Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review – “Heavy is the Head”

The serialized storytelling continues.

Cast and Crew Information

Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May
Chloe Bennet as Skye
Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz
Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons
BJ Britt as Agent Triplett
Nick Blood as Lance Hunter
Ruth Negga as Raina
Kyle MacLachlan as The Doctor
Henry Simmons as Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie
Adrian Pasdar as Glenn Talbot
Brian Wade as Carl Creel

Written by Paul Zbyszewski
Directed by Jesse Bochco

Premise

Picking up right where the last episode left off, we see Fitz continue his science projects while the team hunts Carl Creel with the aid of an unexpected ally.

High Point

Coulson’s last conversation.

Low Point

The lack of trust Coulson is showing Skye. Given where they were at last season, I’m going to need a reason for this in the future.

The Review

This is an original episode, with new relationships forming and character dynamics changing drastically. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects were all in the style established last week, but still successful if not innovative. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story was tightly structured once more, keeping the trains running. The thread I complained that we weren’t seeing last week is back, although one of last week’s new threads is nowhere to be seen. I get the impression that’s primarily a limitation in episode runtime. I give it 5 out of 6.

The acting is well done. This episode is Coulson’s story, despite the fact that he’s probably in less than half of the footage. The characters we see build together, and Adrian Pasdar is really hitting a groove. I sincerely hope we see a lot more of him in the future. I give it 5 out of 6.

The production is the excellent work we’ve come to expect from Mutant Enemy. I give it 6 out of 6.

The emotional response is decent. It would have been stronger had the press releases announcing Kyle MacLachlan’s involvement been vague about who he plays. I give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a solid episode in a fast-paced opening to the season. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Heavy is the Head receives 36 out of 42.

5 replies on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review – “Heavy is the Head””

  1. I don’t know that he doesn’t trust Skye. He might just not want to worry her. I mean, she got the same stuff as him, right?

  2. there’s a lot of “okay, cool, I appreciate you avoiding the cliche” in that last bit where May shows up and basically goes “look, you gotta let this out” and then documents it.
    so very not what you’d normally expect

  3. If nothing else, Talbot’s mustache is looking much less glued on now. He must have grown a real one, or they went with a better fake. My wife still says he looks too Hitler-esque with that ‘stache.

    I did like the end, especially the conversation with Talbot, and the part with Coulson and May, but the parts before were so-so for me. I know they were short staffed, but for all of them to be caught off guard by one guy, and to let Raina walk away with the obelisk, it seemed a little too convenient in favor of the bad guys.

    The casting news did spoil the role played by Agent Cooper/The CaptainKyle MacLachlan but there is still plenty of mystery there to figure out. They should get Sherilyn Fenn to play her mom.

    Funny coincidence: The “Halfway House Diner” where Creel killed the waitress was also featured prominently in a Geico ad that aired during another show the same night. Not a tie-in though.

    As for the preview, Simmons in Hydra is unsettling.

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