Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The New Deal (7x01)

I hate to say it, but a lot of this stuff is just not that interesting to me. There are hints of the show that I once looked forward to eagerly, but for the most part I'm feeling a little bit... tired.

Cons:

So, there's a scale when it comes to characters coming back from the dead on TV shows. It can be done right, like in the case of Buffy, or can can be done lazily, as in the case with any character on The Vampire Diaries, or it can be done in a way that seems lazy but becomes the fabric of the show and part of the larger point, like, arguably, in Supernatural. Coulson's resurrection... I'm sorry, but I'm putting it firmly on the "lazy" side of things. His death at the end of Season Five was one of the most beautiful main character deaths I can remember seeing on a show. It was appropriate within the tone and the narrative, it had a good buildup, there was a sense of inevitability and yet up until the very end, you were watching still hoping for a miracle that would save the day after all.

And then he was back as a villain for a season, and now he's just... back. Okay, sure, he's an LMD, and I'm sure they'll do some exploring with that. But Clark Gregg just... being here, being all Coulson-ish, kind of erases the impact of that beautiful death two seasons back, doesn't it? The show isn't really getting a chance to explore a new dynamic, because the gang's all here.

Except Fitz, of course. It's got to be actor availability, right, that keeps Fitz and Simmons so comically separated, all the time? It's ridiculous. You'd think they could come up with a more creative solution, but no. Once again, for vague reasons, Fitz and Simmons are separated, and they can't communicate because the bad-guy Chronicoms might be listening in. It's just kind of boring at this point. I'm sure the actors will do a lovely job with the eventual reunion and all that, but... it's a bit played at this point.

I guess one of the downfalls with S.H.I.E.L.D. at this late stage in the came is that I don't care about the over-arching plot very much at all. Chronicoms wanting to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D., time travel, etc. It's a fun concept, and I'm not sure why I'm not connecting with it at this point. It just feels like such a far-flung, wild story to tell, such a far cry from the days when this show still had a tenuous link to the MCU. I should withhold judgment until I know a little bit more, but I wanted to record my immediate thought.

Pros:

I do like Enoch, I've gotta say. He's got a very Data-ish vibe about him, but he's also his own thing. He's charming and odd, and his performance makes me smile without overpowering the rest of the characters. I give real props to this actor for being so believably not-quite-human, even without the aid of visuals making him look demonstrably different from anyone else.

Despite my qualms about Coulson, I'm always going to have some degree of Feels when it comes to Coulson and Daisy's relationship, and I like how she apologized for his resurrection, because she knew it went against his wishes. I also like Mack's dynamic with Coulson, the way he has stepped into his role as Director, even in the most insane of circumstances.

It's fun to hang out in the 1930's, honestly. The plot itself might elicit a shrug from me, but it's exciting to be in a new setting, exploring this new world. One thing I really like about it is how the agents' status as time travelers from the future work as both an asset and a disadvantage. For example, being from the future, and a real history nut about the founding of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson knows where to find a particular Speakeasy. He knows the specific year that different laws go into effect, he knows how and why FDR founds the SSR, which leads to S.H.I.E.LD. They also have resources and advanced weaponry, etc. While Daisy and Mack both get some crap for being minorities, they are also able to use people's underestimation to their advantage.

But at the same time, there are disadvantages. They are so sure of their superiority that they can fall into traps. Daisy was more concerned with not blowing her cover with one of the cops, that she didn't think to realize it was a Chronicom in disguise. She assumed her own superiority and got into a spot of trouble because of it. Also, historical knowledge prejudices them in discovering the answer to what the Chronicom are trying to accomplish. They all know who FDR is, who he will become. If he's showing up to this fundraiser, the Chronicom must be trying to kill him. They are so focused on that logical assumption that they miss the real answer, which is that the unassuming barman Freddy is the real target.

Also, while it might be kind of a basic moral conundrum, I do like the idea that in order to save S.H.I.E.L.D. from the Chronicoms, they actually have to save S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reason for existing - Hydra. That's a fun little dilemma and it could be interesting to see how it plays out.

Yo-Yo and Simmons are kind of benched for this week's adventure, and while their parts of the episode were the weakest for me, I do like the hints we're seeing of Simmons as a changed woman. Because of time travel shenanigans, she and Fitz were separated from the rest of the group for an as of yet unspecified length of time. I love the ambiguity, and can't wait to find out what happened during that time. Will we get a flashback episode so we can see Fitz and Simmons' goodbye? I want to be crushed.

We end on a little hint that May hasn't... fully recovered from the events of last season. Not much to report with her yet, but I'm excited to see her back in the game! She's always been one of my faves.

So that's where I'm at. I think what it comes down to this that the whole framework of the show (that's a loaded word, in this context!) is not all that interesting to me. But the specific characters and some of the scenarios still hold a warm place in my heart, so I'm ready to stick along for the ride! Deke is adorable in the 20th century, and I want more shenanigans with him immediately.

8/10