Spoilers for Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD: Season 4 Finale World’s End with comments and speculation about the show.
Marvel’s Agents of Shield went all out on their season 4 finale last Tuesday night. The action-packed thriller attempted to close storylines and drop subtle hints of things to come.
To review: the LMD storyline closed with the death of AIDA (Mallory Jansen). Thanks to the help of the Ghost Rider (Gabriel Luna), however the show left the plot open as our psycho LMD was unaccounted for (Remember there’s a Russian Head hidden somewhere building robot bodies).
A revelation of sorts about Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) was hinted at. Coulson was able to make his deal with Ghost rider because of a hidden secret he is keeping from the group. Robbie Reyes (AKA Ghost rider) confirmed this during their private discussion.
The Darkhold is finally gone. Robbie Reyes (AKA Ghost Rider) took it with him to another dimension. He was able to do this by transporting them into another place using a dimensional warp. Whether or not this means we won’t see this dark book again is anyone’s guess.
Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie (Henry Simmons) and Yoyo Rodriguez (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) escaped the framework. Just in the nick of time and not without great sacrifice. However, Dr. Holden Radcliffe (John Hannah) co creator of the LMD and framework is gone. He was erased along with the rest of the computer generated simulation world of HYDRA.
Lastly there is the outer space cliffhanger that’s on everyone’s mind. What am I talking about? I’m talking about the ending scene – wherein the entire team gets ambushed by an Elite military group using a device that freezes the them. And then Coulson waking up on what appears to be a spaceship with a view. What does this all mean for the show?
Well let’s speculate……
First off, we know that some time has passed from the capture to the end scene of Coulson walking up aboard a spaceship. This was confirmed by executive producer Jeff Bell. “We acknowledge there’s a time jump,” Bell said to IGN.
Second, we know that the final scene with Coulson “sight seeing” was very relevant. Executive producer Jed Whedon admitted that everything about that final scene of the show was important. “Read into it as hard as you can. I can’t wait until you see it. Everything is a clue,” Whedon stated to Entertainment Weekly.
Third, we know that SHIELD may no longer be functioning. General Talbot (Adrain Pasdar) stated as much to Coulson during their phone call. Talbot alluded that SHIELD was going to be disbanded due to all the negative publicity surrounding the intelligence group.
If you take all this into account, as well as all the events taking place in the MCU Universe, it appears that Marvel’s Agents of Shield may be heading in a cosmic direction. (Especially the Marvel Cinematic Universe appears to be heading extraterrestrial: Thor movie- Ragnarok which brings the son of Odin and the Green powerhouse Hulk in space, Inhumans TV show (Moon), and an Infinity War about to start between Thanos and the Avengers.)
So it is safe to assume that the Marvel’s Agents of Shield may be going cosmic. But cosmic in the sense that our agents will be in outer space or having interstellar related adventures (especially aliens have cameoed on the show). In fact, we would not be surprised if Marvel Agents of Shield might have a crossover with the new Inhumans TV show. Similar to the show’s tie in with the Thor and Captain America movies.
The best theory that we can offer at this time is that SWORD might make an introduction. SWORD you may ask? SWORD is an intelligence agency not unlike SHIELD but instead of policing on earth, SWORD’s mission is to keep the Earth safe from alien invasions and other external threats. SWORD stands for Sentient World Observation and Response Department. It is plausible to guess that SWORD could have been formed as a response to the Chitauri invasion (First Avengers Movie), Dark Elves convergence (Second Thor Movie) or the appearance of the Inhumans or Kree. With SHIELD disbanded again, Coulson working in outer space, and the time frame much later – it makes sense that Coulson may now be working for SWORD. Working not in charge of because SWORD has its own director. Her name is Abigail Brand (a green haired, half human woman) and she operates SWORD from an orbital space station known as The Peak. (This may be where Coulson woke up)
In any event, we will have to wait a bit longer than usual for our answers. Although Marvel Agents of Shield has been renewed for Season 5, its premiere date will be sometime in December or January.
(Special Note for all you non-comic book fans: SWORD was first introduced by Joss Whedon, Executive director Jed Whedon’s brother, in the Astonishing X-men comic book series in 2004.)