Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. VIIa: The Robot Heart Beats On

[Palanan]

So, it seems the seventh and final “season” (really a half-season) will air this Wednesday the 27th. Here’s a new clip:




Sadly, it seems Deke will still be with them. I was hoping he’d be vaporized somehow.

Otherwise I have no real expectations. It’ll be one last little romp.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I've been considering getting into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but my understanding is it contradicts the movies, and I don't want to have to keep track of competing canons. @_@

[Palanan]

I don't recall that it contradicts any movies per se, but I haven't re-watched any of the seasons, and it's been almost a year since Season 6.

That last season exists in a bit of a grey area in terms of the timeline (although someone else may have a better sense of this) but as I recall, it's designed to more or less sidestep those issues to avoid any conflict.

In fact, I can see one way how this new season might end up resolving any potential issues.

Spoiler

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Since they're lost in time right now, when they finally jump back to their native time they may skip a few years and come out on the post-Endgame/Phase 4 side of things. That would bring them into sync with the next crop of movies, although since the show is ending that may not have much practical effect.

As far as getting into the show otherwise, it does track closely with at least one other MCU movie, and there are some major show-specific surprises related to that, so definitely best to watch the episodes and seasons in order. Don't let your expectations get too high, and be prepared for a ton of name-dropping in the first season. Second season is when it really picks up and hits its stride.

[JadedDM]

Yeah, it doesn't contradict the movies. They tried, very hard, at first to match the movies. So if some big event happened in a movie, it would affect the show, for instance. But the movies completely ignored the show, and eventually it became more and more difficult to keep up with the movies, so toward the end they just more or less stopped worrying about it. (In the last season, for instance, there are numerous references to Thanos and his attack on Earth, but it has no bearing on the show's story whatsoever.)

[Douglas]

(In the last season, for instance, there are numerous references to Thanos and his attack on Earth, but it has no bearing on the show's story whatsoever.)

Well, trying to stop Thanos does become part of one character's stated motivations in season 5.

The movies ignore the show, but the show incorporates consequences of movie events into its story, and I don't recall the show ever actually contradicting the movies. The closest it gets is that some of the show's events seem major enough that the movies really should at least mention them, but it's always explainable as just all conversation about those events happening offscreen.

The main thing to keep in mind when starting to watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is that it changes drastically late in season 1, and that's when it really comes into its own. It's a decent show from the beginning, but not especially great. Then

Spoiler: Movie spoiler

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier happens, and the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. organization gets torn apart as Hydra reveals itself.

This event fundamentally changes the core premise of the entire show, and it gets a great deal more interesting to watch.

[Palanan]

I would respectfully suggest putting those last two sentences in a spoiler, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

[Douglas]

That seems more of a spoiler for Winter Soldier than for Agents to me. "It gets more interesting" is the only part that isn't an obvious direct consequence of a) the movie's events, b) the show's name, and c) the shared setting, continuity, and time span of the movie and show.

[Palanan]

Someone who hasn't seen the show yet wouldn't know which organization is involved, and the first season spends some time on character development in a way that the movie tie-in ends up being a surprise. Knowing that ahead of time only detracts from the surprise and the tension it creates.

I'd say to err on the safe side and drop in the spoiler.

[Douglas]

The organization is clearly and prominently identified in the movie, and I gave only a high level general description with no details. I really don't see how anything I posted amounts to spoiling more than "X movie takes place during season 1 of this show."

If we're concerned about someone who has seen neither the show nor the movie, then it would be a spoiler, but the person I was responding to already expressed that they do follow the movies.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Okay, so, 'probably not going to give me a canon-headache' is the vibe I'm getting. Thanks!

[Soepvork]

Spoiler: Coulson

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It feels like forever since I watch AoS, and I wasn't overly gripped by the Sci-fi drama of seasons 5 and 6, so I may have forgotten, but wasn't Coulson dead? Or is this another Coulson they picked out of his timestream? LMD?

[JadedDM]

Spoiler: Coulson

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It feels like forever since I watch AoS, and I wasn't overly gripped by the Sci-fi drama of seasons 5 and 6, so I may have forgotten, but wasn't Coulson dead? Or is this another Coulson they picked out of his timestream? LMD?

Spoiler: Spoilers for Season 6 Ending

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Yes, Coulson died (again) last season. This new Coulson is a Chronicom-based LMD that had his entire personality and memories downloaded into it.

You can watch it again here in this clip if you need to refresh your memory:

[Dilvish]

I enjoyed the new episode.

[Palanan]

So, finally the first new episode, and it was surprisingly good. Hella fun time, actually.

Spoiler: For Our Next Trick...

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So, S.H.I.E.L.D. is now doing the Terminator schtick. Go back in time to stop cybernetic assassins from changing history. Okay, sure.

The premise is silly and contrived, and between Skynet and the Borg it’s hard to think of cybernetic assassins who haven’t tried to change history. And of course, it has to be New York, because nowhere else in the past is ever interesting.

That said, it was fun, engaging and frequently hilarious. I didn’t remember enough from last year to have a clear picture of who was where and why, and I only vaguely remember that the Chronicons were ticked because their planet was destroyed or something.

But it was great to see Coulson again; I hadn’t realized I’d actually missed him. Also, Daisy looked like a million bucks, and the new 30s hair is a huge improvement over the old purple hair. And for the first time in forever Daisy was completely non-annoying. And did I mention she looked great in that dress?

Deke is less welcome, but he was less irritating than expected, and I think there were a couple nanoseconds where he was almost useful. Still wouldn't mind seeing him vaporized.

Spoiler: The Twist

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I’ll admit, I didn’t see the Hydra connection coming, but the green vials probably should’ve tipped me off.

It’s one more fluffy pancake on the giant stack of contrivance, that the Chronicons are targeting the one evil organization that S.H.I.E.L.D. has the most experience with. But “save Hydra to save the world” is certainly inventive, and promises all sorts of fun hijinks.

However, I’m a little confused by what they said about Malik Sr. and Jr. I may have misheard the dialogue, but I thought Daisy said something about Malik founding Hydra, when as far as I knew it was Skull who founded Hydra and Zola who engineered its rebirth inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

Did I mistake the dialogue, or are they doing a little retconning of Hydra’s history?

Spoiler: Absolute Best Part

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PATTON OSWALT!!!

Did not see that coming, but it was just perfect. The mustache just slays.

Spoiler: Minus One

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Really missed Fitz here. Worse yet, at this point I’m not even sure which Fitz I’m missing, or where he is.

Is the Fitz we’re missing the one who’s in cryofreeze out in space somewhere? I feel like there’s a lot more I’m not remembering, but after all the time loops, space travel, alien wars and general shenanigans, I’ve completely lost track of Fitz.

[Rogar Demonblud]

The only time travel stories that've worked are Back to the Future and the fifth season finale of MLP.

[The New Bruceski]

Spoiler: The Twist

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I’ll admit, I didn’t see the Hydra connection coming, but the green vials probably should’ve tipped me off.

It’s one more fluffy pancake on the giant stack of contrivance, that the Chronicons are targeting the one evil organization that S.H.I.E.L.D. has the most experience with. But “save Hydra to save the world” is certainly inventive, and promises all sorts of fun hijinks.

However, I’m a little confused by what they said about Malik Sr. and Jr. I may have misheard the dialogue, but I thought Daisy said something about Malik founding Hydra, when as far as I knew it was Skull who founded Hydra and Zola who engineered its rebirth inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

Did I mistake the dialogue, or are they doing a little retconning of Hydra’s history?

Spoiler: The Twist explained

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Hydra was a doomsday cult that Skull took more public, he didn't found it, and while Zola used his Project Paperclip status to keep Hydra going he didn't do it alone (Whitehall for example was operating in the same way, he's the guy who dissected Daisy's mom). They referred to Gideon Malik as one of the leaders of Hydra, and he was. I don't think the plan was "remove Gideon, change history" but stopping Freddie from delivering that serum would destabilize Hydra's plans and him being Gideon's dad was the clue that Hydra was involved. The color's off, but the timing is such that it could be an early version of the supersoldier serum that made Skull. Stop him, Hydra stays a Skull&Bones old boys' club/cult, the SSR/Shield doesn't get founded to counter them.

[Palanan]

Spoiler: Twistier

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Interesting, thanks. I'd never heard that Hydra started as a doomsday cult; I only know what the MCU tells me about it. If Red Skull ever mentioned that in the movies I missed it.

I'm not sure if the Chronicons' plan is all that airtight, though. Even if they do proactively remove Hydra, it's still possible that Red Skull would have done exactly what he did in WW2, just under a different name. Thus despite their efforts, Red Skull founds a Hydra-Not-Hydra, necessitating the founding of the SSR, and Zola perpetuates HNH in the subsequent S.H.I.E.L.D., and everything unspools just as before.

Their best bet would seem to be targeting Red Skull himself, since without him Hydra doesn't gain the technological edge it needs to be a top-flight Evil Villain Agency. Whether or not the Chronicons could actually take down the Skullster is another question, though. They're having enough trouble as it is with a self-doubting robot and a dame in a green dress.

[JadedDM]

Spoiler: Twistier

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Interesting, thanks. I'd never heard that Hydra started as a doomsday cult; I only know what the MCU tells me about it. If Red Skull ever mentioned that in the movies I missed it.

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It was a whole plotline in an earlier season, that established Hydra was actually ancient, originally starting as a cult that sacrificed people in one of the stone portals to a distant world, where they would be killed by Hive, a powerful Inhuman.

[Palanan]

Aha.

I dimly remember that now, but I'd completely forgotten the details.

[Dilvish]

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I have forgotten what happened with May at the end of last season. How many years ago was that? Why/how is she up in the ceiling?

I do like Daisy's new look. Though I would okay with purple highlights to go with that green dress. Oh, it is a dangerous dress. :)

The new/old Coulson is fun.

I like how they are dealing with the racism of the era. It is there, it comes up with Mac, and it doesn't dominate a scene. And nobody really wants to mess with Mac. Oh, I hope the shotgun-axe is still around.

Edit: Coulson could go visit Steve Rogers neighborhood. It is the fanboy kind of thing he would do.

[JadedDM]

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I have forgotten what happened with May at the end of last season. How many years ago was that? Why/how is she up in the ceiling?

Spoiler: May

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May was stabbed by the fake Coulson, but survived in the Shrike dimension because there is no death there. When she came back into our dimension, she started to die, but Simmons showed up and put her in a stasis pod.

[Dilvish]

Spoiler: May

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May was stabbed by the fake Coulson, but survived in the Shrike dimension because there is no death there. When she came back into our dimension, she started to die, but Simmons showed up and put her in a stasis pod.

Thank you. I had completely forgotten that had happened.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Dilvish
Thank you. I had completely forgotten that had happened.

I've forgotten most of what's happened in the past couple seasons, to say nothing of the earlier ones.

[JadedDM]

I haven't been able to watch the third episode yet, but with regards to the second, has anyone yet made a gif of...

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Koenig firing a tommy gun at the Chronicoms yelling, "Die coppers!"

...yet?

[Palanan]

I can't find a gif of that particular scene, but I did have some comments on the second episode.



Overall, it's another great new episode. The storyline is ridiculous, but it’s a ton of fun. The show definitely has its groove back. At this point I'm just gonna roll with the crazy fantasy science and enjoy the ride.

Spoiler: Follow the Bouncing Zephyr

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Looks like we’ll be randomly jumping through time for this season. I was just starting to like 1931, and it’s a bit of a disappointment to be leaving so soon.

Also, no more Patton Oswalt, although I'm not ruling out their introducing his son, or maybe a nephew. As it is we seem to be going full-tilt nostalgia trip, bouncing through the pinball of S.H.I.E.L.D. history on the flippers of fate, or something like that. Clearly people were having fun when they filmed these episodes.

And probably no one is having more fun than the costume department, because they've outdone themselves with the period wardrobe.

Spoiler: Did Someone Mention A Hospital?

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So after the quickest abdominal surgery in history, there’s a mad rush to get the Woman in Red to a hospital, because she was shot in the abdomen.

But then she’s sitting upright in a chair while the Chronicons stomp around, and then she’s sitting upright in a chair for even longer while everyone argues about Red Skull and whatnot. I would think that she would have fainted or bled out by that point, and they really should have taken her to a hospital first and then argued about temporal causality.

In fact, I can’t even remember at what point she was no longer with them. Presumably they ran her by a hospital on the way to their rendezvous with the Zephyr, but if that was mentioned I missed it.

Spoiler: Green Vials

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And the green vials in fact had Super Soldier Serum, or at least the precursor formula. We’re definitely hitting all the high points of MCU history, so at some point I’m expecting we’ll run into Tony Stark’s father.

And while they probably can't afford her on a TV budget, one last MCU appearance by Peggy Carter would be a nice bowtie for the show.

Spoiler: Take the Shot

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This I have problems with. Since when does Daisy order anyone to kill an unarmed kid? And since when does Daisy ignore time-space causality and give an order which everyone else knows is completely wrong, both ethically and practically?

It’s completely out of character for Daisy, and I’m not buying it. And I find it hard to believe that goofball Deke would even consider doing the shooting.

Apart from the last point, I had a blast with this episode. But there's still one thing missing:

Spoiler: Secret Ingredient

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WHERE IS FITZ?!?!

I'm hoping we don't have too many more episodes before he's back in the cast. He's always been one of my favorites, and Iain de Caestecker is simply too good an actor to not have around.

[JadedDM]

Spoiler: Green Vials

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And while they probably can't afford her on a TV budget, one last MCU appearance by Peggy Carter would be a nice bowtie for the show.

Having just watched the third episode now...well, you weren't too off the mark here.

[The New Bruceski]

Traveling through time repairing history... can't control their jumps... always hoping the next jump will be the one home...

Fitz totally needs to show up as a holographic projection.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by JadedDM
Having just watched the third episode now...well, you weren't too off the mark here.

I had the benefit of having watched the third episode last night.

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It would be nice to have the actual Peggy Carter to help wind up the series, since she was there to kick it off. But Haley Atwell is probably a little out of their price range these days.

Otherwise the third episode continued the trend of "silly but hilarious," and then some. As well as bringing in yet another figure from S.H.I.E.L.D. history:

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I'm not as familiar with Sousa, but apparently he's had a promotion since his last appearance.

Now I'm wondering who else they're going to bring in from MCU history. I'm still betting on another Koenig sighting, but that may just be wishful thinking.

[Gallowglass]

I accidentally found agents of shield and i think i have watched 4 seasons. the first 3 were not that bad but to be honest it gets worse and worse ! no offence but i think they were running out of ideas making it.

FWIW, I agree with you. The show has a downward slope, especially in season 4, but then an abrupt upwards slope. The last couple seasons are pretty good. I'd say as good as the first couple. They found their fun again. Season 5 in particular starts with them in the future on a space station and, honestly, for a few sweet episodes they were one of the best sci-fi shows I remember. Then the end of season 5 is kind of a downturn, but season 6 and so far season 7 are pretty good.

[Rogar Demonblud]

The first part of Season Four with Ghost Rider was good, in part because it was a nice break from All HYDRA All The Time.