AGENTS OF SHIELD Series Finale Roundtable: “The End is at Hand” and “What We’re Fighting For”

The epic two-hour series finale episodes of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD aired this week on ABC.

Here’s the synopsis for the last episodes, “The End is at Hand” and “What We’re Fighting For”:

With their backs against the wall and Nathaniel and Sibyl edging ever closer to eliminating S.H.I.E.L.D. from the history books, the agents must rely on their strengths to outsmart and outlast the Chronicoms. This is their most important fight, and it will take the help of friends and teammates, past and present, to survive.

Join NiceGirls Roz, Christie, Karen, and Rueben as we discuss the episode, using our ratings system known as SASSY – S(tupid), A(wesome), S(o) S(o) and Y(Your Thoughts):

STUPID

Roz: Given that we finally saw the end of Nathaniel, his logic was so so bad all the time. His quest for power and anarchy is clearly not what anyone needed (except him), so his plan ultimately failed. GOOD!

Christie: I didn’t particularly feel that Nathaniel thought through what he wanted, and it just made the endgame that much worse. Of all the Big Bads the S.H.I.E.L.D. crew faced, he was definitely the worst.

Karen: I’m with all of you. Nathaniel was really the most badly written part of this season. A big bad should be scary and menacing. He was literally just annoying.

Rueben: I think we can all agree we have hated Nathaniel since his introduction, and I was cheering when Daisy ended him (FINALLY) and watched that Chronicom ship blow up; but he was just so annoying especially throughout this finale. If he had been able to succeed, God! that would have been horrible.

AWESOME

Roz: I was not expecting to see Deke’s mom stuck in the pod from that situation with Izel! I also wasn’t expecting all of that other work Enoch did to bring Fitz back. He also came back with a great purpose!

Christie: I was so glad to see Fitz. And I was happy to finally get an answer to what the hell has been going on, even if they did rush through it. Also, Daisy taking Nathaniel out like the superhero she is, was worth watching. Her arc was a joy to watch throughout the show. Oh and making me happiest of all, Jemma and Leopold go off together and have a family!

Karen: FitzSimmons got a HEA! Hooray! and Deke landed where he loved to be, and I’m sure his band is going strong. I think everybody ended up where they should be. I love that Coulson got his “Lola” back too.

Rueben: I caught on to there being more to that pod than just protecting Fitz right as Fitz said that Flint and Piper were protecting the most important thing to them (not his exact words), but I screamed Deke’s mom is in that pod as Jemma rounded to the other side of the pod. I loved that Nathaniel was taken down and that they agreed they were fighting for their family (even if they all went their separate ways as shown in the one year later final scene). I thought it was right that Deke stayed behind in the alternate timeline; after all, he was the best person to make sure that part of the plan actually worked there. He also loved being in 1983 when he and Mack were stuck there; and I had to laugh a little when that SHIELD agent asked him, “Are you the new guy in charge.” And Deke said simply, “Yes.” I’m not sure if that was going to be a good or bad thing for that timeline, but it was a little funny. I also loved how May got the drop on Sibyl. I was happy to see that final scene with Coulson getting Lola back. That tied back to the pilot too!

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SO SO

Roz: Much as I loved the button, it felt so weird that we had this little happy moment all together I think it was too much of a reset/preview of any new shows. We left them on a mission that saved what mattered most and then that found family is less important than smaller pods.

Christie: Kora’s reasons for being angry with Daisy were weak. I don’t care that Nathaniel manipulated her.

Karen: I agree with you Christie. Kora had such a fast turnaround I got whiplash. She was such a meh character.

Rueben: I have to admit it was a bit strange watching all those Chronicoms simply walk right by Daisy (and then later Deke and Jemma too) on Sibyl’s ship – sure I get they were ordered to just let her pass, but it was strange.

YOUR THOUGHTS

Roz: The callbacks were so good but I felt like some of them were so far back that I didn’t remember them. We’ve had so many years to focus on other things.

Christie: Agreed with Rueben and Roz, that going back to the temple was jarring because I had to remember everything. But I did like that we saw it all, finally. I am still annoyed that it was a case of time travel undoing everything that happened because they went back to the beginning. Not my favorite thing. But, at least there was a happily ever after for everyone, and that was the best thing.

Karen: Man, what a great season! It hasn’t been that long since I did a rewatch of the earlier seasons, so the callbacks were a lot of fun for me. If you hadn’t though, that’s seven years that people had to scroll through – so I totally get it. I super dug where they all ended up and how their stories were resolved. I’d like to think that they have their confab many times in the future, but I think the show insinuated they were going their separate ways – for the most part. Overall, I really loved this season. Nathaniel non-withstanding.

Rueben: I have to agree, Roz, while I loved getting to see the whole plan in motion of what Fitz and Simmons set up (with Enoch’s help, of course) I had to admit that I had forgotten a lot of the details from when they were in the temple and was really dredging up extremely faded memories of those episodes. But, I appreciated that they gave us all the insight into that whole plan. I didn’t actually mind the one year later scene – except for them jumping ahead in time AGAIN – as it was nice to see they were all doing well and most of them still working for SHIELD. It was just so great to see that Fitz and Simmons were retired (at least to an extent if that short conversation between Jemma and Daisy was an indication) and HAPPY TOGETHER. That was all worth it to me.

[Photo Credit: ABC/Mitch Haaseth]

While Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is over, you can still get some pieces of the show. Propshop is registering users who want a chance to bid on some props from the show. (This is not an affiliate link, but something we think fans of the show might want to look at.)