Hasn't been a review of this show for the past 3 years/seasons and I just finished binge-watching it on Netflix, so here goes. Spoiler-free as possible for peeps who want to give this a shot.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a unique beast among TV shows I've watched, comic book-based or otherwise. For whatever reason, the network hates it and does everything short of outright cancelling it to hurt its ratings; chiefly, it keeps giving it worse and worse timeslots while also slashing its budget with each passing year (hell, the next and most likely last season is going to be 9 episodes shorter than usual), and by all accounts the viewership doesn't have great numbers due to this (which the show itself lampshades in Season 5). And yet, what we have 6 years after Phil Coulson came back to life is a genuinely amazing, well-written show made by talented people who clearly love what they're doing and respect their fanbase.
You've likely heard that the series has something of a bland start that seems more like CSI with superpowers than a Marvel property, and that's not wrong, but as far as I'm concerned it's good enough to be worth watching instead of just "sitting through" to reach the beard-growing stuff, aka S 01 E 17 "Turn, Turn, Turn" where the setting's relationship with the actual movies really kicks into high gear. From that point onward, Ao S simply outdoes itself with each consecutive season and arc in terms of storytelling, character development, fight choreography, CGI (yes, even with the limited budget), and emotional torque. Again, without getting into spoiler territory so people can go in blind, the Myth Arc that gets built up over the course of 110 episodes is truly phenomenal every time it pays off, whether that be with the mystery of Skye's parents or the truth about "The Cavalry" or even what ends up happening with the Gravitonium, whose multi-season absence was a hilarious meme in the fandom until it came back in epic fashion. That we get such a fantastic product despite the constraints foisted by the network and the higher-ups at Marvel Studios is a testament to the love and skill put in by the writers, directors, actors and technicians working on this. Just watch any of the gag reels and you'll see everyone has a blast putting together this story, especially the folks playing the despicable villains (get the man his damn coconut water!). To me, this makes it easily superior to the Arrowverse family of shows (except Arrow season 1, that will always hold a special place in my heart).
Now, is the show without faults? No, not even to a fanboy like me. It could use some more overlap with the movie side of the cinematic universe, something Skye's actress Chloe Bennett herself has complained about many times, but that has a lot to do with Marvel Studios as a whole. Additionally, while almost all of the casting and writing is phenomenal, some characters like Lincoln fall flat for most of their screentime, in hindsight.
But, in summation, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a truly outstanding show and a substantial, high-quality addition to the MCU. I highly recommend it.
Far Better Than It Has Any Right To Be
Hasn't been a review of this show for the past 3 years/seasons and I just finished binge-watching it on Netflix, so here goes. Spoiler-free as possible for peeps who want to give this a shot.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a unique beast among TV shows I've watched, comic book-based or otherwise. For whatever reason, the network hates it and does everything short of outright cancelling it to hurt its ratings; chiefly, it keeps giving it worse and worse timeslots while also slashing its budget with each passing year (hell, the next and most likely last season is going to be 9 episodes shorter than usual), and by all accounts the viewership doesn't have great numbers due to this (which the show itself lampshades in Season 5). And yet, what we have 6 years after Phil Coulson came back to life is a genuinely amazing, well-written show made by talented people who clearly love what they're doing and respect their fanbase.
You've likely heard that the series has something of a bland start that seems more like CSI with superpowers than a Marvel property, and that's not wrong, but as far as I'm concerned it's good enough to be worth watching instead of just "sitting through" to reach the beard-growing stuff, aka S 01 E 17 "Turn, Turn, Turn" where the setting's relationship with the actual movies really kicks into high gear. From that point onward, Ao S simply outdoes itself with each consecutive season and arc in terms of storytelling, character development, fight choreography, CGI (yes, even with the limited budget), and emotional torque. Again, without getting into spoiler territory so people can go in blind, the Myth Arc that gets built up over the course of 110 episodes is truly phenomenal every time it pays off, whether that be with the mystery of Skye's parents or the truth about "The Cavalry" or even what ends up happening with the Gravitonium, whose multi-season absence was a hilarious meme in the fandom until it came back in epic fashion. That we get such a fantastic product despite the constraints foisted by the network and the higher-ups at Marvel Studios is a testament to the love and skill put in by the writers, directors, actors and technicians working on this. Just watch any of the gag reels and you'll see everyone has a blast putting together this story, especially the folks playing the despicable villains (get the man his damn coconut water!). To me, this makes it easily superior to the Arrowverse family of shows (except Arrow season 1, that will always hold a special place in my heart).
Now, is the show without faults? No, not even to a fanboy like me. It could use some more overlap with the movie side of the cinematic universe, something Skye's actress Chloe Bennett herself has complained about many times, but that has a lot to do with Marvel Studios as a whole. Additionally, while almost all of the casting and writing is phenomenal, some characters like Lincoln fall flat for most of their screentime, in hindsight.
But, in summation, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a truly outstanding show and a substantial, high-quality addition to the MCU. I highly recommend it.