Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The End (5x22)

I cried so hard. God damn it. I cried SO HARD.

Cons:

So, they weren't sure if they were getting renewed when they wrote and filmed this, right? So it had to feel like a final episode of the show. I get that. But the enormously sweet and touching ending is a bit undercut by the fact that we will be getting more episodes. I really hope that the sixth (and likely last) season of this show is a bit mellower, maybe structured more like an epilogue. I don't want a new big bad to come in and screw everything up, I just want to see maybe a smaller, more localized set of stories with the team, so we can have a nice long while to say goodbye. Time will tell.

I was DEVASTATED by the ending, what with Fitz and Coulson and all of that, but I had a bit of room left in me to be slightly annoyed at the "gotcha" element of that final memorial/celebration. They wanted us to all be shocked by the "twist" that Fitz can be saved, but I just felt manipulated, honestly. If this really had been the final episode, then Fitz's death would have felt like a cheap way to end his character. If everybody else gets cheesy final words, I want some Fitzsimmons cheesy finale stuff too. I know we still have a chance for that now, because the show was renewed, but I'm annoyed that this could have been the end.

Also, two questions: is Deke really gone? Poofed out of existence? That's enormously sad, and it wasn't really addressed at all. Nobody even mentioned him not being there. Are we ever going to see him again? It took me a long time to care about him, and I need more closure there. Secondly, what about the end of Infinity War? Are we just supposed to believe that all of our characters coincidentally didn't get dusted? (Side note - how screwed up would it be if May vanished before Coulson dies? I'm making myself sad just thinking about it). The point is, this show can't ignore Infinity War. The other point is, it's not coming back until summer of 2019, which means the next Avengers movie will have already been released. If they don't address it at all, that's going to annoy me.

Pros:

Okay but you guys Daisy saves the day and it's glorious. Her scene with Talbot was so great. She tries so hard to save him, the way she knows Coulson would want, but in the end she has to be a bad-ass. I was pretty emotional about Talbot's death, even though it was pretty clear that we lost him the minute he went in that gravitonium chamber. Still, I loved how all of the pieces lined up, and everything seemed primed for another repeat of the loop, and then... bam. Coulson's sacrifice and Daisy's determination are enough to change the future. Does it make sense? Probably not. But time travel stuff never does, and I was really satisfied with the way the loop was broken.

Yo-Yo completely broke my heart. I mean, a lot of things completely broke my heart, but let's start with her. She feels so alone, as she tries to argue for breaking the loop, at the expense of Coulson's life. I really liked her line about how she's in a nightmare, screaming, and nobody can hear her. I get that. When you know you're right, but nobody will listen or understand, and you feel so alone? God. That's so tough, and I could really feel what she was going through. Of course, by the end of the episode, she and Mack are firmly reconciled, and that's also really wonderful to see. It's what needed to happen. Those two were always going to make it, no matter what.

So. Like. Let's talk about Fitz. He's always been the biggest skeptic about being able to break the time loop. One of my favorite subtle moments is when Fitz runs up and sees May and Robin hugging. He asks where Mack and Robin's mother are, and when May says, casually, that Mack ran in to the ship to get Robin's mother, Fitz says, quiet and a little scared, that neither of them make it. Meaning, if the loop repeats itself, and at this point they all think Coulson has taken the serum, then Mack is likely about to die. So, of course, they run in to save the day. And... they do! Proof that the loop is beginning to break. But this change comes at a heavy price, as Fitz is buried under collapsing rubble. When Mack and May dig him out, they find that he's basically been cut in half. He dies within minutes. It. Is. Brutal. He's disoriented and scared. I was expecting him to realize what was happening and say some meaningful final words to Mack, or ask them to pass a message to Simmons. That would have been bad enough. But no. Instead of that, he's confused, and he doesn't know that he's dying, and he's repeating himself, and then he's just gone. May and Mack both immediately start crying. Mack holds Fitz's hand in his. It's a gut-wrenching death scene. It was so effective to do it this way, without any epic-ness to it. Simmons isn't even there. It's just mundane. It's just an accident. It just happens.

Of course, if that was really it for Fitz, I'd be rioting. But since I know we can get him back, I'm okay. Still, the fact that some version of Fitz can be saved doesn't erase the tragedy of this death. The Fitz that has been frozen and sent into space is not quite the same Fitz that just died. It's a Fitz that hasn't gotten married, or met his grandson Deke. He hasn't shared in the harrowing and life-changing experiences that the rest of the team have gone through. That's really sad. I'm glad that Fitz's death is going to have some lasting impact on the story and his character.

Okay so Coulson doesn't take the serum and now he's going to die. And this is what breaks the loop, because it means that Daisy has the serum to inject into Talbot and save the day. And I'm devastated. In some ways, I really do hope that Coulson isn't in next season. Maybe not May either, although I'll really miss her. This was just the perfect send-off for his character. This show started because Coulson came back to life. And now, his extra time has ended. That time gave him beautiful relationships with a team of amazing people, and he got to help save the world again and again. And now, he gets to go to Tahiti and spend his final days with May, who has come to accept his decision.

Of course, the goodbye with Daisy is the one that just guts me. He says he wrote her a letter for her to read. Basically it just says how proud he is of her. They hug. Daisy says "I love you." I cried a lot. This father/daughter dynamic between them is everything I ever wanted. I know I say this a lot when reviewing this show, but I think back to how uninteresting I found Skye when the show began, and I can hardly believe how invested I became in her character. I'm proud of her too!

Coulson is the reason this show exists, but he's given his team everything they need to continue fighting the good fight without him. I'm going to miss him so much if he doesn't come back next season. Here's hoping that whatever they come up with for Season Six, it only enhances the beauty of this amazing finale.

9.5/10