Danny Hale reviews the twenty first episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 5…
SPOILER WARNING FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR
‘The Force of Gravity’ was a superb penultimate episode and provided great action, an appropriate amount of fan service and effectively positioned our players for the big finale next week.
I was a little confused by the credits scene in ‘The One Who Will Save Us All’ and exactly how Daisy had fallen into Taryan’s hands so the reveal that, physically, she was unconscious, inhibited and being brought to daddy Kasius made a lot of sense and also helped to show the more cunning side of this Kree we’ve heard so much about. Daisy’s complete lack of fear was so refreshing and her reveal to her would-be captor that his sons die, stabbed in the back, was an empowering moment. Her certainty that she makes it out of this scenario alive wonderfully allows her to break through Taryan’s inhibitor and incapacitate the marauders transporting her. With Kevin Tancharoen back in the director’s seat you know the action will be impressive but I love that these small, physical encounters are always handled with as much attention and flair as the bigger action scenes.
May and Coulson had some great moments this week, beginning with their little reminiscence about their first meeting with General Talbot all those years ago. I’ve always loved Talbot on this show and how his initial no-nonsense, narrow-minded attitude to our central characters evolved into a genuine friendship between him and Coulson was one of my favourite developments over the series. In true Phil fashion, Coulson tells May how he feels responsible for what’s happened to Glenn, further muddying the prospect of the agents having to kill him. Once freed and reunited with Deke and Daisy, May insists that she stay behind to stop the Confederacy’s missile threat. Coulson obviously objects but May orders him home and of course, the ensuing kiss was all kinds of perfect; it’s been such a long time coming and I can’t believe there was a time when I didn’t believe these two belonged together.
The writing team on this show treat their relationships with a massive amount of respect and realism and they took me from a non-believer to one of the biggest Philinda shippers there is. The moment was just that little bit extra perfect by the glorious use of Coulson’s shield and Daisy’s stellar reaction. After a nice set up early in the episode where May insists she doesn’t need a gun to take Qovas down they are wonderfully pitted against each other while Deke hilariously attempts to reroute the coordinates of the missile attack. Even more-so after their kiss, I genuinely feared for May’s safety during this clash. Peter Mensah brings a huge presence to this villain and being so close to the end of the season characters are always more likely to be killed. And you know, he also had those two menacing blades. But May’s victory was a satisfying one and watching her and Deke warp home leaving a defeated Qovas to await his imminent doom was immensely gratifying.
The main development of this episode though goes to poor old Talbot; having been confused as to who exactly was in control I now start to see that Glenn thinks he is of sound mind and truly believes himself to be a superhero, akin to the Avengers. He makes two trips this week, one to Creel who sadly has possibly made his last appearance on the show as Graviton, in an attempt to quieten the voices in Karl’s head, absorbs him into the gravitonium. Talbot’s motivation is one of Robin’s drawings seen previously of a figure having absorbed many, many people. Talbot is trying to maximise the amount of gravitonium in his system, eventually absorbing the Earth’s full supply. His other excursion ends badly too as he visits his family and shows off his new-found powers to his son, George. Talbot has always been a family man so to see him terrorise his wife and frighten his son was unsettling and also very telling; Glenn Talbot is not in control and not secretly carrying out a world saving mission. His violence towards his wife and his insistence on pursuing more gravitonium even while his own son calls him a villain shows just how far he has gone. Having Talbot eventually come out as the season’s final villain adds a great personal stake to the conflict and it’s in this material that AoS flourishes; using its years of strong character development to give a satisfying emotional payoff. I just hope the conclusion to this season can pull it all together to cap off an amazing ride.
If next week is truly the end then it will be an emotional one. With the future of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. due to be revealed in the coming days I have everything crossed for a sixth season. With the events of Avengers: Infinity War (Thanos wiping out half the population of the universe to be exact) likely being resolved in Avengers 4 and both MCU movies releasing this year set before Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the best and maybe only way to actually show the ramifications of Thanos’ finger click on Earth. The potential material for another season is staggering so for the next few days, I continue to dream.
Danny Hale
