REVIEW: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "The End"
It should be noted that while this episode is called “The End,” the series has been renewed for one more shorter season. That is probably one of the biggest symbols I can give of this series at this point. You think all is said and done, but it just keeps going and going and going far beyond what anyone would buy as an ending both logically and emotionally. It’s somewhat remarkable but also really, really sad in more ways than one. Here is NOT “The End.”
I will admit a lot happened in this episode, making it a lot more qualified as a season finale, maybe even a series finale, than the previous one. The stakes were still considerably high, even if they didn’t make sense, and they remembered at the end what we care about most. While the Earth being destroyed is important, it was the concept of Coulson’s death that kept everything going, which is a good thing. We don’t know everyone in the world, but we do know the team. The emotions we understand are on full display.
I also compliment the final scene where they seem to have the guts to say that Coulson is indeed dying. There is another remark on how far they have come and how everything did have a meaning even if things are sad now. I’ll give the show credit for making you care, even if it wants you to care far too much by destroying everything that is good and decent. It still breaks my heart to hear Coulson and Daisy tell each other “I love you.”
Then of course there is the jerk around including Coulson actually dying and Fitz being presumed dead but also not really. I really see no point in dragging it out especially when we only had ten minutes left of the season. And seriously, Fitz and Simmons are separated again? That’s how they were planning on ending the series? At this point, there are just some things that this show ha never improved upon and it looks like they never will. At least that meant less Deke in the finale.
Also, at the end of the day, I’m still not sure what the space and time travel had to do with anything. If everything is fixed, that means everything has changed in their present already, but there was never an indication that things could change. What was the defining moment that had the timeline change? If it was Coulson choosing to die, then what stopped him from doing that in the first place? Time travel stories usually unravel the more you think about them, but this is supposed to be the finale when all is said and done. Here, it just gives me a feeling of frustration rather than anything remotely satisfying.
Another thing that’s slightly infuriating is the fact that this episode still takes place no more than a day before Infinity War. They got around some of it by taking place in Chicago rather than New York, but they still have less than 24 hours before death by snap. That means that even if this is supposed to be solemnly optimistic, realistically half of the team could die. That makes everything more depressing. The series is having a somewhat cheeky reprieve from that by returning next summer when presumably all will be fixed, but where we are now, it’s a bummer.
And that’s where the season is at this point. It’s a whole lot of ambition that never seems to stick the landing, no matter how big the scope can get. The space scene meant nothing in the long run since the future was changed with almost no consequences The regular scenes meant nothing since a lot of it was just pointless arguments. We may cry over what happened, but a lot of what happened isn’t worth crying over, or even thinking about for longer than five minutes.
However, I still want to end more positively, so I will also leave off with probably the best speech given in the series: “Look around! You’re surrounded by them. Anyone who signs up for this to lose friends or limbs or your mind or your life in protection of humanity. We’re in this together.” “The End” may symbolize the mess the series was, but that line symbolizes the pretty decent theme. A hero is not defined by power or ability but by his or her willingness to risk something for someone else. That’s what draws us to them since they inspire us to be better human beings, and many of the characters with or without powers exemplify that message even if the show doesn’t always work.
I will take that small glimmer of positivity with me as I look back on this year as a whole. Nevertheless, the series will likely be going out with a fizzle rather than a bang, and I don’t see how any additional season will change that. Just take your parting shot, brief moments of quality, and teary goodbyes and end gracefully.
