AGENTS OF SHIELD: “The Ghost” {Roundtable}

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned last night with a focus on one guy for a while – Ghost Rider. Yes, this guy isn’t Nick Cage from that movie (but we can certainly use it), and it seems like the focus will keep the crew in and around Los Angeles for a while.

Let’s see how Karen, Rueben and Roz broke down the premiere.

1. How cool was this Ghost Rider entrance? Scale of 1 (being Nick Cage) to 10.

Rueben: I’d say he made an impressive, yet scary, entrance. I’m going to hold judgment on him until I see and learn more about him as the episodes roll out. I would say he is definitely better than Nick Cage so for now I’ll give him a 7 out of 10.

Karen: Hubs and I watched it together, and we both thought the CGI was amazing for TV. Probably better than expected. We both give it a 9. High praise from my husband, and pretty good from me as well. Big time LOLs for the Nick Cage reference.

Roz: I’m with Karen here in that the CGI was pretty good, if not great. I’m getting it an 8, just for the power of watching the flames and the car. He looked and entered like a bat out of hell, and I’m more than fine with that.

2. Coulson’s following orders and that doesn’t sit well with me. What do you think will cause him to snap and be his own man again?

Rueben: It doesn’t sit well with me either and it doesn’t seem to sit well with him or Mac for that matter. I think they are both doing their jobs in order to save Daisy from the new Director; and she will be what snaps Coulson. I think we all know that at some point the new Director will force them to hunt her down, and that will the straw that breaks Coulson’s back.

Karen: I think he might be a little pouty for a while. You have to remember that he lost a lot last season. His girlfriend, his hand, his job… I mean, he kind of deserves to be petulant. He’s running on steam right now, so following instead of leading is going to be his mantra for a while.

Roz: I’m not a fan of everyone being Yes Men and Women to this new Director, but I don’t know what else Daisy can do to make Coulson break more than he’s been broken last season. Karen, you’re totally right in that Coulson’s had so much thrown at him last year, but even in his earliest iterations in the MCU, he had some bite and initiative.

3. Quake has all the appearances of a Robin Hood type figure. Is that really what you want Daisy to be doing?

CHLOE BENNET

Rueben: I can see where she wants to help people and I admire her tenacity in wanting to do that, but I think she needs to come in or else her life is going to be in more jeopardy than just from the cause and effect of her using her powers.

Karen: It’s okay for now. She needs to be brought back to SHIELD at some point though because she’ll definitely need help. Right now I think the show is using her to grab GR and maybe some other stray inhumans into the show.

Roz: I think my bigger issue with Daisy and her mission to help people is that the show has lost our way into the show. Originally Daisy was the outsider and most like any normal viewer, and now she’s not. I would rather she hadn’t been made an inhuman, but I also don’t think she’s cut out for being that sort of hero. She actually does well within a system, not outside it.

4. Aida: bad idea or worst idea?

Rueben: Is there a level beyond those two – catastrophic, maybe? I can see where it would be great to have someone other than the SHIELD agents going into very serious situations without getting hurt, maimed or worse; but given what we know about Ultron…need I sat more. This could start out well and then turn disastrous very quickly.

Karen: Hello? Can you say ULTRON? *sigh*

Roz: WORST IDEA! I mean, Ultron went so wrong, even if I love Vision as a byproduct. Yeah, she’s going to be bad bad news.

5. Ghost Rider’s got some issues, but so does Daisy. How do you think focusing on one villain/character for a while is going to play out over a season or part of the season?

Rueben: Much like how I’m going to hold my judgment on the Ghost Rider for now, I’m going to hold my reservations on the focus of the season until we see where the storyline goes.

Karen: I’d rather they do that than spread too thin. If they branch out more and keep the story coherent, all the better. Ghost Rider looks pretty exciting – I can’t wait to see more. There are so many parts to his character that make him intriguing. I won’t give you guys spoilers, but feel free to wiki him if you want to know more. He has more abilities, and some restrictions – some of which you saw in this episode, and might have missed. SO GOOD.

Roz: It seems like a good idea, though I don’t know how Ghost Rider and this side of the MCU connections into Doctor Strange or anything else in this part of the film process.

A little postscript from Karen:

Ghost Rider is my husband’s favorite comic book character, and this episode was really exciting for him. I wanted to share some images from his collection with you. (click them to see a larger image)

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 10PM on ABC.