Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) are at the bottom of an ocean, Team Clairvoyant has the bus, and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) & Friends are in the middle of a Mexican standoff in Cuba. Garrett (Bill Paxton) has gone full Marvel Charles Manson – spouting supervillain gospel about overthrowing governments, changing the world, and finally seeing the light. All the while, Ian Quinn (David Conrad) is gearing up for his big super-soldier sales pitch to the Uncle Sam. From there on out, the show rides the Marvel Action Train to the very last scene – complete with the return of Sam Jackson as Nick Fury, the aforementioned death by severed rib-bone to the face, a few Avengers call-backs, some fun dialogue between Fury and Coulson, and the answer to the big question posed by The Winter Soldier: What’s going to happen to the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
What’s great about this episode is that no character seems wasted. Every single person on the show is motivated by something, and the stakes are just as high for the team as they are for each individual. This should be a given for any TV show, but it’s great to finally see in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The only problems with the episode are the basic tonal inconsistencies that have plagued the show since the beginning, and the fact that characters haven’t had much time to develop since “Turn, Turn, Turn”. Luckily, AoS gets another season to work out those kinks.
Towards the end of “Beginning of the End” (sorry, I just had to) the fanboy in me really started to fist-pump. Besides the hilarious reveal that Garrett becoming a fully-armored big bad for next season was just a red-herring, we get to see Agent Phil Coulson become Director Phil Coulson, followed by the much-welcome return of Patton Oswalt as Agent Koenig’s twin brother, aka the MCU’s Nurse Joy/Officer Jenny, and finally concluding with the fact that Flowers is in contact with Skye’s dad. Oh yeah, and a tag of Coulson drawing out the same alien Pictionary puzzle that Garrett was drawing earlier on in the episode and that Ward found in “Eye-Spy.”
It’s extremely fitting that the season ends with Coulson and company landing at “The Playground” where they’re charged with rebuilding S.H.I.E.L.D since AoS has the rare opportunity to rebuild the feel of the show in season two. Here’s where we have fun, kids: what do you think is in store for next season?
Obviously the fates of Fitz and Ward are in question. Coulson said, “Fitz will never be the same again” which leads me to believe that while he’ll survive, he might be handicapped in some way (Professor Fitzsavior, anyone?). Ward (Brett Dalton) seems to be setup for a Hannibal-like situation, where he’s “consulted” (read: possibly tortured) at points where more info on Hydra is necessary. Hopefully, Triplett stays on as a full team member, if not only for more scenes where Coulson geeks-out on his Howling Commandos heritage.
The mystery of who Skye’s father could be is definitely going to be addressed. One of the funner theories is that it could be the Red Skull, meaning Skye (Chloe Bennet) would be “Mother Superior” or “Sister Sin” which could be a great way to connect AoS to the upcoming Agent Carter. A weirder, and probably most untrue, guess is that it could be Deadpool, but a scene where Deadpool doesn’t incessantly talk? Highly unlikely (And isn’t Wade Wilson, at this moment, a FOX property? – Editor Moods). Another Q: Why isn’t Marvel outright saying that the mysterious alien blood coursing through Coulson’s blood is Kree? Is there a reason it’s so secret? Is there another race it could belong to? That diagram that Coulson and Garrett drew must be some sort of inherent language in the genes of that alien race, and it kind of looks like circuitry – which would deal with Skye’s origin as well.
One thing’s for sure: besides a possible mid-credits sting in Guardians of the Galaxy, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’s second season will be the last Marvel property before Avengers: Age of Ultron. Will we see a buildup that leads to Coulson (having been officially declared an Avenger) assembling alongside Tony, Bruce, Steve, and Thor? Will any of the Avengers show up to help Coulson and Co.? Can we at least see more Stark Industries via Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders)? Of course we’ll have to wait until September when our Agents return– a probability that wasn’t entirely concrete just six weeks ago.
Imagine that.
