User:Adamstom.97/sandbox

The End is At Hand

"The End Is at Hand"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode
Episode no.	Season 7 Episode 12
Directed by	Chris Cheramie
Written by	Jeffrey Bell
Produced by	Jed Whedon Maurissa Tancharoen Jeffrey Bell
Cinematography by	Kyle Jewell
Editing by	Kelly Stuyvesant
Original air date	August 12, 2020 (2020-08-12)
Running time	43 minutes
Guest appearances
Tamara Taylor as Sibyl Thomas E. Sullivan as Nathaniel Malick Dianne Doan as Kora James Paxton as John Garrett Stephen Bishop as Brandon Gamble Bill Cobbs Enver Gjokaj as Daniel Sousa Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz

"The End Is at Hand" is the twelfth episode, and first part of a two-part season finale of the seventh season of the American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D., it follows a Life Model Decoy of Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they race to stop the Chronicoms from succeeding in their plan. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledges the franchise's films. The episode was written by Jeffrey Bell and directed by Chris Cheramie.

Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, starring alongside Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward. Iain De Caestecker also guest stars in the episode.

"The End Is at Hand" originally aired on ABC on August 12, 2020.

Plot

Upon landing on the Chronicom ship, Daisy searches for Deke and Simmons while Sousa and Mack fend off a group of Chronicom soldiers. Sibyl plans for Daisy to find Simmons to jog her memory, but an impatient Nathaniel has Kora confront them. Daisy manages to talk her down, forcing Nathaniel to knock Kora out and have her powers transferred to him. The agents return to the Zephyr and escape the ship. With the Lighthouse the only S.H.I.E.L.D. base still standing, Garrett plants bombs to destroy it, but Coulson, Yo-Yo, and May capture him and neutralize his powers. When they force Garrett to stop the explosion, Nathaniel leaves Garrett to die, but they all manage to survive. Garrett decides to join the agents and teleport them to the bar, only for him to be killed by other agents who arrived there to hide. Everyone regroups and, with Simmons' help, create a "key" that she was struggling to remember. The key opens a portal that brings Fitz to them, but he is disappointed to learn Simmons does not remember him.

Production

Development

After the sixth season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aired in August 2019, showrunners Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell revealed that the seventh season would feature the team trying to save the world from invasion by the Chronicoms. They use time travel to do this, allowing the season to explore the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. Later that month, one of the season's episodes was revealed to be titled "The End Is at Hand" and written by Bell. It was confirmed to be the twelfth episode of the season in August 2020, when Chris Cheramie was revealed to have directed it.

Casting

With the season renewal, main cast members Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward were confirmed to be returning from previous seasons as Melinda May, Daisy Johnson / Quake, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, and Deke Shaw, respectively. Series star Clark Gregg also returns as his character Phil Coulson, portraying a Life Model Decoy version of the character.

Guest stars in the episode include Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz, and returning from earlier in the season, Tamara Taylor as Sibyl, Thomas E. Sullivan as Nathaniel Malick, Dianne Doan as Kora, James Paxton as John Garrett, and Enver Gjokaj reprising his Agent Carter role of agent Daniel Sousa. They are joined by Stephen Bishop as Brandon Gamble and Bill Cobbs. Rachele Schank plays a young Victoria Hand.

Release

"The End Is at Hand" was first aired in the United States on ABC on August 12, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club called the episode "the best-looking, most visually sumptuous episode of the season", particularly the hangar interior which felt "epic in scale and scope to the story being told". Each of the three storylines in the episode "adeptly balances action, humor, and heart, and allows for some meaningful discussions without feeling too much like it’s hitting pause on all the high-intensity, clock-ticking action unfolding." As for the final scene in the bar, McLevy said having a young Victoria Hand and the 0-8-4s allowed "for a nice trip down memory lane, evoking memories of this show’s infancy". He gave the episode an "A-". Christian Holub, writing for Entertainment Weekly, called Garrett getting trapped at the Lighthouse "delicious" since Holub had found the character "quite insufferable".

External links

• "The End Is at Hand" at ABC
• "Adamstom.97/sandbox" at IMDb

What We're Fighting For

"The End Is at Hand"
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode
Title card for the episode
Episode no.	Season 7 Episode 12
Directed by	Kevin Tancharoen
Written by	Jed Whedon
Produced by	Jed Whedon Maurissa Tancharoen Jeffrey Bell
Cinematography by	Allan Westbrook
Editing by	Eric Litman
Original air date	August 12, 2020 (2020-08-12)
Running time	43 minutes
Guest appearances
Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz Joel Stoffer as Enoch Thomas E. Sullivan as Nathaniel Malick Dianne Doan as Kora Briana Venskus as Piper Stephen Bishop as Brandon Gamble Maximilian Osinski as Davis Coy Stewart as Flint Tamara Taylor as Sibyl Enver Gjokaj as Daniel Sousa

"What We're Fighting For" is the thirteenth episode, and second part of a two-part season finale of the seventh season of the American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and its series finale. Based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D., it follows a Life Model Decoy of Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they race to stop the Chronicoms from succeeding in their plan. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledges the franchise's films. The episode was written by Jed Whedon and directed by Kevin Tancharoen.

Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, starring alongside Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward. Iain De Caestecker also guest stars in the episode.

"What We're Fighting For" originally aired on ABC on August 12, 2020.

Plot

Following Izel's defeat, Enoch took Fitz and Simmons away to help them build a time machine. Realizing they could, they also lived their lives together. Once they are ready, they return to Flint and Piper, and task them with guarding Fitz in a special container while Simmons leaves with the team. In the bar, the agents use the time drive to bring the Chronicoms to their timeline via the Quantum Realm. Deke volunteers to stay behind to help them; becoming the new leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the new timeline. Upon their return, Fitz, Simmons, Sousa, and Yo-Yo return to the Lighthouse while Coulson, May, Mack, and Daisy infiltrate the Chronicoms' ship to rescue Kora and confront Nathaniel. Coulson tricks Sibyl into sending her Chronicoms to the Lighthouse while May and Kora combine their abilities to give them empathy; ending their assault. Daisy destroys the Chronicoms' ships, killing Nathaniel and Sybil. The agents rescue Daisy and Kora revives her. Fitz and Simmons return to the container and their daughter, Alya. One year later, the team gather to reminisce about their time together. Fitz and Simmons retire to raise Alya while May takes a teaching position at Coulson Academy. Mack continues to lead S.H.I.E.L.D., with Yo-Yo as one of his top agents. Daisy explores the cosmos with Sousa and Kora while Coulson travels the world.

Production

Development

After the sixth season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aired in August 2019, showrunners Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell revealed that the seventh season would feature the team trying to save the world from invasion by the Chronicoms. They use time travel to do this, allowing the season to explore the history of S.H.I.E.L.D. Later that month, one of the season's episodes was revealed to be titled "What We're Fighting For" and written by Whedon. It was confirmed to be the thirteenth episode of the season in August 2020, when Kevin Tancharoen was revealed to have directed it.

Writing

Coming up with the episode's ending sequence "was just blue sky" for Whedon after the first part of the episode had "so many moving parts" to it. Whedon acknowledged it was "just fun to think about" as there were "tons of great options" for the ending, saying, "We sort of tried to put everybody in a different-feeling thing and in a different place and separate them as much as possible." Maurissa Tancharoen added, "The emotional context of saying goodbye to this experience…is definitely something that’s reflected in where we leave our characters at the end of the show. So it is very personal to us, and I do think there’s a sense of hope for what’s to come for each of them."

The ending sees the S.H.I.E.LD. team separated with new lives:

• Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie is still a leader within S.H.I.E.L.D., supervising the construction of a new helicarrier, and Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent chasing 0-8-4s. Tancharoen commented the two "are still together in a relationship and working with one another — and proud of one another.
• Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons are retired, spending time with their daughter Ayla. Whedon felt "for a long time, we had a sense that Fitz and Simmons would be sort of out of S.H.I.E.L.D. and living the simpler life — while secretly working with Daisy on the side".
• Melinda May has become an instructor at the Coulson S.H.I.E.L.D academy, teaching Flint. This career "made perfect sense" to the writers, with Tancharoen adding, "all of that just sums up her relationship with Coulson [and her as] the reluctant teacher. She has always been the wise teacher amongst the group, the sort of mother figure".
• Daisy Johnson, her sister Kora, and Daniel Sousa work with S.H.I.E.L.D. aboard Zephry 3 as "astral ambassadors". Whedon said "it felt right" to have Daisy in space since "it feels vast, and we wanted someone to be out exploring that". Additionally, having Daisy work with Kora mimics how Coulson first helped Daisy.
• The Life Model Decoy of Phil Coulson has taken a sabbatical, seeing various parts of the world. He also receives a restored version of his 1962 Chevrolet Corvette, Lola, from Mack. Having Coulson getting in Lola was "the promise for him of a new adventure", and as the final shot of the series, was a "book end" that brought back "an iconic image from the pilot".
• Deke Shaw remains in 1983 in the altered timeline "to embrace his inner rock god" and become the new S.H.I.E.L.D. leader for the remaining agents. Bell said this was done so Deke's sacrifice would "make sense" for why it had to be him to stay behind.

Casting

With the season renewal, main cast members Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward were confirmed to be returning from previous seasons as Melinda May, Daisy Johnson / Quake, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, and Deke Shaw, respectively. Series star Clark Gregg also returns as his character Phil Coulson, portraying a Life Model Decoy (LMD) version of the character.

Guest stars in the episode include Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz, and returning from earlier in the season, Joel Stoffer as Enoch, Thomas E. Sullivan as Nathaniel Malick, Dianne Doan as Kora, Stephen Bishop as Brandon Gamble, Tamara Taylor as Sibyl, and Enver Gjokaj reprising his Agent Carter role of agent Daniel Sousa. Returning from earlier in the series include Briana Venskus as agent Piper, Maximilian Osinski as an LMD of agent Davis, and Coy Stewart as Flint. Harlow Happy Hexum portrays Alya, Fitz and Simmon's daughter, while Rachele Schank plays a young Victoria Hand.

Filming and post-production

Filming wrapped on July 30, 2019, while post-production work was completed around October 7, 2019.

Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins

Fitz utilizes the Quantum Realm, seen in the Ant-Man films and Avengers: Endgame (2019), to travel to the altered time line with the S.H.I.E.L.D. team and to return them to the main timeline.

Release

"What We're Fighting For" was first aired in the United States on ABC on August 12, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

The A.V. Club's Alex McLevy said the finale "managed to deliver a spectacle truly worthy of its outsized ambitions".

McLevy enjoyed "how all-in this show went making a conclusion so proudly, unabashedly nerdy", and while the time-travel was the "most entertaining element" of the finale, it was "also the thing that causes it to be somewhat less impactful in its emotional resonance". He noted the episode featured "some exhilarating fight scenes and super-powered battles", particularly the Daisy and Nathaniel Malick fight, which is what many viewers "are hoping for when we sit down to watch a Marvel TV show". He felt the ending was "a surprisingly quiet, bittersweet note" that "is a little sad, a little funny, and feels over before it’s really begun." Speaking more to the ending, McLevy said, "there’s something almost more downbeat about an ending acknowledging the fact that even after world-altering events that forge permanent bonds, life just...goes on, in all its prosaic reality, the day-to-day intimacy that once existed an ever-more-distant memory." He gave "What We're Fighting For" a "B+".

Trent Moore at Syfy Wire felt "seeing Simmons process her scrambled memories and slowly remember her life, and Fitz, was some beautiful acting by Elizabeth Henstridge." Other enjoyable moments for Moore were Mack and Sousa creating the makeshift Chronicom missile with duct tape ("a great bit of classic, goofy S.H.I.E.L.D. weirdness") and Deke's fart noise interrupting Sousa to say he would stay behind. While Moore felt the final plan was "a bit convoluted and McGuffin-y", he realized the show went out on a big story to justify that. As for the ending, Moore said it mostly worked, adding, "It’s hard to craft an ending, especially one with so many moving pieces and characters. But there’s no doubt this is a good one. Fans should enjoy it, and most importantly it leaves the door open to where fans can imagine all the adventures and stories that could still spin out after the series has long-ended."

Christian Holub, writing for Entertainment Weekly, felt the fight between Daisy and Nathaniel Malick gave "some fun Dragon Ball Z vibes... but ultimately I feel like it pales in comparison to Daisy’s climactic fight with Graviton from the end of season 5." As for the ending, Holub likened how the characters appeared virtually to a Zoom meeting and said "It’s about as good an ending as you could hope for any of these characters — especially FitzSimmons!" Giving the finale a "B", he concluded, "despite my many qualms about this season, I think it did wrap up the show (which over seven seasons has spanned multiple eras of Marvel superhero fiction) in a nice little bow."

Reviewing the finale for Den of Geek, Dave Vitagliano gave the episode 4 out 5 stars. He said the finale "neatly ties up enough loose plot threads to keep even the staunchest critics happy and still leaves plenty of room for requisite fan service. Nevertheless, no one can accuse the writers of leaving any cards unplayed. The awakenings, the sacrifices, the reunions, and the redemptions were all completely earned and worthy of this final installment." The reunion of Fitz and Simmons was "one of the finale’s highlights", and given the introduction of their daughter, Vitagliano felt it was "hard to be disappointed with the conclusion of their arc." Vitagliano felt the showrunners took "extra care" with the ending to satisfy the fans, with "the most poignant exchange" coming when Daisy and Coulson say goodbye.

Dominic Patten of Deadline Hollywood called the finale "an ambitious and ultimately successful conclusion for the very first live action Marvel television series and its longtime motto that 'not all heroes are super'," adding the episodes felt like a feature film opposed to two episodes of television. CNN's Brian Lowry said the finale was "an old-fashioned affair tinged with nostalgia", aimed at those who had watched the series from the beginning. Regarding the ending scene, Lowry called it "inadvertently timely", also likening it to a Zoom call, and concluded, "While providing some closure, the finale left the door open to utilize some of these characters again, although given Marvel's priorities, that seems less likely."

External links

• "What We're Fighting For" at ABC
• "Adamstom.97/sandbox" at IMDb