Cast and Crew Talk Agents of SHIELD Season 2
Michael Moccio ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Executive Editor
Agents of SHIELD’s second season premiered yesterday, September 23rd. Already, there’s praise and excitement coming from fans and critics alike surrounding the first episode of the already iconic series.
The cast is still “adjusting to the betrayal within their ranks by Ward (Brett Dalton)” after the end of Season 1. That was a big moment for the entire cast and crew, since it essentially defined the entire season, along with the events of Winter Soldier.
Showrunners Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon both expressed the importance of that decision. “We had a big challenge last year with the bomb being dropped in the middle of the season” said Whedon, referring to Agent Ward. “We had to work around and we’re proud at how we took that momentum to the end of Season 1.”
Tanchareon added, “We knew going in, but we had to hide it the entire season.” Whedon recalls how his brother, Joss, said during their first meetings in which they planned “what the show could be and where it could go– at some point, it was Joss who told us that ‘There’s this script you have to read… Things will change and there may not be a SHIELD anymore.’ So we were like ‘Oh.’”
In that same vein, the actors on the show didn’t know either. Brett Dalton, who plays Ward, said himself, “They didn’t tell me about two weeks before the episode [that I was a traitor]. Even those two weeks when I knew, it was hard to know if I second guessing or tipping my hand. It’s hard to have all of that knowledge.”
Chloe Bennet agreed, saying, “That’s really difficult information to “unknow,” so it was good of the producers, not to tell us.”
Clark Gregg made a similar statement about how, in his acting, he needs to know what Phil Coulson knows at any given time to give the scene enough truth to it. “I can’t act as well if I know too much. It’s like you can’t laugh at a joke if you know the punchline. I need to know as much as Phil Coulson knows for any given scene and I have one of the producers fill me in if I need it.”
This all amounts to that these characters now have had time to interact with each other and that “don’t have to again suffer through… growing pains.” Even then, the cast still has things they want their characters to experience and go through. Elizabeth Henstridge, who plays Agent Simmons, talked about that aspect as well: “I want to know who Skye is! I want to know who’s coming back to guest star. As a character, I would like to see [Simmons] grow even strong and kick some ass. I’d love to cast my parents, too!”
Regardless, the first episode of the season went off on a good note. IGN gave the episode an 8.3, saying that it starts “on a solid note, thanks to the new tone.” Back when the team started filming, they only “had a couple weeks off from Season 1 and went right into Season 2,” according to Tancharoen. Whedon looked forward to it, asserting, “We’re the underdogs this season. And it’s much more fun for an underdog.”
Only time will tell how the rest of the season is received by fans and critics. What did you think of the first episode of Season 2? Let us know in the comments!
Interview responses taken from Emertainment Monthly’s participation in the San Diego Comic Con 2014 Press Room for Agents of SHIELD.