Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Week 22

Episode: The Beginning of the End
Original Airdate: 5-13-14

It’s been an up and down year for this show for many people, although coming from a fan I always thought that it started good and only got better as the season went on and the finale was the icing on the cake. There’s plenty of surprises, some more surprising than others, with the typical mix of drama, humor, and action, all ramped up to the maximum. And now that we’ve come to the end of this season, next year there’s a lot more superhero and comic book shows so I may be doing things a little bit differently but we’ll just have to wait and see. Next week be sure to come on back as I take a look back at this first season as a whole. But for now, let’s get back to the episode at hand.

When we last left our heroes, Garrett was saved from near death by the alien extract with some possible side effects. Ward was still by his side after having left FitzSimmons to die in a cargo pod in the middle of the ocean. Coulson’s team was more determined than ever to go after them all to finish things once and for all. First things first, I did enjoy FitzSimmons’ segments in this show, Fitz declares his love for Simmons through his self sacrifice, though the show leaves things unclear as to how much he actually sacrificed. And as a side note, I get the feeling that if this show hadn’t gotten picked up for a second season, Fitz wouldn’t have made it out alive. As it is now, it’s unclear exactly what will be different about him. The most likely scenario is some type of brain damage, and if it goes the typical route it will involve some amount of memory loss, but hopefully not any full blown personality shift. It was also a fantastic way to introduce Nick Fury in his post-Captain America look.

Ward’s subplot was slightly less satisfying even though it culminates with a great brawl between him and Agent May. There’s also a door left open for his possible return to the team in the future as they made it overly clear that his only allegiance was to Garrett and not Hydra itself. And of course, it wouldn’t be a season finale if there wasn’t plenty of set up for season two here and I think it’s set up very nicely. Coulson is made the new director of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. Which will be rebuilt from the ground up, with the help of Patton Oswald’s return as his dead character’s twin brother. Both Rayna and Quinn survived intact, with Rayna seeking the help of Skye’s monstrous looking, yet not fully shown father, and Quinn left holding onto the Graviton-to-be gravitonium. It was a fun ride, and one of the best moments was definitely Garrett’s ultimate demise. Until next time, this has been Bubbawheat for Flights, Tights, and Movie Nights.