Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Season Finale “Beginning of the End” Retrospective. Hey-Ho Friends

Season 1, Episode 22

Air Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2014, 8/7c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“I understand you’re involved in a dispute I might want to weigh in on.” – Nick Fury

Coulson (Clark Gregg)

As Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team infiltrate the Cybertek facility, they come face to face with several Centipede soldiers. Will Skye be able to activate her computer trojan before it’s too late, and will there be enough time to rescue Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) who are stuck in a container at the bottom of the ocean? It all makes for an action packed season finale.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t known for its sentimental writing but the writers, along with De Caestecker and Henstridge, do a great job creating emotional scenes when Fitz and Simmons are trapped with an uncertain fate. Given how writers seem to enjoy doing shocking things, like killing off characters during season finales, I wondered if this would be the last we saw of Fitz and Simmons.

As Garrett (Bill Paxton) starts to mentally lose it due to the extremis he injected himself with, it looks like Ward’s (Brett Dalton) loyalties are starting to waver. Ward’s concerns are even more apparent when Garrett kills the Admiral (Glenn Morshower). I am really pleased the writers kept Ward as a bad guy because it would have been an easy way out to have him pull a Darth Vader type move at the end. (If you don’t get the Star Wars reference, I feel sorry for you.) While I didn’t want Ward to change sides again, I think the writers do a wonderful job of finding a way to turn Deathlok/Mike Peterson (J. August Richards) back into a good guy.

One of the things that has hurt Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to some extent is the budget—the show is trying to look like it visually fits into the Marvel movie universe but without the movie budget. With that said, I am very impressed with the effects used during Fitz and Simmons’ escape from their watery grave, and hope ABC or Marvel releases a behind-the-scenes look as to how it was done. Was it entirely CGI or a mix of effects?

Speaking of their rescue, what a great way to bring back Fury (Samuel L Jackson). I know I started this review with this quote but how great was it to hear Fury say, “I understand you’re involved in a dispute I might want to weigh in on.” You just know Fury’s way of weighing in has to involve lots of guns. Fury tells Simmons that Fitz is alive but we don’t see him during the rest of the episode. Could something have happened to Fitz that involves alterations to his looks?

The action scenes seem to be stepped up for the finale, and part of what makes them so enjoyable to watch is the humor injected into the scenes. I laughed as Ward confronts Skye (Chloe Bennet).

Skye: “I have a weapon much better than a bomb that will absolutely destroy you.”

Ward: “Why is that?”

Skye: “Because you slept with her, and she’s really pissed off.”

May (Ming-Na Wen) and Ward (Brett Dalton)

Out of nowhere May (Ming-Na Wen) launches herself at Ward, which kicks off one of the biggest knock-down, drag-out fights seen on the series. At one point, May even takes a nail gun and nails Ward’s foot to the ground. Meanwhile, Fury pulls out one of the biggest guns I have ever seen and hands it over to Coulson.

As much as I enjoy seeing Fury return for more than a brief cameo, some of his dialogue is just a bit too campy for my tastes. I also miss the eye patch that Fury got rid of in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I understand why he switches to sunglasses but he looks odd wearing dark shades in scenes that are mostly in the dark. After all, he still has one good eye.

In the end, Garrett is taken down, Ward is taken into custody, and Deathlok is on the run. Just as everything seems to be over, we see the classic twist where a hand suddenly reaches up from nowhere revealing Garrett, who we thought had died, is still very much alive. Watching as Garrett is encased in the newest Deathlok armor, it is safe to assume this will lead into season two. Or is it? Thankfully, Coulson has something to say about that.

The last few minutes feel a little rushed but set things up for the next season very nicely. So much of this season has focused on Coulson trying to reach Fury to confront him over bringing him back to life. Coulson finally gets to say what is on his mind and asks why Fury would take such a risk.

Fury: “It was a break glass in case of an emergency situation.”

Coulson: “Yes, but that emergency was supposed to be the fall of an Avenger.”

Fury: “Exactly.”

There is a look of shock and humbleness on Coulson’s face and everything involving his resurrection finally makes sense.

May (Ming-Na Wen) and Skye (Chloe Bennet)

“Beginning of the End” wraps up as Coulson gets a new job title and we meet Billy (Patton Oswalt). Billy looks a lot like Agent Koenig (Oswalt) who was killed by Ward. Are the two brothers or maybe a Life-Model Decoy, which are popular in the Marvel comics. We also learn that someone from Skye’s past is alive, and everything isn’t ok with Coulson.

Tweet me @staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

For more on the show, go to http://www.agentsofshield.com/.

Follow Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Twitter, as well as some of the cast: <Ward> Brett Dalton, <Coulson> Clark Gregg, <Simmons> Elizabeth Henstridge, and <May> Ming-Na Wen.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.