Agents of SHIELD 1.22 "Beginning of the End" Review: A Part of Something Bigger

     The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season one finale, “Beginning of the End,” was written by showrunners Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon and was directed by David Straiton. The three last collaborated on episode two “0-8-4.” This was a terrific finale of a great first season for the show. There was plenty of payoff – including a terrific appearance by Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury. This was no mere cameo, Jackson played a significant role in the episode. I, for one, can’t wait to see what the writers have in store for us in season two!

    There were two moments in particular that really felt like they paid off from the “Pilot” for me. The first is the very catch phrase and hashtag that were attached to the “Pilot:” Coulson lives! In some ways, just having Fury in this episode was a nice echo of how pleasantly surprised everyone was when Coulson turned up alive. But more importantly, the sentiment comes back in the climactic talk between Fury and Coulson at the end of the episode. Coulson finally gets to have the conversation he’s been wanting to have with Fury about T.A.H.I.T.I.

     Coulson doesn’t understand why Fury used it even after Coulson warned him that people were losing their minds. Fury points out that May was monitoring the situation and that “it was a break glass in case of emergency situation.” Coulson replies, “Yes. But that emergency was supposed to be the fall of an Avenger.” This scene is beautifully choreographed as Fury, who has been slouched in his seat up until now, leans forward and says, “Exactly!” Coulson is gob-smacked to realize that he IS an Avenger. Of course, this isn’t news to the rest of us.

    Fury goes on to talk about the principle on which S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded: protection. And of course, it’s May in this scene who states it. Her prime directive is to protect Couslon – thanks for the Philinda fix, show! Fury goes on, however to state that protection means “sometimes to protect one man from himself and other times to protect the planet from an alien invasion.” Fury’s main point, however, is that “the belief that drives us all is the same.” Coulson replies, “that they are worth saving.” And Fury states “that truth LIVES INSIDE YOU, COULSON.” Coulson lives and so does that truth about S.H.I.E.L.D.. He goes on to say that Coulson has been the heart of S.H.I.E.L.D. and now he must be the head. He makes Coulson Director and tells him to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. from scratch. S.H.I.E.L.D. will live because Coulson does. I also couldn’t help but think that the person worth saving is Ward (Brett Dalton).

    One of the other big things that came out of the “Pilot” was our team. But Mike Peterson (J August Richards) and his son Ace (Ajani Wrighster) also come out of the “Pilot.” It’s their catch phrase that Skye (Chloe Bennet) uses to let Mike know Ace is safe: “What are we, Dad? A team.” Skye refers to their “ace in the hole,” and it literally is Ace who is the “incentive” from the “Incentive Program” that is the main way they are controlling Mike. I liked how they teased out exactly what the “Dealer” was, especially the opening scene as the new IT guy joins the “company” for the “incentive program.” They aren’t truly a part of a team; they’re just trying to protect their loved ones.

    The whole concept of being a team is what separates S.H.I.E.L.D. from HYDRA. I adored the banter between Garrett (Bill Paxton), Coulson, and Fury. Easily the best line of the episode for me was Garrett’s: “When was the last time anyone saw a tag team wrestling match with four dead guys!”Earlier in the episode, we’ve seen Coulson use Fury’s “One Man Speech” to inspire his own team who are going in against incredible odds. He tells them “a man can accomplish anything when he realizes he’s a part of something bigger. A team of people who share that conviction can change the world.”

     Garrett’s version is not quite right, however: “one man can accomplish anything once he realizes he can be something bigger.” Fury corrects him (hilariously): “A part. A part of something bigger.” Coulson’s greatest super power – because people have criticized the show for its lack of them – is his ability to attract good people and inspire their loyalty. At the end of the day, who does Garrett have? Only Ward. And he’s essentially brainwashed him into being loyal. In fact, Coulson tells Ward that his torture will largely be internal because Ward will have to live with the fact that he’s dedicated his life to “a deranged narcissist who never gave a damn about anyone” – including Ward. And let’s not forget that the show itself is part of something bigger – the Marvel universe.

    The episode is everything we’ve come to love about the show. There was lots of great snappy dialogue, such as I’ve already mentioned, great action, and great acting. The action picked up right where we left it in the HYDRA bunker. I loved May telling the HYDRA soldier not to call her The Calvalry and then taking the Berserker staff away from him. Coulson’s order to “bring down the house” was perfect as May did just that. The Ward/May final confrontation was everything I’d hoped for – complete with power tools and lots of dry wall to break through! I loved May taunting Ward with him never having been on top. Of course, her finally nailing him to the floor was simply a classic.

    Triplett (BJ Britt) and Coulson continue to be great together. They both share a love of the past, gadgets, and apparently firepower! Not to mention, they both share that same ideal about S.H.I.E.L.D.. This is also an interesting contrast to Ward who really has no loyalty to anything other than Garrett. I made the comparison between Buddy and Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) last week, but the comparison can also be made between Ward and Garrett. Ward is little more than a loyal dog to Garrett – he earns his meals by fetching the birds that Garrett targets. Ward says to Garrett, that HYDRA was always a means to an end – healing Garrett – and it’s not like they’re true believers. And then, Garrett does perhaps the cruelest thing he could to Ward – he tells him to decide what he wants. Ward has been conditioned for so long to not think for himself that taking orders away from him is a punishment. In fact, that’s the other half of the internal torture that Coulson says he will suffer: Ward will have to figure out who he is without Garrett.

    The one thing that Ward has decided he wants is Skye. It was hard not to feel a little sorry for Ward as he told Skye that she had unlocked a weakness in him. I thought it interesting that Skye didn’t say that Ward was evil but merely weak. Does she still see that there might be something worth saving in him? Regardless, I don’t think either Skye or Ward will be seen to have been born evil – or monsters for that matter. Though I was disappointed that we saw no reaction on Ward’s fact to learning that Fitz was still alive.

    Once again De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge (Simmons) deliver incredibly powerful and moving performances. I want to single De Caestecker out for special mention as he is so talented in bringing both comedy and drama to the show – something that Clark Gregg has also been outstanding at all season.

    Our relief at finding Fitz and Simmons alive is quickly diminished by the fact that their situation seems hopeless. When they realize their situation is hopeless, Simmons asks Fitz what he thinks it’s like. He typically turns to a practical explanation, thinking she means dying, but Simmons wants more. She wants to know what comes after. Fitz turns to his mother’s explanation that it’s like before they were born. Simmons turns to science, but in a very metaphysical way. She turns to the first law of thermodynamics – that no energy is created or destroyed within the universe – in other words, their own energies will live on, just in some other form. Of course, Fitz sees this as a way to finally actually be the monkey he’s wanted all season! Simmons also muses that it’s fitting that they are at the bottom of the ocean – the site where all life on earth comes from. I had to wonder if this talk of evolution wasn’t significant given the rest of the episode and the entire season. And doesn’t Fitz’s obsession with having a monkey fit in nicely with this theme too?

    Raina (Ruth Negga) is concerned only with evolution. Her question which she finally gets to ask of Garrett now that he can “see everything” is what will she become? Garrett himself has evolved – in a bad way, but he has still becomes something else if not more than he was. We also have Fury’s remarks about protecting the world from alien invasion. Garrett, in his madness, draws an elaborate schemata with an alien language, and in the very disturbing final scene, Coulson draws an even bigger version of that schemata. Garrett even says to Coulson and Fury that he knows that he and Couslon share this vision of the future.

     Raina also goes to see one of Skye’s parents at the end of the episode. I thought it interesting that they were supposed to have been killed – like Garrett – and from the back, in the dark, they looks somewhat like Garrett did in the end. Is Skye not channelling the alien language because it’s not alien to her? Regardless, I think this notion of evolution and the tie to aliens is going to factor prominently in season two. I also think that this will again be a dividing line between Coulson and Garrett. I think Coulson will both explain or at least share this schemata with his team. I’m looking forward to Skye’s reaction! Will she understand it too?

    In the end, the solution that Fitz and Simmons comes up with can only save one of them. This scene is perhaps one of the best in the series – and satisfying for those fans rooting for Fitz/Simmons. As soon as Simmons realizes that only one of them can make it, Fitz insists that it has to be Simmons. She tells him she couldn’t because he’s her best friend, and Fitz tells her, “you’re more than that, Jemma. I couldn’t find the courage to tell you, so please let me show you.” It’s hard to tell by Jemma’s response if she does feel the same way about him. Am I reading into it because that’s what I want? Is she simply grateful to him? I had to wonder if Fitz himself didn’t want to know for sure because he pushes the button before she actually can respond. But she does manage to somehow drag Fitz to the surface with her, and I can’t believe that I was alone in actually jumping off my couch to cheer when Fury is there waiting for them!

    Some of my other favorite moments from this episode? Coulson asking if everyone is ready to change the world and May answering, “No. I’m ready to kick some ass.” I’m always ready to watch May kick ass! Coulson asking Triplett if he brought the noise maker, and Triplett answering, “Sir. I bring the noise and the funk wherever I go.” Yes, Triplett, you do! Skye revealing that the bomb was a Hulk figurine. The moment Coulson looks up after being tossed by Garrett and sees Fury – who gives him the big gun. Coulson using the alien gun from “0-8-4” to blow Garrett into nothing. And finally, finding Billy Koenig (Patton Oswalt) waiting for them at the Playground, and Billy being just as big a fan of Coulson as Eric was.

    I found this to be a very satisfying finale. It answered a lot of questions and gave us so much of what’s made the show enjoyable while leaving us with lots of big questions to be answered next season. Quinn (David Conrad) and Raina are on the run with the Gravitonium and Mike is on his own trying to make amends for what's he's done. Fury tells May and Coulson that they won't be seeing him for a stretch.

     I did love the hero shot of the team – Coulson, May, Skye, Simmons, and Triplett as they arrive at the Playground. I did very much miss Fitz, however. We know he’s alive, but it certainly seems that he will never be the same. As his brain was without oxygen, it would seem most likely that his genius brain may have been adversely affected – how will this impact on both him and his relationship with Simmons? Surely, there must be a S.H.I.E.L.D. solution somewhere! What did you think of the finale? Were you satisfied? Do you think we will see Ward again next season? Should he only return as a bad guy? Can the team ever forgive him? Do you think Coulson may pose a danger? Is Skye a monster? Is this going to be a very long summer? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!