“Part of the journey is the end.”
@eggrollko
That beautiful line uttered by Tony Stark after his death in Avengers: Endgame was the immediate thought I had just before the series finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. I found it rather appropriate given how this show arose from the aftermath of Iron Man 3 and Phil Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) connection to Stark, beginning with his introduction in the very first Iron Man movie. It’s surreal to think back on it’s beginnings and see where that journey has taken this show. And although #itsallconnected never worked out the way many hoped it would, AoS absolutely found a way to carve itself a little corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it’s both appropriate and amazing that the connection came back in a huge way in this finale…
While the Season 5 finale, which was originally meant to be a series finale, brought back more plot points than the actual.. finale, this one thematically brought everything back full circle. It gave everybody a great ending– even if it may not have been the one we all wanted or felt they deserved. This episode was a fantastic and emotional conclusion to a show that’s been my absolute favorite over the past 4 years, beginning with Season 4. That all said, it would be impossible for me to speak about this show any further without delving into spoilers, so here we go.
The episodes themselves were fantastic and had some truly amazing moments. The idea of duct-taping chronocoms to bombs to blow their way out of the enemy ship was one of those equally absurd and awesome things that have made me love comic books so much over the decades. I just had to begin with that. But, the most amazing part was how it almost directly mirrors Endgame, with Fitz (Ian De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) playing the role of Tony Stark together while Fitz also played the role of Dr. Strange.
The episodes were loaded with emotional and awesome moments, like May (Ming Na-Wen) attacking Sybil (Tamara Taylor), the leader of the Chronicoms, and referring to herself as the Cavalry for the first time in the series, Daisy (Chloe Bennet) finally getting the upper-hand on Nathaniel (Joe Courtney) and killing him, and John Garrett’s (James Paxton) temporary babyface turn only to get killed seconds later by Victoria Hand (Saffron Burrows), the woman he gave the order to kill in the original timeline. All in all, these were excellent episodes with the only real flaw for me being the silly way Daisy was rescued from space, although that’s still consistent with what we’ve seen in the MCU before, specifically Guardians of the Galaxy.
As good as the episodes were, however, people really fell in love with this show because of how great these characters are. It really would be impossible for me to overstate just how much these characters mean to me and seeing them all wind up with a happy ending of sorts made this finale feel perfect, even if the episode itself wasn’t. There was a character death fake-out that I thought felt goofy, but otherwise it was excellent, especially considering it was essentially a scaled down TV version of a combination of Star Trek: First Contact and Avengers: Endgame. It is actually pretty uncanny how much the 2-part finale specifically resembles Endgame in both plot and character. Both involve traveling back in time to stop a supervillain army only to bring them back to the present, where, against all odds, they’re able to defeat them all in one fell swoop; though, S.H.I.E.L.D. was able to do it by introducing the Chronicom army to the concept of empathy while the Avengers were forced to kill them all.
This idea of saving the world by passing the empathy to the Chronicoms is a beautiful culmination of the story Melinda May went through throughout the series and specifically this season, where she developed the same powers as the little girl from Bahrain: absorbing other people’s emotions through contact. However, while the little girl couldn’t control the power and began consuming people’s pain and was driven mad by it, May was able to learn to control it and to spread empathy. The absolute best part about it is that by the end, May has become much more like the warm, caring person she was before Bahrain and takes up the role of a teacher at the Coulson Academy for S.HI.E.L.D.
While I absolutely wished Mack (Henry Simmons) and Yoyo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) had retired and settled down, I absolutely appreciate both remaining in the field and Yoyo becoming the most decorated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent while teaming up with Piper (Briana Venskus) and an LMD Davis (Maximilian Osinski). However, I legitimately laughed out loud at how awesome it was to see Mack going full Nick Fury on a Helicarrier.
It was also sweet that Daisy was able to find and hold on to one part of the blood family she was constantly in search for in Season 1, while not letting go of the family who stayed by her side on the journey there as she journeys through space (maybe as a part of S.W.O.R.D.?) with her sister and the new man out of time, Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj), an amazing final season addition to the team. Then came Deke (Jeff Ward), the man who again made the sacrifice play for the team — staying behind in another alternate timeline to get them home — but, this time, being left behind in a world where he’s both a rock god and the best hope to rebuild and lead S.H.I.E.L.D. That actually presents the opportunity for the spin-off that I never knew I wanted, The D: Director by day, Rock God by night. That brings me to Fitz and Simmons.
I’ve never encountered another character who I just completely understand the way I do with Fitz, which may play a huge part in why I love this show so much. For that reason, I, along with almost everyone else in the small but passionate fanbase this show’s built over the years, absolutely needed a happy ending for these characters who’ve just been through so much, but Fitz and Simmons in particular. They’ve been the heart of this series since the beginning and, as such, the source of some of the greatest heartbreak this series ever delivered. This season began in a way not unfamiliar to those of us who’ve been watching all along, with the two of them separated and trying to return to each other while trying to save the world. However, this time it was different because this time they were able to do it on their own terms, choosing to live their lives before separating in order to save the world, and in doing so they gave themselves something else worth saving: a daughter.
Seeing those two have their happy ending was the best part of this spectacular finale and the sight of Fitz being the happiest he’s ever been on the show with his daughter, while Jemma looked on with doting eyes was absolutely heartwarming and emotional. It only seems appropriate to end with the character who started this all, Agent Phillip J. Coulson. Seeing him ride off on a new version of Lola, built for him by Mack and mirroring the way he flew off on Lola in the pilot episode, was the perfect final image for this series.
As great as those endings were, it was truly heartbreaking letting this show and its characters go, but I’m grateful for having had a chance to be on this ride as it happened. I’ll leave you with possibly my favorite line of the show, Jemma Simmons’ line at the end of the Season 5 finale that encapsulates how I feel leaving this show behind. “We don’t move on. We hold that place in our hearts. We close it off, lock the door, and visit from time to time, but we don’t move on.” 5/5 SHIELD Bibles.
-Kevin Palma
