Characters:

I think we all seen the 2012 Avengers movie where Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) died, so when this show was announced with this lead character, we all were a bit confused I think. Soon we learn that Phil Coulson indeed died, but was brought back to life. This is a (personal) story-arc throughout the first season. Coulson has been made forget that he was brought back from the dead, but recent events make his reconsider about his so-called T.A.H.I.T.I. experience. Coulson gets to form a team of his own, to fight crime. Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), is Coulson’s first choice, he knows her for a long time already, she is also known as the cavalry. Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) has given her assignment to keep an eye on Coulson. She is almost unbeatable in hand to hand combat.

Coulson also recruits Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an agent who is used to working alone and at first he has zero interest in joining Phil Coulson’s team, but ultimately he is persuaded to join the team, in hindsight it most likely was a set-up, looking at Ward’s personal story-arc. Ward is carrying heavy baggage from when he was a young boy, because the death of a brother and in hindsight also his experience with Garrett, when he is dumped in the woods for six months. I always wondered if him being a traitor just was decided over the course of the first season or that it was a conscious decision from the start of the series. Well, today I read it indeed was the second, with good reasoning:

Ward is a Hydra agent who poses as a S.H.I.E.L.D. black ops specialist. From the conception of the series it was decided that he would be a traitor. Jed Whedon explained that they wanted to have "infiltration based on betrayal" on a small scale to represent the same thing happening on a massive scale, and to make the Hydra revelation more personal for the characters. Dalton felt that Ward was always more loyal to his Hydra superior John Garrett than to Hydra itself, and that he would become more of a wildcard after Garrett's death, though still an antagonist to S.H.I.E.L.D. (wiki)

Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Jenna Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) are the science nerds of the team, undeniably two of my favorite characters. They are fresh from the academy, they are always together, they complement each other and Fitz is heavily in love with Jemma Simmons but he afraid to tell her. These two characters made an impression on me from the very first episode, their banter, their humor, they have been the highlight for me since the pilot.

Skye (Chloe Bennett) is also recruited by Phil Coulson, he has been keeping an eye out for her for quite a while now. She is a hacker, being an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is going against her very nature, she distrusts the government and until she joins S.H.I.E.L.D. she was anti-establishment. At first she even accepts Coulson’s invitation just to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. the organization. However, She quickly, perhaps too quickly, becomes a proud member of S.H.I.E.L.D. under Coulson’s command, Grant Ward becoming her SO. Ward and Skye grow closer together during the first season. Ward arguably really cares for her, even when he is HYDRA. Agent Antoine Triplett (B.J. Britt) is a colleague of John Garrett (Bill Paxton), and like Coulson and the others, he is also duped by Garrett, he worked with him for some years without every noticing anything. Towards the end of the first season, he becomes a member of Coulson’s team to fight HYDRA. Because Triplett is very interested in Jemma, Fitz really doesn’t like and doesn’t trust him. Garrett has been HYDRA for a long time already, even before he recruits Ward. He pretends to be an agent of SHIELD, is a respected colleague for Coulson but Garrett is the one Coulson is after without him knowing it. We later learn that Garrett was the “Clairvoyant”.

Mike Peterson (J August Richards) is in the pilot “a man with mysterious powers”. Coulson tries to come in contact with him. Skye is also after him but for different reasons. She thinks he is a hero after saving a child and she wants to make a star out of him, what is not what he wants. Mike Peterson is a recurring character but he is seen most in the first season.

The Premise:

The first season follows S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson as he puts together a small team of agents to handle strange new cases. They investigate Project Centipede and its leader, "The Clairvoyant", eventually uncovering that the organization is backed by the terrorist group Hydra, which has infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.

My Favorite Episodes:

107 – The Hub

Team SHIELD gets a new mission, a level 8 mission. Means that only Coulson is privileged to the information, which bothers no one but Skye. Ward is sent on a mission with Fitz to South Ossetia, where Fitz shows he is no wimp or a coward. Meanwhile Skye is trying to find out where they are, with Simmons’ help. When she finds out that this mission is a one-way trip, the team goes after them and extract them. Note - Perhaps the best episode yet. Lots of humor, Skye is relentless in trying to find her team mates. Simmons is Skye’s partner but this is so not her thing and she stuns SHIELD agent Sitwell. Such a funny scene when Simmons is caught. Coulson has found out something about Skye, but he does not dare to tell the whole truth.

111 – The Magical Place

S.H.I.E.L.D. organizes a full scale hunt for Coulson, the Centipede and Raina both try to resurface the memories on what happened after Coulson died. Skye is ordered to go from the plane, but there she can work the best w/o all these SHIELD agents. With Raina’s help, Coulson remembers more of what happened to him, that he had been dead for days, that Dr. Streiten (Ron Glass) has operated on him and that he begged him and his assistant to let him die. But orders from Fury to do everything to get him back to his old self, which he never became. Note - Poignant how Coulson begs to let him die. Some friction between May and Skye. Think this the best episode yet.

113 – T.R.A.C.K.S.

The team tries to confiscate an important device on a train, but when one agent takes a very risky move that backfires, the entire team is affected. Team is betrayed and their arrival is already known. When Ward, Coulson and May are out of the picture, it is up to Jemma, Fitz and Skye, the latter gets seriously wounded, inflicted on her by Quinn. Note – AGAIN - This is perhaps the best episode till now, the pairing of the characters was interesting and very well done. Jemma was hilarious as she was yelling at Coulson as she prepared her undercover role. Fitz and Skye as a team was very interesting too.

114 - T.A.H.I.T.I.

Coulson takes the plane to where he was brought back from the dead to save Skye after the SHIELD medical facility is unable to help. He tells Ward and Fitz/Simmons exactly what happened. When Coulson sees where the cure comes from to save Skye, and saved him, he does not want Skye to get it. It came from a big ugly alien body. Note - Nope, this one is even better than last episode. After the audience, now his colleagues, or better yet, his family get to know the truth. It is an episode where so much happens, even May shows her feelings after Skye seems dead. Great guest spot for the late Bill Paxton, he nailed the part.

116 – End of the Beginning

Agent Garett (Bill Paxton) and Triplett have returned to assist Coulson's team hunt down S.H.I.E.L.D.'s devious nemesis--the Clairvoyant (Brad Dourif, or so it seems). But will Deathlok kill them all to guard his master's identity? Skye is promoted to SHIELD agent and with her help they find the Clairvoyant quite easy. Another mystery, during the apprehending, Ward kills the Clairvoyant! Coulson doesn’t understand his reasoning but he also questions if this is the real clairvoyant because it all went too easy. He deduces that it must be a shield agent. Note - Return of Agent Hand, guest star also Titus Welliver.

117 – Turn, Turn, Turn

Everyone is at high alert when the plane is being controlled from somewhere else and May appears to be working against Coulson and his team. Hydra, a former enemy of SHIELD is back again, or perhaps never left. Within the organization, Hydra rises. Garreth and Ward are both Hydra too, the Clairvoyant is Garrett, but of course he isn’t…clairvoyant. Ward kills agent Hand and two other SHIELD personnel to free Garrett who had been arrested. Note - The best episode of the season, Ward reveals his true colors, he is HYDRA, I didn’t know when it exactly happened but here it is. I personally find it a shame he turned out to be the bad guy. But after reading the reasoning, I do understand why they did it.

119 - The Only Light in the Darkness

Agent Koenig puts the team through the ultimate lie detector test and Coulson races to protect an old flame from an old enemy. Ward is almost found out with the lie detector test. He kills Koenig later on but doesn’t know that Skye finds him in the storage room. Phil again must protect his former lover from that Daniel character, who is way stronger now because has been made stronger. May leaves after Coulson basically says to her to go. Skye must not let Ward know she knows he is HYDRA. Note - Love this episode, especially how Skye must play out this situation with Ward and on the other hand, seeing how Coulson still loves this women (Amy Acker), who thinks he is dead. And hearing her say that she thinks about him all the time.

120 - Nothing Personal

Just when there's no one left to trust, Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) returns to team up with Coulson as S.H.I.E.L.D. is being destroyed around them. The team learns about Ward, Fitz takes it really hard. Skye is stalling for time with the decryption of the hard drive, when she finds a way to escape, the annoying Mike Peterson is there to stop her. Coulson frees Skye from Ward and Peterson, May comes back with proof who was behind project TAHITI: Phil Coulson! Note - Another top-notch episode where Skye is trying to cope with the situation, pretending not to know about Ward. We also see the desperation in the team, about their future, about being a SHIELD agent.

122 – Beginning of the End

Garrett goes all mental, even Ward is confused. Team SHIELD have a plan for a counter attack, vital for plan to succeed is to free Mike Peterson’s son Ace. Fitz and Simmons are on the bottom of the ocean floor, they survived. The make a plan to escape but it is essentially a plan for one to escape, Fitz sacrifices himself, still Simmons is able to save him. A very emotional heart-wrenching moment under water between the two where Fitz basically admits he loves her. Fury saves them. Big fight between May and Ward. Raina is in contact with Skye’s father. Note – Oh man, what a rollercoaster ride, a perfect season finale which has it all! Full of action, drama and humor but also a very emotional scene when Fitz and Simmons are at the ocean floor.

Final Word:

As you can see, the second half has most of my favorite episodes, it has evolved into a must see show, I know, I said it before. If you actually read this blog, you’ve probably noticed I tried it yet another way. Spending a lot of text on the characters, which already shows much of what happens in the first season and after that I penned down my favorite episodes of the first season. There isn’t a character on the lead cast I don’t like, they all appeal to me, yes, even Grant Ward, at last till he showed his true colors. So much fun, sprinkled with much humor, interesting, strong characters, story-arcs, character growth, what more do you want!? So much recommended!

Blog written with help from IMdB, screencaps also taken from IMdB