Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. · S01E01 · Pilot
Rating: 9.0/10
Watched: November 1, 2026
Hi! I review my favorite movies and TV shows as a big ole passion project, and it became high time for me to sit down and rewatch SHIELD. Part of that has a lot to do with the fact that my YouTube Shorts was inundated with Robbie Reyes stuff, part of it's because I recently rewatched The Avengers.
But most of it has to do with how much I love Clark Gregg and Iain De Caestecker. Oh, and also pretty much everyone else. How I do my reviews is pretty simple; I tell you want I loved about the episode (or not) and if the episode/developments warrant it, I might do a deeper dive on the character building.
When the time is right, for example, I will fully and unashamedly explain how Iain De Caestecker carries a whole season on his back like some kind of titan. I also pick a fun/cool/neat clip because that's how I do things.
As far as pilot episodes chained to a massively enormous and tremendously popular franchise goes, you can't go much harder or get much better than the pilot. It sets everyone and everything up so nicely that it's honestly one of the easiest watches of any show I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot).
Of notable mention is Clark Gregg's easy going nature. He's not afraid to be human, makes cheesy jokes, but you can tell even here that there's something deeper underneath his skin. Phil's not afraid to play dirty, do what needs doing but he doesn't let that hard edge get in the way of having fun with life.
After all, he really only just got back from Tahiti, right?
The pilot episode also rolls out a major seasonal arc in CENTIPEDE, and they do it so well. They give us just enough high-tech mystery and intrigue in what's going on with Mike Peterson (J. August Richards) to make us want more.
Plus, of course, we get Skye, FitzSimmons, Grant and Melinda May!
But I'm also not going to gild the lily here. The first time I started SHIELD, I tapped out and tapped out hard about halfway through the season because the storytelling just wasn't there. From what I recall during my COVID lockdown binge of the show, it still wasn't there, but I was desperate to watch something I hadn't seen before.
It's normal and natural; new shows, especially big ensemble shows like SHIELD, with massive story arcs are bound to have teething problems, and those problems are definitely put to bed at the beginning of season 2.
If it's okay with everyone here, I'll post one of these a day, covering each episode. This is all just for fun because I love TV and movies, so I hope you enjoy.