Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Final Verdict, Season 2: A bigger, better and more mature second season has become the must-watch TV we all hoped it would be.

The Show: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Network: ABC

The Genre: Drama

The Challenge: Give a show four episodes with which to draw you in, impress you, challenge you, make you feel something deeply. Four episodes for the chance to find out if you care what happens to the characters you’re watching enough to become invested in the story. If after all that, it does none of those things for you? Then no biggie. You gave it a good shot and you can move on. But if you love it, you’ll be glad you stuck around.

The Premise: Director Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) leads a dramatically different S.H.I.E.L.D. after its fall at the hands of Hydra in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. S.H.I.E.L.D. has now been branded a terrorist organization and both groups are being actively hunted by most of the international community. Working in secret and with limited resources, Coulson directs his small, but determined band of agents in an effort to eliminate the remaining Hydra threat and rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. from the ground up.

After the betrayal of Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) in Season One, Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) has taken it upon herself to train Skye (Chloe Bennet) who has grown from her role as a hacker into a full-fledged agent. Agents Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) are both still struggling with the physical and mental trauma of last season’s finale and how they fit into this new, ragtag S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. Rounding out the team is newcomer Lance Hunter (Nick Blood), a mercenary with mixed loyalties, but a penchant for charm and humor. Together, this small team must find a way to overcome their struggles, build new alliances and confront powerful new threats on the horizon.

#1: This is the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. we should have had from the beginning.

When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiered in the Fall of 2013 everyone begged for the blend of witty humor, action and drama seen in the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). There were glimpses of those things, but the show always professed it was about the ordinary people who must cope with a world in which super heroes and villains existed. The show struggled early with less than stellar episodes and building it’s new characters, but that’s all changed in Season Two.

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All of the characters have evolved in interesting ways and new characters have added humor and emotional depth to a cast that was already beginning to grow into it’s own. Adding deeper ties to familiar characters from the Marvel universe was definitely a smart move and with so many to choose from, we’ve no doubt those ties will continue. Visual effects that are second-to-none for television plus outstanding action and fight sequences have raised the bar dramatically from Season One. Smart writing has blended all these things exceptionally well and made Tuesday nights the fun ride we always hoped it would be. This show has definitely morphed into much more of the entertaining, action-packed hour of television fans were clamoring for from the beginning and all indications are that is only going to continue.

#2: Sparkling dialogue has brought a fun, humorous banter to every episode and been perfectly balanced with equally powerful and emotional performances.

The writing early in this second season has truly stolen the show. The scripts have been tight, well paced and laced with memorable one-liners that have given fans moments of fist-pumping joy. Dialogue has crackled through humor and carried the weight of difficult, emotional moments equally well. Through it all, the cast has delivered in spades. The entire writers room deserves tremendous props for sharp dialogue and lively twists that fans won’t soon forget. The addition of Lance Hunter and other new cast members has made for some extraordinarily fun moments and we can’t wait to see more of those as the season progresses.

The Fitz, Skye and Ward encounters have been especially riveting and we are still loving the idea that we don’t know if Ward is truly a villain or can be trusted. We’ll admit that Ward is far more interesting as a villain than he ever was as a hero. His presence alone has made for some gritty and tension-filled scenes that have a darker tone that this show rarely displayed in it’s first season. The emotional backlash of his betrayal hasn’t been cheapened in the least. These characters have been hurt by his actions and where television seems all too often to forgive and forget, we love that this show hasn’t taken that easier road with Ward.

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Coulson definitely has his swagger back. Clark Gregg has delivered fantastic performances this season. He’s been a force to be reckoned with when appropriate and just when we need it most, his wit we loved from the first moment we met him has been in full force. In fact, the struggles and triumphs of all the characters thus far have shown just how much this cast has matured into their roles led by a confident writing team that isn’t afraid to have fun, mix things up and deliver an emotional punch when needed.

#3: Gone is the mission of the week. Hydra and Whitehall are the truly creepy and ever-present enemy this show needed to focus it’s stories.

If there was one thing the early episodes of Season One consistently lacked, it was a compelling enemy that posed a significant and real threat over the long haul of the season. The emergence of Hydra changed all of that. This show gained significant focus when Hydra was exposed as a constant threat through the last third of Season One and the quality of the episodes jumped dramatically as a result. In a brilliant stroke, that threat level has been increased exponentially this year and the introduction of the mysterious and ageless Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond) has given that threat incredible personality.

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Diamond in this role has been an absolute gem. With such a charismatic, mysterious character leading the Hydra charge, it’s given a face and a name to the opposition and it seems each week we are treated to a new wrinkle that shows us just how vile and real the Whitehall and Hydra threat has become. Reed Diamond must be having a ball playing such a juicy and creepy villain. We know one thing for certain, after his calm, cool and collected threats, we NEVER want to end up in his torturous clutches! Between his demeanor and his artful glee in gaining compliance through brainwashing, they’ve set him up to be creepy as hell and we’re certain there will be a payoff for that set up somewhere down the line.

#4: Mysteries and an episodic nature have changed how this series works. Almost every episode is steeped in questions that keeps us coming back for more.

Almost everything that has happened this season feels like it’s part of a much bigger story. The bits and pieces of larger arcs seem to be filtering in and props goes to the writing team for weaving those larger threads in with great dialogue and action throughout each individual episode. Each week the end sequence teases us with deeper ties to the larger episodic story or adds wrinkles to the mysteries we’re dying to know about.

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These mysteries have helped drive the plot early in this season. The ageless Whitehall, the deadly Obelisk and serious questions about the alien writing that Coulson seems compelled to etch into every surface he can are all connected and we’re being fed just the right amount of these mysteries to want to know more. When you layer in the questions about Skye’s origin, Ward’s true loyalty and Raina’s (Ruth Negga) eerie connection to The Doctor (Kyle MacLachlan), you’ve finally got the ingredients for a spicy and enticing brew.

FINAL VERDICT: Almost all the things that made Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. questionable from it’s beginning have been overcome with a new focus and a more mature outlook. There are a lot great TV options these days, but we don’t plan to miss this one each week.

Is the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. worth your time to watch? We definitely think so. The shows flaws from it’s first season have largely been corrected in smart ways and Season Two has started off with a bang. We’re impressed.

The reality of the post Winter Soldier world is a more gritty and dark show that  emphasizes this S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t who they used to be. Their mission to protect the innocent is the same, but their methods will be different. They will operate from the shadows as underdogs. They are outnumbered and the odds are stacked against them. New allies have injected fun, new dynamics and a common enemy in Hydra has given this show focus. All those things have been exactly what this show needed to shine and much credit must be given to show runners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen for going with the MCU flow and evolving in the right direction.

We honestly have no idea where some of these stories and mysteries will intersect, but the writing team has earned our faith that everything will come together well. With the possibility of numerous ties to the MCU it’s an exciting prospect for those of us that have been eagerly awaiting the more action-packed, witty and episodic Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. we expected from the beginning.