Amen, PREACHER!

Article originally published as PREACHER Review on Seat42F.

AMC’s newest drama is PREACHER. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, the series follows a Texas minister in a small town where danger and the supernatural seem to exist in abundance. It is shocking and action-packed, while also being a compelling character study of a man who is trying to do good and frequently failing. In short, it is worthy of being on this top-quality network, and makes a good addition to AMC’s morality-questioning slate.

The protagonist and titular man of the cloth is Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper, Agent Carter, Fleming). Ingrained in him by his ill-fated father is a drive to do good in the world. But in a position he doesn’t want in a place that, for the most part, doesn’t want him, and with a past he isn’t proud of, Jesse is struggling to feel like he’s living up to his potential. As the story begins, he’s about at a breaking point and must decide what his path forward would be.

There is no shortage of others who either want to help him or hurt him on his path. Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun, Misfits) is a vampire lying low who is drawn to Jesse’s violence. Tulip (Ruth Negga, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) is his ex who seeks to involve him in her latest scheme. Emily (Lucy Griffiths, True Blood) is the busy mother who is devoted to the church. Sheriff Root (W. Earl Brown) is the lawman who doesn’t put up with Jesse straying, while Hugo’s son, Eugene (Ian Colletti, Rake), is devoted to a God he thinks may have abandoned him. And there’s also Donnie (Derek Wilson, In the Now), the abusive husband that Jesse confronts.

Each of these play a role, most of them quite loud and large. Cassidy and Tulip, in particular, are introduced in extreme scenarios that reinforce the graphic novel roots of the source material and certainly keep things exciting. This is a show that will not shirk from its action sequences, and has no qualms about showing death and destruction.

Yet, for the run of the pilot, Jesse himself is the calm center of the storm. He doesn’t react largely. He doesn’t do anything too crazy. He exists in the midst of everyone else’s drama, which is not what one typically expects from the main character of a series such as this. It’s unlikely he will stay that way for long, probably taking lead in the bigger sequences going forward, especially given what happens at the end of the episode. But it’s a very interesting choice to make to introduce him in the way that he is.

There’s also a phenomenon not yet explained that will play a very large role in PREACHER. Seen at the beginning and during a few interstitials, a being of energy has arrived on Earth looking for a host. After some false starts, it chooses Jesse as its vessel. Neither obviously good or bad, it’s the nth embodiment of Jesse’s own internal conflict, and promises more than just a slow-burn character-driven drama that would likely be good, but what we get is even better. With two mysterious men (Boardwalk Empire’s Anatol Yusef and Pirate Radio’s Tom Brooke) on the hunt for it, Jesse won’t just be able to live the life he’s been living.

I found the first episode of PREACHER to be terrific. It draws you in appropriately, feels fresh and original, despite a few familiar elements, is amusing in a sly way, and lacks the types of plot holes or gratuitous things that bog down most new series. Each moment seems carefully calculated to build towards something, and with fascinating characters populating the world, I look forward to seeing where it goes.

PREACHER airs Sundays at 9pm EST on AMC.

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Send An "SOS"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. ends its sophomore run on ABC last night with “S.O.S.,” a two-hour finale that is as surprising as it is intense. Lots of characters die, dynamics shift, a war is only narrowly avoided, and there are plenty of pathos and cliffhangers to go around. I don’t think I’ll be able to cover it all here, but I’ll try to focus on the most important things.

No sooner does Coulson (Clark Gregg) agree to an advisory council than those on that council begin dropping like flies. Gonzales (Edward James Olmos) is murdered last week, soon followed by Agent Oliver (Mark Allan Stewart) in “S.O.S.” Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) is kidnapped by Ward (Brett Dalton), while Weaver (Christine Adams) is held hostage by Jiaying (Dichen Lachman). By the end of the finale, a couple are left, but will Coulson replace those who perished? I hope so, because it still seems like a good idea to have his judgment balanced by others, and not just those on his team.

Coulson does earn back some lost respect, though. Mack (Henry Simmons) hasn’t quite left the agency when the battle begins, and decides to stick around and help Coulson prevent a war. Last week, it looked like Mack would be resigning for good, but he is too noble to walk away when he’s needed. Let’s hope MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t really have to say goodbye to him, signs being positive he will re-enlist at the end of the episode.

The battle Mack and Coulson are working to end is the one between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Inhumans. Jiaying, hardened and turned dark by the traumas she suffers through, doesn’t trust S.H.I.E.L.D., and so tries to force a war to wipe them out. This makes sense, given what we’ve seen of her character, but she brings along a lot of Inhumans who don’t realize what’s happening. As Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) says after learning the truth, they aren’t bad, just misled.

The struggle to stop Jiaying is not an easy one. While her plan isn’t perfect, she does have the element of surprise at first, and starts fighting before S.H.I.E.L.D. knows there’s anything to fight about, Coulson being the cool head that keeps the council for escalating things early. Jiaying also has Gordon (Jamie Harris), who believes in her scheme, and Cal (Kyle MacLachlan), who is set loose in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s base with super strength.

But Jiaying doesn’t have everything. Raina (Ruth Negga) sacrifices herself to expose the truth to Skye (Chloe Bennet), who turns on her mother and teams up with Mack, and Coulson talks Cal into switching sides to protect his daughter, appealing to the good man long buried deep inside of Skye’s father. What this means is that the war in “S.O.S.” really features a single villain and henchman (Jiaying and Gordon), with everyone else being essentially good, one may assume, manipulated by this leader. It should make for a more peaceful relationship between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Inhumans next season, with Jiaying and Gordon dead and Lincoln supporting Skye.

The casualties are rough, though. Besides the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that Jiaying kills, Coulson loses a hand. He would lose more if not for Mack’s quick thinking, and surely S.H.I.E.L.D. has the technology to give Coulson a really cool bionic replacement. Still, there’s a lot of destruction left to recover from.

Overcome it they must, though, as Ward is now heading up Hydra. After some disturbing scenes of torture, Ward making Bobbi suffer, Hunter (Nick Blood) and May (Ming-Na Wen) swing in to the rescue. In the chaos, Bobbi is badly wounded and Agent 33 (Maya Stojan) is killed, the latter sparking Ward’s embrace of the evil group, which he plans to use to take his revenge. Still, even with Ward remaining out there as a Big Bad, the outcome is as positive as one could hope for from such an encounter.

All of the above stuff makes for some really intense action and suspenseful moments. Emotion is served, too, especially in the relationship between Skye and Cal and the outcome of that, Cal’s memory being wiped and he being given a chance at a good life. The episode runs the gamut, being both big and small, and ending the season on an anticipatory note that should have fans on edge waiting for MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. return next fall.

There are also two huge cliffhangers, exemplifying the two arenas S.H.I.E.L.D. participates in. The personal has Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) finally planning a first date, something viewers have been waiting for at least a year, and then Simmons is sucked in by an alien artifact. The larger plot sees Jiaying’s crystals infect fish, whose oil is bottled and sold, thus potentially affecting a huge chunk of the population and activating more Inhumans.

And that’s why I love “S.O.S.” It really does have it all, presenting two hours that frequently shocked and constantly entertained.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. will return for a third go ‘round next fall, and this pick-up pretty much guarantees them a fourth year because of syndication patterns. I look forward to seeing what they do with it.

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Bear the "Scars" of Ultron

Article originally written for Seat42F.

NOTE: This review is as much about the Marvel franchise as a whole as it is about this week’s television episode.

I hope you made it to the theater to see Avengers: Age of Ultron before watching this week’s episode of MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC. The installment, titled “Scars,” doesn’t serve the movie a lot, but the events are pivotal in how the S.H.I.E.L.D. characters relate to one another now, and there are enough mentions to spoil some of the key things in the movie. Still, MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. is its own part of the franchise, so the majority of the hour focuses on arcs from this season of the show, not the movie.

If anything, I’m disappointed that the movie doesn’t tie in more to the series. There is a flashback to Coulson (Clark Gregg) and an agent Koenig (Patton Oswalt) viewing the helicarrier that Fury uses in the movie, but it really doesn’t go further than that, save some news clips shown on television screens. Shouldn’t Coulson have come to Fury’s aid? Do the Avengers know Coulson is alive? If we’d at least gotten a glimpse of some of our small screen heroes on the helicarrier on the big screen, I’d have been pretty happy. Though, I must say, Avengers: Age of Ultron was awesome!

But while Ultron himself and the crisis he causes does not impact the cast of MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. much directly, seeing the global near-disaster does bring S.H.I.E.L.D. and the “real” S.H.I.E.L.D. together, Gonzales (Edward James Olmos) willing to abandon his coup. For his part, Coulson realizes the value Gonzales and his council bring to the table and that he himself has made some mistakes, and so offers to make them his advisors, even while retaining the director title. Since Fury is involved, Gonzales agrees, albeit a bit reluctantly it seems. Civil war averted.

Or is it? Next spring, we’ll get Captain America: Civil War in theaters, and I can’t help but think some of the seeds of that are being planted in “Scars.” Gonzales compares Coulson to Tony Stark, a man acting on his own, ignorantly putting others in harm’s way. It’s a sentiment echoed in debates between Captain America and Iron Man, and I have to think MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. will play into that, assuming it is renewed. I just hope it plays a larger role than with this year’s film.

Gonzales himself won’t be the one butting heads with Coulson, though, as Jiaying (Dichen Lachman) murders him in “Scars.” Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D. may have come together, but S.H.I.E.L.D. still has an exterior foe in the Inhumans, who won’t make their film debut for a few years, likely when different Inhumans we haven’t seen yet are in charge. The Inhumans are the main antagonist now, with Hydra lying low, and take center stage this week.

Mack (Henry Simmons) would be an excellent replacement for Gonzales in opposing Coulson. He quits S.H.I.E.L.D. this week, unable to work for a man he doesn’t trust. But might Bobbi lure him back to sit on the advisor’s board, no longer being under Coulson? Mack is a great character and it would be a shame to lose him altogether. I hope “Scars” doesn’t mark his last appearance.

One cannot blame Jiaying for protecting her people. She has lived through a lot at the hands of very bad men, and while Gonzales’ offer of peace might be genuine, she would have to make big sacrifices to accept it. He wants to catalogue her people, keeping a database on them. That would make them easier to find and hunt, and she can’t have that. She doesn’t want to be under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s control.

In the past, S.H.I.E.L.D. mainly deals with humans. When superpowers are involved, they have their own heroes, The Avengers, to send in. “Scars” finds the humans of S.H.I.E.L.D. going head-to-head with powered peoples, and that puts S.H.I.E.L.D. at a huge disadvantage. While the Inhumans are generally not warlike and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are much better trained for battle, I can’t help but think that some of the big screen heroes may need to be brought in to resolve this without S.H.I.E.L.D. being left decimated.

All of this puts Skye (Chloe Bennet) squarely in the middle of the conflict. Jiaying is lying about Gonzales attacking her, and one assumes Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) has juiced up to fight, too, so the Inhumans are the instigators. But they are Skye’s family, and she does feel accepted by these people. On the other hand, Coulson is like a father to her and she is close with several other agents. I can’t see her truly fighting for either side, but she may have to. Which side will she pick, or can she broker peace in a situation that is already falling apart?

And how would things have turned out differently had Jiaying murdered Coulson instead of Gonzales? Jiaying likely wishes she had, removing Skye’s main connection to the other side.

The wild card here is not Raina (Ruth Negga), who Jiaying wisely locks up, but Ward (Brett Dalton) and 33 (Maya Stojan), who kidnap Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki). What do they want with her? What is their plan?

They are involved in my one big complaint about “Scars.” How does no one notice two agent Mays (Ming-Na Wen) in the strike force, and why does Gonzales’ jet not concern itself when Bobbi’s doesn’t check in? Does no one notice 33 has escaped? This part of the episode just doesn’t make sense to me.

Still, that kind of hole is unusual for this program, and MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. has done a great job building up something huge for next week’s two-hour season finale. Not to mention, I mostly like the way the show fits into the Marvel universe, even if I wish it had a slightly bigger role.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.’s sophomore run concludes next Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Reveals "Melinda"

Article originally written for Seat42F.

“Melinda” May (Ming-Na Wen) takes center stage in the latest installment of MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. In flashback, fans finally learn why May is known as The Calvary, witnessing the traumatic event that drove her from field service and changed her into a closed-off person, while becoming a legendary hero to everyone else. It’s a sad story, but also a good one for a character who doesn’t always get as much development as the others purely because she doesn’t reveal much of herself.

The May that the “Melinda” flashbacks begin with is happily married to Dr. Andrew Garner (Blair Underwood) and ready to start a family. She loves her job and her life, and she’s a cheery optimist, at least when compared to the version we’ve grown to know. This episode not only satisfactorily explains the shift, but is an engaging, compelling story in its own right. It is probably the most important hour for this character so far.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. plays it smart by revealing the story now, using it to inform May’s relationship and trust of Coulson (Clark Gregg). As Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) and Mack (Henry Simmons) show May and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) the evidence against Coulson, doubts among Coulson’s own team begin to accumulate. May trusts him because of their history together, and we see that. However, we also see that Coulson has kept secrets even from her, possibly putting together a group of those with super powers. Can Coulson really be trusted?

Both Coulson’s agenda and May’s backstory tie into Skye’s (Chloe Bennet) thread, too. Skye is happily training with the woman she soon realizes is her mother, Jiaying (Dichen Lachman). However, Jiaying tells Skye no one can know about their relationship because the others might see Skye’s treatment as favoritism. To demonstrate how such a perception can go wrong, she tells Skye May’s tale, which ends in May having to kill a super-powered child.

The way these three all fit together so seamlessly is impressive. MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. tends to plod along for awhile, usually good but somehow not quite great, for large parts of the season. Like last year, however, there is a greater plan working behind the scenes, and when everything is known, it all comes together awesomely. “Melinda” is one of those installments that pays off viewers for sticking with the series through the lesser episodes.

It is not without flaw. Despite Jiaying telling Skye they need to keep their bond a secret, when the two eat dinner with Calvin (Kyle MacLachlan), they aren’t very careful in what they say. Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) walks right in on them, though he may not yet understand what he is seeing. Also, while it must feel extremely good for Skye to have eat with her parents for the first time ever, something she’s longed for for so long, can she really overlook Cal’s violent and cruel missteps that bring her to this place? There’s a limit of what is forgivable. This may not quite be an error in storytelling, but I’d like to see Skye resist just a little more.

Still, “Melinda” is mostly good. The stories mentioned above are fascinating, and we also see Gordon (Jamie Harris) working with Raina (Ruth Negga) to try to find her hidden gifts, which Lincoln may have stumbled upon. Raina is unhappy, and justly so, but if she has the power to see the future, as is indicated, she could become even more important to AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Plus, the episode ends with Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) asking Coulson and Hunter (Nick Blood) to help him lose a tail, which seems like it will be a lot of fun.

In general, “Melinda” is a triumph for MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. It reveals a lot about important players, especially May and Coulson, and it helps set up what should be a very exciting finale. If the show can deliver more episodes like this one, I’d have almost no complaints about it. Not that I have that many now, but it could usually be just a bit better, and “Melinda” proves that.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. "Afterlife" Review

Article originally written for Seat42F.

This week’s installment of MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. takes us into the “Afterlife.” Specifically, Skye (Chloe Bennet) wakes up in a place called Afterlife, where she is surrounded by both those with powers and many who wish to have them. Meanwhile, everyone else searches for both Skye and a way into the toolbox as the conflict between the “real” S.H.I.E.L.D. and Coulson (Clark Gregg) continues.

It’s a bit of a relief to see Skye among people who can help her. I understand her desire to go save her friends, but Skye is not much use to them in her current, unstable state, anyway. With Gordon (Jamie Harris), Lincoln (Luke Mitchell, The Tomorrow People), and the woman Skye doesn’t know is her mother and whom many believe to be dead, Jiaying (Dichen Lachman), Skye has a chance at not only controlling her abilities, but figuring out how to use them. She will come out of this experience better than ever if she just allows herself to listen to them, as they do seem to have her best interests at heart, at least for now.

A setback occurs when Skye learns that the group is treating Raina (Ruth Negga), too. It’s hard to know if Skye’s right and Raina doesn’t deserve assistance or if Jiaying is right and Raina was just Cal’s (Kyle MacLachlan) pawn who merits compassion. Seeing that Gordon and Jiaying have Cal locked up is encouraging, but Skye doesn’t know the fate of her father, so that’s of no comfort to her. Will Raina come out of this place with newfound purpose, or will she continues to do fiendish things because what she wanted didn’t turn out to be what she expected?

Coulson and Hunter (Nick Blood) go looking for Skye, believing she is more crucial to immediately retrieve than S.H.I.E.L.D. itself is, or perhaps believing that Skye is the key to taking back the organization. They have a bit of help in doing so in the form of Deathlok (J. August Richards), who has undergone some impressive upgrades. “Afterlife” is a little slow in moving this part of the story along, but it’s worth it just to see Hunter’s face when Deathlok shows up, an event Coulson doesn’t clue Hunter into for that very reason. Priceless. And by the end of the episode, the trio has a method of transportation, plus they’re heading towards Ward (Brett Dalton), which promises to be awesome, so it all plays out well.

Coulson has other assistance, too. May (Ming-Na Wen) remains completely loyal. Gonzales (Edward James Olmos) offers her a seat at the table in “Afterlife” and urges her to take it for Coulson’s sake, but she doesn’t seem to accept. This scene demonstrates both who May is, which I never doubted, but also backs up Gonzales’ claim that he is not a bad guy and just wants to help S.H.I.E.L.D. be what it should. He does want to stop Coulson, which causes conflict, but we see him treating the rest of the team with nothing but respect. That’s a good sign.

Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) take advantage of Gonzales’ leniency to smuggle the toolbox out of the base with Fitz, leaving Simmons almost exactly where she begins the season, a lone mole among enemies. By working together here, the twosome repairs their troubled relationship, though Gonzales’ people don’t see that, thankfully. Sadly, though, the bond between Mack (Henry Simmons) and Fitz seems to be destroyed. It’s uncomfortable to watch because Mack truly does think he’s doing the right thing, as does Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki), and their commitment to Gonzales isn’t that different from our main cast’s commitment to Coulson.

Is Gonzales right in thinking Coulson’s people shouldn’t put their loyalty to Coulson ahead of their loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D.? For them, Coulson is S.H.I.E.L.D. and understandably so. They’ve watched him lead the organization through its darkest time. Yet, if Gonzales is going to lead the new S.H.I.E.L.D., perhaps they’re making the wrong decision, and maybe Coulson, who has admittedly been erratic, really shouldn’t be in charge. He seems better after the temple, but they don’t all know that for sure yet. Coulson is a great guy, but he’s not a perfect leader. Nor is Gonzales, though, even if he does allow the others to overrule him on May and let democracy win.

I still keep hoping there’s a peaceful resolution to be had here, and perhaps Skye will be the tool that can make it happen, once she wields her power correctly. None of the S.H.I.E.L.D. people, on either side of the schism, deserve to die or be locked up. They just need to come to an understanding, which will be difficult, given the strong personalities and opinions involved. “Afterlife” gives me optimism if only because both sides of the fight seem to be acting reasonably rationally, putting their cause ahead of personal feelings, even if they disagree on what that cause means exactly.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.