When you hype that death is coming, more times than not, the result doesn’t live up to the hype. That thankfully wasn’t the case with the Season 3 finale of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. Warning, spoilers ahead…
The two-hour finale Tuesday night was divided into two episodes with the latter bringing a conclusion to a long and exhausting storyline and setting up a new and perhaps more intriguing one for Season 4. Much of the first part dealt with Daisy (Chloe Bennett) and her guilt over being “seduced” by Hive (Brett Dalton) and betraying her team. I thought it was a bit over the top myself. I understood the feeling of guilt but her reaction suggested she had killed someone close to her as oppose to just betraying them while under Hive’s spell. Although her begging Hive at the close of the first hour to take her back was more fitting for her character that I wish that was more of the focus as oppose to her guilt trip she took us through that seemed forced. Exploring the intoxicating control Hive has on his followers would’ve been a bigger payoff.
The most interesting aspect of Tuesday’s finale centered on Hive and SHIELD’s attempt at defeating him once and for all. I especially liked when Lincoln with help from Mack (Henry Simmons) and Yo Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) zapped Hive trying to fry his brain and disorient him. It was cool seeing Hive bounce between all the personalities he had absorbed. The Primitive Inhuman’s that Hive had created is still a bit goofy looking but to be fair it’s a faithful attempt straight out of Marvel Comics. This minor detail does not however derail an awesome finale.
The second hour built on the closing momentum of the final moments of the first by delivering on that promise of a character death. In fact, they double down by killing off two series regulars. There were a lot of red herrings throughout the second half with the use of a crucifix. I guess the ultimate symbol of self-sacrifice. For me, I thought Mack was going to go. He had lost so much this season and given so much of himself throughout. In the end, I was glad it didn’t turn out to be him. In many ways Mack is the moral compass for the team so his lost would’ve been felt. Instead, it took an Inhuman, Lincoln to put an end to Hive.
There was no big final battle between them. What we got was something more poignant and introspective. There was something peaceful in knowing the end was near. There was a resolve for both Lincoln and Hive. For Lincoln, it was in knowing that his sacrifice saved the woman he loved, Daisy. As for Hive, the former Grant Ward, his death turned into a goodbye to a character who I thought had overstayed his welcome. Actor Brett Dalton had been there since the beginning and for the better part of the series run thus far had been the big bad. It was time to bring closure and move the series forward.
Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD has come a long way since its first season and it delivered on its promise for a strong finale. Finally getting rid of Ward/Hive was long over do. So much of this series focused on his character that it almost handcuffed the series from moving forward. His defeat coming from the hands of an Inhuman was poetic irony. Before signing off for the Summer, the series shifted six months with an unknown Director of SHIELD that isn’t Coulson who appears to be more of a field agent working with Mack trying to track down Daisy who now looks to have embraced her Quake persona. Then there’s LMD (Life Model Decoy), Dr. Radcliffe (John Hannah) had created. This was an excellent tease to get us ready for Season 4.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
