"What does S. H. I. E. L. D. stand for, Agent Ward? Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division. And what does that mean to you? It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out SHIELD."
There is little to complain about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Every film and television show delivers (some more than others) and manages to grip the viewer from the start. Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. is no exception. Not only does it give the audience an extensive look of how people deal with the aftermath of certain MCU flicks, but it also enriches and enlarges the scope, story, and conflict.
Daisy 'Skye' Johnson aka Quake aka 'the destroyer of worlds', Phil Coulson and Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez aka Slingshot are pretty much tied as my favourite characters of Agents of Shield. Deke Shaw aka The D and Lance Hunter are still in my top 5, though. I love the energy that they bring to the missions.
Contrary to popular belief, the first part of season 1 got me hooked and invested straight away in the show. Even the earlier episodes are action-packed, entertaining and move at a fast pace. I loved seeing the original team together back when they had less trauma and no betrayals. Seeing Ward acting all friendly and a member of the team makes his betrayal in episode 17 more excruciating.
The T. A. H. I. T. I. Project and uncovering Skye's past is one of the best mysteries I have seen on television. The first season gave us little nuggets on Skye's true lineage, while the second season introduced Skye's father and finally revealed what happened to her mother. In 1945, Skye's mother touched the Obelisk, which granted her eternal youth. 44 years later, she was kidnapped and experimented on by Hydra, and eventually was killed. The Obelisk grants life changing powers to those who are worthy. Skye belongs to one of those people.
The fifth episode of the third season titled "4,722 Hours" is perhaps the boldest, creative, and ambitious Agents of Shield episode the writers and producers have ever crafted. It gave the audience an in-depth look at how Jemma Simmons survived being trapped on an inhospitable alien planet for 6 months. The episode itself had a bottle type feel to it.
Robbie Reyes aka Ghost Rider made his unforgettable debut in the season 4 premiere. In the season 4 finale, he returned to take the Darkhold, and to defeat Aida once and for all. Ghost Rider temporarily inhabited Phil Coulson's body to defeat Aida aka Ophelia, however by doing so, Coulson made a deal with Ghost Rider.
The six-part mini-series Agents of Shield: Slingshot takes place after the events of the eighth episode of the fourth season, otherwise known as the mid-season finale and revolves around Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez's journey to finding the culprit who murdered her cousin. Not only is it awesome seeing Elena as the title character, but it gives her some character development that ties into future episodes of Agents of Shield. As already mentioned, Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez is my favourite Agents of Shield character and whenever she is on-screen and has a sizable part in an episode I am automatically sold and invested.
From the fifteenth episode onwards, the fourth season took a dark turn. I agree with the consensus that the LMD and Framework storyline is the most cohesive, well-structured, and consistent storyline of the series. In the Framework, it is revealed in the best way possible that Hydra is in control and Shield is grasping at straws and trying to defeat Hydra. In the Framework reality, Grant Ward is a double agent, much like in the real world. The Framework erases one regret of the characters to make them content and fulfilled. In this reality, Grant Ward's worldview was flipped. He never met Garrett or had an abusive and strained relationship with his parents and siblings. Ward fights for the Resistance aka Shield who is trying to take down Hydra.
The season 4 cliffhanger transported most of the team to the year 2091 through a monolith. At first, I thought that Enoch was set up to be the villain of season 5, but he later turned out to be an ally. The season 5 premiere left the team (except Fitz) stranded on a dystopian version of Earth where the Kree gained control and humanity is close to extinction. Daisy finds out the shocking revelation that she causes the destruction of Earth. Daisy 'Skye' Johnson aka Quake is considered to be the destroyer of worlds in the future timeline, according to Hydra's leader Daniel Whitehall.
The fifth episode of the fifth season titled "Rewind" explored Fitz's journey to finding the rest of the team. The montage of him in prison trying to undertake research on how his friends disappeared, whilst mailing different letters to soccer clubs to gain the attention of Lance Hunter is beyond impressive and one of my favourite scenes of the entire series. Hunter and Bobbi's spy's goodbye in season 3 episode 13 is one of the most emotional scenes of the entire series. Lance Hunter was truly missed, and I was genuinely happy to see him again in the fifth episode of the fifth season. Lance Hunter and Leo Fitz's bromance is one of the underappreciated friendships on the show.
I love how each season brings back mysterious objects or threats from previous seasons. For instance, the monolith was introduced way back in season 2, and play a big part in the later seasons as well. Hydra is a consistent threat throughout all seven seasons. In season 6, Hydra made only a brief appearance in the episode where Fitz and Simmons were stuck in a mindscape with their worst enemies.
While not as much of a menacing or entrenching villain as AIDA, Izel still belongs to my top 3 favourite villains of Agents of Shield.
The third episode of the sixth season titled "Fear and Loathing on the Planet of Kitson" is perhaps one of the series' best, strangest and ambitious episodes. It even features one of the funniest scenes from all seven seasons.
The seventh and final season of Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. introduces time travel to the series once again. At the end of season 6, Flint created a piece of the time Monolith in order for Fitz and Simmons to travel to the future and invent time travel. They managed to build a Zephyr that can travel through time. During their time in the future, FitzSimmons decided to live their life and have a daughter. They anyway can travel back to the exact time they left. These time travel shenanigans can be quite confusing and disorienting for the viewer.
Elizabeth Henstridge made her directorial debut in season 7. She directed the ninth episode titled "As I Have Always Been." Not only did it become my favourite Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. episode, but one of the show's finest episodes. It is a well-crafted episode that made me feel all the possible emotions. Elizabeth Henstridge absolutely nailed it, and even pulled double duty. To be fair, season 7 in its entirety was exceptional and flawless. I literally had no complaints about the final season.
The series finale was a bittersweet send-off to each major Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. character. It gave FitzSimmons their magical happy ending with their daughter Alya, May as a professor at Coulson Academy, Mack as a full-time director, Yo-Yo on missions with Agent Piper and LMD Agent Davis with Chronicom hardware, Daisy in space with Sousa and her sister Kora, and Coulson finally at peace with his red Corvette Lola.
Daisy Johnson, Daniel Sousa, and Kora may potentially appear in Marvel's Secret Invasion or the potential Agents of S. W. O. R. D. Series that is rumoured to be in the works. It would be amazing to see two characters from Agents of Shield and one character from Agent Carter interacting with Nick Fury on Secret Invasion. Truly a shame that Daisy never had the pleasure of meeting Fury in-person. Chloe Bennett may have met him during season 1 filming but did not have any scenes with him.
To conclude, Agents of Shield is by far the best and superior Marvel show. The Marvel Disney Plus shows and the Marvel Netflix shows will never surpass the sheer excellency and quality of Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Nothing is ever going to fuel my addiction to this show (except of course Arrow). I love how the show manages to reinvent itself each season. I owe the writers, producers, cast and the rest of the crew my whole heart and thank them for making Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. a reality. I really hope to see some characters appear in the Marvel films or television shows. Until then, thank you S. H. I. E. L. D. for your service.
Favourite moments of Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D.:
*Ward being revealed as a Hydra agent and Andrew Garner being revealed as the inhuman Lash are two of the most shocking and surprising twists. It hits even harder when rewatching scenes from before Ward was exposed as a Hydra agent. Brett Dalton played the part to perfection.
*In a surprising turn of events, the leader of the ATCU Rosalind was shot by Ward after aligning herself to Phil Coulson's ideals. To be frank, I loved seeing Phil being intimate with someone outside of Shield. As a Shield agent your personal life takes a back seat.
*Bobbi and Hunter's send-off was bittersweet and emotional. The title of the episode "Parting Shot" is in reference to them getting a proper Spy's goodbye from the team, albeit standing a few metres apart from them to not compromise their cover.
*In a shocking turn of events, Mack cut off Coulson's hand, in order to stop the Terrigen crystal from spreading and turning him into stone. Luckily, Fitz built an artificial hand for Coulson that fits his needs. I love how Coulson kept the red axe throughout the seasons as a reminder of the day he lost his hand.
Season 1: 8.9/10 Season 2: 9.3/10 Season 3: 9.0/10 Season 4: 9.5/10 Season 5: 8.8/10 Season 6: 9.5/10 Season 7: 10/10
Final verdict: 10/10.
There is little to complain about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Every film and television show delivers (some more than others) and manages to grip the viewer from the start. Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. is no exception. Not only does it give the audience an extensive look of how people deal with the aftermath of certain MCU flicks, but it also enriches and enlarges the scope, story, and conflict.
Daisy 'Skye' Johnson aka Quake aka 'the destroyer of worlds', Phil Coulson and Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez aka Slingshot are pretty much tied as my favourite characters of Agents of Shield. Deke Shaw aka The D and Lance Hunter are still in my top 5, though. I love the energy that they bring to the missions.
Contrary to popular belief, the first part of season 1 got me hooked and invested straight away in the show. Even the earlier episodes are action-packed, entertaining and move at a fast pace. I loved seeing the original team together back when they had less trauma and no betrayals. Seeing Ward acting all friendly and a member of the team makes his betrayal in episode 17 more excruciating.
The T. A. H. I. T. I. Project and uncovering Skye's past is one of the best mysteries I have seen on television. The first season gave us little nuggets on Skye's true lineage, while the second season introduced Skye's father and finally revealed what happened to her mother. In 1945, Skye's mother touched the Obelisk, which granted her eternal youth. 44 years later, she was kidnapped and experimented on by Hydra, and eventually was killed. The Obelisk grants life changing powers to those who are worthy. Skye belongs to one of those people.
The fifth episode of the third season titled "4,722 Hours" is perhaps the boldest, creative, and ambitious Agents of Shield episode the writers and producers have ever crafted. It gave the audience an in-depth look at how Jemma Simmons survived being trapped on an inhospitable alien planet for 6 months. The episode itself had a bottle type feel to it.
Robbie Reyes aka Ghost Rider made his unforgettable debut in the season 4 premiere. In the season 4 finale, he returned to take the Darkhold, and to defeat Aida once and for all. Ghost Rider temporarily inhabited Phil Coulson's body to defeat Aida aka Ophelia, however by doing so, Coulson made a deal with Ghost Rider.
The six-part mini-series Agents of Shield: Slingshot takes place after the events of the eighth episode of the fourth season, otherwise known as the mid-season finale and revolves around Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez's journey to finding the culprit who murdered her cousin. Not only is it awesome seeing Elena as the title character, but it gives her some character development that ties into future episodes of Agents of Shield. As already mentioned, Elena 'Yo-Yo' Rodriguez is my favourite Agents of Shield character and whenever she is on-screen and has a sizable part in an episode I am automatically sold and invested.
From the fifteenth episode onwards, the fourth season took a dark turn. I agree with the consensus that the LMD and Framework storyline is the most cohesive, well-structured, and consistent storyline of the series. In the Framework, it is revealed in the best way possible that Hydra is in control and Shield is grasping at straws and trying to defeat Hydra. In the Framework reality, Grant Ward is a double agent, much like in the real world. The Framework erases one regret of the characters to make them content and fulfilled. In this reality, Grant Ward's worldview was flipped. He never met Garrett or had an abusive and strained relationship with his parents and siblings. Ward fights for the Resistance aka Shield who is trying to take down Hydra.
The season 4 cliffhanger transported most of the team to the year 2091 through a monolith. At first, I thought that Enoch was set up to be the villain of season 5, but he later turned out to be an ally. The season 5 premiere left the team (except Fitz) stranded on a dystopian version of Earth where the Kree gained control and humanity is close to extinction. Daisy finds out the shocking revelation that she causes the destruction of Earth. Daisy 'Skye' Johnson aka Quake is considered to be the destroyer of worlds in the future timeline, according to Hydra's leader Daniel Whitehall.
The fifth episode of the fifth season titled "Rewind" explored Fitz's journey to finding the rest of the team. The montage of him in prison trying to undertake research on how his friends disappeared, whilst mailing different letters to soccer clubs to gain the attention of Lance Hunter is beyond impressive and one of my favourite scenes of the entire series. Hunter and Bobbi's spy's goodbye in season 3 episode 13 is one of the most emotional scenes of the entire series. Lance Hunter was truly missed, and I was genuinely happy to see him again in the fifth episode of the fifth season. Lance Hunter and Leo Fitz's bromance is one of the underappreciated friendships on the show.
I love how each season brings back mysterious objects or threats from previous seasons. For instance, the monolith was introduced way back in season 2, and play a big part in the later seasons as well. Hydra is a consistent threat throughout all seven seasons. In season 6, Hydra made only a brief appearance in the episode where Fitz and Simmons were stuck in a mindscape with their worst enemies.
While not as much of a menacing or entrenching villain as AIDA, Izel still belongs to my top 3 favourite villains of Agents of Shield.
The third episode of the sixth season titled "Fear and Loathing on the Planet of Kitson" is perhaps one of the series' best, strangest and ambitious episodes. It even features one of the funniest scenes from all seven seasons.
The seventh and final season of Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. introduces time travel to the series once again. At the end of season 6, Flint created a piece of the time Monolith in order for Fitz and Simmons to travel to the future and invent time travel. They managed to build a Zephyr that can travel through time. During their time in the future, FitzSimmons decided to live their life and have a daughter. They anyway can travel back to the exact time they left. These time travel shenanigans can be quite confusing and disorienting for the viewer.
Elizabeth Henstridge made her directorial debut in season 7. She directed the ninth episode titled "As I Have Always Been." Not only did it become my favourite Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. episode, but one of the show's finest episodes. It is a well-crafted episode that made me feel all the possible emotions. Elizabeth Henstridge absolutely nailed it, and even pulled double duty. To be fair, season 7 in its entirety was exceptional and flawless. I literally had no complaints about the final season.
The series finale was a bittersweet send-off to each major Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. character. It gave FitzSimmons their magical happy ending with their daughter Alya, May as a professor at Coulson Academy, Mack as a full-time director, Yo-Yo on missions with Agent Piper and LMD Agent Davis with Chronicom hardware, Daisy in space with Sousa and her sister Kora, and Coulson finally at peace with his red Corvette Lola.
Daisy Johnson, Daniel Sousa, and Kora may potentially appear in Marvel's Secret Invasion or the potential Agents of S. W. O. R. D. Series that is rumoured to be in the works. It would be amazing to see two characters from Agents of Shield and one character from Agent Carter interacting with Nick Fury on Secret Invasion. Truly a shame that Daisy never had the pleasure of meeting Fury in-person. Chloe Bennett may have met him during season 1 filming but did not have any scenes with him.
To conclude, Agents of Shield is by far the best and superior Marvel show. The Marvel Disney Plus shows and the Marvel Netflix shows will never surpass the sheer excellency and quality of Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. Nothing is ever going to fuel my addiction to this show (except of course Arrow). I love how the show manages to reinvent itself each season. I owe the writers, producers, cast and the rest of the crew my whole heart and thank them for making Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D. a reality. I really hope to see some characters appear in the Marvel films or television shows. Until then, thank you S. H. I. E. L. D. for your service.
Favourite moments of Agents of S. H. I. E. L. D.:
*Ward being revealed as a Hydra agent and Andrew Garner being revealed as the inhuman Lash are two of the most shocking and surprising twists. It hits even harder when rewatching scenes from before Ward was exposed as a Hydra agent. Brett Dalton played the part to perfection.
*In a surprising turn of events, the leader of the ATCU Rosalind was shot by Ward after aligning herself to Phil Coulson's ideals. To be frank, I loved seeing Phil being intimate with someone outside of Shield. As a Shield agent your personal life takes a back seat.
*Bobbi and Hunter's send-off was bittersweet and emotional. The title of the episode "Parting Shot" is in reference to them getting a proper Spy's goodbye from the team, albeit standing a few metres apart from them to not compromise their cover.
*In a shocking turn of events, Mack cut off Coulson's hand, in order to stop the Terrigen crystal from spreading and turning him into stone. Luckily, Fitz built an artificial hand for Coulson that fits his needs. I love how Coulson kept the red axe throughout the seasons as a reminder of the day he lost his hand.
Season 1: 8.9/10 Season 2: 9.3/10 Season 3: 9.0/10 Season 4: 9.5/10 Season 5: 8.8/10 Season 6: 9.5/10 Season 7: 10/10
Final verdict: 10/10.