The nature of a Fortnightly Fixations post is that it requires me to have been watching something. However, after finishing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I haven’t really moved on to anything. I tried. A few times. But the family that is the team still occupy like 90% of my brain space which makes focusing on literally any other show… a task and a half.
I recognise that I am once again a week late, but in fairness last week I played mostly video games and listened to Epic: The Musical just on repeat in my spare time so… nothing to report would’ve been an understatement.
Since then though, in between debating whether or not to watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. again, I have at least watched a few episodes of some other things so let’s talk about those, shall we? If only very briefly.
You know it, I know it. Check the tags.
SPOILERS AHEAD
9-1-1
I’m happy to report that several weeks after the 7th Season finished airing I have finally watched it.
That’s about all I have to say, really. It was 10 Episodes, it took me a very free day and then I was done. It almost encouraged me to rewatch it, if only from Season 2 because I do love Maddie Buckley, but I didn’t.
I haven’t watched 9-1-1 since I watched the first time actually, and almost encouraged to is not the same as actually doing so…
I do like these characters, I do… but… I found this season to be underwhelming. Dissappointing even.
My only conclusion was that they needed more time. They spent three episodes doing a somewhat tedious cruise ship arc and then crammed so much into the next seven. They just needed more time, or at the very least to reduce what they attempted to do.
The only episodes I really did like was Episode 706: ‘There Goes the Groom’ and Episode 707: ‘Ghost of a Second Chance’, even if it did manage to feel like Maddie and Chimney’s wedding came out of nowhere. They could’ve at least shown them planning it, instead we got like two lines about it and one of them was Buck inviting his boyfriend to it, and the rest of the details like… on the day. Maddie’s storyline in 707 wasn’t half bad, though I do feel like we keep revisiting the same trauma, she could do with a break. Who’s cruel idea was it to schedule it right after her wedding as well? Though, at least this time she came away somewhat more concluded than re-traumatised, that shows us she’s healing.
Then they spent just like so many episodes on Bobby again, and I like Bobby but c’mon, they did not have the time, and rushed a kind of devastating storyline with Hen. So…
Underwhelming.
Side note, did Bobby forget to rescind his resignation? Regardless of how surprising that was not, when did Bobby become an idiot?
I was going to reserve judgement on this season with the announcement of Season 8, but… we’ll just see how that season builds upon this. It can get worse, but hopefully it doesn’t. If anything it felt like they were retreading the same mistakes of Season 1. So, we know they can do better is my point.
Castle
So, from new seasons to things much older, Castle!
Well, ‘much older’ in quotations, because Castle started in 2009 and running for eight seasons means there’s some crossover with my current brain-space occupier, and with 9-1-1 running from 2018 you could argue I’ve watched something from every year since 2009 except I watched all of 10 episodes of 9-1-1 and only 20 of Castle. Why? Because slow burns are the most frustrating type of relationship ever committed to screen. Though, in fairness, I did just start it on Monday.
My brother started or continued watching Castle depending on how you think about it this past week, and I thought I know Castle, I’ve watched Castle, about 3/4 of it if my Disney+ is anything to go by though I don’t remember most of it, why don’t I try putting Castle on? I do like Nathan Fillion as an actor after all… and so many of my feeds are filled with clips of The Rookie.
The thing is, it is that not remembering most of what I have apparently watched that means I did start it again and I can’t tell if that was a mistake or not because it is frustrating watching the ‘will they/won’t they’, the ‘dance’ of ‘these two people could not care about each other more if only they could confront their own feelings never mind the others’.
So, anyways I’m just under halfway into Season 2, with Episode 211: ‘The Fifth Bullet’ to watch next and… all I can think about is the fact Phillinda is not nearly this frustrating and that takes 5 seasons… which, yes, I googled it, is longer than Castle and Beckett who clock in at an agonising 4 seasons.
Look, I recognise I’m not really focused. I am very much still thinking about AOS, I spend time I’m not writing or watching something I’m not paying attention to just scrolling Pinterest, Youtube and Instagram of just anything Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. related. They are amazing and super cool and I adore them with my whole heart every time. I am this close to just saying “F*** it, we ball.” and watching it again, as if I hadn’t finished it literally in this past month, as if I’m not already watching Season 1 again with a friend.
But! This section is about Castle, so the debate I have had with myself and over text to friends about the genius of balance in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. making it’s relationship dynamics never frustrating will have to wait. Possibly to later, possibly to never. Someone pointed out to me that I have been comparing shows to AOS a lot lately and AOS always comes out on top but I am quite bias, so let’s try talk about Castle without it.
So, with that said… honestly, don’t even know if I’m going to continue. On the one hand, they are two seasons shorter than Bones with their dragged out debate of a romance, which is less of a debate and more of a pleading desperately from the audience. Funnily enough, it also takes up half of their series. On the other hand, two less seasons makes it no less frustrating. And yes, the characters may be vastly different but the similarities between the relationship dynamic are glaring. Castle and Beckett may as well be Brennan and Booth. Which is interesting because I have watched Bones many times, and it frustrates me beyond all human belief every time. Sometimes I just skip to the season their together because even if their ratings went down and she is astronomically less awesome (not their greatest writing) I watch for their relationship every time. Really, I should have no problem with Castle.
I counted though, and that may have been a mistake also… 61 episodes until they’re just honest! And if the wiki is anything to go by there are several confessions, or nearly confessions, and several life endangering situations all designed to prove the point that they love each other until then and I don’t think I can handle that. It’s scary to confront your feelings, I know, but it is frustrating to watch.
Aside from that it’s a crime procedural so the grand scheme of plot isn’t large yet. A lot of the episodes will go ‘hey new thing’ and then fall into the same old pattern. There’s like a few things about the case around Kate’s mother, and I’m sure that will only be dragged out for as long as humanly possible as well.
My brain is not fully focused on them so, we’ll see how this goes.
As An Addendum
Look, I held off as long as I could but… erm…
Episode 205: ‘When the Bough Breaks’ finds the dynamic duo interviewing a family with the surname Talbot. So while I sat smirking to myself because Talbot it then cuts to them and Dr Talbot is played by Whitehall! Who turned out to be the murderer and also kidnapped a baby… I lost it because I’ve got that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brain-rot and this was objectively hilarious.
If I remember correctly 1945 is also in Bones, but as a much nicer gentlemen than the ghost that haunts Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Daniel Whitehall. Seriously, is it just me or is 1945 in like everybody’s flashbacks?
I am totally normal about them, okay?
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD: Slingshot
Okay, so technically I did also watch some AOS, but it was just a little digital series. No big deal really. Took me like less than half an hour.
In all seriousness, I actually don’t know why I didn’t watch this six episode digital series before. I think, because Yo-yo’s never been one of my favourites. I like her, but not enough to search out stuff about her, ya know? But! The rest of them are in it too. I really don’t know why I hadn’t watched it, because I think I knew that, pretty sure I’d seen it on some of their filmographies.
Irregardless I saw a brief moment of Daisy in it in an edit and decided I would watch it right then. I was not disappointed actually. With its strange setting of between the seasons and also like the middle of Season 4 because reasons, it does give some nice context to that six month time jump which I quite like. With showing Phil gathering stuff from his office, FitzSimmons dialogue about moving into together, Yo-yo and Mack discussing their date, this little hunting of watchdogs that Yo-yo and Daisy share giving context to their relationship at the start of Season 4, and it is nice to see more of what Daisy was up to before she met Robbie. Most importantly cleared up what happened to that murderous cop, and how Yo-yo felt about it considering her cousin is like never mentioned again.
Which did make me think that 1) because of Yo-yo’s clear reckless nature, and also 2) because of the cousin thing, Yo-yo might understand Daisy a little bit in Season 4 in ways I had not considered. I mean, Daisy’s obviously on the extreme end, but if you think about it Yo-yo did get her cousin involved in what she was doing, and while Daisy is obviously buried in guilt for Hive reasons, she did get Lincoln involved in what she was doing.
We’ll probably discuss at some point how May very much understands it as well and there’s a whole deeper thing going on there. Slingshot, though, just made me think that Yo-yo, if only slightly, may understand just a little bit, she probably can’t grasp all of it, but if only some of it is still something, and I had not considered that before. At the very least, she may think she understands a little part of it. Daisy’s guilt about Lincoln goes beyond pulling him into SHIELD because, ya know, “He’s paying for my mistakes.”, but there’s something that Yo-yo might recognise as familiar, even if it’s just a very small part.
Besides, them meeting on this does give some context to that dynamic we see at the start of Season 4, why Yo-yo may steal meds for her and the like. It’s nice. It’s nice to see more to that relationship, to why Yo-yo may be one of the few Daisy contacted. If anything they shared a secret that ensured a level of trust.
So, Slingshot is six really short episodes that my obsessed over the years brain should’ve definitely watched sooner, and now I’m very glad I did. It was sweet, and yet all things as dramatic as AOS ever tends to be. Fits right in with it.
To Conclude
I might give you a Random Rambles on the balance of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at some point because there is some stuff to be said and I have been preaching about it for like 3 weeks, but right now this post will more than suffice for the Fortnightly Fixations timeline.
Sorry I’m behind but lets just be happy it’s here. I am, at this point, satisfied enough if I don’t skip it completely. So written and out is a win!
I hope this was a fun catch up read for you, and if you do want to read some of my deeper thoughts about AOS you should check out my last post. If not, I will see you in, once again, a week (fingers crossed) for the next edition of Fortnightly Fixations.
Until then, thank you for reading.
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On to the next!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the images, narratives or characters present or referenced in this post. All rights belong to Fox, ABC, Marvel and all other relevant parties.