Maveth is the winter finale for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and it has to be the most tepid, predictable episode we’ve had in a while.

And honestly, I don’t think I was expecting more. It’s paint by numbers but all the numbers are 1 and the colour is beige. Hands up everyone who guessed Will would be evil in some way? How about that Ward (suddenly and inexplicably drunk on HYDRA kool-aid) would die/get stranded? Two for two. Okay, how many saw this coming?

Okay, that wasn’t expected but that’s mostly because it’s stupid. Seriously, who built that? It’s not like this dirtball has any cities or anythi–

… Son of a bitch! But you know what the worst part is? That we still don’t get to find out what go damn planet this is! I need more lore in this show set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I am not getting what I signed up for!

The attack on Castle WolfenHYDRA is the c-plot and while there’s a few fun lines here and there (Nick Blood, you make every scene you’re in golden), it’s mostly taking a back seat for the meat of the episode.

Will is revealed to be possessed by the mysterious creature HYDRA wants to find and it’s a slug. Thing. I’m getting REAL tired of this show and it not giving me what I want. I was expecting something I knew. Something that looked like something from the comics. Still, kudos to Fitz for setting the guy ON FIRE.

On the flip side, the bastard is dead! *Ode to Joy plays* But it still felt… Unsatisfying somehow. Ward was bound, full of bullet holes and high on sudden indoctrination so no matter how metal his death was (and lets face it, getting his chest crushed by Coulson’s robot hand is pretty fucking metal!) it still felt… Empty. Hollow, even.

Which is how Coulson must feel right now given his face. This is what a broken man looks like. Even when he found he was a resurrected science experiment, he was still Coulson but everything he’s dealt with for the latter half of season 2 and first half of season 3 has finally taken it’s toll. He’s not Phil Coulson anymore and that’s just sad… There’s not much made of the fallout of Fitz killing Not-Will but I’m sure they’re saving that until the second half.

Well. This is going to be a thing, isn’t it? On the one hand, I’m interested to see Brett Dalton play something decidedly un-Ward but on the other, we’re not going to have the same despicable asshole we love to hate. Guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.

For a winter finale, especially as a tease for what’s coming up, I can’t say it does a good job of getting me excited for the latter half of the season. If anything, the constant adverts on-screen about the two-hour premiere for Agent Carter got me excited for an entirely different show!

What did you guys think of this season so far? Let me know in the comments and I’ll see you all next year for more S.H.I.E.L.D. Exposed!

Marvel recently announced its “Phase 3″ movie schedule and received a lot of praise for finally having a movie led by a person of colour and by a woman, Black Panther and Captain Marvel respectively. While I too am glad to see these movies being made I do question how long it took them to get there.

By the time Black Panther comes out it will be Marvel’s 16th movie and Captain Marvel will be it’s 18th. That means Marvel will have released 15 movies led by white dudes. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved their movies and they’ve had people of colour and good women in those films but that’s a long time without trusting such a large demographic of people to lead a movie or TV show themselves. Plus, when you think that it will be another 4 years before those two announced projects actually get released… it doesn’t paint the situation in a great light.

Then along comes Peggy Carter…

Agent Carter gets released in just 3 months on ABC. Hayley Atwell plays the eponymous character and while she will be shadowed by the likes of the original Jarvis and Howard Stark, there is no doubt who this show is about.

Carter was a supporting role in Captain America and was his love interest but considering this show will take place in a time when Captain America is frozen in ice, that relationship will be on metaphorical ice too.

There hasn’t been much fanfare surrounding the show so far but expect that to be amped up in the coming weeks and months as we get closer to the show’s premier.

Here is a nice snippet of what’s to come and I have to say I like what I see. With Marvel’s only other female led show Jessica Jones still with no release date, this could be exactly what Marvel’s live-action landscape needs right now.