Dana Leigh Brand

Agents of SHIELD ExcerptSeason 4, Episode 9 – Agents of SHIELD plays with killer robots, mad science, and corrupt politicians in its action-packed return from hiatus. It plays every sci-fi trope just straight enough to pull the rug out from under you in the precise style this show has slowly cultivated through the seasons.

Pitch ExcerptSeason 1, Episode 9 – Pitch rectifies a few of its earlier melodramatic mistakes with “Scratch,” but still fails to live up to its feminist potential. Dealing with trade clauses, romantic possibilities, and miscommunication, the episode recaptures a sliver of its original “uplifting sports story” style.

Agents of SHIELD ExcerptSeason 4, Episode 7 – Agents of SHIELD figures out exactly how to come back from a cliffhanger hiatus in “Deals With Our Devils.” Drawing together every storyline of the season, the episode hits the perfect formula for the series with a mixture of action, plot, suspense, and emotion. Just like every great SHIELD episode should.

Pitch ExcerptSeason 1, Episode 7 – Pitch drops the ball on telling its first feminist story in weeks, but resolves the minimal conflict without controversy. In other news: baseball players get old and petty about the youngsters coming up behind them to replace them.

Pitch ExcerptSeason 1, Episode 6 – Pitch gets psychological this week in “Wear It” when Ginny folds under the pressure of living up to her public persona. Juxtaposing a public party with a night on the town with normal girls, this episode is a step in the right direction for the series.

Agents of SHIELD Excerpt Season 4, Episode 6 – So Agents of SHIELD is basically now on mini hiatus for a month and made “The Good Samaritan” essentially a quarter-season finale and it was amazing. It had a great plot, good backstory, fun character dynamics, and all the crazy you’d expect from a normal pre-hiatus episode—but this is episode six.

Pitch ExcerptSeason 1, Episode 5 – Pitch uses the MLB trade deadline as an opportunity to give baseball players some human empathy and instead makes a big sloppy mess. Ginny comes away seeming spoiled and unsympathetic and the show in general mishandles its baseball details.

Pitch ExcerptSeason 1, Episode 4 – Pitch hits the baseball season’s halfway point and forces Ginny to prove she’s earned her spot on the All-Star team. Overall a bit disjointed, “The Break” feels more like filler than a triumph and provides little substance.

Agents of SHIELD ExcerptSeason 4, Episode 3 – Agents of SHIELD plays to its strengths with a science-filled plot to foil a terrorist attack. Pulling both from its own past and the Marvel Universe at large, “Uprising” provides plenty of thrills along with its moments of character development.

Luke Cage Excerpt Season 1, Episode 12 – In “Soliloquy of Chaos,” Luke Cage gives all of its plots plenty of room for exposition before resolving them all in anticipation of the season finale. Luke is on the run, Misty gains new insight in her investigation, and Diamondback makes a play for all of Harlem while the show takes its most political stand.

Luke Cage Excerpt Season 1, Episode 11 – Luke Cage brings all of its plots to a head in “Now You’re Mine” with two episodes left to go in the series. In typical fashion, the show lets its hero have quiet moments of heroism while providing a platform for all of the characters to test their mettle.

Luke Cage Excerpt Season 1, Episode 9 – Luke Cage mixes science, politics, and psychiatry in its best episode so far, furthering the series’ story while firmly situating itself in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large at the same time.

Luke Cage Excerpt Season 1, Episode 7 – There are just certain things that, if a story gives them to me, I will eat up like a bear slurps honey. I’m discovering that traumatic childhood backstories—especially for villains—are one of those things. That’s what Luke Cage just did for Mariah and Cottonmouth in “Manifest” and I hadn’t realized I’d been waiting for it the entire time.

Pitch Excerpt Season 1, Episode 3 – Pitch‘s “Beanball” mixes an unnecessarily compromising romance plot with a baseball feud, resulting in a patchy episode that teeters too close to sexist narrative tropes for comfort. Ultimately, the bones of the show are still good but the side plot feels like a judgmental detour.