What I’m Watching: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Season Finale)

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 3, Episodes 21 and 22 “Absolution” and “Ascension” (B+)

This was one terrific double-decker finale, and it may well be the most I’ve ever enjoyed this show. Hive’s plan to enable instant transformation of anyone – namely and most destructively S.H.I.E.L.D. agents – into the new kind of inhuman who is essentially just a mindless brute was extremely clever and dangerous, and that served to immediately negate the success of freezing Hive in stasis so that he would no longer be a threat. Having Daisy back on the good side of things was refreshing, but it’s clear that she’s not going to be able to forgive herself for what she did because she recognizes that everything was bottled up within her before Hive compelled it to come out. Giyera and James, on the other hand, were all about following Hive and helping him even when they were not under his sway since they agreed with his cause. The plan to set him off and confuse him was cunning, and it worked wonders. What impressed me most about the second episode was the way that Lincoln stepped in to sacrifice himself to save Daisy’s life, an event that was foreseen and could easily have been predicted but still played out dramatically and compellingly. Hive calmly remarking that he and Lincoln would share the one thing that had eluded him – death – was a fitting way for the superbeing to go out. I liked seeing snippets of Fitz and Simmons trying to be romantic with each other, and cutting to six months ahead was an effective choice at the end of the episode. Daisy seems to be a fugitive from justice and things are definitely intense, and I’m excited to see how things play out. I didn’t expect to be this pumped for season four, but this finale really put things into a positive perspective for me.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Elizabeth Henstridge as Simmons