Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season Finale 2014 - Recap: We're A Team

Naturally, we didn't get a whole lot of answers to some of the more burning questions, such as the true nature of Skye's origin, or what ever happened to villains set up earlier in the season like Graviton and Blizzard, or what the deal was with that huge blueprint-like picture Coulson (Clark Gregg) was drawing on the wall in the post-credits sequence (of course, I freely admit I may have overlooked some vital bit of information that would have helped me understand that). But the answers don't really matter a whole lot to me in the face of what's become one of my favorite action-adventure shows on TV. It's funny that in an episode so centered on the notion of evolution, we see just how far this cast has come in how well they gel together. There's some effortless chemistry here, particularly since these characters are independently interesting, with their own stories and issues that exist independent of their relationships to one another. The rapport among the cast also adds to the story considerably, as it embodies the "One Man" mantra Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) instills in all S.H.I.E.L.D. recruits. It even makes the betrayal by Ward (Brett Dalton) sting a little more in hindsight, since we didn't get a last-minute reversal: a lot of fans appeared to be hoping that this would be the episode in which it was revealed that Ward was deep cover, or not really as bad as he's appeared to be over the last several weeks; I mean, it's the season finale, so if it was ever going to be revealed, this is where it would happen. And the episode even suggests that Ward is seriously reconsidering having joined up with Garrett (Bill Paxton). However, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. bravely commits to making its former romantic lead a legit bad guy, which suddenly makes this entire season far more powerful, in retrospect. Not many shows on broadcast TV would go this far with a character, and I admire that about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. All in all, while the season itself has had its fair share of misses, there really wasn't anything about "The Beginning of the End" that I disliked.

Credit: ABC

The episode itself involves S.H.I.E.L.D. attacking Cybertek headquarters, interrupting the presentation to the U.S. military by Ian Quinn (David Conrad). Skye (Chloe Bennet) and May (Ming-Na Wen) infiltrate the headquarters with a backpack that Skye declares is a bomb. She uses this threat to force one of the handlers to reset the soldiers to their default directive: protect John Garrett at all costs. This will allow Coulson and Triplett (B.J. Britt) to follow the soldiers straight to Garrett. These sequences provide us with the primary action of the episode, while the ongoing peril of Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) provides us with an emotional center. FitzSimmons is one of the best relationships on the show, mainly because Henstridge and De Caestecker imbue that relationship with a lived-in quality. We don't really need to hear a whole lot about how they studied together, and have been friends since the Academy days. All we need to know about their relationship can be read in how they act around one another, how comfortable and how intimate. And it lends a deeper poignancy to their plight here, as Fitz and Simmons come up with a plan to get themselves out of their container at the bottom of the ocean and back to the surface, only for Fitz to discover that they only have enough oxygen for one of them to get to the surface. And since Simmons is the better swimmer...

Naturally, Simmons doesn't want to leave without Fitz, and completely breaks down. But Fitz won't hear of it, finally confirming what we already knew, for the most part: he has feelings for her, but never had the courage to tell her. "So let me show you," he says, tearfully, offering her the oxygen mask and trading his life for hers. It's an absolutely gorgeous little moment, especially when Simmons starts kissing his face excitedly and clinging to him for dear life, unwilling to let him go. But she must, if she's going to even have a fighting chance at dragging Fitz with her to the surface. And this is where the finale really starts to pick up. Just as Simmons begins to lose the energy to keep herself and the unconscious Fitz afloat on the surface, NICK FURY COMES DOWN ON A HELICOPTER and reaches out a hand. I completely admit I'm being genuinely hyperbolic when I talk about what an awesome moment this is, but the way in which it was shot could do nothing but provoke that reaction, as the camera bobs up above and down below the surface of the water, making certain to illustrate that Simmons is losing strength, and that the situation is generally hopeless. Then, as the camera bobs back up from under the water, we see Nick Fury, the music swells, and he takes Simmons by the hand -- a hero in the right place at the right time. As he explains later, he was able to find them thanks to the crude tracking beacon Simmons fashioned. Her efforts have not only saved her life, but also Fitz's, although he was without oxygen for such a long time that he may never be the same. I'm sure there are plenty of folks who think this finale could have used a few casualties to really drive home the stakes, but I can't even tell you how relieved I am that nobody got killed off. It would have been too cheap a move at this stage in the game. Now, next season? Sure, have at it. But this episode was too busy for a character death to be given the attention, reflection, and weight it deserved.

Credit: ABC

So with Nick Fury now involved, things get serious pretty quickly. He tracks down Coulson and helps him out in his impossible fight against the super-powered Garrett. Of course, he does this by offering Coulson (what else?) a big-ass gun that allows him to take out Garrett's soldiers. All the while, Skye and Ward have their confrontation, and it's the usual rigmarole about whether someone is truly born evil or whether evil is learned, but it's worth it because it leads into the fight with May and Ward, an all-out brawl that's worthy of a finale. Suffice it to say, a saw got involved, as did a nail gun, as well as a whole lot of trash talk about their former sex life, because this is apparently how high-functioning, battle-hardened wiseasses settle their differences. While all this is going on, Skye is freeing all the Cybertek captives, including Ace, the son of Mike Peterson/Deathlok. She asks Ace to tell her something that only he and his dad would understand, so she can relay the message to him and prove she has him safe. This ends up coming in handy in the climax...

Garrett and Deathlok square off against Coulson and Fury, with the latter pair doing some killer dead-pan wise-cracking ("You didn't tell me he was this crazy," Fury notes, before chiding Garrett for joining Hydra all because he misheard Fury's "One Man" speech back in the day). But before the fight can get properly underway, a message is relayed to Deathlok through his tech-link: "What are we, Dad? We're a team." It's a fairly touching throwback to the pilot that had me feeling far more than I thought I would, and it's capped off with Deathlok becoming Mike Peterson again by betraying Garrett and blowing him away with his guided, arm-mounted missiles. Garrett is dead, Mike Peterson is redeemed, and he's off on a journey of penitence to make amends for all his past crimes, solemnly telling Skye that everything he's going to do will be for Ace. It's great stuff, and it's made all the better by the punchline teaser that comes after, as it's teased that Garrett has survived to become the new Deathlok...only for Coulson to nonchalantly disintegrate him with one of the alien weapons from the Fridge.

Credit: ABC

The denouement has Ward being taken into custody, with Coulson and May promising to torture him for every bit of Hydra intel he has as he's hauled away, reminding us that, no, there are apparently no big twists forthcoming. Ward really is one of the bad guys, and now he's getting his. As is Coulson, except "getting his" doesn't really mean torture. In this case, it means a promotion. Nick Fury apologizes for putting Coulson through the T.A.H.I.T.I. project, but states it was necessary because Coulson is every bit as valuable as one of The Avengers. Yes, after a season as just an "Agent" of S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson is promoted to the new director of the organization, as Nick Fury is going back into hiding for God only knows how long. Fury tells Coulson that guys like him were the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D., and a man like him will be needed to rebuild it. He gives Coulson a tiny black box he calls the Toolbox, as well as coordinates to a new base headed by Eric Koenig's twin brother, in a wonderful little cameo by Patton Oswalt (I'd love if they made the Koenig brothers a running gag, where there's some insane number of them that the S.H.I.E.L.D. team keeps meeting). This leads us into the conclusion, as Raina (Ruth Negga) escaped before things went to hell in the Cybertek headquarters: she meets with a man in a dark room and hands him a photo of Skye, telling him she's found his daughter. And because Skye is apparently the product of "monsters," this man's hands are dripping with blood. It's a creepy visual matched in oddity by the closing image of the season, as Coulson awakes from bed and begins doodling on the wall, although what this is a blueprint for is anyone's guess.

Credit: ABC

"The Beginning of the End" is a terrific end to a first season that could have been better, but certainly could have been worse. Simply put, I'm thrilled that Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was renewed last week, since the show has really hit its stride, and seems to have a better understanding now of just what it wants to be, and how best to be it. Seriously, bring on Season 2.