The Asset

"The Asset" is the third episode of the first season of the American television series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or simply Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division), a fictional peacekeeping and spy agency in a world populated with superheroes and numerous supernatural phenomena. It is the first television episode to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The episode was written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, and directed by Milan Cheylov.

The episode revolves around the character of Phil Coulson, with Clark Gregg reprising his role from the film series, and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, played by regular cast members Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge, as they investigate the kidnapping of Dr. Franklin Hall, portrayed by guest star Ian Hart. Visual effects for the episode were provided by FuseFX.

"The Asset" originally aired on ABC on October 8, 2013, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 7.87 million viewers in its original airing. The episode received a mostly positive critical response, with the introduction of Hart as Hall oft praised, but the development of the main cast seen to be lacking.

Plot

Carrying a S.H.I.E.L.D. 'Asset' between classified bases, a convoy is attacked by a seemingly invisible force, with the vehicles being hurled impossibly into the air. Soldiers break into the main transport, where they find the 'Asset': Dr. Franklin Hall. Aboard the Bus, the aerial headquarters for S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson and his team, Agent Grant Ward is struggling to supervise the training of the unmotivated civilian-recruit Skye. Learning of Hall's kidnapping, Coulson and his team investigate the convoy wreckage, and agents Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons discover a device, fueled by the rare element gravitonium, that alters gravity fields, like those around the S.H.I.E.L.D. transports. The team tracks down the former owner of a digger used by the soldiers in the attack, and trace the gold bars he was paid with back to Ian Quinn, a wealthy industrialist/philanthropist and the CEO of Quinn Worldwide.

Skye uses her hacktivist background to gain entry to Quinn's announcement of a large deposit of gravitonium in his possession, which he holds in Malta, where S.H.I.E.L.D. has no jurisdiction, and cannot enter officially without violating international law. Skye manages to disable Quinn's outer defenses, allowing Coulson and Ward access to Quinn's house. There, Coulson finds Dr. Hall free and well, and working on a large gravitonium generator that would allow Quinn to control the world's gravity. Hall reveals that he was working with Quinn all along, the two having attended college together, where they had first designed the generator. However, Hall realized that he couldn't allow anyone to gain control of the generator's power, and so plans to let it destroy itself and Quinn's mansion. Realizing this would kill himself, Skye and Ward, Coulson makes Hall fall into the gravitonium, catalyzing an anti-reaction to turn off the machine, but apparently killing Hall in the process. Though Quinn escapes custody, S.H.I.E.L.D. takes possession of the gravitonium, and Skye finds the motivation to commit to her training after learning of Ward's difficult childhood, and realizing that the team could be the family she never had. Meanwhile, Agent Melinda May, who had previously avoided combat operations since retiring, decides she would rather be fully committed than watching helplessly from the Bus.

In an end tag, Hall is revealed to be alive within the gravitonium, which is sealed in an unmarked vault by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Production

Casting

In September 2013 Marvel revealed that main cast members Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, and Elizabeth Henstridge would star as Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Grant Ward, Skye, Leo Fitz, and Jemma Simmons, respectively.^[1] It was also revealed that the guest cast for the episode would include David Conrad as Ian Quinn and Ian Hart as Franklin Hall.^[1] Talking about bringing the character of Franklin Hall from the comics to the series, executive producer Jeffrey Bell said, "We have Dr. Franklin Hall, which we think is pretty cool, because of his interesting history ... we talked about a character, and then we found him, and thought, 'What if we do this? It'll be a little different, and we can do this instead, but how about that?' And the actor we have is interesting."^[2]

Visual effects

The visual effects for the episode were completed by FuseFX, specifically shots involving gravitonium. Visual effects supervisor Kevin Lingenfelser talked about the process of creating the shots, which involved dividing them into two categories: "For shots where the gravitonium is in its ‘neutral’ or ‘ball like’ state, FX artists used Thinking Particles in 3DsMax controlled by a custom field as well as repulsion/bounce operators to make them act more like a fluid ... Then for shots where the gravitonium is seen enveloping Dr. Hall, FX artists used Houdini flip fluids and a vop force operator to create a spherical gravity with some turbulent noise to pull the gravitonium back after the splash to give the gravitonium more sentient and deliberate motion.”^[3] For the opening sequence, the effects team completely replaced the S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles with computer generated models so as to depict them defying gravity and being destroyed.^[4]

Music

For "The Asset", composer Bear McCreary wrote a theme for Ian Quinn, with a "bouncy and energetic" version performed on a bouzouki by guitarist Ed Trybek to evoke the music of Malta, where Quinn's mansion is in the episode, while a simplified orchestral version is used as the primary Quinn theme. McCreary stated that, "I don’t use it a lot, but it counts when I do. When he catches Skye in the hallways and steps forward menacingly, the low strings and woodwinds sneak in on this theme and underscore how dangerous he is."^[5]

Release

Broadcast

"The Asset" was first aired in the United States on ABC on October 8, 2013.^[6] It was aired alongside the US broadcast in Canada on CTV,^[7] while it was first aired in the United Kingdom on Channel 4 on October 11, 2013.^[8] It premiered on the Seven Network in Australia on October 9, 2013.^[9]

Home media

The episode, along with the rest of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‍ '​s first season, was released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 9, 2014. Bonus features include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel.^[10] It was released in Region 2 on October 20,^[11] and in Region 4 on November 11, 2014.^[12] On November 20, 2014, the episode became available for streaming on Netflix.^[13]

Reception

Ratings

In the United States the episode received a 2.9/9 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 2.9 percent of all households, and 9 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 7.87 million viewers.^[6] The Canadian broadcast gained 1.91 million viewers, the second highest for that day and the seventh highest for the week.^[7] The United Kingdom premiere had 2.37 million viewers^[8] and in Australia, the premiere had 1.9 million viewers, including 0.9 million timeshifted viewers.^[9]

Critical response

Eric Goldman of IGN scored the episode 7.7 out of 10, praising the plot and the introduction of Hall/Graviton, but criticizing the amount of humor and MCU references.^[14] David Sims of The A.V. Club scored the episode a 'B', calling it "the first episode to show some potential for originality around the corner", praising the character development, specifically for Coulson and Skye, and the introduction of Hall/Graviton, but criticizing Quinn as "barely a step above a generic Miami Vice villain and whose motives would be totally uninteresting if they were ever made clear to us", and finding Dalton to be "the latest in a line of dull Whedon hunks with just a glimmer of personality."^[15] The Guardian‍ '​s Graeme Virtue felt that "If Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't been levitating your boat so far, this breezy episode probably didn't do that much to change your mind. If you're not in the mood, the endless quipping can seem exhausting, but at least there was some incremental character development." He had especial praise for the introduction of Hall/Graviton, and felt that Hart's performance as the character topped Samuel L. Jackson's cameo from the previous episode.^[16]

Dan Casey at Nerdist found the adage "third time is the charm" to apply to the episode, feeling that "Rather than trying to figure out where it fits within Marvel’s grander on-screen universe, S.H.I.E.L.D. is focusing its energy on developing the eponymous agents and giving us more backstory", and though he felt that "The show still needs to figure out its balance of seriousness and humor", he concluded that the "show just keeps getting better."^[17] James Hunt at Den of Geek felt that "There's a distinct feeling of treading water", finding the episodic plot to be "fairly by-the-numbers for a show that's supposed to be about the fantastic", and he was disappointed in "Graviton's non-appearance appearance", referring to the lack of Hall's comics' alter-ego.^[18] Marc Bernardin of The Hollywood Reporter criticized the character Skye and the focus the episode put on her rather than Coulson, as well as the villain Quinn, noting that Hall "will, one day, escape from his unmarked safe ... But until then, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs to up its adversarial game", but did praise the episode's opening sequence.^[19] Jim Steranko, known for his work on Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., felt "the plot’s twists and turns clicked, even though it’s kind of embarrassing when the commercials are more engrossing than the show."^[19]

References

External links

• "The Asset" at ABC
• "The Asset" at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Asset" at TV.com