Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. hits the 100th episode mark on March 9th. That’s a big milestone, and a lot of hours of TV! A little over 73 assuming most episodes are about 44 mins long. So not only does that make it Marvel’s longest running TV show, by a mile, but it also means we the audience have spent almost double the amount of time with Coulson and his team than with the all the MCU films combined. (All the movies, from Iron Man to Black Panther, clock in at a total of 38 hours and 46 minutes.)
So let’s raise a glass, here’s to:
Coulson Lives
Without the character of Phillip J. Coulson, there wouldn’t have been an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show. As such, I’m thankful that Tahiti is a magical place and that Kree blood has healing properties.
Badass Female Characters
TV shows featuring a strong female lead tend to catch my attention, a show with three or more is almost guaranteed to make my weekly must-watch list. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. easily lands in the latter category. Melinda May, Daisy Johnson, Jemma Simmons, Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez, and Bobbi Morse are all strong women who exemplify the many ways women can be badasses with brains and brawn. They’re intelligent, strong-willed, independent, caring, tough, and loyal, yet equally flawed. They can also be self-destructive, impulsive, and audacious, but that’s what makes them such compelling characters. And female ones to boot!
Grant Ward’s Lack of Redemption
When I look back on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s many turning points over the course of the last five seasons, Ward’s betrayal always stands out. It was great, well executed and well performed. It changed everything. However, it was the lack of a redemption arc that really won me over. It would have been easy for the writers and showrunners, or at least easier for them on Twitter, if the team absolved him of his sins and everyone carried on like nothing ever happened. Probably would have been even easier to have him and Skye give that long-teased relationship a go. Instead they broke every Skeyward shippers heart, much to my delight, and kept him on the darkside. And in my opinion, the show was better for it.
Character Growth
Early on in season one, Skye, Fitz, and Simmons were routinely the characters told to wait in the van. A lot has changed since then. Daisy earned her S.H.I.E.L.D. badge and gained Inhuman powers that can cause earthquakes, Simmons has survived space, twice, plus she went undercover at Hydra, and Fitz traveled through time and posed as a ruthless space marauder. And oh yeah, they’ve all helped save the world a few times too. Not bad for the untrained “science twins” and a “consultant.”
Platonic Relationships
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a workplace drama, and yet somehow the characters have managed to not all sleep with each other. Instead of the overused and often contrived love triangles, we the audience are treated to strong friendships and deep bonds. After all, these characters have gone through some shit together. Daisy and Jemma, Daisy and Fitz, Fitz and Mack, Mack and Daisy, Mack and Coulson, Coulson and May (platonic for now), Daisy and May, Jemma and Bobbi, Fitz and Hunter, Yo-Yo and Daisy – all of these friendships have been well developed and well earned over time. And then there’s Daisy and Coulson, perhaps my favorite relationship of all. What can I say, I’m a sucker for found families and their father / daughter bond is beautiful.
FitzSimmons
That’s not to say Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is without it’s romance. Because they also know how to break the hearts of their characters and ours. I’m not typically big on shipping, but damn I am rooting so hard for Fitz and Simmons. I mean how can you not, especially with a proposal like this one:
I’ve missed you so much.” “You know, I spent six months locked up in an off-the-books military prison, not mention 80 years frozen in space, all just hoping to find you. Here you are. You know, I realized something. The universe can’t stop us because we have crossed galaxies, we have traveled through time, we survived the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean just so we can be together. A love like that, that is stronger than any curse, and you and I? We are unstoppable together. I don’t want to live another day without you. So Jemma Simmons, will you marry me?” – “Fun & Games” (5×6)
The Callbacks
You gotta appreciate a TV show that rewards obsessive longtime viewers. From Daisy’s hula girl (Fitz and Simmons saved it before The Bus was destroyed) and Fitz’s obsession with monkeys (he kept track of the number of days spent in prison via monkeys) to Asgardian Professor Elliot Randolph (thanks for helping to get Jemma back through the monolith) and Gravitonium (finally!), the series hasn’t forgotten the world it’s built over the last five seasons. Which is nice, because neither have we.
The Shotgun Ax
Props to the props department. It’s a shotgun and an ax, wielded by Mack, need I say more?
The VFXs
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. produces 22 episodes a season and operates on a broadcast TV budget, and yet it’s visual effects are stellar. Mark Kolpack and his team bring it each and every week. And this is a show that features characters with superpowers, and season five is even set in space! Talk about challenge accepted. While the terragenesis scenes are always cool and Ghost Rider looked scary good, I think my favorite special effects are the ones where Yo-Yo gets to show off her powers. Daisy’s Dragon Ball Z takedown of the LMDs was also epic. You can find a variety VFX breakdowns and other behind the scenes videos from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on YouTube.com.
The Spy’s Goodbye
It’s easy to kill people off on a TV show like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., what with all the bad guys, gunfire, and alien artifacts. However, I imagine it’s much more difficult to bid farewell to a couple of characters heading off to to head up their own spin-off. But once again the show’s writers delivered. Bobbi and Hunter’s departure was both logical from a storytelling standpoint and extremely touching from an emotional one. If Mack’s crying, I’m crying. Plus it left the door for them to return, which paid off when Hunter re-teamed with Fitz earlier this season in the episode “Rewind” (5×5).
So with that parting shot, pun intended, I’ll say cheers, thank you, and congratulations to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cast and crew on 100 episodes!
(Here’s hoping we get many more.)
