A lot of, frankly deserved, derision has been heaped on Agents of SHIELD.
It's boring. The character are flat. Their isn't enough superhero or even Marvel in it. It's wearing Coulson thinner than he can stretch - particularly the mystery of his death and resurrection. The Thor:DW tie in show was perfunctory at best.
All perfectly valid. I watched for a few weeks, and by all accounts (and slumping ratings) I did what most people did - I dropped out.
I'm coming back tonight; I'm giving AoS another chance. Why?
Well, for many of the same reasons most of us watched in the first place:
I want to watch Marvel in their efforts to expand the MCU.
I love Clark Gregg and Phil Coulson.
I want to encourage a more or less unprecedented TV show experiment that builds on a more or less unprecedented cinematic experiment.
I want to see stuff from the comics brought to life.
Why come back now? Well, an actual hint of what direction they are taking Coulson is a big part of it, as is getting some answers (however indirect) to what really happened to him after after all this hemming and hawing about it for half a season. It's only part of the story though, and my renewed interest comes with high expectations and hope for the future of the series and for the MCU in general.
This is a big night for the show, likely not a make or break for future seasons, but important eyes will be watching the ratings. The folks in charge at ABC/Marvel/Disney are almost assuredly looking for a spike in ratings to coincide with a big reveal of not only one of the show's biggest mysteries, but one of the remaining question marks from one of the highest grossing films of all time.
If you can't get people to tune in for an hour to see that, your show is in trouble. While its not been... well good... for half a season, I think such an experiment should be given the room and resources it needs to breath and grow into itself - something even ultimately very popular shows need and often, unfortunately, never get.
Also, there are a number of risky ventures on the horizon for the MCU: the annouced Netflix shows: Daredevil, Iron First, and Luke Cage as well as The Defenders mini-series. The rumored return of Hayley Atwell in an Agent Carter show.
Even some tricky upcoming films (like Ant-Man) might benefit from an increased interest in the show. Not to mention the films that are even further down the road that might not see the light of day like Doctor Strange (and "real" magic in the MCU), Black Panther, and countless others who many would like to see realized.
Will one episode of improved ratings for AoS make or break these projects; will it get green-lights for those on the fence? No, of course not.
Will it help Agents of SHIELD become a better show if people tune in to see what the hell actually happened to Coulson? Could it help get us more seasons that will give the showrunners more to work with? That's actually not to far fetched...
The deal for season one of the show is inked, but it still has 12 episodes left to show its colors - literally, lets see something besides muted earth tones and shades of grey. There is a lot of show left this season, and a big spike in ratings for this important mid-season return could help to indicate that the interest in expanding the MCU to TV is still strong, and that we will watch if, you know, something interesting actually happens.
Given that Coulson's resurrection has been a core plot element for AoS (a bit too much most will tell you), failure to generate an audience might sink this ship well before its due. If not totally kill it, then it could weaken it with reduced budgets, even less access to Marvel properties, and the ever present fear of a shifting time slot - all death knells for a show with declining ratings.
The success of this episode however, can strengthen the Agents of SHIELD brand and encourage even more support from up top. A stronger AoS brings in more viewers and more encouragement to keep experimenting. This leads to increasing the resources and support for not only AoS, but of those shows (and to a lesser extent films) already announced but that have yet to have budgets and details fleshed out. It tells the folks who make the calls that we will show up for more of the MCU, and help them give the thumbs up to more of what we love.
The Marvel universe is vast (even one cut off from Spiderman, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four), and The Avengers and their brethren are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
If we really want to see more of it, and if we want it done right, we can start, tonight, but supporting a so far flawed but worthwhile experiment in the MCU. Unlike a film that misses its mark, Agents of SHIELD has a chance to course correct. If enough people watch this episode, its a clear enough signal that we will give it that chance and will come back for good if it succeeds in really tapping into the world that has made the MCU juggernaut the force it is today.
That is worth an hour of your Tuesday. At least, it is for me.