Now that it’s been a few weeks since the season 2 finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., we can get enough distance to take a look at the second season as a whole. This season was a marked improvement over the first, continuing the trend that started with the post-Captain America 2 episodes of season 1. It continued some plot threads from season one, but the main thrust of the season was largely centered on new territory for the MCU: the Inhumans. We’re going to look at three things here: the development of characters, the overall progression of the various plot threads, and some of the more general themes present throughout.

And it’s a retrospective, so duh: spoilers for all of season 1 and 2 ahead.

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In the past, we’ve talked about some weird casting situations, where patterns emerged or unusual relationships between characters and actors (or even whole franchises) appeared. Most of those involved the big names of the show’s cast, the people with their names right after the opening credits. And as important as the main cast can be for a show’s success, it’s often the recurring character who help to give a show its flavor, often coming out of the shadows to emerge as fan favorites. This week, continuing on from our focus on recurring characters in the SHIELD review, we’re going to look at some of the actors whose names aren’t quite so prominently displayed, but whose work you’re probably more familiar with than you realize.

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The 2 part season finale has arrived, and it hits a lot of highly anticipated points while still keeping some surprises, even for those of us who had some spoilers. Our endings range from bittersweet to just plain bitter, and everything in between… but the setup for next season! Well, let’s read on for a super-sized review.

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Things take a surprising turn in the wake of Age of Ultron, which saw the series playing a big role without putting movie-only audiences out of the loop. Conflict arises between SHIELD and the Inhumans–and not necessarily from the people we’ve been expecting. And we’ve still got the finale next week!

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Tonight’s episode has the duty to build hype for Avengers: Age of Ultron, and boy does it ever. On top of that, we’ve got a moment that has been in the making all season–the original cast is reunited, and things get ugly fast. Both character moments and show development take front and center, without letting the build-up to The Avengers overshadow it.

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Another amazing episode as the various factions we’ve been introduced to this season start running into each other, and our wild cards keep dropping into play to complicate it even further. The march towards the finale has indisputably begun, and we’ve still got the Avengers 2 in between!

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May’s backstory is revealed at long last, and it turns out “the Cavalry” wasn’t quite the badass nickname it always seemed to be. More traumatic, really. We also get to see more of Skye, Raina, and the Inhuman encampment they call Afterlife. It’s not the strongest episode of the season, but last week was a tough act to follow.

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Boy, was this episode one hell of a ride. Surprise appearances, twisting allegiances, amazing banter and lots of action. Everything’s so gray and ambiguous right now… and yet perfectly so.

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This week’s episode was action packed, and gave us a glimpse at a number of important events and people who we haven’t really gotten to know yet. Flashbacks, Gordon, the “real” S.H.I.E.L.D. and more await!

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This week’s episode is all about catching up on those things they’ve been dangling in front of us for the last few episodes. We finally get a glimpse at the opposing successors to SHIELD, and a window into just what Agent 33 and Ward have been up to since the midseason finale. Heck, we even check back in on old Talbot!

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