Tag Archives: Agents of SHIELD

Fan-Rants- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Subversive Power of a Good Narative

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Dear Internet,

Sorry I haven’t written in a while, but so much has happened in the last three months. Ellen and I have fulfilled our mutual destiny by moving in together. Yes, that’s right; these two single soul-sisters are finally makin’ it happen. I’d say that our roommate dynamic is one part Golden Girls, one part Playing House (Ellen’s beagle Steve operates as a sort of Baby Charlotte to our Emma and Maggie).

Ours is a quiet existence, which is just fine with us, as it affords us plenty of time to pursue our passions: painting, dance, basket weaving, and making “ah-OO-gah” noises at cute boys through open car windows…

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Scratch that: we watch a lot of TV. Tonight’s media menu was The Music Man, followed by a YouTube palette cleanser, rounded off with a fresh episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. If you, like so much of the world, have written S.H.I.E.L.D. off as another one of ABC’s lost causes, you’re assumption is as understandable as it is premature.  S.H.I.E.L.D. has had it’s ups and downs over the last 4 seasons (I’m looking at you, season 2). But nothing makes for fine TV escapism quite like a world in turmoil. Our evermore chaotic 24 hour news cycle is the perfect fodder for some scintillating social commentary, if only a member of our media-elite should take enough time from mustache twirling and fake news-ing to look for it (these are the jokes, folks). Enter  Agents shield-season-4-jemma-fights-lmdsof S.H.I.E.L.D. If you haven’t kept up, let me bring you up to speed.

Through a escalating and, frankly, very complicated series of events, the S.H.I.E.L.D. team
have found themselves trapped in a parallel “framework” reality where the government and media are controlled by Hydra. Some- Daisy, Gemma, and Coulson- remember the world as it was, while others- Fitz, Mac, May- have bought into the lie.
Fitz, in particular, has made a temperamental 180 as the new de facto leader of Hydra. Gone is the sweet Fitz of yester-season. In the framework he murders and manipulates anyone who opposes him as he works to bring an as yet unspecified Hydra agenda to fruition.

IAIN DE CAESTECKERThis season, in addition to being beautifully written, has been less than subtle in it’s criticism of our recent, ahem, regime change. References to “alternative facts” and a seamless work-in of the line “nevertheless, she persisted” abound.  This week’s episode featured a scene where one especially sleazy character offers to take another female character “furniture shopping, anywhere she wants”. For anyone not picking up on the reference,  I offer you this proud moment in American history.

Some might be tempted to say that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been heavy handed, that they are pushing an unapologetically progressive agenda. To which I say, maybe.

Or it’s just a story about a group of people trapped in a reality they don’t understand. Where ideologies that were once collectively deemed hateful and unsupportable have gained a foothold. Where good people are changed beyond recognition by conditions out of their control.  And, like any good example of the superhero formula, it shows that while some people might succumb to their circumstances, other will rise above them and work to make the world a better place.

Oh, and then we went to Chick-fil-a for dinner. Have you tried the spicy chicken sandwich? It’s like buddah.

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–Whitney Weldon

The Fangirly Show: Episode # 11 Fangirling Over Reboots and Sequels

Posted in Movies, The Fangirly Show by

Can Hollywood make anything original?  Whitney and Ellen take a stab at answering that question and try to explore the current landscape of Hollywood. Plus, we lay down our Summer 2016 box office predictions. Who will come off conqueror in our latest competition? Will Ellen continue her total domination over Whitney?

You can listen and subscribe HERE on iTunes or you can go HERE to listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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The Fangirly Show: Episode # 8 Fangirling Over Upcoming 2016 Releases (With Special Guest: Our Cousin Sam!)

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Whitney and Ellen are joined by their cousin Sam (for the male perspective) to go over some of the big releases that we have to look forward to in 2016.  Is this the year we finally get sick of superhero movies?  (Mmm, probably not).  Does Whitney’s roommate have really bad taste in music that she blasts through their apartment?  (Spoiler: Yes).  Also, the gang throws out some crazy hypothetical situations to try and stump each other.  Is there any situation in which Ellen would not go on a date with a Marvel Chris?  Listen to find out.

*Circumstances led to Ellen having to use a very bad mic.  Apologies in advance.

You can listen and subscribe HERE on iTunes or you can go HERE to listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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The Fangirly Show: Episode #6 Fangirling Over the Best of 2015

Posted in Books, Choice Picks, Movies, Music, The Fangirly Show, TV, Uncategorized by

Ellen and Whitney go through their favorites of 2015, everything ranging from books to music, movies and TV, performances and scenes.  We’ve got you covered.  Will Ellen go a full hour without talking about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?  (Don’t count on it.)  Will Whitney be able to overlook the swooniness of Oscar Isaac?  (Don’t put money on it.)  But still listen to find out.

You can listen and subscribe HERE on iTunes or you can go HERE to listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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The Fangirly Show: Episode #4 Fangirling Over Girl Power

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Ellen and Whitney get deep into it while discussing strong females on TV and movies, diving into which shows are doing the ladies proud and which have some explaining to do.  How are gender politics affecting fandoms?  And is SNL doing right by its ladies?  Plus, a rapid fire game of Either/Or to get to know us better.  Star Wars or Star Trek?  Friends or Seinfeld?  Listen to find out!

You can listen and subscribe HERE on iTunes or you can go HERE to listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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The Fangirly Show: Episode #3 Fangirling Over Halloween

Posted in The Fangirly Show by

With an early episode just in time for Halloween, Whitney and Ellen dish on all of their favorite spooky pop culture, including what they put on their Halloween playlists, the first movie to scare their socks off, and who from the horror villain gallery they would prefer to be their murderer.  Plus, Whitney throws out some crazy hypotheticals in a Halloween themed game of Would You Rather!

*NOTE: Listen for the PS at the end of the episode.
You can listen and subscribe HERE on iTunes or you can go HERE to listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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The Fangirly Show: Episode #1 Fangirling Over Superheroes on TV

Posted in The Fangirly Show by

We are so excited to announce our new podcast: THE FANGIRLY SHOW!

For our first episode EVER (!), we talk about superheroes on TV and the offerings brought to us by Marvel (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Daredevil, Agent Carter) and DC (Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, and soon Supergirl).

You can listen and subscribe HERE on iTunes or you can go HERE to listen and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.superhero

Fan Rants: Why You Should Be Watching Agent Carter

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Not too long ago, I had a conversation with one of my Fellow Fems about female under representation in pop culture (like many a pretentious, twenty-something, bra-burner before us). She made the inevitable leap to how unfair it was the Marvel’s Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) doesn’t have her own stand alone movie. My initial response was, ‘right on, sister’. Then I asked if she’d been watching ABC/Marvel’s new series Agent Carter. She answered that, no, she wasn’t. Come again?…

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It’s probably the worst kept secret in network TV history that Agent Carter is serving as a dry run for strong female leads in the MCU. If smart, empowered, beautiful, charasmatic Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) can’t draw crowds with a limited run TV show, why should Marvel shell out millions upon millions to make a female driven superhero movie? And let’s not kid agent-carter-pilot-hayley-atwell_article_story_largeourselves, Carter is enjoying pretty abysmal ratings, despite the fact that, in my opinion, it’s a good show. It’s got a great lead in Atwell, James D’Arcy as bulter Edwin Jarvis makes for an awesome Girl Friday, and frankly, it’s been much fresher and more entertaining than Agents of Shield ever was in it’s first season. So why in the Susan-B-Anthony can’t this show seem to thrive?

I keep coming back to one thing. Because really, there is only one reason I can think of why audiences would be more receptive to a Black Widow stand alone than a Peggy Carter one. Black Widow is defined by her sexuality. I mean, yeah, she can quip with the best, and kick all the necessary ass, but she’s also severely underwritten and hyper-sexualized.  If Peggy Carter ran around in a black cat-suit, would that make her more marketable? I’m actually scared of the answer. la_ca_0325_captain_america

I guess what I’m getting at is, let’s not perpetuate the idea that Marvel’s fan base won’t support strong, independent, female leads with more to offer than their butt-kicking capacity and deft application of feminine whiles. Let’s promote female characters with emotional depth and intelligence and appeal that isn’t directly related to how good they look in skin-tight stealth suits. Watch Agent Carter, Tuesday’s at 9 on ABC, and you’ll see what I mean.

–Whitney

Fangirly Crush of the Week: Iain De Caestecker

Posted in Crush of the Week, TV by

fitzWith the onslaught of Fall TV comes the return of old crushes and introduction of new faves.  The competition this week was pretty stiff, but considering I just binged Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Iain De Caestecker AKA Fitz of the show’s FitzSimmons took the edge.

Even further solidifying his spot in my heart this week (SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW, if you care) is the gut-wrenching, take-my-heart-and-stomp-on-it turn that his character has taken this season.  In last season’s finale, he admitted his true feelings to Simmons and made the grandest of bold gestures and sacrificed his life to give her a chance of saving her own.  We left the season with the status of his health as unknown.  When the show came back this season, Fitz was still there working in the lab with Simmons but it was apparent that he had suffered some serious brain damage as he struggled to find words and to form ideas.  The final blow was when we found out Simmons had left the team months ago and Fitz has only been imagining her as a way to cope.  THE FEELS, right?!

(END OF SPOILERS) On top of all that, Fitz is just an adorable, nerdy, puppy dog of a man in his cardigans and plaid shirts.  What’s not to love? fitz

We have crushed on guys far less deserving.  Some may say that Ward is the more crushable option on the show, but they obviously wouldn’t know me very well.

– Ellen

Get with the Program: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Posted in Get with the Program, TV by

agents-of-shield-season-2Like a lot of you, I was super excited for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D because I felt, much like that SNL skit this weekend, that Marvel could do no wrong.  And then like a lot of you, I watched the the first few episodes of the show and wrote it off.  The adorableness or FitzSimmons aside, it wasn’t doing much to keep me invested, but then like a lot of shows, I heard that it got better about halfway through the first season.  As a TV fan, I should have known that it would have, so I gave it another try.

Now that I have caught up, I am ashamed.  I should have had more faith in both Marvel and the wide, wild, world of Whedon because this shiz went bananas. Like, B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

I really don’t want to spoil too much, as this is a post trying to convince you to start watching the show, but I am going to vaguely lay out reasons you should play catch up with this one.

1) Watch if you love the Marvel Cinematic Universe – Again, no spoilers, but the show has set itself up as a pretty fascinating companion piece to all of your favorite Marvel films and seeing as how Marvel seems to be the blockbuster juggernaut that cannot be stopped, I don’t see it running out of material anytime soon.

2)  Watch if you love Whedon – Yes, Joss has a minimal executive producer presence, but his longtime collaboraters and family members, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (they’re married, aww) are the showrunners and all the writers pretty much nail Joss’ tone on the head.  You know the tone I’m talking about?  That mix of cheeky, funny, action-packed, and heartbreaking?  That’s the one.

3) Watch if you love love – Maybe you will like SkyeWard or FitzSimmons or Fitzskye or May and Coulson or MayWard or all of them.  S.H.I.E.L.D has you covered on the sexual tension front and if you like the same couple as me, your heart will be broken when you get to the premiere of season 2.

Are you watching S.H.I.E.L.D.?  Let’s chat because I am deep in it now.

– Ellen