The New Deal (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
"The New Deal" | |
---|---|
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode | |
Episode no. | Season 7 Episode 1 |
Directed by | Kevin Tancharoen |
Written by | George Kitson |
Produced by | |
Cinematography by | Allan Westbrook |
Editing by | Eric Litman |
Original air date | May 27, 2020 |
Running time | 43 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"The New Deal" is the first episode of the
"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
This article needs an improved plot summary. (May 2020) |
In 1931
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
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
Casting
With the season renewal, main cast members
In May 2020,
Design
Costumes
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).[19][20] Imogene Chayes of Marvel's Visual Development group provided concept art for the costumes.[19][21] 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.[22] Galitz had dedicated teams working on the background actors for the opening exterior scenes, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's event.[23]: 38:28–38:54 Due to the large number of costumes, High Society Custom Tailor provided custom suits that the series' in house tailor was unable to make,[21] and Galitz worked with Western Costume for the vintage police uniforms.[20] She also had to source 60 period black tuxedos for the FDR event, which she called "pretty difficult", since many they found were either deteriorating or did not fit modern-day sizing standards.[23]: 38:56 Johnson's purple dress and green gown were custom made, as were many of the other costumes used in the various stunt sequences since vintage pieces would have been difficult to find multiple of. Galitz estimated that 50 costumes were built for this episode and for the next episode, "Know Your Onions".[23]: 27:45-28:25
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.[24] Barnet was originally given hightop shoes to wear, but he suggested boots as an alternative, and ended up with "big, thick boots with steel plates on the bottoms".[10]
Hair
Head of hair and makeup Shay Sanford used the break between the end of season six filming and starting on season seven to prepare for the 1930s setting, "just to see what the vibe" of the era was. When work on the episode began in earnest, Sanford was concerned about many of the actors having long hair, since that was not a style in the 1930s. Sanford described women of the era as becoming "more vibrant looking" because of the advent of feature films and the end of the Great Depression, and wanted the actors to look this part, while hiding the length of their hair. To achieve this, Sanford used a mixture of braiding and curling to "anchor everything together".[23]: 9:50-12:50 Since many of the background actors also had long hair, Sanford used "cheaper" wigs to hide their hair.[23]: 26:12 Oswalt was given a side part for his hairstyle, along with a small tooth comb to style his hair. Sanford said giving men a side part "changes everything", sometimes avoiding the need for a hair cut.[23]: 43:25
Title sequence
The episode introduces a new "old-style
Filming and visual effects
Production for the season began at the end of February 2019,[27] in Culver City, California.[28] 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.[29] 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.[30][31] The time-traveling aircraft Zephyr One was created digitally by FuseFX,[30] 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.[32][33] 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.[34] The melting effect on the captured Chronicom was created by CoSA VFX using practical elements filmed by the series' special effects team, and was designed to look like spontaneous human combustion.[35][36] The appearance of Chronicoms without human faces was created by CoSA VFX 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.[37]
Music
Beginning with this episode, Jason Akers is credited as co-composer alongside Bear McCreary. Akers had contributed additional music to earlier seasons,[38][39] and McCreary said he "knew the show like an encyclopedia". The pair were able to introduce a new style of music with the episode due to its period setting, which McCreary described as "1940's noire saxophones" which were blended with the series' "pre-established classic orchestra and contemporary electronics" and existing musical themes.[40]
Release
"The New Deal" was first aired in the United States on ABC on May 27, 2020,[41][7] following a broadcast of the MCU film Thor: The Dark World (2013).[42]
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.[43] Within a week of its release, "The New Deal" was watched by 2.97 million U.S. viewers.[44]
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.[25] 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.[26] Writing for Bam! Smack! Pow!, Wesley Coburn game the episode an "A", calling it "a winner" and "a strong start to this season's time-traveling adventures".[45]
Accolades
Clark Gregg was named as an honorable mention for TVLine's "Performer of the Week" for the week of May 24, 2020, for his performance in this episode.[50]
References
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External links
- "The New Deal" at ABC[dead link]
- "The New Deal" at IMDb