So how’s everyone doing after that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series…..excuse me, SEASON finale?
Because those last 15 minutes gave me so much emotional whiplash that I’m going to charge Marvel for my hospital bills. I was up, then I was down, then I was confused and then I was up again and then sort of Zen but not really.
TV shows can drain a lot out of you.
Let’s start with the highest of highs – Daisy’s victory over General Talbot. This moment highlighted all of Daisy’s growth through the years. After finding out Coulson hadn’t taken the serum and a pep talk/argument with him, Daisy went out into the battlefield of Chicago to try to save the day.
At first Quake tried to reason with the crazed General and almost broke through to him. However, Talbot was too far gone and all that was left was the fighting. After a few neat effects, Daisy quaked the hell out of Talbot, into the cold clammy reaches of space. This time, there is no rescue for Glenn Talbot, as he is now a Popsicle in space. I’d say we’ll miss you Glenn, but that would be a lie. Though Adrian Pasdar played him with humor and sass, Talbot’s time had come. It was more than time to say goodbye to the General. Sadly, this wouldn’t be the last death in “The End” as the next death brought back a long remembered quote: WHEDONS HATE LOVE.
Yep, the bastards did it. They killed Fitz.
To say I was slightly miffed when this happened is an understatement. Leopold Fitz is by far, BY FAR my favorite character on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. So when Fitz, Mack and May went into the spaceship to save Robin and her mom, I originally wasn’t worried. After all, Fitz survived to be a part of the dreaded time loop.
The rescue attempt goes well as Mack is able to save Robin and Polly, but a bunch of rocks/debris falls on Fitz due to the Daisy/Talbot fight. At this point, panic sets in but still okay. Mack is able to get the rocks off Fitz but Fitz says he can’t feel his leg so it must be broken. So at this point, I’m thinking “Fitz is paralyzed but that’s okay. He’s still alive………. Wait……..NO THAT’S A METAL POLE STUCK THROUGH HIM. NO. FUCK NO.”
This leads to Mack trying to convince him he’s going to be okay but his words fall flat with Fitz and the audience as Leo Fitz passes away.
It’s a good thing no one was with me at this point because I was a crying, angry mess. Crying because it was a damn fine touching scene between Henry Simmons and Ian DeCaestecker as Mack can barely hold it together consoling his buddy as death gets to him. Angry because of course FitzSimmons can’t be happy a whole season without the creators messing with it! Seriously! AoS is lucky they got a season 6 because if this had been my last moment of seeing Fitz, I don’t know how I would feel about the show in general overall.
Now as for Coulson: At the beginning of “The End,” he pretended he took the serum to rally the team to save the day. This was a fake-out. Coulson later admits to Daisy he didn’t take it, before collapsing during the Quake/Talbot fight. BY the way did I mention this is happening as the same time as Fitz and Daisy’s events? Yeah because it would be dramatic if it wasn’t. As Coulson is flatlining, Yo-Yo tries CPR to save him. Earlier, Yo-Yo was trying to explain why they should use the serum to save the world instead of Coulson and even when she said this to Phil, Coulson agreed with her.
After seconds that felt like minutes, Yo-Yo is able to save Coulson this time around. So the time loop looks broken but at the cost of Fitz’s life now. (The look Simmons gives Mack when she figures out something is wrong is one of the most heartbreaking looks I’ve ever seen.)
Once the crisis is over, we see a plaque being made “In Remembrance Of, ” and Coulson is having a drink with the members of his team. Simmons joins them and at first you think it’s a wake for Fitz….until it’s revealed that it’s actually a retirement celebration for Coulson. At first, I thought “Okay,” until Simmons shows Coulson the postcard Fitz wrote back in the beginning of the season.
Then the light bulb goes on: Simmons and the team are going to find the Fitz that is frozen out there in space with Enoch. (Now there’s a name I haven’t typed in a while._
On one hand, YAY because it means that we still will get more Fitz in our lives. On the other hand, BOO because this Fitz won’t remember the awesome proposal or wedding his future self was a part of. So in conclusion: Fitz is dead but also is alive in space waiting to join the rest of the team….which won’t happen now because the time loop’s broken so he’s just out there now. As for the rest of your questions, may I answer with this:
The best thing Steven Moffatt ever gave us was that phrase. And maybe Sherlock but definitely this.
So with only days/months left to live, what would you do if you were Philip J. Coulson? Yep, the team drops him off in Tahiti. He’s not alone in that magical place; May is standing right beside him as always. This time, though, not as a partner but as a lover. Well, at least one ship got to be together at the end of the season.
(Seriously, if Fitz isn’t in season 6 or I have to wait half the season to see him again, I will fu*king scream.)
So with new Director Mack leading the way, the team sets out on their fancy new spaceship to start the “Search for Fitz”. Our last shot of the episode is of May and Coulson on the beach together, not worried about the future but happy in the present. Wish I was that carefree, but I worry about 20 minutes from now and I don’t have a life-threatening illness!
“The End” really felt like a series finale from start to finish and if it had been, I would have been okay with it once my anger about Fitz’s death abated… in 10-12 years. It hit all the notes that makes Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D the show that it is, the things it nails perfectly and the flaws that sometimes haunt it. No, AoS will never be a ratings juggernaut or have mainstream success, but it has its small but loyal passionate fan base that some shows would kill to have. Characters that we root for, care for, laugh with and cry with. When they hurt, we hurt. When they are happy, we are happy. In the end, that’s all you can ask a show to do — give us characters to care for, to love and stories that enthrall us. Yes, season 6 might suck but I’m very happy that we aren’t done with these characters just quite yet. There’s still a few more stories left for us to go with these characters on and I’m not ready to say goodbye just yet.
Summer 2019 is going to be a LONG WAIT.
OTHER THOUGHTS:
- Daisy and Coulson’s “I love you’s” during their hug goodbye was another thing that made me cry and you could see the bond between the two of them in that moment. Such a long ways from the hacker Skye meeting the old guy with the cool car.
- Mack as the new Director of SHIELD makes a ton of sense as he’s the most like season 1 Coulson of the whole group now honestly.
- I’ll laugh if, when they come back for season 6, they have already rescued Fitz.
- When they do rescue him, show him the wedding footage that was filmed on Mack’s phone.
- Please stop making Yo-Yo feel bad everyone!! When Natalia Cordova feels bad on screen, I feel bad in real life!
- Surprised they didn’t pull the Infinity War ending here.
- My favorite episode of the season? I have a few — The 100th episode and the Fitz and Hunter team-up episodes are two that come to mind off the top of my head. What was yours?
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D returns in SUMMER 2019 for Season 6!