HAPPY 100TH EPISODE, EVERYONE!
I just want to say this: I'm so happy, so proud and so, so grateful. I've been in love with this show since I first started watching it 3.5 years ago. The fact that we're here today celebrating this wonderful milestone is a privilege, one that I wasn't sure we'd get this time last year. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has defied the odds time and time again. There has been so much working against it: backlash from hardcore Marvel fans way back when it started; ratings getting lower year after year; ABC itself not giving a shit about it, dumping it first in their worst slot at 10 PM on Tuesdays, and then moving it to Fridays, where most shows go to die; finally, having a completely undeserved reputation of the bastard child of the MCU. Despite all of that, it's still going strong, reaching new creative heights with every season, giving us awesome content, and keeping us on the edge of our seats. Maybe it never quite became the smash hit that Marvel surely expected it to be, but all of us who have stuck with it through thick and thin know just how special it is. "We have a small but active fanbase", indeed.
This episode was beautiful. I don't even know where to start. I think I'll just make a list of everything that stood out to me, it'll help me organize my thoughts a little:
Daisy and Coulson's relationship is absolutely incredible. I started crying as soon as Daisy teared up and I didn't really stop until the end of the episode. Chloe Bennet broke my heart. She's come such a long way since the pilot and grown so much as an actress.
Fake Deathlok trying to convince Phil that it's all in his head gave me major anxiety, mostly because for one horrifying second I imagined them ending the show like this. Just "psych! It was a fantasy all along!". They wouldn't do that, right? RIGHT???
Real Deathlok showed up! Yet another old character to have come back this season!
I saw a theory circulating around Tumblr that Deke is a descendant of FitzSimmons. I was sceptical. But guess what, it's true! Which means there are some cute, genius FitzSimmons babies coming! It does raise some questions, though. They'll have to send Deke back to the future eventually, right? Will he even exist if the team saves the world, or will he get erased? As usual with the time traveling stuff, my head hurts.
Goddamn. FitzSimmons. Wedding. This was where I went from low-key crying to just straight-up bawling. They couldn't have chosen anything better to celebrate the 100th episode with. It was perfect. The setting, Coulson marrying them, their vows... Jemma looked stunning, Fitz looked so handsome (shame about that kilt though, I think they should've gone for it), Elizabeth and Iain's acting was out of this world, as usual. I'm so happy for those two nerds.
What an emotional rollercoaster. I need to lie down for a bit. Huge, huge congratulations to everyone involved in the show, the whole cast and crew. I hope they know that they've created something extraordinary. And I hope that cake they had in celebration of the 100th episode was delicious.
Me, circa a week ago: Okay, I have to prepare myself. This episode is titled "The End", the ratings are low, there's no way we're getting another season. This show's had a good run. I'll always love it, but it's 100% getting canceled.
Agents of SHIELD, crashing through the window and punching me in the face: YOU FOOL. YOU ABSOLUTE BUFFOON. YOU GODDAMN COWARD.
Whoever in Marvel fought so hard to get us season 6, I am forever in your debt (even though we won't see those guys again until summer 2019, but that's still better than nothing) because WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT?
I don't remember the last time I cried during an episode of any show. But what happened with Fitz was so completely unexpected that I froze in shock, and then, when I saw Jemma's smile slowly fade as the realization set in, I broke down in tears. Sure, one could argue that his struggle with the darkness inside of him this season was a bit of a foreshadowing, but I didn't see his death coming at all. I could barely watch the rest of the episode because everything was blurry. I couldn't believe it. FitzSimmons have spent 5 seasons getting ripped apart over and over again, and now that they've finally gotten married, Fitz dies. I had the most horrible, nauseating feeling in my stomach. The only thing I could think about was "They better bring him back or so help me God, I will burn Marvel Television to the ground". When they mentioned the other version of Fitz floating in space, I felt like the biggest weight was lifted off my shoulders. It's going to be fine. My babies are going to be fine.
Coulson going to Tahiti is a nice full circle kind of thing for him. I know they'll probably find a way to keep him alive anyway, but I enjoyed that moment.
Daisy and Talbot's fight was so damn good. When she launched herself at him, I felt like I was watching a proper Marvel movie. I'll never understand why this show doesn't get the respect and the recognition it deserves. It's a goddamn gem in every way and every Marvel fan should watch it.
Oh, and I saw some people getting upset about the fact that half of the team didn't vanish at the end there, but personally I think it makes sense not to do that. Season 6 is going to air in the summer of 2019, after the release of the next Avengers movie, in which, let's face it, they're going to use the Time Stone or whatever to bring everyone back. So on the show we'd have half our characters vanish and then next year they'd just be there again as if nothing happened, without explanation. I'm glad they didn't do it.
So, I guess see y'all in a year when season 6 starts! Even though I have no idea how I'm supposed to wait that long!
