The End of an Era: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
by Eitan Cohen
The ABC channel aired its two hour series finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., marking an end to an era. With running a whopping seven seasons for six and a half years! Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was also only supposed to run for five seasons but ABC decided to add on two more, but only with half the usual amount of episodes for both. Most Marvel shows run for about a few seasons.
After its first season, which many agree is the show’s weakest, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. started to lose viewers. Most fans who stuck with the show stayed to the end, watching its tearful goodbye on August 12, 2020. Actress Elizabeth Henstridge (Jemma Simmons), went live on Youtube during the finale with multiple cast members from the whole series. Viewers loved having actors who left the show in prior seasons appear on Henstridge’s live stream. When the show’s series finale finished, fans of the show were let into Henstridge’s Zoom where the actors, actresses, and crew members held their live and transferred it onto YouTube. The cast, crew, and fans bid farewell with tear filled eyes. ..
To honor the show, actress Chloe Bennet, got a tattoo of a daisy flower to commemorate her character, Daisy Johnson (a.k.a. Quake) and many of the cast stole props as souvenirs. Bennet stole her Quake superhero suit and Henstridge stole her character’s ring. The other actors and actresses have not admitted to stealing any props. On the last day of filming, The cast and crew threw a party to mark the ending of the show. Bennet even missed most of the party to film the show’s last fight scene. After the series finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aired, to continue to commemorate the show’s ending, actors from past and present seasons posted behind the scenes pictures of them and the other cast and crew members. It was a very bittersweet ending for both actors, producers, and viewers alike.
It’s crazy to think that this amazing show all started with the #CoulsonLives campaign on Twitter after Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) died in the events of the Avengers movie. The campaign aimed to have Phil Coulson come back to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Though the series is over, it did create lifelong friendships. Jeff Ward (Deke Shaw) and Chloe Bennet can be seen hanging out with each other on their Instagram Stories. Henstridge and Bennet consider themselves sisters who have known each other prior to the show. Henstridge has started doing more YouTube lives, rewatching the show with the cast and crew, in a working attempt to try to keep Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fandom alive and thriving.
The show ends on a sweet note with the original team members, along with a character who joined mid season three. The original team members from season one are often referred to by fans as the Bus Kids and were sad yet exciting for fans seeing the Bus Kids talk for the last time.
Although this chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is over, there are rumors and hints to an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff series call Agents of S.W.O.R.D.. S.W.O.R.D. is an extension of S.H.I.E.L.D. that specializes in space threats. It is also rumored that Bennet will come back as Daisy Johnson to star in the series.
Even though the show has ended, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is still gaining popularity from viewers and is available of Netflix, Hulu +, and (hopefully) in the near future, Disney+.