Plot
You have to approach anything grounded in science fiction with an automatic suspension of disbelief - and that goes doubly so for superheroes. So while I found myself being slightly sceptical about some of the gadgets, I tried to approach everything with an open mind and just enjoy it - and I think it worked. Pilot episodes are notoriously difficult - they either sink or swim, and often they sink. Your trouble with writing a pilot for a show is that you have to make it good, because you want it to draw people in and you want them to be watching eagerly for next week, but it can't be too good, because then the rest of the show will just go downhill from there. If nothing can ever live up to the awesomeness and full-blown special effects of the pilot, then people quickly realise that and get bored. I think that as pilots go, this one was spectacular. It wasn't boring, even while it struggled through the arduous task of delivering all exposition. It was witty without being contrived (at no point did it feel like they were trying too hard, or the dialogue was too unrealistic) and exciting without being a chain of fight scenes without any real plot. The story line was simple enough to allow all the exposition to be slotted in around the edges, but detailed enough that it kept me paying attention, and it ended happily, which is always nice. (This is Joss Whedon, though, so don't expect too many happy endings. He loves to torture his fans and kills off all my favourite characters.)
Music
I really enjoyed the music for this episode, and found myself humming some of the more triumphant parts after it finished. It was reminiscent of the Avengers, which tied it into that world nicely, but had its own themes which I particularly enjoyed.
Acting
This is the first time I think I've seen most of these actors in anything, and I was very impressed. All of the actors were believable in their roles, and they actually had a chemistry and interaction with each other which was lovely. I'd like to see more of that - and hopefully in future episodes it will be expanded on more.
Scenery
Oh, the plane. I can't even begin to say how much I love the plane! The plane needs a name, but I really, really, really, seriously LOVE the plane. It's a fantastic setting - it's HQ, so our characters will always have a familiar base, but it's also mobile, so we aren't confined to one city or country (although staying in the US is usually a given...). It's also where they sleep and live and everything, in close quarters to each other, which will hopefully lead to some amusing and teamy moments. The rest of the scenery was also great - some particularly beautiful moments in Union Station, a brilliantly designed atmosphere in the SHIELD base, etc. Even Skye's van had clearly had a lot of thought put into it. Obviously some aspects of this episode were CGI, but I hardly noticed. If the CGI doesn't attract your attention, then it's doing its job.
Sexism
None at all that I noticed. Skye taking of her jacket to interrogate Ward could have been interpreted as flirty - but then maybe she was just hot (pun unintended but amusing) and who's to say that flirting isn't allowed? The episode was fine, and actually had some interesting role reversal, in that it was the women who did a lot of the fighting and the men who did a lot of the talking (specifically Coulson and Agent May).
Bechdel Test
1. It includes at least two women, (Yes)
2. who have at least one conversation, (No)
3. about something other than a man or men. (No)
I have to admit I'm a little bit disappointed about a one out of three result. Obviously quality entertainment doesn't always meet this test three for three, and I understand why, but still, it's always a bit annoying when it fails - especially because when you apply it to the opposite gender there are multiple examples between two men in the episode that would work. Hopefully this will be remedied in later episodes? 1/3
2. who have at least one conversation, (No)
3. about something other than a man or men. (No)
I have to admit I'm a little bit disappointed about a one out of three result. Obviously quality entertainment doesn't always meet this test three for three, and I understand why, but still, it's always a bit annoying when it fails - especially because when you apply it to the opposite gender there are multiple examples between two men in the episode that would work. Hopefully this will be remedied in later episodes? 1/3