what it has accomplished with so much limited resources and few hallways, people would say oh Feige please bring back Daredevil it's such a wonderful show, but no one would even mention AOS because they just have never watched it due to the way Marvel and the media says that it's just a failed tied in show, AOS is so so much better than Daredevil, I am not saying Daredevil is bad, but what AOS has done is just amazing, it made the fans love unknown characters who are just humans with no superpowers or what, that's a feat no one has achieved in the TV/movie world of science fiction and comic book based movies and TV show, all of the netflix shows, all of the cw dc tv shows each of the movies, every single one of them has to have the main character who has amazing superpowers, and spents most of the time around them, what AOS has done that it has taken a ordinary group of people and shown us how extraordinary and how much better they are than the ones having super powers, prime example of it is Fitz-Simmons and the thing is this show from the very starting does not centre about one particular individual rather it focuses on a group of people, a family being made, the whole show makes sense when it takes all of them into perspective, the show is all about how a man Phil Coulson sets on to create a team of individuals, but latter finds himself to in a family that can't function without each other, to quote him "who's like us, only a damn few", just watch the show if you haven't, it has done somethings early on than what MCU is attempting to do, the whole wanda vison and hex dimension and darkhold, AOS did it in S4 long before WandaVison, with ghost rider, Framework dimension, Aida being materialized like Wanda attempting to do to bring her children back, and Fitz breakdown and daisy's struggle and Coulson's shocking deal with Ghost Rider at the end, which was by far the best a tv show has ever been, and S7 is just not some time travel based season, if you watch the show than you will know what it actually is and how well it has been executed, especially with the part of Simmons cannot remember where Fitz is and how important that is and Deke having to get left behind in a alternate timeline for his friends and he was just introduced 2 seasons ago yet he has become a fan-favourite, and Enoch just awesome, Enoch is just better than any of those ai/robot companion/android in MCU, go watch S5-6-7 you will understand what I am saying.

Wonderful observation.

0:07 please look at supergirl and the fire and ice guys. I have never seen CGI so bad!

I'm 99% sure that Fitz's character development has been insired by Wesley Wyndam-Pryce

So true, great video.

I agree with all of you said 😊

I don't know how you picked so many clips without spoiling anything

Honestly, the ghost rider arc is probably my favorite season

👏👏 well said and I agree!! 🙌🙌

I'm easily the best character 😎

Yes yes i completely agree with you sir.

spot on

Fucking-A.

I love your voice!

you didnt have to use the spys goodbye music in the background my dude now im sad

my top 3 comic book shows is definitely agents of shield, legends of tomorrow, agent carter

BRAVO

AoS is one of my favourite TV shows. Its so underrated.

PREACH

Well stated, 100000000% agree!!!

agents of shield is the best , not also an opinion , its proved cause only marvel show to go to 7 seasons

Why did fizz have to die

Smart mouthed taco

should've ended on season 5

1:35 its faster to say the arrowverse 8:19 really. thought he was fully back especially once he made time travel