Which is why this episode feels so final. This episode was written as if the show was coming to a close and it definitely feels that way. In fact, this whole season has felt that way. Once the team got back to earth, it was all about tying up loose ends and answering series long questions. That said, because this episode feels so final, it presents a few more questions than it answers.
Last week we left off with the team arguing over what decision they would make. Would they use the centipede serum and the odium to kill Talbott or would they use the serum to save Coulson? This led to Yo-yo trying to take the initiative and stealing the serum. But May, being overly emotional (ironic considering where she started), smashes the odium, making the decision for everyone else.
I get everyone wanting to save Coulson, but they saw where things would go if they did, so I cannot for the life of me understand why they’d choose Coulson over the entire planet. Emotions were running high, but ultimately I found myself shaking my head. There isn’t always a way to have your cake and eat it too. But time was running out. Talbott had already made his way to Chicago where the rest of the gravitonium was buried deep underground. It’s wouldn’t be long until the future they saw would come to pass.
It’s at this point that the team makes the weirdest decision I’ve seen in some time: they put Mack in charge. I get that Mack likes to get all high and mighty about his morality and his religion, but the most emotional man in the room is not the one you want to put in charge, especially since Daisy gave up being a leader because she was too emotional. It doesn’t make sense. But that’s what we got.
The team heads off to Chicago, and Coulson has woken up. Everything is looking up. The team divides in two. One team will handle Talbott and the other team will rescue the civilians in the crossfire. I’ve never found the SHIELD theme inspiring until this moment. It even reminded me a little bit of the Avengers theme. It was good to see SHIELD getting back to what SHIELD is meant to do, which is save people.
Everything is going well right up until Coulson admits to Daisy that he never took the Centipede serum. He doesn’t think they should mess with his course of life any longer. Given how this was meant to be the show’s series finale, this sentiment makes sense. Coulson has lived a life much longer than he was meant to and he’s ready to retire. It was time to pass the baton off to Daisy, like he had always planned.
The battle between Daisy and Talbott was fun. You could tell this was the moment they’d saved all their special effects budget for. We were able to see the full strength of Daisy’s powers. Though I admit I was curious as to how she survived such a fall. But this is a superhero show so I’m not going to concern myself too much with the “realism” of it all. The fight was awesome and the one we deserved.
Unfortunately, during the attempt to rescue Robin’s mother from the alien spacecraft, an earthquake occurred and caught Fitz in the rubble. After digging him out, Mack and May realized the damage was too severe. The debris had nearly cut him in half. I was initially surprised by this move. Hadn’t the happy couple suffered enough? It would be just like SHIELD to kill Fitz off right before the end, preventing the two from having any kind of happy ending.
Daisy held up against Talbott for a good moment or two, but he was still much more powerful than her. He got the better of her and was getting ready to absorb her. It was here that Daisy noticed that Coulson had hidden the Centipede serum in her gauntlet, knowing that she would need it. Realizing there was no other way to get rid of Talbott, she injects herself. I thought that this meant she was sacrificing herself, allowing Talbott to absorb her so he would take the Centipede serum as well.
Turns out she had something else in mind. Enhanced by the Centipede serum, her powers increased beyond measure. It allowed her to break free and send Talbott into space! That was not exactly the ending I was expecting but it makes sense. Freezing him in deep space was probably the only way that Talbott could be defeated.
Around now was when I realized we still had about ten minutes to go in the finale. Despite the villain being defeated and the villain being saved, there was still much to do. Mostly, there was a goodbye party to throw. It was emotional, a goodbye worth of the character, and one that would have made a fine ending to the show. I’m glad we didn’t get to see Coulson’s letter to Daisy. Somethings are better left unsaid, especially since he summed it up for us anyways. The two have been like father and daughter since the beginning.
At the very end we wound up where we started. Adding even more to the idea that this was to be the show’s final episode, Coulson found himself on the beaches of Tahiti. A truly magical place, he says, planning to spend his final days with May. It brought the character – and the show – full circle.
That said, we still have another thirteen episodes coming next year. By then the events of AVENGERS INFINITY WAR and whatever happens in AVENGERS 4 will have passed. The question remains: does Coulson stick around? How does the show reconcile his death? It would feel cheap going through all this emotional labor only to have them bring him back. Maybe San Diego Comic-Con will bring us some answers in the coming months. Until then, we’ll simply have to wait and wonder.
Written by Peter Freeman, AGENTS OF SHIELD Beat Writer
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