Two Ideas for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5

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As I’ve talked about previously, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been renewed for season 5.  Last week’s article went into detail on everything we know so far.  This week, I’m going to play the “wild speculation game” and try to guess at what might be happening during this next season.

I actually have a couple different thoughts on how this can play out.  First, we’re going to talk about the potential of completely changing the format of the series.  Then, we’re going to talk about a hybrid format which retains the “pods” from season 4 but incorporates some elements of my new format idea.

Before we get started, there is one assumption I am making:  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to take at least 3 Fridays off next season.  Given that the show is going to be on Friday nights, it would not make sense for them to air episodes on the U.S. release dates of Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War since they would be in direct competition with their own studio’s movie (and they would lose).  Likewise, I hope/expect that they will skip Good Friday.  So based on this assumption, the season would last until June 22 if they air all single episodes.  But note the “if.”

Weekly MCU Review for May 27

Another week, and more MCU news!  This week is a bit light since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is already out and Spider-Man: Homecoming is still over a month away, but we did get a new trailer for the latter.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Introduction to the Original Guardians of the Galaxy

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** Minor SPOILERS for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 **

As I stated in last week’s article the original 1969 Guardians of the Galaxy team gets a couple of nods in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, though with substantial reimagining.  Instead of being former heroes and protectors of the Galaxy, these characters are instead the captains of the various Ravager factions, who worked together as a team at some point in their past.  Though the team broke up years before the first Guardians of the Galaxy, at the end of the second movie the original team appears back together once more, inspired by the events of the movie.

The post-credits scene in which they all appear together (after only a couple of them appeared during the movie itself) suggests that these characters have a future ahead of them in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though what that future is remains to be seen.  So to prepare for this future (and because I want to), here is my introduction to the original Guardians of the Galaxy team and how I expect their origins to be tweaked for the MCU.

  

Hints at Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5

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Last week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season finale certainly ended on a few twists and surprises as it wrapped up the Darkhold, LMD, and Framework storylines in a rather satisfying manner.  However, now that season 4 is over, there’s no time like the present to start thinking about season 5, which they announced just in time for the season finale.

There are a couple tidbits from the season finale which hint at what is in store in season 5, but let’s start off by talking about the things which we absolutely know for certain.  Ready?

Season 5 will have 22 episodes starting in January 2018 and airing without breaks (we will talk a little more about that next week, but for now we will leave it alone).

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the hints in the season finale and what we can infer from them.

Obviously, there will be spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the season finale, GO WATCH IT, ALREADY!

The Future of Iron Fist

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Back in March, Iron Fist season 1 was made available on Netflix.  Since then I’ve talked about various aspects of the show and how they work out.  There are definitely some elements of this series that did not work out at all; there are definitely some other elements that work out very well.  I think all of the Marvel Netflix series have been subject to this same criticism, but Iron Fist has definitely received it much more.

But with all that behind us, it’s time to talk about what may happen moving forward with these characters!  There are some obvious plot threads which can be explored, either in an unannounced Iron Fist season 2 or in The Defenders this August.  Unfortunately, we do not know enough about The Defenders say definitively what may appear in each series.

But that’s never stopped me before!

Weekly MCU Review for May 20

Another week, and more MCU news!  We got new synopses for two movies, the Venom movie is moving forward, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended, and now we know more about AoS season 5 as well as Inhumans.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Post-Credits Scenes

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This article is going to be fairly brief.  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 includes no less than five post-credits scenes, all of which contribute something to our understanding of where the MCU is going to go in the future, particularly as things start turning in a more cosmic direction.  In this article I will look at the five post-credits scenes (something that’s already been done a few times) and what they may mean for both Avengers: Infinity War and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as well as any other upcoming cosmic adventures.

Obviously there are spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 Finale, "World's End" REVIEW (SPOILERS)

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So last night was the season 4 finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it was quite a rollercoaster ride.  There were the expected ups and downs, but I don’t think any of them were nearly as surprising as the episode’s conclusion.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4, Episode 22, "World's End" EXPECTATIONS

Sorry this is going up so late, and that my Iron Fist article didn’t get done yesterday.  It’s been a busy weekend, but hopefully everything will be coming out on time this week.  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season four ends tonight with the season finale, “World’s End” (4x22) at 10:00 PM Eastern/Pacific.  What do we expect from tonight's season finale?

Weekly MCU Review for May 13

Another week, and more MCU news!  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has been out for a week, and a bunch of TV series’ got picked up, renewed, and cancelled.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4, Episode 21, "The Return" REVIEW (SPOILERS)

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Well, before getting into the review itself, here is how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. connects to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:  it doesn’t.  There aren’t any potential spoilers in the episode if you haven’t seen the movie yet, so don’t worry about it.  Both are good in their own right, so see both of them; it doesn’t matter what order you do it in.

Of course, since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ostensibly takes place in 2014, it shouldn’t be too surprising that there’s no reference to those events in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—uh… spoilers?  I don’t think that’s a spoiler.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the episode itself.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 REVIEW (SPOILERS)

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Unfortunately, I had a meeting last night and won’t be able to watch last night’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. until later.  Consequently, here is my full review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.  If you have not seen the movie yet, I would encourage you to check out my non-spoiler review from last week, and then go see the movie!

If you are still reading, I will assume that you’ve already seen the movie or don’t care about spoilers.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4, Episode 21, "The Return" EXPECTATIONS

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues tonight with “The Return” (4x21) at 10:00 PM Eastern/Pacific.  What do we expect from tonight's episode?

Iron Fist REVIEW Part 5 (Netflix Connections) SPOILERS

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This is the last aspect of Iron Fist that I really want to talk about, and it is the one for which I’m the most torn.  All of the Marvel Netflix shows share characters and settings, both in the foreground and the background.  This really helps them feel like they are all taking place in the same world, just a few blocks apart.  Considering that these series are all building up to The Defenders crossover miniseries this summer, it is important for them to already feel like they inhabit the same neighborhood—even though there are tonal differences between them.  It’s similar to what Marvel Studios did in Phase 1 by having Coulson, Tony, and/or Fury show up in all the movies at some point.

Unfortunately, at a certain point the shared characters cease to be fun and start being genuine plot holes.  That is part of the problem with Iron Fist.

Weekly MCU Review for May 6

Another week, and more MCU news!  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 came out this week in the U.S., and three different Marvel TV series released trailers.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 REVIEW (NO Spoilers)

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 finally came out this weekend, and of course I went to see it on opening day!  I’ve been looking forward to this movie ever since the first one came out, and I was not disappointed.  It is definitely different from the original Guardians movie, but it is absolutely a must-see.

Also, when you see it, be sure to stay after the credits because there is not 1, not 2, but five (and no, it’s not “three, sir!”) mid- and end-credits scenes, ranging from silly and amusing to serious and (presumably) significant-for-the-future.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 EXPECTATIONS

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is already raking in the dough internationally, but it does not come out in the U.S. until tomorrow.  On the bright side, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be released in the U.S. tomorrow!  Who do we expect from it?

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4, Episode 20, "Farewell, Cruel World!" REVIEW (SPOILERS)

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to impress this season, as the team races to leave the Framework before AIDA finishes constructing her new body and no longer needs the Framework.  In many ways, this episode’s focus is primarily on setup and not on telling its own story, but at this point in the season that’s not the worst thing.  It does a great job of setting up what is going to happen in the next two episodes.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4, Episode 20, "Farewell, Cruel World!" EXPECTATIONS

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues tonight with “Farewell, Cruel World!” (4x20) at 10:00 PM Eastern/Pacific.  What do we expect from tonight's episode?

Iron Fist REVIEW Part 4 (Comic Book Martial Artists) SPOILERS

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This Iron Fist review will be fairly short as I am somewhat pressed for time this week.  There are a number of other aspects of this show that I could certainly touch on before this one, but this is the one that I have wanted to write since watching the series in the first place.  And it’s my blog, so I can do what I want!

I’m talking, of course, about all the comic book martial artists which were included in the series.  Like the show, the martial artists run the gamut from the really well crafted and well thought-out to the (for lack of a better word) embarrassing.  Hopefully future Netflix shows (including the potential Iron Fist season 2) will be more consistently good.

All that being said, there are three comic book martial artists in this series, and the portrayal improves over the course of the season.