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The New Deal (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

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"The New Deal"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode
Title card for the episode, featuring a logo and font styled like a noir film, reflective of the episode's 1930s setting[1]
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 1
Directed byKevin Tancharoen
Written byGeorge Kitson
Cinematography byAllan Westbrook
Editing byEric Litman
Original air dateMay 27, 2020 (2020-05-27)
Running time43 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season 7)
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"The New Deal" is the first episode of the seventh season of the American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D., it follows a Life Model Decoy of Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they race to stop the Chronicoms from unraveling history in 1931. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledges the franchise's films. The episode was written by George Kitson and directed by Kevin Tancharoen.

Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, starring alongside Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward. The episode begins where the sixth season ended, with the characters traveling to the 1930s. Filming took place in California beginning in February 2019, with authentic period costumes designed for the season and visual effects used to help create the period setting. Patton Oswalt guest stars as an ancestor of his Koenig characters while Darren Barnet portrays the father of Gideon Malick, another character from previous seasons.

"The New Deal" originally aired on ABC on May 27, 2020, and was watched by 1.82 million viewers. The episode received positive reviews, with critics highlighting Gregg and his return to the Coulson character after portraying a different character in the sixth season. Praise also went to Oswalt's guest appearance as well as the episode's story and pacing.

Plot

In 1931 New York City, a group of aliens called Chronicoms steal the faces of three police officers and kill a contact from a local speakeasy. Meanwhile, having just arrived in the past to stop the Chronicoms, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Jemma Simmons introduces Director Mack and Agent Daisy Johnson to an LMD version of the late former Director Phil Coulson, who struggles with his existence and two years' worth of adventures that S.H.I.E.L.D. went through that he was not around for. Daisy and Agent Deke Shaw investigate the faceless officers and are attacked by the Chronicoms, though they overpower one and take him back to their mobile headquarters, the Zephyr. Elsewhere, Coulson and Mack investigate the speakeasy and meet its owner, Ernest Hazard Koenig, who reveals that the police officers were providing security for a function in honor of Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents go undercover to protect the future president, believing the Chronicoms will target him since he will found S.H.I.E.L.D.'s predecessor, the Strategic Scientific Reserve. However, when Simmons overloads the captive Chronicom's mind, she forces it to reveal their actual target: Koenig's employee Freddy Malick, the father of future Hydra leader Gideon Malick. The team rescues Freddy from the Chronicoms, realizing that they have to save Hydra to ensure S.H.I.E.L.D.'s future. On the Zephyr, Chronicom ally of S.H.I.E.L.D., Enoch, helps heal Agent Melinda May.

Production

Development

In November 2018, ahead of the release of its sixth season, ABC renewed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a seventh.[2] Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb revealed in July 2019 that this would be the series' last season, and stated that it had been designed to "tie up any threads" and try to create a satisfying conclusion to the story.[3] The season's story features the team trying to save the world from invasion by the Chronicoms. They use time travel to do this, allowing the season to explore the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. and "look back at everything we’ve done", beginning in 1930s New York prior to the formation of S.H.I.E.L.D.[4][5] In August, one of the season's episodes was revealed to be titled "The New Deal" and written by George Kitson.[6] It was confirmed to be the first episode of the season in May 2020, when Kevin Tancharoen was revealed to have directed it.[7]

Writing

The episode picks up from the sixth season's cliffhanger ending, which showrunners Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell, as well as the series' writers, were able to plan since the seventh season was ordered while they were working on the sixth.[8] Whedon explained that the time travel story for the season begins in the 1930s because the writers wanted to start "back at the very origin of S.H.I.E.L.D.", and to create a challenge for the series' crew who had to reinvent the costumes and sets of the series each season. Tancharoen acknowledged that the period setting created "something for every department to sink their teeth into" despite there being no increase to the series' budget for the final season. The episode introduces the season's rules for time travel with the mantra "let's make ripples, not waves", and also sets up a twist where the characters have to save Hydra in order to save S.H.I.E.L.D. The latter was devised as complex moral decision for the agents to debate that would create conflict within the team. Bell compared the decision to the question of would one kill baby Adolf Hitler if they could. The episode also introduces a theme of exploring reactions to the series' diverse cast in past time periods.[9]

Casting

With the season renewal, main cast members Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward were confirmed to be returning from previous seasons as Melinda May, Daisy Johnson / Quake, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, and Deke Shaw, respectively.[2] Series star Clark Gregg also returns as his character Phil Coulson, portraying a Life Model Decoy version of the character in the seventh season.[10]

In May 2020, Patton Oswalt was revealed to be returning for the season,[11] portraying Ernest Hazard Koening. He previously played various present-day Koenig siblings in previous seasons of the series.[11][12] Also in May, Darren Barnet was revealed to be guest starring in the season,[13] portraying Wilfred "Freddy" Malick, the father of Gideon Malick who was portrayed by Powers Boothe in previous seasons.[14] Joel Stoffer was also confirmed to be reprising his recurring role of Enoch in the seventh season.[15] They guest star alongside Tobias Jelinek, Joe Reegan, Nora Zehetner, Greg Finley, and Luke Baines.[7] Additionally, Joseph Culp appears in the episode as Franklin D. Roosevelt.[citation needed]

Design

The episode introduces a new "old-style noir" title card with a cursive, angled font, reflecting the 1930s setting of the episode.[16][17] It also includes "Marvel Presents" above the logo, and the copyright boilerplate with Roman numerals below it, resembling older film titles.[1] Ian Cardona of Comic Book Resources called the title card "a perfect throwback" given the setting of the episode, and combined with the episode's music it "lets viewers know, right off the bat, what type of aesthetic this new season will adhere to". He also noted that in addition to being an old film reference, the inclusion of "Marvel Presents" was an homage to Marvel Comics that often feature a title page stating 'Marvel Comics Presents'".[1]

Costume designer Whitney Galitz did extensive research on 1930s clothing for the season, using material from her college studies as well as photographs and other primary references. She felt this research was often overlooked by other television series designing period costumes on a limited schedule. Galitz wanted to ensure that the costumes were appropriate to the period, including authentically portraying vintage police uniforms, and that they were worn as they would have been at the time (down to the correct underwear).[18][19] Imogene Chayes of Marvel's Visual Development group provided concept art for the costumes.[18][20] The opening scenes of the episode required almost 200 different costumes for background actors, and the series' costume department had two weeks to design and create these.[21] Due to the large number of costumes, High Society Custom Tailor provided custom suits that the series' in house tailor was unable to make.[20] Galitz worked with Western Costume for the vintage police uniforms.[19] Yo-Yo Rodriguez continues to wear pants in the episode rather than dresses or skirts, a decision that was made by Cordova-Buckley and the wardrobe department. This was part practical and part staying true to the style of the character, with Cordova-Buckley saying, "There's a very modern woman in that [choice.] It's never about looking pretty... It's always about, 'This is who I am, and this is how I can be the best version of who I am.'" Despite this, the character does wear high heels rather than her normal boots since the latter would have exposed the team.[22]

Filming and visual effects

Production for the season began at the end of February 2019,[23] in Culver City, California.[24] The day before filming began, actor Jeff Ward broke his toe and for three weeks until it healed he wore modern running shoes with his 1930s costume whenever his feet were not on camera.[25] Scenes on the streets of New York City were filmed on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California, with visual effects vendor Digital Domain extending the set by adding the skyline of 1930s New York as well as digital cars and crowds in the background.[26][27] The time-traveling aircraft Zephyr One was created digitally by FuseFX,[26] while CoSA VFX provided the effects for the Chronicom's face scanning device and the body repair machine that Enoch uses on the injured Agent May.[28][29] The faceless police officers were primarily created with practical makeup, though visual effects were used to blend the seems, remove eye holes, and flatten the actors' noses.[30] The melting effect on the captured Chronicom was created by CoSA using practical elements filmed by the series' special effects team, and was designed to look like spontaneous human combustion.[31][32] The appearance of Chronicoms without human faces was created by CoSA based on the small view inside Enoch's face from earlier in the series. Their eyes were designed as an homage to the character Lucifer in the television series of the same name.[33]

Music

Beginning with this episode, Jason Akers is credited as co-composer alongside Bear McCreary after contributing additional music to earlier seasons.[34][35]

Release

"The New Deal" was first aired in the United States on ABC on May 27, 2020,[36][7] following a broadcast of the MCU film Thor: The Dark World (2013).[37]

Reception

Ratings

In the United States the episode received a 0.3 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 0.3 percent of all households in that demographic. It was watched by 1.82 million viewers, steady with the average number of viewers for the sixth season.[38] Within a week of its release, "The New Deal" was watched by 2.97 million U.S. viewers.[39]

Critical response

Writing for The A.V. Club, Alex McLevy praised the episode and graded it an 'A-', feeling that it did "everything right". He highlighted the story, pacing, and direction, especially commending the series for not trying to catch up new viewers given how much exposition would be required to explain the events of the previous seasons. He was positive of the characters and their interactions, praising Gregg in particular with his return as a version of Coulson after playing a different character in the previous season. McLevy also felt that one of the series' biggest issues, its "dull visual palette", was not an issue in the episode due to the execution of its period setting.[16] Matt Fowler at IGN gave the episode a "good" score of 7 out of 10, describing it as a "fun and charming adventure" but also "more dopey than dangerous", highlighting the period setting and the main cast's chemistry.[17]

Christian Houlb of Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a 'B', highlighting the period costumes and Oswalt's appearance.[40] Michael Ahr at Den of Geek scored the episode 4.5 out of 5 stars, feeling that the series was more comfortable in the episode than it had been in the sixth season despite the new period setting, and attributing this to Gregg's familiar performance as the LMD Coulson. He also praised the episode's explanation of the series' time travel rules, the inclusion of the Freddy Malick character tying the episode to previous seasons, and the return of Oswalt.[41] At Hypable, Michal Schick praised the episode as "impactful" without losing the series' sense of humor. He focused on the lighthearted LMD Coulson, the scenes of the main characters not fitting in with the prejudices of 1930s New York, and the moral questions established for the rest of the season to answer.[42]

References

  1. ^ a b c Cardona, Ian (May 28, 2020). "Agents of SHIELD's Season 7 Title Card Is the Perfect Throwback". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (November 16, 2018). "'Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D' Renewed For Season 7 By ABC". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  3. ^ Patten, Dominic (July 18, 2019). "'Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.' To End After Season 7 On ABC – Comic-Con". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  4. ^ Agard, Chancellor (August 2, 2019). "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. bosses explain what those twists mean for the final season". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  5. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (August 2, 2019). "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. EPs Break Down Those Trippy Season-Ending Twists, How Final Season Will Tap Into History". TVLine. Archived from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  6. ^ "Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D." Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019. Episodes with a credit date in 2019.
  7. ^ a b c "(#701) "The New Deal"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  8. ^ Topel, Fred (April 12, 2019). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' – Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen Interview on Season 6". Showbiz Junkies. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Patten, Dominic (May 27, 2020). "'Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.' EPs Talk Tonight's Final Season Debut, More Marvel, Time Travel, Hydra & How It All Ends". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  10. ^ Mitovitch, Matt Webb (April 14, 2020). "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Gets Final Season Premiere Date". TVLine. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Zachary, Brandon (May 12, 2020). "Exclusive First Look: Agents Of SHIELD Recruits Patton Oswalt for Final Season". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  12. ^ Jirak, Jamie (May 27, 2020). "Agents of SHIELD Premiere Reveals Darren Barnet's Character, Explains Why SHIELD Must Save Hydra". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  13. ^ Yap, Audrey Cleo (May 14, 2020). "'Never Have I Ever' Actor Darren Barnet to Guest Star on 'Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  14. ^ Jirak, Jamie (May 27, 2020). "Agents of SHIELD Premiere Reveals Darren Barnet's Character, Explains Why SHIELD Must Save Hydra". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  15. ^ Aslanian, Emily (May 26, 2020). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Clark Gregg Teases the Return of Phil Coulson". TV Insider. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  16. ^ a b McLevy, Alex (May 27, 2020). "Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing everything right in its final season premiere". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ a b Fowler, Matt (May 27, 2020). "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Season 7, Episode 1: 'The New Deal' Premiere Review". IGN. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  18. ^ a b Galitz, Whitney (May 20, 2020). "#agentsofshield premieres in 8 days! I couldn't wait anymore so I'm posting designs. Daisy here played by our beloved @chloebennet. I loved digging up my old college books on period clothing for this season. Designing for a period means getting EVERYTHING right down to the underwear folks. I may or may not have driven some of my crew mad making sure everyone on set was wearing it right 🤪 illustrated by rockstar artist @imogeneann_art". Instagram. Retrieved May 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ a b Galitz, Whitney (May 26, 2020). "Researching the authenticity of a vintage uniform is a big part of the costume designer's job. And the importance of photographs and primary resources is all too often overlooked in the fast world of TV. But of course my team rose to the occasion along with our friends at @westerncostumecompany". Instagram. Retrieved May 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ a b Galitz, Whitney (May 25, 2020). "One of my favorite parts of this season was all the custom work I got to do, especially the suiting for our leading men. Thanks to @highsociety_bespoke for being our go-to on this project when my in-house tailor Henry Po❤️ was bogged down with gowns and hundreds of other garments! I've been working with them for years and LOVE them for working so hard to make our cast look incredible! Plus! All our custom shirting by @antoshirt". Instagram. Retrieved May 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Galitz, Whitney (May 27, 2020). "Can't ignore the incredible background actors that made those opening scenes to the past look so good. #agentsofshield costume crew worked very hard to get almost 200 looks up for camera in 2 weeks". Instagram. Retrieved May 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ Radish, Christina (June 10, 2020). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.': Here's What Star Natalia Cordova-Buckley Took From the Set". Collider. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  23. ^ Mehmedova, Filiz (February 25, 2019). "Agents of SHIELD season 7 has started filming – 3 months before season 6 airs". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2019.
  24. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (May 9, 2019). "On the Set With Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Cast Talks of Life After Coulson, the Search for Fitz, and... Swords?". TVLine. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  25. ^ Ward, Jeff (May 27, 2020). "I broke my toe the day before we started the time travel season of #agentsofshield so for three weeks whenever I was off camera, I had to wear running shoes with the authentic 1930's antique clothing. People were comparing it to 'the food poisoning game' but it was still called 'the flu game' back then. Very excited that the final season starts tonight at 10pm on @abcnetwork and tomorrow on @hulu". Instagram. Retrieved May 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ a b Mark Kolpack [@MarkKolpack] (May 27, 2020). "The streets in the opening are all shot on the Warner Bros backlot. The Z-1 landing is 100% VFX done at @fusefx" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ Mark Kolpack [@MarkKolpack] (May 27, 2020). "This beautiful shot of 1930's New York was done by the amazing talents of @DigitalDomainDD. The main plate in the FG was again shot at Warner Bros. But it was modified and massively extended with the old skyline. Old cars and digital crowd added. @AgentsofSHIELD" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ Mark Kolpack [@MarkKolpack] (May 27, 2020). "This face scanning VFX done by the great folks at @CoSAVFX" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ Mark Kolpack [@MarkKolpack] (May 27, 2020). "Enoch's body repair on May was done at @CoSAVFX @AgentsofSHIELD" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Mark Kolpack [@MarkKolpack] (May 27, 2020). "The scanned face aftermaths were makeup FX done by @RJ_AgentofMU. VFX blended some seems, took out the eye holes and flattened down the noses. @AgentsofSHIELD" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  31. ^ Mark Kolpack [@MarkKolpack] (May 27, 2020). "The melting or killing of the Chronicom police officer was done at @CoSAVFX. Special effects elements done with the great @povfx and his talented SPFX onset wizards. @AgentsofSHIELD" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  32. ^ Mark Kolpack [@MarkKolpack] (May 27, 2020). "It was designed to be more like "Spontaneous Human / Chronicom Combustion. No objects are damaged. Just the object" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Mark Kolpack [@MarkKolpack] (May 27, 2020). "Now badass are the faces of the Chronicoms without human skins. Also done at @CoSAVFX. It was important to build on the tiny bit that we saw inside Enoch. A little Easter egg. The eyes were modified from another cool character. And that is Lucifer!! @AgentsofSHIELD" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  34. ^ Bear McCreary [@bearmccreary] (October 16, 2019). "I'm thrilled to share credits with long-standing members of my @SparksShadows team: Sam Ewing now officially co-composes with me on @WalkingDead_AMC, & Jason Akers on @AgentsofSHIELD. They started as interns, worked hard, and learned the craft. Bravo!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 15, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2020 – via Twitter.
  35. ^ "Meet Jason Akers of Sparks and Shadows in Culver City". Voyage LA. October 8, 2019. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
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  42. ^ Schick, Michal (May 28, 2020). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' season 7 premiere review: Ripples, not waves". Hypable. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
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