I may catch some heat for even mentioning this show after this week’s series finale (which I actually enjoyed), but ‘How I Met Your Mother’ taught us a very important lesson about being legendary. If every night is legendary, then none of them are. One group of fans that need to hear this is the ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ fandom. Since the show’s mid-season finale, things have been on the rise for Agent Coulson and his team, but the episodes before that were hit or miss… Until we realized that everything was connected and had a purpose down the line. Regardless, the showrunners on the Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show acknowledge that they had to work out some kinks and are now better for it. Now, they’re prepared for the second season, which hasn’t been officially announced yet, but is incredibly likely.

On the red carpet before their PaleyFest panel, Jed Whedon shared with Zap2it that there was definitely a learning curve early on that needed to be conquered before things settled in on the show:

“Any new show has a big learning curve, just in terms of making sure everybody’s making the same show. Every different department, every actor, every director, the music, the costumes — just making sure we’re all sort of heading in the same direction, because getting everyone on the same page, even though we knew the show we wanted to make, just finding the tone, that always takes a little while.

As we progressed — and we started a little more standalone, planting seeds — and then we started bringing it together. Seeing how the audience has responded to that is, for us, very rewarding, and I think it makes us not afraid to lean into the Marvel side of it. And the mythology and the serialized elements are really paying off. We’re glad to see the reaction is that positive.”

Then, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Maurissa Tancharoen hit the nail on the head by explaining that they can’t deliver a Marvel Studios film every week, or even every month:

“We’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, and we’re sticking with the stuff that works. It’s an eight-day shoot, and we knew from the outset that there were a lot of eyes on the show with very high expectations. People were expecting to see a Marvel movie every week. With the reality of our accelerated post schedule, we are living up to that standard as much as we possibly can. In the beginning, we may have tried to apply too much to an episode. Now, we understand the right balance that we need of scale as well as story and quiet moments in between. That is what our show is about: real people living in this extraordinary world. We’ve found how to lean into that, to show the same great universe as you see in the movies, but through a different lens.”

Finally, after Tancharoen said that they’re already in the planning stages of another season, Whedon shared that the season one finale that they have lined up wouldn’t really work out as a series finale if they didn’t get renewed:

“You’d be so desperate to see another season, and you’d be sad. It’ll definitely be a satisfying season finale, but we definitely are teeing up stuff to come.”

Despite it’s rocky start, I feel like ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ has finally found it’s sweet spot, so fans are starting to see the potential that the network and the showrunners have always seen in the show. Hopefully, we’ll at least get one more season to see these new changes develop and offer an opportunity for Marvel fans to jump back on and appreciate it.

What do you think of ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ now compared to the show in the beginning? Are you in favor of the changes that they made? Do you think that it will get another season? Let us know your thoughts and theories in the comments.

‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ starring Brett Dalton, Ming-Na Wen, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Chloe Bennet, and Clark Gregg airs on Tuesdays at 8:00pm on ABC.