For me, personally, this couldn't have been written any better. I loved it! I know not everyone will but for me it did the show justice. It was bittersweet and in line with how the show did things in all its seasons. When Hvitserk is given his new name 'Athelstan' I had to push back some tears. It's like the story has come full circle in a way. Ragnar took Athelstan with him on his first quest and now a son of Ragnar has taken place in Wessex as Athelstan, a name given to him by none other than his son.
Ivar's death was more heartbreaking than I could've imagined. I never thought I'd be shedding tears over him. He changed a lot during his time with the Rus and it is beautiful that he essentially gave his life to ensure that of Hvitserk. These two had such a deep bond and I wondered how it would conclude. I always thought one would kill the other but this was beautiful and tragic all at once.
The last scene of Floki and Ubbe on that beach was so well written too. When Floki tells Ubbe he looks like Ragnar, beautiful. Such a pure scene of two men with deep respect and love for each other. Ragnar would be proud of that.
Now if there is one thing I would like to have seen different it would be Ingrid, living her best life as Queen. I never cared for her though I can admit she is a force. She stood her ground against Harald and Erik but I think I never really warmed up to her because she got with Bjorn while he was already married to Gunnhild and I loved Gunnhild like I loved Lagertha.
I'll say goodbye to this epic adventure for now... probably going to re-watch it in the future and appreciate it all over again.
What an unsatisfying conclusion. As far as season finales go, this one felt very low stakes. The larger conspiracy wasn't really in the scope, it was more just Mulder and Scully trying to complete one task - find William (to protect him from some vague threat?). I thought they would at least bring out the plague again to properly conclude that whole storyline, but I guess not. And even if season 12 were to happen, they really can't repeat this whole "find William" bit all over again just to wrap-up a dumb one-off plotline. If they'd done that from the start, maybe this episode would have been better.
There was so little substance to this episode, instead it was just characters making faces while thinking or reacting. The writing quite poor, and in typical Chris Carter fashion we got some "shocking" character deaths (how many times as the Smoking Man "died" again?).
I hope that this is the end of The X-Files with Chris Carter in charge. This and season 10 were not up to par with the original series, even in its later days - and that's saying something. I'd be more open to the show continuing under Glen and Darin Morgan. They seem to have a better grasp on the show, at least for the monster of the week aspects.
First, we have multiple timelines. Then, we have multiple worlds. Now, we have different versions of characters existing from separate choices that are made (i.e. Jonas). These complexities will either be absolute genius or sheer ridiculousness. And we’ll know in two episodes. Maybe.
Why does it feel like there are wayyy too many versions of Martha out there? And why does it seem like both sides (Adam and Eva) want to keep the loop going? Neither want characters to divert from their paths, and these characters repeat everything regardless — which is kind of annoying. And is anyone else disappointed that Noah isn’t playing a bigger role? He was being set up as this major antagonist.
Again, everything could come together in a remarkable way and make an impressive amount of sense. OR what seemed like a well-thought-out story over the course of three seasons could ultimately result in a whole lot of randomness, that was simply made to appear clever.
Obviously, I want things to wrap up nicely, but there’s something frustrating about a show that delivers more questions than answers. That’s been the journey of this series. So will it even matter what the destination reveals itself to be?
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING COMMENT IS RATED S FOR "SAPPY AS HELL". PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
We all know a bad series finale can ruin the entire show, which is why I've been feeling on edge all week. I just wanted a satisfying ending for my team. And, for the most part, I got one.
I started crying as soon as they said the team would never be all in the same room again. And then Deke made a sacrifice to stay in the altered timeline! It made me so emotional, but it was also funny (the way Sousa tried to be all heroic only for Deke to just… go full Deke on him). He’s gonna be just fine. I almost dread to think what SHIELD looks like under his leadership, but I'm sure it's equal parts hilarious and insane.
Fitz guiding Jemma to get her to remember was lovely. Iain and Elizabeth brought their A game, as always. I’ve missed that good old Caestridge magic.
The way they brought the whole thing full circle to the season 6 finale… Genius. The logistics of time travel made my head hurt, though. It’s way too complex for me.
”- Nice flying there.
- That used to be all I did.”
Yeah, like a million years ago. That line got a smile out of me. The season 1 nostalgia is real. Everybody gives the pre-Winter Soldier episodes so much flack, but I really enjoyed those early case-of-the-week shenanigans.
Daisy and Bitch Boy’s showdown paired with Cavalry dropping from the ceiling made me SCREAM. When Daisy blew up those Chronicom ships... Avengers? I don't know them. I only know one superhero and her name is Daisy freaking Johnson. The movies wish they had her. For a minute I really thought she was dead and my heart stopped. I wouldn't put it past the writers to kill her off. The Whedons have never met a surprise death scene they didn't like. But she’s okay! And Kora saved her! I’m fine (* narrator voice * she was not fine).
So like I predicted FitzSimmons had a child. A very blonde, very cute child. Her little voice made me tear up even more, if that’s even possible. That adorable accent!
I'm glad we didn't see the actual goodbye because that would've been too much for me. But I also don't fully understand why they decided to break up the band in the end other than because Enoch and Fitz told them they would. Even though they're still in each other's lives at the end, after 7 seasons of watching them become a family it hurts to see that they're all separated. It's just not the same.
During the last 10 minutes of the episode all the remaining self-control I had went out the window. The waterworks were flowing. Especially when Daisy was the last one left in the room, it really felt like we were watching the character as much as we were watching Chloe herself get hit with the realization that it's over. That broke me. Also, I don't buy for a second that they only do the futuristic Zoom thing once a year. Sure, maybe not all together, but Daisy and Jemma definitely talk like three times a week and they all 100% have a group chat going on that consists mostly of cute videos of Alya and Daisy sending memes (May never says anything but she reads every single message and Coulson uses the wrong emojis all the time). This is what I choose to believe. And none of it contradicts what's been said in canon, so I'm sticking by it. But aside from that minor gripe about the frequency of their communication, I really liked the ending. FitzSimmons are happy with their daughter, May is teaching (which oddly suits her) at a new SHIELD academy named after Coulson and Flint is one of her students, Daisy is in space with Sousa and Kora, Mack and YoYo are still in the field, Coulson and Lola are reunited (the real OTP of this show), even Davis is back! All my babies are okay! That’s all I wanted!
Well, not true. All I wanted was for this show to never end. But it did, as all good things must. And it did so on its own terms, despite everything working against it.
Now comes the truly sappy part.
7 seasons. 136 episodes. And it all ends here.
In October 2014, I was a 16-year-old casual Marvel fan who stumbled upon this show by chance one Saturday afternoon and pressed play on the pilot episode without thinking too much of it. It’s been nearly 6 years since that fateful day and out of all my shows I’ve been watching this one the longest and the most consistently by far. It’s been such a steady presence in my life that I still can’t fully comprehend that there’s not going to be any more episodes to look forward to. Agents of SHIELD has taken root in my heart and ingrained itself in me more deeply than any other piece of media has ever done, which makes this goodbye all the more difficult for me.
Now, I am not going to claim that this show was perfect. But at its best, Agents of SHIELD was an absolute non-stop thrill ride filled with awe-inspiring CGI (especially for a network show!) and exciting fight scenes, jaw-dropping plot twists and well-crafted intrigues, laugh-out-loud humor and heart-wrenching angst, brilliant acting and skillful writing. And most importantly, it had a group of amazing characters at its center, characters who got under my skin and never left, whose adventures I followed with bated breath, whose joy and laughter and pain and tears I felt and shared time and time again. For those characters, for everything I got to experience with them and through them, for all the ways they have enriched my life, I am truly, deeply grateful. I can only say, from the bottom of my heart: thank you.
Thank you for Phil Coulson, the dad to outdad all dads, who gave his life to the cause more than once; whose unwavering belief in his team and everything they stood for was a foundation that the entire show rested on; and whose cheesy one-liners never failed to get a smile from me.
Thank you for Melinda May, our Cavalry, whose many demons never managed to consume her heart; who fashioned her jagged edges into a weapon to protect the people she cared about; who went through hell and unspeakable trauma and came out the other side fighting, always fighting the good fight.
Thank you for Leo Fitz, the man who loved a woman so much that he jumped through a hole in the universe to find her; whose brilliant mind saved the day too many times to count; who suffered so much but always stood for what he believed in, no matter the cost.
Thank you for Jemma Simmons, the girl with two PhDs and a million questions who looked to the stars and yearned for an adventure; who survived being stranded on an alien planet and traveled farther than she ever could’ve imagined; who never backed down, never gave up, never surrendered, even in the face of the most insurmountable odds.
Thank you for my darling Daisy Johnson, a lonely girl without a home or a name who dreamt of a family and built herself one; who went from a hacktivist living in a van to an earth-quaking superhero; who carried the weight of the world on her shoulders but refused to let it break her; who had a blazing fire burning within that nothing, no matter how painful or horrible, could ever snuff out.
Thank you for Mack, YoYo and Deke, who joined the team a little further down the line and became invaluable members of SHIELD. Thank you for Bobbi, Hunter and Lincoln, who I was sad to say goodbye to. Thank you for Ward, who all of us loved to hate. Thank you for every single character, whether main, recurring or guest, for every hero and villain, ally and enemy, everyone who contributed to making Agents of SHIELD what it was.
To my favorite cast, especially my OGs Clark, Ming, Chloe, Lil and Iain, who brought these characters to life and blessed us with their talent every week, and to everyone who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the best show possible: you guys absolutely rock. I wish all of you the best of luck and many, many more successful projects in the future.
Goodbye, my favorite team. I’ll miss you like hell.
If you’re still reading this, thank you for sticking by me while I went through 5 stages of grief in roughly 1,200 words. I feel like I need to stare at the ceiling for a while until the void that this show left inside of me feels a little less cold and overwhelming.
