We’ve come to it at last, after seven seasons and 136 episodes; it’s the final Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. review. As such, I’ll share my thoughts on the show in general before going in depth about the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series finale.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a peculiar show. It began by heavily tying into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Avengers director Joss Whedon co-created the show and directed the pilot. There was even an episode that took place right after Thor: The Dark World. But something wasn’t right. Viewers weren’t loving the show. I remember in college being embarrassed to admit I was still watching it when classmates ragged on it. As old YouTube comments read, “In my opinion the most impressive part of the trailer was when it said it would be back next week,” and “Remember: This was Joss Whedon’s idea. Blame him for that decision.”
The big twist from Captain America: The Winter Soldier (I believe I saw the tie-in episode first, though) changed everything. It was just the shot in the arm the series needed. I was now invested, and so were other viewers. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. further solidified its identity with the introduction of Inhumans in Season 2. Still, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continued to mention events of the Marvel movies, even with Kevin Feige refusing to acknowledge the show on the big screen. It wasn’t until the last few seasons that the series truly forged its own path (and it’s unclear if Seasons 1-5 were retconned out of the MCU). Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had to constantly deal with ABC changing its time and day, but a great fourth season kept the network from pulling the plug.
This is the part where I get into the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series finale itself, so spoilers from this point on.
The big question after the previous episode was how our heroes were going to save the day. The situation seemed pretty hopeless, with the Chronicoms destroying S.H.I.E.L.D.’s bases from space. The bad guys had also taken Deke (Jeff Ward, The Boy Downstairs) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge, Christmas at the Plaza) hostage. So, in this episode, it’s up to Mack (Henry Simmons, Shark), Daisy (Chloe Bennet, Abominable), and Sousa (Enver Gjokaj, Emergence) to mount a rescue mission. While this mission goes on, Coulson (Clark Gregg, The Conners), May (Ming-Na Wen, The Mandalorian), and Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Coco) prepare for the Chronicoms’ attack on the Lighthouse.
The rescue mission is pretty straightforward. Daisy rescues Simmons and Deke and then fights Kora (Dianne Doan, Warrior) afterwards. Humorously, when Deke tries to get Simmons to remember Fitz (Iain De Caestecker, Overlord) by doing an impression of him, Simmons thinks he’s referring to James Bond. Back on earth, the good guys lay a trap for Garrett (James Paxton, Eyewitness), which he falls for. Garrett switches sides when Malick (Thomas E. Sullivan, Conviction) betrays him. This honestly surprised me, and I would have liked to see where it went. It’s disappointing that Garrett dies not long after from a bullet to the head.
When our heroes all reunite, Fitz finally returns. It’s here, however, as we begin the second hour, that the show throws too much at us. It takes some time to comprehend. I was apparently wrong last week when I said the previous timeline no longer existed. The agents and the Chronicoms created a new timeline that branched off of it. They can go back to the other timeline, but they have to leave someone behind. That someone ends up being Deke.
Deke’s journey throughout the last three seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been an interesting one. He started as a serious character from a dystopian future, then he became goofy as got to enjoy the present day. His story got even sillier when he becomes a ‘80s rock star, passing off hits he knew as his own. I guess Deke staying in this alternate version of the 1980s is an appropriate end for the character.
The rest of the gang goes back to their own timeline via the Quantum Realm (an unexpected nod to Avengers: Endgame), bringing the Chronicom ships with them. Daisy faces off against Nathaniel as her friends deal with the Chronicoms. While May using her new empathic abilities to save day makes her powers relevant, I would have liked to see her and Coulson have a more climatic encounter with Sibyl (Tamara Taylor, Bones). Kora also comes over to the good guys’ side too easily, and her powers seem to be able to do whatever the writers want.
Daisy has an entertaining fight with Malick. Surprisingly, the only way she can defeat him is by blowing up the ship. This is where the effects start to look more for-TV than they had previously. The ship’s hanger looked great. Daisy floating in space does not. It’s also convenient that that the explosion doesn’t vaporize Daisy, so Kora can revive her.
Getting into individual character endings, shippers can rest easy knowing that Leo and Jemma have a happy ending with their daughter; Yo-Yo remains an agent and Mack continues on as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (on an painfully obvious green screen helicarrier); May becomes a teacher at the Coulson Academy (I’m guessing the new name for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s training school); Daisy, Kora, and Sousa (who had his own happy ending in Agent Carter nullified by Endgame) explore space together; and the Coulson LMD enjoys life on his own, flying away in Lola, Coulson’s old car. And that’s it.
I don’t have too much to say about these endings. I do like how Coulson and Daisy are the final two people to leave the reunion, even if it’s not the real Coulson. Daisy’s relationship with Coulson is the heart of the show. It’s honestly feels strange seeing the LMD fly off, knowing the actual Coulson died between Seasons 5 and 6. But I can’t think of a better way to end the finale.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could have gone in a different direction had Kevin Feige allowed it to fully cross over with the movies. The man is great at his job, but he’s not infallible. This is the show that we got. So, was it worth it? I would say yes. It maybe should have ended a couple seasons ago, but it had a lot of good episodes during its run. I’d recommend it to any of your friends that are craving more Marvel, especially since Marvel has delayed Black Widow, The Eternals, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
I picked up reviewing this series midway through Season 3 and I’ve dedicated a lot of my time with The Pop Break covering it. So, thanks for reading.
