The second season premiere of Agents of SHIELD makes a statement.  And that statement is: “we’re going to continue on the path we set at the end of the first season, we’re going to own our limitations, and we’re going to kick ass doing it”.  The post-Winter Soldier invigoration and identity for the series continues to evolve, and that helps to set the series apart from more critically beloved rivals.

 

Coulson’s team is now in disarray, as the fight against Hydra continues.  Coulson has a few more allies, but it doesn’t help that Hydra is all over the place and entrenched with greater numbers and greater influence.  The most notable addition for the premiere is Lucy Lawless’ agent Isabelle Hartly, who may or may not survive past the end of this episode.  That would be a shocking turn of events, though it wouldn’t be the first time a character was apparent dead and came back different.

 

Getting the best makeover of the original crew is Skye, who comes across as far more confident in her various dealing throughout the premiere.  Most notable is her approach with Ward; he’s unfortunately still besotted with her, but Skye isn’t letting down her guard.  Depending on how they play out Ward’s potential bid for redemption, Skye’s character development may be one of the keys to the season.  I would love to see some of her detractors (and haters, to be honest) eat a little humble pie.

 

Winning the vote for Most Tragic Return is Fitz, who seemed to be only mildly damaged early on, but is apparently scrambled in all manner of ways.  The split with Simmons is heartbreaking, yet Coulson’s realization that Fitz isn’t going to simply recover feels less like a farewell than a starting point for a new quest.  It wouldn’t surprise me if Simmons is actually out there searching for some hint at a treatment or cure, which given Coulson’s fears regarding his and Skye’s TAHITI situation, may point to a deeper rift.

 

In terms of connections to the larger Marvel mythos, fleshing out the MCU, the main villain of the premiere was Crusher Creel, aka The Absorbing Man.  I thought they did a nice job of translating that problematic character into the universe, albeit on a television budget.  I’m quite curious why this particular 0-8-4 artifact is so desirable, and what it actually does.  (I note that the design is vaguely similar to the shape of Ronon’s ship in Guardians of the Galaxy, so is it Kree technology?)  There’s also the appearance (in both past and present) of Daniel Whitehall, aka Kraken, who is a relatively recent addition to the comics universe.

 

I don’t want to forget to mention another highlight: the flashback with Peggy Carter and the Howling Commandos that may, in fact, have served as a semi-prequel to Agent Carter.  Adding to my Kree conjecture was the brief glimpse of what I believe was the Kree corpse that was unveiled last season in one of those crates, which gives me hope that TAHITI was only the start of a grander mystery.