Lately, writing a review of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. feels very similar to writing my upcoming annual student reports, where the primary goal is to seek positive feedback wherever possible. It turns out that it’s easier to find praise for even the least interested Mathematics student than the bland mush being shovelled into a dwindling audience over the last couple episodes.

Marv was beginning to show promise. He never lived up to your big, more cinematic brother, or even his Whedon-written peers (like young Buffy), but his attempts to break out of a procedural structure in his mid-term essays (particularly “F.Z.Z.T.”) was encouraging, and he’s improved in key areas (especially the Fitz-Simmons criteria).

But, sadly, he’s shown a distinct downturn in results late in the semester. Marv’s latest assessment item, “Repairs,” demonstrated the same lack of understanding of the requirements of the task as “The Well.” Marv continues to throw around ideas without a sense of purpose, and it’s both disappointing and frustrating. Some ideas – pairing Mr Bland with Ms Bland (Agent May) – are encouraging, but “Repairs” is a hodge-podge of ill-conceived ideas (pranks! Telekinesis that’s actually a ghost that’s actually, uh, Nightcrawler?) that required substantially more effort and creativity.