The BUS: An Agents of SHIELD Podcast

This episode we fix the podcast timestream in a late-night, more-than-slightly delirious rerecording of our discussion of episode 12! Join us for a messy trip through a not-so-great SHIELD Academy. The crew discusses the odd characterization of the Academy students, the episode's centerpiece character, and the Academy itself. Along the way however, Holly just has to make a bold and poorly worded hot take that everyone gets hung up on for far too long. In Level 7, Luka and Holly elaborate on their frustrations with this episode's characters.

"Scusi, attenzione signore signori. As we round the bend, passengers on the north side of the train can take in the views of another big one. Isn't it a wonder?"All aboard for some more Plot! Join us as Luka and Holly get excited about one of their favourite episodes of the season, and drag Buck onto this hype train with them. Looking out to the right, you will be able to catch us discussing the how this episode takes a good ol' train mystery and uses it to set up the episode's climactic moment. And if you look to your left, you might be able to see discussions about how the show deploys violence as a narrative device, in both good and bad ways. As we approach our final destination, Level 7, Luka and Holly decide to take a significant detour into gushing about the upcoming SHIELD prop auction, and far less time talking about the actual episode! Choo choo!

This week we get to see the conclusion to last episode's cliffhanger as the team rushes to save Coulson with the help of some backup. Holly and Luka discuss how this episode marks the beginning of a turn away from the show's contained, episodic format towards a more serial one. Meanwhile, Buck continues to simultaneously spin and debunk his own theories about the Clairvoyant and in Level 7, Luka and Holly continue their enjoyment of those theories.

We're back and boy howdy do we got a television episode. This week we welcome back our ol' friend Mike and as the series shifts its focus back to Centipede and leaves us with our first real cliffhanger. The trio gets supremely creeped out by Po and Raina while while trying to unravel the mystery of why the SHIELD writers wrote Po Like That. In Level 7, Luka and Holly discuss the upcoming plot reveals and discuss where some of these characters go from here.

Sorry for the absence! Two of our hosts just started classes and needed time to adjust to new schedules. But this week, we're back with our rewatch! Join us as we finally learn more about May's tragic backstory. There's ghosts! telekinesis! and... an ideology of de-escalation?

Hey all, breaking character a bit here in the description to say that this one is kind of a bummer. We recorded this the night before the SHIELD finale and we were not feeling good about it. We have next to nothing good to say about these two episodes so if you don't want those kinds of bad vibes, maybe skip this one (the next two episodes are gonna be real bangers tho!). However, we do articulate our problems beyond just our own personal frustrations and critically analyze the season's downwards trajectory.

We're back! And we're just as rowdy as ever as we take a trip to the Hub and get our first real look at Big SHIELD. Join Luka and Buck as they discuss their first impressions of Big SHIELD while Holly struggles to figure out if this season is pro-cop or not. And much to Luka's dismay, Buck and Holly reveal the name they have decided to call our listeners. In Level 7, Holly continues her struggle while also commiserating with Luka some more about their shared feelings about a certain character.

Another long one for you all! This week we dive into the beginning of the very end for Agents of SHIELD and boy howdy do we have a lot to say. Join us, as Holly and Luka both rant a lot while they practice honing their petty grievances into actual justified criticism. Holly vocally posts about anarchism for a bit before Luka goes off on the show's mishandling of the current romantic arcs and guides Holly through a series of wild quotes that make her lose whatever modicum of respect she still had for the AoS writing staff.

It's finally here! This week we get to talk about the infamous Episode 6, and wooo boy howdy is it a wild one. In our lengthy discussion, Luka and Holly gush about every little detail, Buck finally learns what all the fuss is about, and our first guest (!!!!) Beau has some truly next level takes. But more than anything, we all get to scream about FitzSimmons. In Level 7, Beau joins Holly and Luka and the three of them discuss Beau's history with the show, and get their takes on some of the more spicy characters. Thanks so much again to Beau for guesting! You can follow them at @BeeElderly on twitter!

CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of excessive blood effects in the context of slasher movies from 44:59 to 45:49In our latest season 7 spoilercast, we've finally reached the halfway point of the final season of SHIELD. Luka and Holly dive deep into two episodes that had a Lot to offer. Well, at least for these two nerds specifically. We discuss our feelings on the new ship of the week, and about being so close to the end of the show. Holly incoherently rants about being gay, while Luka continues to fail at pronouncing the name of the season's villians. And when we update our failed predictions, we make some bold connections that lead to even bolder predictions.

The week we're back on the plot train with a trip to Hong Kong, where we see some familiar faces along with new ones. We discuss our love for Skye, questionable decision-making, and dunk on the writers for not being true gamers. Along the way, Luka disapproves of Skye's taste in men, Buck is skeptical of the show's depictions of hacking, and Holly expresses her desire to be topped by May. In Level 7, Luka and Holly once again discuss the reveals of this episode in the larger context of the show as well as their opinions of the newly introduced characters.

WE IN IT NOW.Luka and Holly react to the absolutely packed episodes 4 and 5 of season 7. They discuss their prediction abilities, as well as the rapidly progressing character arcs. Luka goes over popular fan theories, while Holly goes off about galaxy brain character pairings (and the subsequent radicalization of said characters).

CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of surgery at 46:02 until 48:18 and briefly in passing at 55:16This week things take a dark-ish turn as we get some more Plot™. There are diamond heists, infiltration missions, mysterious signals, potential telepaths, and we talk about all of them! Luka and Buck also discuss the episode's brief tonal shift, while Holly gets existential dread. In Level 7, Luka and Holly discuss the plot implications, as well as the accuracy of Buck's called shots.

CONTENT WARNING: Discussions about racism and sexism from 27:00 to 35:48In our second spoilercast, Luka and Holly fumble around to try and express their thoughts on the second and third episodes of season seven. We discuss the twists and turns these two episodes introduce and its continued handling of fraught themes. We (mostly Holly) make a lot of called shots that'll definitely miss!

In this episode, Buck records from a toaster (sorry about that). As Skye learns to become a SHIELD agent, we talk about how her character is beginning to develop, in addition to the characters around her. We also talk about connections to the comics, get frustrated with billionaires and libertarians, and lament about the lack of May and Fitzsimmons. In Level 7, Luka and Holly discuss how this episode sets up future plot points later in the season and in the series.

CONTENT WARNING: References to fascism and Nazism. In our first bonus episode, Luka and Holly explore their thoughts on the final season premiere of Agents of SHIELD. Join us as we work through our feelings about the series ending and discuss what we hope to see from the rest of the season! Holly has a lot to say about robots y'all.

In this episode, we discuss the series' second episode. We take a trip to Peru and meet some lackluster side characters, questionable depictions of South American countries, and some very intense team-building exercises. After all, perhaps the real 0-8-4 were the friends we made along the way. In Level 7, Luka & Holly talk about the team dynamic, and how much its changed since these initial relationships were formed.

Welcome to The BUS! We're here to watch every single episode of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD! Join long-time fans Luka & Holly as they drag Buck down this wild, messy rabbit hole. This is a journey we're all very excited to embark on and hope you'll join us for the ride!In our pilot episode (recorded almost a whole calendar year ago) we discuss the pilot episode of the series! It's aptly titled “The Pilot” and there's also a pilot! We discuss the series' strong opening, the charged imagery it deploys, and how much of a dork everyone is. In Level 7 (our spoiler section), Luka & Holly discuss how much the show's changed since it's 2013 debut, the promises it makes, and the ways it succeeds and fails in living up to those promises.