‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Episode 1.22 “Beginning of the End” (9 out of 10) Created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen; Starring Clark Gregg, Chloe Bennet, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton; Tuesdays on ABC.
It’s been a crazy season, “Agents of SHIELD.” At first, I didn’t much care for you; what with your scene-chewing and your limp storylines. But then along came “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” It set you up—and you took it to the hole.
Tonight’s finale wrapped the show’s first season up with just the right amount of closure along with plenty of room for future speculation. Garrett got some sweet comeuppance, Coulson had some truly great moments, and May nailed Ward’s foot to the floor. With a nail gun. In addition to that spoiler, beware of more spoilers ahead.
The Incentive Program
In an opening scene that reminded me of “Cabin in the Woods,” we are introduced to the inner workings of Cybertek, what I’m assuming will become the new face of evil when season two rolls around. In this scene, the two employees mention a cryptic “incentive program” which is later revealed to be a cruel practice of holding the loved ones of Cybertek’s employees hostage. It’s this seemingly banal office complex that is the scene of Garrett’s last stand, and it’s through exploitation of Cybertek’s incentive program that our heroes gain a solid foothold in the battle against HYDRA.
During these last few episodes, the remaining SHIELD agents have fought tooth and nail for every bit of ground that they’ve gained, and they’ve always seemed at a huge disadvantage. Tonight, their plan to infiltrate Cybertek and take down Garrett went off without a hitch. Though this would traditionally bug the crap out of me, tonight it really worked. After seeing the team deal with Ward’s betrayal and the complete breakdown of everything that they believed in, it was nice to see them pull together and kick some ass during the season finale.
Though each member of the team had some admirable moments this evening, May’s fisticuffs with Ward might have been the highlight of the episode. After seeing Ward go back and forth about whether or not he’s a good person, it was nice to see May administer professional-grade beatdown to the traitor. As the sympathy level that the show has tried to create for Ward in the past few episodes has become a bit of a sore spot, tonight was the night they finally just let Ward be an evil henchman. It also didn’t suck that he and May fought with high-powered circular saws.
The Arrival of Nick Fury
It wouldn’t be an “Agents of SHIELD” finale if Samuel L. Jackson didn’t show up to reprise his role as Nick Fury—and he shows up in the nick of time. You may remember that Ward trapped Fitz and Simmons inside a hermetically sealed prison chamber and jettisoned them into the ocean during last week’s episode. Seeing no other alternative, Simmons breaks through the cell’s glass and swims to the surface of the ocean with a barely conscious Fitz in tow. The moment that she reaches the surface, Fury’s hand descends to save the two agents. Fury’s arrival in this capacity represents more than just a rescue mission. Like SHIELD, Fury was technically killed in action. His arrival at this critical point in the show’s story gives hope that the organization can be rebuilt. When Fury arrives to help Coulson deal with Garrett, all doubt of their mission’s success is erased—they know they’re going to get their job done.
Ah, Garrett. His mind has been hyperextended to the point where he’s consistently saying things like, “I can see the universe,” or “Let me show you the future.” I think it’s supposed to come off as slightly campy, but Bill Paxton takes it just a tad over the top. It’s a relief when Skye releases Deathlok’s son so the cyborg can shoot Garrett in the chest with twin rockets and then face-stomp him to death.
Speculation
There are a few interesting tidbits that show up towards the end of the episode, and they’re worth dissecting a bit. First of all, we get to see a little bit more of what might be in store for Skye during season two. Raina visits a man who looks like most of his body is badly burned and claims that she’s found his daughter while presenting him with a picture of Skye. This casts Raina in an interesting light. Over the course of the season, she’s been pigeonholed as a mere evil scientist who sells her abilities to the highest bidder. With the revelation that she has contact with Skye’s father, we might be seeing her take a more prominent role in season two. We also see Coulson wake up in the middle of the night and start cutting an alien-looking schematic into the wall—which was the same behavior that Garrett exhibited after his Centipede cocktail. The question here is whether or not the extra-terrestrial blue gunk that is keeping Coulson alive is now trying to communicate with him.
Verdict
The team was on point tonight. Each member did something that was remarkable but believable. Skye putting on her tough-girl act for the Cybertek office drones and it up to distract Ward from May’s surprise attack was great, and Garrett meets his final demise in a scene that reminded me of something that would have happened on Mal Reynolds’s watch. Nick Fury’s assignment for Coulson to rebuild the SHIELD organization ended the season on a positive note, but the fact that Ward is being held in their custody makes me think that he’ll still be around to cause some trouble.
ABC has ordered a second season of “Agents of SHIELD,” so we’ll look forward to the continuing adventures of Coulson and Company next fall.