Jump to content

After, Before

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"After, Before"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.episode
The title card introduced in this episode reflects the season's time travel story, taking inspiration fromTron(1982) andBack to the Future(1985)[1]
Episodeno.Season 7
Episode 8
Directed byEli Gonda
Written by
  • James C. Oliver
  • Sharla Oliver
Cinematography byKyle Jewell
Editing byDexter Adriano
Original air dateJuly 15, 2020(2020-07-15)
Running time42 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
←Previous
"The Totally Excellent Adventures of Mack and The D" 		Next→
"As I Have Always Been"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.season 7
List of episodes

"After, Before"is the eighth episode of theseventh seasonof the American television seriesAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.Based on theMarvel ComicsorganizationS.H.I.E.L.D.,it follows aLife Model DecoyofPhil Coulsonand his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they race to stop theChronicomsfrom unraveling history in the 1980s. It is set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe(MCU) and acknowledgesthe franchise's films.The episode was written by James C. Oliver & Sharla Oliver and directed by Eli Gonda.

Clark Greggreprises his role as Coulson from the film series, starring alongsideMing-Na Wen,Chloe Bennet,Elizabeth Henstridge,Henry Simmons,Natalia Cordova-Buckley,andJeff Ward.The episode sees Wen'sMelinda Mayand Cordova-Buckley'sElena "Yo-Yo" RodriguezvisitingJiaying,portrayed by returningseason twoguest starDichen Lachman,to try restore Yo-Yo's abilities so she can fix the team's malfunctioning time drive. The episode explores elements of Yo-Yo's past.

"After, Before" originally aired onABCon July 15, 2020, and was watched by 1.38 million viewers. It received generally positive reviews, particularly for its character moments.

Plot

[edit]

After rescuingAlphonso "Mack" Mackenzie,Deke Shaw,andPhil Coulsonfrom 1983 and giving Coulson a newLMDbody,Jemma Simmonsinforms theS.H.I.E.L.D.team that due to their damaged time drive, their mobile headquarters,Zephyr One,is going to keep jumping them forward by exponentially less time until it will eventually make a jump within another jump, the consequences of which are unknown. RequiringElena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez's currently inactiveInhumanpowers to deactivate it, fellow InhumanDaisy Johnsonsuggests stopping by the Inhuman sanctuary Afterlife to get help from her mother,Jiaying.Yo-Yo andMelinda Mayarrive just as Jiaying is helping her despondent daughterKorawith her volatile energy powers. After examining Yo-Yo, Jiaying comes to the conclusion that the former's problems are mental rather than physical and has May use herempathabilities to help her. While sparring, Yo-Yo reveals that she witnessed the death of her uncle as a child and blamed herself for it ever since.

Meanwhile, Jiaying attempts to use Yo-Yo's situation to remove Kora's powers and save her. However, Kora runs away and attempts to commit suicide, only forNathaniel Malickto find her and convince her to join him instead by using hisChronicomally,Sibyl's, future knowledge. As Malick's mercenaries attack Afterlife and capture its Inhumans, Jiaying fails to sway her daughter back to her side, forcing her to flee with May, Yo-Yo, and teleporting InhumanGordonbefore the agents and Inhumans temporarily go their separate ways. Upon returning toZephyr One,Yo-Yo realizes she has been holding herself back and regains her powers as she seemingly deactivates the time drive without bouncing back to the place she started from. As the crew settles in however, the time drive suddenly starts up again and makes a jump within a jump.

Production

[edit]

Development

[edit]

After thesixth seasonfinale ofAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.aired in August 2019, showrunnersJed Whedon,Maurissa Tancharoen,andJeffrey Bellrevealed that theseventh seasonwould feature 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.[2][3]Later that month, one of the season's episodes was revealed to be titled "After, Before" and written by James C. Oliver & Sharla Oliver.[4]It was confirmed to be the eighth episode of the season in July 2020, when Eli Gonda was revealed to have directed it.[5]The title is a reference to the episode revisiting theInhumancommunity Afterlife, a location from thesecond season,but before the series had previously visited it since the episode is set during 1983 rather than the modern day setting of the second season.[6]

Writing

[edit]

The focus of the episode isMelinda MayandElena "Yo-Yo" Rodrigueztraveling to Afterlife to help Yo-Yo learn why her powers are no longer working. Yo-Yo actressNatalia Cordova-Buckleysaid "Yo-Yo is having to for the first time really get personal about herself,"[7]adding that she felt Yo-Yo had been questioning herself because, by losing her powers, she had lost her strongest tool to help the team. The trip to Afterlife allows Yo-Yo to find "powers within herself that have nothing to do with superpowers".[8]James Oliver was excited to explore Afterlife as he was just a fan of the series when it was last featured, in the second season, though Sharla Oliver was already working on the series at that time.[9]Cordova-Buckley enjoyed Yo-Yo's combination with May because the latter also "has had a lot of hardships in her past", resulting in "a lot of reflection" from Yo-Yo.[7]Their dynamic in the episode, which was described by James Oliver as "an emotional feedback loop", was inspired by Oliver's mother and sister.[10]: 18:48 

Regarding Yo-Yo's flashback sequence, in which a young Elena saves her grandmother's gold cross necklace resulting in her uncle's murder, Cordova-Buckley said she "always had some sort of idea that something very, very tragic must have happened to Yo-Yo." She continued, "I love that it reflects her way of always trying to save the people she loves, but sometimes she makes a mistake — and she holds that pain in her heart. She always thought that doing what she did [that night] when she was young hurt her family, so she has carried that a long time." In past episodes, Yo-Yo appeared to be carrying "a bit of heaviness" from her past, even though it was not known, with this episode "bring[ing] it full circle".[11]Cordova-Buckley stated that "no one writes or knows [Yo-Yo] like" James and Sharla Oliver, highlighting their work on the Yo-Yo-focused spin-off seriesAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot.[9]

The mechanics of the episode's time travel plot were worked out by Sharla Oliver, who had "spreadsheets with equations and everything" to work out when in time the team would be appearing. The writers also had to work out if it made sense in the series' continuity for the characterEnochto have met Neanderthals after they all loved a pitch for him to compare the series' characters to them. James Oliver felt that guest starJoel Stoffer"nailed the delivery of that line", and also revealed that the line "I can keep tempo" was adlibbed by Stoffer on set. Another moment that the writers spent a "decent" amount of time working out was when Yo-Yo picks up a diviner, which was shown in season two to turn humans to stone and light-up when touched by Inhumans. Since Yo-Yo has prosthetic arms, the writers decided to have her touch it to her cheek to show it lighting-up then.[9]

Design

[edit]

Costumes

[edit]

Costume designer Jessica Torok re-imagined the costumes for Jiaying to give her a "softer" look than she had in the second season. Torok used fabric from Ragfinders of California, a fabric warehouse inLos Angeles,to make Jiaying's dresses for the episode.[12]

Title sequence

[edit]

Like previous episodes of the seventh season, a new title card was introduced in the episode. The sequence features the series' logo in bright blue as it "travels across a black digital landscape made up of an orange and blue grid". The background also features coordinates, dates, and ticking clocks, which Ian Cardona fromComic Book Resourcesfelt evokedBack to the Future(1985). Cardona thought the entire sequence was a tribute to the filmTron(1982), and helped "emphasize the nature" of racing against the clock.[1]

Casting

[edit]
Further information:List of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters
Dichen Lachmanreturns to star in this episode, reprising her role as Jiaying from season two

With the season renewal, main cast membersMing-Na Wen,Chloe Bennet,Elizabeth Henstridge,Henry Simmons,Natalia Cordova-Buckley,andJeff Wardwere confirmed to be returning from previous seasons asMelinda May,Daisy Johnson / Quake,Jemma Simmons,Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie,Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez,andDeke Shaw,respectively.[13]Series starClark Greggalso returns as his characterPhil Coulson,portraying aLife Model Decoyversion of the character in the seventh season.[14]

Enver Gjokajreprises hisAgent Carterrole of agentDaniel Sousain "After, Before",[15][16]guest starring along withJoel StofferasEnochand Thomas E. Sullivan asNathaniel Malick,[17][16]all returning from past episodes in the season,[18]andDichen Lachman,reprising her role as Daisy's motherJiayingfrom season two.[19][7]Also guest starring areDianne DoanasKora,Daisy's previously unknown sister,[17]andByron MannasLi.[16][11]The writers referred to Li's ability to manifest knives as "Blade pact warlock", a reference toDungeons & Dragons.[9]Doan was cast as Kora while she was filming the seriesWarriorinCape Town,South Africa.Doan had a costume fitting as soon as she returned to Los Angeles after that series was completed, followed by her first day of shooting the next day. She called the quick process of joining the series "insane".[20]: 15:00 Additionally, Sophia Rabe-Martinez portrays a young Yo-Yo in the flashback sequences,[9]whileFin Argusappears as a youngGordon,an Inhuman working with Jiaying who was portrayed by Philip Labe in the second season;Jamie Harrisportrayed the character as an adult.[16][21]

Filming

[edit]

Director Eli Gonda utilized more handheld shots for scenes on the Zephyr to create a "frenetic energy" to help differentiate it from the scenes at Afterlife.[10]: 13:15 Because the visuals for the season had yet to be established when the episode was filming, the time jumps were shot in multiple ways, such as manually shaking the camera and changing the frame rate, to ensure there were enough options to use the scenes once the visual style was determined.[10]: 46:19–48:50 

Visual effects

[edit]

FuseFXprovided the visual effects for the flying in the episode. The sequence where theQuinjetdocks with the Zephyr after the latter appears in front of the former was described by visual effects supervisor Mark Kolpack as "a moment of beauty and skill for May and one to remember just how incredible of a pilot she is".[22]The sequence was meant to be a callback to previous seasons where May had been "famously cool", and was storyboarded by Kolpack before the effects were created.[23]The earlier moment when the Quinjet detaches from the Zephyr was based on a similar sequence from the series'third season,[24]while the shot of the Quinjet landing at Afterlife re-used a background plate from the third season. The length of the background plate was too short and required the Quinjet landing to be faster than usual.[25]

Kolpack said the end of the episode, where Yo-Yo is able to use her abilities again, was "an awesome moment and game changer" for the character.[26]He explained that her abilities are intended to be unique to her compared to other "speedster" characters, and are achieved by filming Cordova-Buckley at 120 frames per second to show her in slow motion. Latent images of the character are then added back into each shot with a "decay process" added to them using theHoudinisoftware. Houdini is also used to add trailing particles and impacts underneath the character's feet.[27][28]The scene in which Coulson is woken up while his new body is being printed was created by filming a take with Gregg and then a take with the bed empty, then visual effects were used to remove his lower half, replace it with a digital lower half that is being printed, and to add the lasers that are printing him.[29]

Release

[edit]

"After, Before" was first aired in the United States onABCon July 15, 2020.[5]

Reception

[edit]

Ratings

[edit]

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 1.38 million viewers.[30]Within a week of release, "After, Before" was watched by 2.46 million viewers.[31]

Critical response

[edit]

Kate Kulzick atThe A.V. Clubgave the episode a "B", calling "After, Before" "the most subdued episode of the season thus far", adding the small character moments of the team still on the Zephyr "are among the episode's best, their quiet reflection an effective contrast with the action at Afterlife."[32]Christian Holub fromEntertainment Weeklyalso giving the episode a "B".[33]Giving the episode 3.5 stars out of 5, Michael Ahr fromDen of Geekthought the May and Yo-Yo pairing served "as a great counterpoint" to Mack and Deke's "goofier adventure" in the last episode. Ahr was intrigued by the revelation that Daisy has a sister, and that May could meet up with Jiaying again in a future episode. However, he called Yo-Yo's path to regaining her powers "convoluted" and added that Nathaniel Malick was a "lackluster" villain, "employing a kind of casual evil that presents his personal interest as a foregone conclusion to everyone while mostly ignoring the implications for both Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D."[6]Syfy Wire's Trent Moore felt the time travel of the two stories in the episode were used "to maximum effect". He highlighted Sousa's addition to the team and felt it was "a shame" he was only around for the final season, and pointed out that Nathaniel Malick recruiting a team of Inhumans appeared "to be the antagonistic thread" for the remainder of the season.[34]Wesley Coburn fromBam! Smack! Pow!said the "dire stakes, imminent doom and claustrophobic nature of being cramped on a plane are very reminiscent of" the season one episode "FZZT".He concluded that" things are coming full circle "and the episode" was a heartbreaking thrill ride filled with important character moments, "giving the episode an" A+ ".[35]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abCardona, Ian (July 17, 2020)."Agents of SHIELD's Newest '80s Title Card Is a Tron-Inspired Homage".Comic Book Resources.Archivedfrom the original on July 18, 2020.RetrievedJuly 18,2020.
  2. ^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.Archivedfrom the original on August 3, 2019.RetrievedAugust 18,2019.
  3. ^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.Archivedfrom the original on August 3, 2019.RetrievedAugust 18,2019.
  4. ^"Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D."Writers Guild of America West.Archivedfrom the original on August 25, 2019.RetrievedAugust 25,2019.Episodes with a credit date in 2019.
  5. ^ab"(#708)" After, Before "".The Futon Critic.RetrievedJuly 9,2020.
  6. ^abAhr, Michael (July 15, 2020)."Agents of SHIELD Season 7 Episode 8 Review: After, Before".Den of Geek.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.
  7. ^abcMitovich, Matt Webb (July 14, 2020)."S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Natalia Cordova-Buckley and Ming-Na Wen Tease Afterlife 'Spa Day,' Sparring With Mulan and More".TVLine.Archivedfrom the original on July 15, 2020.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.
  8. ^Hurley, Laura (July 14, 2020)."Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Stars Talk The Return Of Jiaying, Yo-Yo's Powers And More".CinemaBlend.Archivedfrom the original on July 15, 2020.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.
  9. ^abcdeJirak, Jamie (July 16, 2020)."Agents of SHIELD Writer Shares Tons of Behind-the-Scenes Content From Latest Episode".ComicBook.com.Archivedfrom the original on July 17, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020.
  10. ^abcHenstridge, Elizabeth(July 15, 2020).Live with Lil! Agents of SHIELD ep 708.RetrievedJuly 28,2020– viaYouTube.
  11. ^abMitovitch, Matt Webb (July 15, 2020)."Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Star Reacts to That Heartbreaking Reveal — Plus, What New Weapon Did Malick Acquire?".TVLine.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 16,2020.
  12. ^Torok, Jessica [@jessicadreamsdior] (July 17, 2020)."Reimagining a softer look for Jiaying's season 7 look was incredibly fun. After searching the usual spots in #losangeles, I was happy to find the fabric @ragfindersofca. What do you think about the overall look of the characters in" Afterlife "in last night's episode?".RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaInstagram.
  13. ^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.Archivedfrom the original on November 16, 2018.RetrievedNovember 17,2018.
  14. ^Mitovich, Matt Webb (April 14, 2020)."Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Gets Final Season Premiere Date".TVLine.Archivedfrom the original on April 14, 2020.RetrievedApril 14,2020.
  15. ^Agard, Chancellor (April 15, 2020)."Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings back Agent Carter character in season 7 first look".Entertainment Weekly.Archivedfrom the original on April 15, 2020.RetrievedApril 15,2020.
  16. ^abcdHarjo, Noetta (July 15, 2020)."Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Recap (S07 E08): After, Before".Geek Girls Authority.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 17,2020.
  17. ^abJirak, Jamie (July 15, 2020)."Agents of SHIELD: SPOILER Has a Sister".ComicBook.com.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.
  18. ^"(#706)" Adapt or Die "".The Futon Critic.RetrievedJune 26,2020.
  19. ^Jirak, Jamie (July 8, 2020)."Agents of SHIELD Teaser Reveals Return of SPOILER".ComicBook.com.Archivedfrom the original on July 9, 2020.RetrievedJuly 8,2020.
  20. ^Henstridge, Elizabeth(August 5, 2020).Live with Lil! Agents of SHIELD ep 711.RetrievedAugust 6,2020– viaYouTube.
  21. ^"Declassifying Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Aftershocks".Marvel.com.February 13, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon February 14, 2015.RetrievedFebruary 13,2015.
  22. ^Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (July 15, 2020)."The amazing flying VFX were done at @fusefx with Kevin Yule overseeing the work there. The docking sequence was a moment of beauty and skill for May and one to remember just how incredible of a pilot she is. Evan Underwood was the CG Sup and animator"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaTwitter.
  23. ^Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (July 15, 2020)."Glad you enjoyed the" May "flying in tonight's episode. It was an opportunity to give her another one of her famously cool moments that we have all loved over the past 7 seasons. It was important to me to remember how Badass @MingNa is when she flies. @AgentsofSHIELD VFX Boards"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaTwitter.
  24. ^Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (July 16, 2020)."The detaching in last night's ep was using the idea from S3 as our model of what the Quinjet does when it separates from Z1"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on July 17, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaTwitter.
  25. ^Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (July 15, 2020)."[Replying to" That whole docking sequence was perfect! I did wonder why the earlier landing near Afterlife was such a hard one, though. Looked like quite a jolt! "] Frames. We reused that background from S3 and it did not yield enough screen time to get the Quinjet in for its usual landing"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaTwitter.
  26. ^Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (July 15, 2020)."This was an awesome moment and game changer for YoYo. Always a pleasure to work with @YOSOYCORDOVA on her running"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaTwitter.
  27. ^Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (July 17, 2020)."The idea behind YoYo's speed was to have something that felt unique to her character as a speedster. We shoot @YOSOYCORDOVA at 120fps to give her the slomo but to have frames as latent images that are run through Houdini FX for a decay process. Lots to explain. I'll dig up a vid"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on July 17, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaTwitter.
  28. ^Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (July 17, 2020)."Here's an example breakdown of YoYo running. Shot 120fps. Houdini FX decay look applied to latent images of her. Trailing particles as well as impact under her feet all HoudineFX in CG. @AgentsofSHIELD #RunYoYo"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on July 17, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaTwitter.
  29. ^Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (July 17, 2020)."Actually that was done by shooting two passes. One with @clarkgregg lying on the table and then shoot the table clean. The rest is all CG taking off his lower half and replacing it with the CG asset and lasers printing his body"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on July 18, 2020.RetrievedJuly 19,2020– viaTwitter.
  30. ^Metcalf, Mitch (July 16, 2020)."Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.15.2020".Showbuzz Daily.Archived fromthe originalon July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 16,2020.
  31. ^Pucci, Douglas (August 3, 2020)."Live+7 Weekly Ratings: 'The Challenge: Total Madness' Season Finale Ranks in Top Nine of Raw Adults 18-49 Gainers".Programming Insider.Archivedfrom the original on August 4, 2020.RetrievedAugust 3,2020.
  32. ^Kulzick, Kate (July 15, 2020)."Yo-Yo and May hit the spa while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. readies for waves".The A.V. Club.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.
  33. ^Holub, Christian (July 15, 2020)."Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. recap: Return to the Inhumans".Entertainment Weekly.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.
  34. ^Moore, Trent (July 15, 2020)."The Team vs The Ticking Clock, Inhuman Throwbacks and Yo-Yo in Latest Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."Syfy Wire.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 15,2020.
  35. ^Coburn, Wesley (July 16, 2020)."Agents of SHIELD season 7, episode 8 review: After, Before".Bam! Smack! Pow!.Archivedfrom the original on July 16, 2020.RetrievedJuly 16,2020.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=After,_Before&oldid=1216543329"