'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Recap: 'The End'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Normally, when one tunes in to watch an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. you’re guaranteed a few things when it comes to the story. You will in fact, get an action-packed tale, wherein our intrepid Agents defy the odds and accomplish wonders. Because that’s what Phil Coulson’s team does, they make miracles happen as a single unit and always fight to see another day. However, it would seem the past few weeks of this storied franchise have changed those rules, because this team has not been unified in the slightest and it truly seems that for the first time ever, no one is safe when it comes to this grand fight to save the world from utter destruction. 
 
Which meant that I found myself nervous to settle in for this episode, and my trepidation was justified. Because the season five finale, ‘The End’, had a different feel hanging over the story. It felt like it was building toward something heartbreaking, but before it tipped its hand as to whether or not people we love were going to pass into the great beyond, this episode did something that seemed impossible in so many ways since the team returned from the future; it managed to re-unify this shattered team and once they finally found themselves on the same page, they managed to accomplish the wonders we have become accustomed to.
 
In fact, I would venture to say that this was their finest hour. Because I cannot remember a time in this series where every single Agent was this motivated to do something heroic and meaningful and every single of them were true heroes in this episode through and through and for their efforts, they were successful in their respective endeavors. Mack was able to save Polly with an assist from May and Fitz, and Daisy, truly realized her potential as a superhero in this tale by boldly and bravely confronting Talbot and trying to reason with him. Yet, while that was a failure, it spoke to how far she had come by outright sounding like Coulson and wouldn’t you know it? Eventually Daisy was successful in defeating Talbot when she used her supercharged powers to blast him into space, saving all of mankind.  

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However, this was in fact, quite the pyrrhic victory. Because in order to give Daisy a boost, Coulson had to sneak her the Centipede Serum, meaning full well that he sacrificed his life for the greater good and to complicate matters further, Fitz was badly wounded in the escape and perished from his injuries, making the back half of this episode, as heartbreaking as I originally expected it to be as S.H.I.E.L.D. lost two critical members to the team. But, there is hope for a reunion for Fitz and Simmons since the man that died in this episode is from the future, and another Fitz is out there in space with Enoch, waiting for a future that will never come, but that same kind of second chance, doesn’t exist for Philip J. Coulson.
 
Which meant that the final moments of this episode, gave the team and the audience a rare opportunity when it comes to stories such as this; everyone got to say goodbye to Phil as he made the decision to live out his final days in paradise; Tahiti to be specific, with Agent May for that matter as well and this was…downright beautiful and tear-jerking to say the least. Because in many ways, this farewell signaled the end of an important chapter in this series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole. Because Phil Coulson has been a massive part of this franchise from the get go, and it’s strange that he likely won’t be along for the ride in the newly announced season six, or further MCU adventures for that matter, but at least, he found some semblance of peace at last in his final days after doing so much, for so many.
 
If anything, while that ending was sad in its own right, it was also quite beautiful. After all, the Earth is still in one piece, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is still here to protect it, and that’s about as joyful as things can get in a story such as this. Either way, this really was the finest season of this series to date, and with this chapter having come to a powerful close, I’m quite glad that this isn’t the true end of the series, and that we get to see how this team grows as a family in season six, and how they will respond to the new challenges that await them with a new leader in place, and a new future in front of them. Until next year. 

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