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locker_monster) wrote2018-05-27 10:44 am
locker_monster) wrote2018-05-27 10:44 am
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Some TV finale thoughts
- Supergirl's season is still going. I'm going to miss out on the last few episodes while on my cruise, so I'll have to play catch up once I'm back.
- The Flash's season was all right, though the tone was all over the place. One episode would be all serious and the next, it'd be wacky and upbeat. I mean, tonal shifts are fine, but the lighter episodes felt forced sometimes. I suppose you can blame Legends of Tomorrow a bit; it's pretty much impossible to beat their level of crazy fun antics.
The villain this season wasn't the best, either. I appreciate that they didn't go with another speedster this season, but then that led to DeVoe just sitting and scheming a lot. How is a guy in a fancy chair suppose to feel threatening? It wasn't until DeVoe started amassing the bus metas' powers that he seemed like a decent foe for Barry. I think the writers got a little lazy in their writing, too. DeVoe was constantly saying, "Oh, I already foresaw this, so none of your plans will work." So Barry was always being beat down, even though Team Flash had some great plans. I know the hero can't get a huge win until the very end of the season, but at the same time, he gets stuck in a loop. Some reviews have suggested that the show should try something different next season, like having two smaller arcs rather than one long arc. It would help to focus the storytelling, I think. Maybe have multiple villains working together? I know they sort of had that with Alchemy and Savitar but the whole reveal on Savitar just soured that plot line.
The finale was surprisingly subdued. The only big battle happens inside of DeVoe's mind with some dodgy CGI clones (though Barry swinging Ralph around like a battering ram was kind of funny) and it's the power of lurv that stops him. The rest of the time, the team was watching numbers on a screen. It's such a TV trope to have the big threat take time to build up. In the end, no brains are rebooted, but really, only one satellite crashes to Earth? If DeVoe's powers were the only thing keeping all of the satellites in orbits, wouldn't all of them have fallen? I get that the STAR Labs satellite would fall on Central City, since it has to stay in geosynchronous orbit over the city, but you're telling me the other four satellites just fell to Earth harmlessly? If DeVoe had been truly devious, he would have had all of the satellites come crashing down on Central City.
I also appreciate that the season didn't end on a giant cliffhanger. No time travel or Speed Force antics. Just Barry and Iris' daughter from the future. I think most people guessed that Mystery Girl was their daughter. In the comics, Barry and Iris had twins who were also speedsters. But why did Nora travel back to the past? And what did she screw up? Good to know that screwing around with time is an Allen family trait. An interesting note is that Nora ran away from Iris, though she was super eager to talk with everyone else. Is Iris dead in the future? Or does Nora just not have a good relationship with her mother? If we're dealing with more time travel next season I'm not sure that's a good thing. Barry and time travel do not mix.
Random: So, what's going on with Caitlin and Killer Frost? They revealed that she had her cold powers before the particle accelerator exploded. Cecile mentions a "Thomas" while her telepathy is amped up. Maybe this Thomas was the one who suppressed Caitlin's powers when she was a kid? I knew they would bring back Ralph some how. You wouldn't just kill off such a major character from the comics. Ralph's second suit is all right, but it looks like a jogging suit and the purple is way too dark. So, are we getting another Harrison Wells next season? I think the problem with that is, we've seen so many Harrisons now and they're all kooky. The team needs a Harrison who is useful, not distracting. Surprise cameo by Wally! Well, not a surprise, since the actor's name was in the guest credit, but a surprise for the characters. It's funny that they took the time to explain why he's on LoT and why he's staying there. Joe and Cecile's daughter is so cute. Can't wait for stressed parents antics from them.
I don't know which villain they could have next season. They've introduced a lot of the Flash's enemies already. One storyline from the comics that I would like to see at one point is the Speed Force Storm from the first arc in the Flash's Rebirth line. With that storyline, a group of terrorists opened up the Speed Force and suddenly hundreds of people in the city developed speed powers. So you could have Barry training these new speedsters to use their powers and you could have him chasing down new speedsters who want to use their powers for all of the wrong reasons. There was also a new evil speedster called Godspeed that Barry had to contend with, so you could work in that, too.
- Arrow season six was okay. I can't really say why it wasn't better. The ideas were solid; Ollie's identity as the Green Arrow is threatened, Star City falls under the influence of a crime boss, the team splits up because of various differences and disagreements. Must have been down to the execution and the writing. Some stuff would have played better with stronger writing.
Or maybe it was the villain. Or villains, I suppose. Cayden James was vaguely interesting. When he was holding the city for ransom, that seemed like an impossible thing for Ollie and the team to stop. Cities don't have endless sources of revenue. But then they pulled the bait and switch with Diaz and yeah, I kind of zoned out. Diaz was boring. He didn't have a unique angle beyond taking over the city. Every villain so far has tried to do that. He needed something more to be more memorable. And then they didn't bother to kill him! So now we're stuck with another season of the Dragon. Though, I did read that the Longbow Hunters, referenced in passing during the finale, are going to be a big part of season seven, so hopefully Diaz isn't featured that much.
As for the rest, Ollie being outed as the Green Arrow and the team splitting up, it was hit and miss. They really played into the FBI investigation at the beginning of the season, then it was kind of ignored during the middle of the season, and then it came roaring back at the end of the season. Had Ollie's trial lasted longer (like a real trial), that might have been more interesting. There would have been a lot more tension. Imagine Ollie stuck under house arrest or something while Diaz continues to gain power. I did love that Christopher Chance decided to use Tommy's face for the Green Arrow fake out. Because a) it's always great to see Tommy and b) his story is kind of plausible when you think about it. Faking your death to become a vigilante sounds so cool. Ollie ending up in prison was mildly surprising, but you know that he won't stay in prison for long. Sure, Dig could take over as the Green Arrow again, but Stephen Amell is the star of the show. And look how long Barry stayed in prison. It was, what? Three weeks? What will be interesting is what happens when Ollie gets out of prison. Everyone knows he's the Green Arrow now. How will that change how he operates? At least Ollie isn't the mayor of Star City anymore. I swear, he was the worst mayor ever. Well, maybe not the worst ever, but still not one of the best.
The thing with the team breaking up, I'm not sure what it added to the season. I know it was meant to show that Ollie's focus was split and he was driving people away with his bad decisions, but Ollie has always struggled with making the right choice. I also think everyone made up too easily in the end. Ollie offers some heartfelt apologies and all is right. That's the problem with TV shows. Things tend to go back to the status quo.
The only big shake ups of the season were Thea's departure and Quentin's death. I'm not choked up about Thea. She was in a coma for most of the season. Hell, she missed a lot of season five, too. I'm just glad they wrote her out instead of killing her off. Which brings me to Quentin. I'm actually quite bummed that he's gone. He's come a long way since the first season. I always thought his character would be the one the show killed off when they needed a death, but he lasted for six seasons! It's great that he became the father figure for a lot of the characters. That last scene between Ollie and Quentin. Wow, Stephen Amell knocked it out of the park. Though, I have a beef with how Quentin was shot. Diaz said he was going to shoot Laurel in the head. Quentin jumps in front of Laurel and ends up with a gut shot? Why was Diaz aiming down there? And surprise appearance by Sara! I don't know if Caity Lotz's name was in the guest credits and I just missed it, but it was so awesome when the doors opened and there she was. But it totally makes sense that someone would call her on the Waverider to let her know that her father had been fatally shot. Now, there's nothing saying that Quentin can't come back in some capacity down the road. Thank goodness for multiple Earths!
Random: What was the point of having William around when most of the time he was being shuttled off with Raisa? And then there was that stretch of the season where Ollie was running around as the Green Arrow, but he didn't tell is his son that he was wearing the hood again. There was a point when I had hoped that Raisa was secretly like a bad ass ARGUS agent or something, because how else was she supposed to keep William safe? I think William and Zoe should meet and then they can trade stories about having a vigilante for a dad. Ollie had another Green Arrow suit done up for Dig. When does Cisco have time to make all of these suits? I like to imagine he has a secure website for super suit orders. They didn't kill Anatoly, which is nice. David Nkyl can come back for another season. One assumes he will be back if Diaz is still at large and looking for revenge. So, new bunker for season seven? Or just a slightly modified one?
- And Arrowverse crossover news for next season: Batwoman!!!!! The plot of the crossover involves everyone going to Gotham for some reason. I can't imagine a threat big enough that would warrant all of the Super Friends to get together, though. Like, what the heck is happening in Gotham that the resident bat vigilante can't handle it? This also raises some questions, like, is there a Batman? Bruce Wayne certainly exists, but is he dressing up like a bat at night? One would assume he is around, if there's a Batwoman, but maybe Kathy Kane became the bat themed vigilante first and Bruce was inspired by her. That'd be a fun twist. As this is Earth-1 Batwoman, they could have an Earth-1 Maggie Sawyer as well, which would be awkward for Alex, who was engaged to Earth-38's Maggie Sawyer. That assumes, of course, that Alex is doing the crossover again. Frankly, it'd be nice if J'onn got to tag along this time, and maybe Winn, too. Winn and Cisco need to meet; they can exchange super suit tailoring tips. It'd also be nice if the Legends were more involved. I want Constantine to meet everyone and just flirt up a storm.
Ooh, I had a thought. What if they visit Gotham not in the present but in the past? Ollie and Kara haven't experienced time travel yet and it'd be a good way to have the Legends more involved in the plot. It would also get around the whole "does Batman exist or not" quandary. I do believe in the comics that there were two Batwomen: one older, named Katherine, and one younger, who's Kathy. They could meet Katherine Kane, who could or could not be related to Kathy. It'd also be fun to visit the 1930s or 1940s, the setting of the Golden Age of comics.
I also had a thought on how the show could release Melissa Benoist for a handful of episodes for the crossover: use the actress from the flashback episode "Midvale". She was perfect as young Kara. Why not have a villain de-age Kara into a teenager? Sure, it's kind of cliched, but I feel like the Supergirl writers could make the scenario work. You could have so many jokes about how cute Kara was when she was a teenager. Or you could have Alex trying to pass off teen Kara as her cousin. Frankly, I just want to see the actress again. She was on iZombie for a bit and she was pretty funny there.
- And while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. live to fight another day for one more season, I do have to say: damn, the season finale would have been a damn fine series finale.
What makes it is the final scene. No one knew if the show was coming back so the good-byes feel genuine. This was the cast saying good-bye to five years of being kick ass spies. Things are a bit melancholy but there's hope, too, which is a nice echo of what Mack says in the episode. Fitz is dead but his past self is still frozen in deep space waiting for a future that won't happen now and the team has the capacity to fly through space to track him down. Coulson is dying but he gets to spend the rest of his days with May in peace. And S.H.I.E.L.D. lives on, ready to help humanity when they need it. The plaque the team hangs up in the Zephyr to honour Coulson was nice and it reminded me a lot of Buffy's headstone from "The Gift" (it basically says he saved the world a lot).
So, while it's great we'll get one more season, I'm worried the next finale won't be as powerful and it might ruin this good-bye. Hopefully, ABC gives the producers plenty of warning when the final end is coming and the writers can craft something just as moving.
(Also, that last moment of the Zephyr flying off into sunset is slightly ruined when you realize that it probably crashed into the ground a few minutes later when half of the crew suddenly disappeared thanks to Thanos.)
As for this season, it managed to work despite the reduced budget. Sure, the team was stuck in the same set for the entire season, but the writers found decent plot reasons to keep them there for most of the action. The next season will probably have similar cost saving measures, since the Lighthouse isn't going anywhere, but if ABC is only committed to one half season, it'd be nice if they could up the budget a little, especially if this is the last season.
The time travel / time loop aspect was interesting and the first real use of time travel in the MCU (yes, Doctor Strange had some timey wimey-ness, but it was more a localized time loop). While it's obvious the team was sent to the future so they wouldn't have to spend all of their time on Earth (thus avoiding killing time until the release of Infinity War), it was a good opportunity to see more alien races and it really forced the team to stick together and work as a cohesive front. Team cohesion kind of fell apart once they get back to present, but it did open up some intriguing debates on how to stop the future from happening. Like, is killing people justified if you think it will save the Earth? It's nice that by the finale, they circle back to the heart of what S.H.I.E.L.D. does: it saves people.
Of course, there are some questions going forward. Where did Deke go? Did he fade away? Or is he still around because he's from an alternative timeline now? Is Coulson not coming back at all next season? Or will they find a way to cure him? I haven't looked around to see if Clark Gregg is committed for season six or not. Will the show reference Infinity War and Avengers 4? I'm glad they didn't go into the consequences of Thanos' finger snap, because that would have been a real bummer of an ending, but for once, the show will be airing after the release of the big movie, so the writers should really lean into it if they can.
Random: Killing Fitz was mean, but then, hey, time travel saves him (potentially). It is ingenious when you think about it. Past Fitz is still out there because the events that lead to him to being frozen weren't changed. The future he's trying to reach, though, is gone, so the team can wake him up without a huge time paradox happening. Though, Jemma does say that Fitz hasn't missed much, but um, you guys got married! That's a big thing that Past Fitz missed. I guess they can always get married again. Fitz's life ending injury was a bit odd though. It didn't look like that sheet of metal cut him that deep. It would have been way more dramatic had the sheet nearly cut him in half, but that was probably too gory. Coulson hiding the Centipede formula in Daisy's gauntlet was neat and smart. I love that he hints to it early on with his line about Daisy using the power in her arms to beat Talbot's ass (or whatever he said; I don't remember the exact wording). The fight between Daisy and Talbot was kind of anti-climatic, but I guess the show didn't have the time and money to do a huge brawl. Coulson and May are a thing now! It's nice that May is the first one to say "I love you" and Coulson can't really express his feelings; nice role reversal on the two. Also shows how far May has come. She used to shut people out, but now she has this homemade family. And their kiss on the spaceship! Aliens are shooting at them but Coulson has his arm shield; crazy but the perfect scenario for those two. I never understood Deke's crush on Daisy. At least the two of them didn't get together.
At least we'll get to see Coulson in Captain Marvel. He's meant to be 20 years younger, though, so are they going to de-age Clark Gregg digitally? That's going to be weird.
- In ongoing TV news, The Expanse has been saved! Amazon Prime has picked up the show for season four. I think this easily means the show will last long enough to cover all of the books. It also helps that the CEO of Amazon is a big fan of the books. I'm not sure what this means for Canada, though. Space airs The Expanse in Canada, but can they still do that if Amazon Prime has all of the distribution rights? The Expanse is filmed in Toronto, so there's enough Canadian content to justify airing it on Space, so maybe Bell Media can wrangle a deal with Amazon. It's amazing how, in this day and age, cancelled shows have a chance to find a second life. Had this been five or ten years ago, this would have been the end of The Expanse.
- The Flash's season was all right, though the tone was all over the place. One episode would be all serious and the next, it'd be wacky and upbeat. I mean, tonal shifts are fine, but the lighter episodes felt forced sometimes. I suppose you can blame Legends of Tomorrow a bit; it's pretty much impossible to beat their level of crazy fun antics.
The villain this season wasn't the best, either. I appreciate that they didn't go with another speedster this season, but then that led to DeVoe just sitting and scheming a lot. How is a guy in a fancy chair suppose to feel threatening? It wasn't until DeVoe started amassing the bus metas' powers that he seemed like a decent foe for Barry. I think the writers got a little lazy in their writing, too. DeVoe was constantly saying, "Oh, I already foresaw this, so none of your plans will work." So Barry was always being beat down, even though Team Flash had some great plans. I know the hero can't get a huge win until the very end of the season, but at the same time, he gets stuck in a loop. Some reviews have suggested that the show should try something different next season, like having two smaller arcs rather than one long arc. It would help to focus the storytelling, I think. Maybe have multiple villains working together? I know they sort of had that with Alchemy and Savitar but the whole reveal on Savitar just soured that plot line.
The finale was surprisingly subdued. The only big battle happens inside of DeVoe's mind with some dodgy CGI clones (though Barry swinging Ralph around like a battering ram was kind of funny) and it's the power of lurv that stops him. The rest of the time, the team was watching numbers on a screen. It's such a TV trope to have the big threat take time to build up. In the end, no brains are rebooted, but really, only one satellite crashes to Earth? If DeVoe's powers were the only thing keeping all of the satellites in orbits, wouldn't all of them have fallen? I get that the STAR Labs satellite would fall on Central City, since it has to stay in geosynchronous orbit over the city, but you're telling me the other four satellites just fell to Earth harmlessly? If DeVoe had been truly devious, he would have had all of the satellites come crashing down on Central City.
I also appreciate that the season didn't end on a giant cliffhanger. No time travel or Speed Force antics. Just Barry and Iris' daughter from the future. I think most people guessed that Mystery Girl was their daughter. In the comics, Barry and Iris had twins who were also speedsters. But why did Nora travel back to the past? And what did she screw up? Good to know that screwing around with time is an Allen family trait. An interesting note is that Nora ran away from Iris, though she was super eager to talk with everyone else. Is Iris dead in the future? Or does Nora just not have a good relationship with her mother? If we're dealing with more time travel next season I'm not sure that's a good thing. Barry and time travel do not mix.
Random: So, what's going on with Caitlin and Killer Frost? They revealed that she had her cold powers before the particle accelerator exploded. Cecile mentions a "Thomas" while her telepathy is amped up. Maybe this Thomas was the one who suppressed Caitlin's powers when she was a kid? I knew they would bring back Ralph some how. You wouldn't just kill off such a major character from the comics. Ralph's second suit is all right, but it looks like a jogging suit and the purple is way too dark. So, are we getting another Harrison Wells next season? I think the problem with that is, we've seen so many Harrisons now and they're all kooky. The team needs a Harrison who is useful, not distracting. Surprise cameo by Wally! Well, not a surprise, since the actor's name was in the guest credit, but a surprise for the characters. It's funny that they took the time to explain why he's on LoT and why he's staying there. Joe and Cecile's daughter is so cute. Can't wait for stressed parents antics from them.
I don't know which villain they could have next season. They've introduced a lot of the Flash's enemies already. One storyline from the comics that I would like to see at one point is the Speed Force Storm from the first arc in the Flash's Rebirth line. With that storyline, a group of terrorists opened up the Speed Force and suddenly hundreds of people in the city developed speed powers. So you could have Barry training these new speedsters to use their powers and you could have him chasing down new speedsters who want to use their powers for all of the wrong reasons. There was also a new evil speedster called Godspeed that Barry had to contend with, so you could work in that, too.
- Arrow season six was okay. I can't really say why it wasn't better. The ideas were solid; Ollie's identity as the Green Arrow is threatened, Star City falls under the influence of a crime boss, the team splits up because of various differences and disagreements. Must have been down to the execution and the writing. Some stuff would have played better with stronger writing.
Or maybe it was the villain. Or villains, I suppose. Cayden James was vaguely interesting. When he was holding the city for ransom, that seemed like an impossible thing for Ollie and the team to stop. Cities don't have endless sources of revenue. But then they pulled the bait and switch with Diaz and yeah, I kind of zoned out. Diaz was boring. He didn't have a unique angle beyond taking over the city. Every villain so far has tried to do that. He needed something more to be more memorable. And then they didn't bother to kill him! So now we're stuck with another season of the Dragon. Though, I did read that the Longbow Hunters, referenced in passing during the finale, are going to be a big part of season seven, so hopefully Diaz isn't featured that much.
As for the rest, Ollie being outed as the Green Arrow and the team splitting up, it was hit and miss. They really played into the FBI investigation at the beginning of the season, then it was kind of ignored during the middle of the season, and then it came roaring back at the end of the season. Had Ollie's trial lasted longer (like a real trial), that might have been more interesting. There would have been a lot more tension. Imagine Ollie stuck under house arrest or something while Diaz continues to gain power. I did love that Christopher Chance decided to use Tommy's face for the Green Arrow fake out. Because a) it's always great to see Tommy and b) his story is kind of plausible when you think about it. Faking your death to become a vigilante sounds so cool. Ollie ending up in prison was mildly surprising, but you know that he won't stay in prison for long. Sure, Dig could take over as the Green Arrow again, but Stephen Amell is the star of the show. And look how long Barry stayed in prison. It was, what? Three weeks? What will be interesting is what happens when Ollie gets out of prison. Everyone knows he's the Green Arrow now. How will that change how he operates? At least Ollie isn't the mayor of Star City anymore. I swear, he was the worst mayor ever. Well, maybe not the worst ever, but still not one of the best.
The thing with the team breaking up, I'm not sure what it added to the season. I know it was meant to show that Ollie's focus was split and he was driving people away with his bad decisions, but Ollie has always struggled with making the right choice. I also think everyone made up too easily in the end. Ollie offers some heartfelt apologies and all is right. That's the problem with TV shows. Things tend to go back to the status quo.
The only big shake ups of the season were Thea's departure and Quentin's death. I'm not choked up about Thea. She was in a coma for most of the season. Hell, she missed a lot of season five, too. I'm just glad they wrote her out instead of killing her off. Which brings me to Quentin. I'm actually quite bummed that he's gone. He's come a long way since the first season. I always thought his character would be the one the show killed off when they needed a death, but he lasted for six seasons! It's great that he became the father figure for a lot of the characters. That last scene between Ollie and Quentin. Wow, Stephen Amell knocked it out of the park. Though, I have a beef with how Quentin was shot. Diaz said he was going to shoot Laurel in the head. Quentin jumps in front of Laurel and ends up with a gut shot? Why was Diaz aiming down there? And surprise appearance by Sara! I don't know if Caity Lotz's name was in the guest credits and I just missed it, but it was so awesome when the doors opened and there she was. But it totally makes sense that someone would call her on the Waverider to let her know that her father had been fatally shot. Now, there's nothing saying that Quentin can't come back in some capacity down the road. Thank goodness for multiple Earths!
Random: What was the point of having William around when most of the time he was being shuttled off with Raisa? And then there was that stretch of the season where Ollie was running around as the Green Arrow, but he didn't tell is his son that he was wearing the hood again. There was a point when I had hoped that Raisa was secretly like a bad ass ARGUS agent or something, because how else was she supposed to keep William safe? I think William and Zoe should meet and then they can trade stories about having a vigilante for a dad. Ollie had another Green Arrow suit done up for Dig. When does Cisco have time to make all of these suits? I like to imagine he has a secure website for super suit orders. They didn't kill Anatoly, which is nice. David Nkyl can come back for another season. One assumes he will be back if Diaz is still at large and looking for revenge. So, new bunker for season seven? Or just a slightly modified one?
- And Arrowverse crossover news for next season: Batwoman!!!!! The plot of the crossover involves everyone going to Gotham for some reason. I can't imagine a threat big enough that would warrant all of the Super Friends to get together, though. Like, what the heck is happening in Gotham that the resident bat vigilante can't handle it? This also raises some questions, like, is there a Batman? Bruce Wayne certainly exists, but is he dressing up like a bat at night? One would assume he is around, if there's a Batwoman, but maybe Kathy Kane became the bat themed vigilante first and Bruce was inspired by her. That'd be a fun twist. As this is Earth-1 Batwoman, they could have an Earth-1 Maggie Sawyer as well, which would be awkward for Alex, who was engaged to Earth-38's Maggie Sawyer. That assumes, of course, that Alex is doing the crossover again. Frankly, it'd be nice if J'onn got to tag along this time, and maybe Winn, too. Winn and Cisco need to meet; they can exchange super suit tailoring tips. It'd also be nice if the Legends were more involved. I want Constantine to meet everyone and just flirt up a storm.
Ooh, I had a thought. What if they visit Gotham not in the present but in the past? Ollie and Kara haven't experienced time travel yet and it'd be a good way to have the Legends more involved in the plot. It would also get around the whole "does Batman exist or not" quandary. I do believe in the comics that there were two Batwomen: one older, named Katherine, and one younger, who's Kathy. They could meet Katherine Kane, who could or could not be related to Kathy. It'd also be fun to visit the 1930s or 1940s, the setting of the Golden Age of comics.
I also had a thought on how the show could release Melissa Benoist for a handful of episodes for the crossover: use the actress from the flashback episode "Midvale". She was perfect as young Kara. Why not have a villain de-age Kara into a teenager? Sure, it's kind of cliched, but I feel like the Supergirl writers could make the scenario work. You could have so many jokes about how cute Kara was when she was a teenager. Or you could have Alex trying to pass off teen Kara as her cousin. Frankly, I just want to see the actress again. She was on iZombie for a bit and she was pretty funny there.
- And while Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. live to fight another day for one more season, I do have to say: damn, the season finale would have been a damn fine series finale.
What makes it is the final scene. No one knew if the show was coming back so the good-byes feel genuine. This was the cast saying good-bye to five years of being kick ass spies. Things are a bit melancholy but there's hope, too, which is a nice echo of what Mack says in the episode. Fitz is dead but his past self is still frozen in deep space waiting for a future that won't happen now and the team has the capacity to fly through space to track him down. Coulson is dying but he gets to spend the rest of his days with May in peace. And S.H.I.E.L.D. lives on, ready to help humanity when they need it. The plaque the team hangs up in the Zephyr to honour Coulson was nice and it reminded me a lot of Buffy's headstone from "The Gift" (it basically says he saved the world a lot).
So, while it's great we'll get one more season, I'm worried the next finale won't be as powerful and it might ruin this good-bye. Hopefully, ABC gives the producers plenty of warning when the final end is coming and the writers can craft something just as moving.
(Also, that last moment of the Zephyr flying off into sunset is slightly ruined when you realize that it probably crashed into the ground a few minutes later when half of the crew suddenly disappeared thanks to Thanos.)
As for this season, it managed to work despite the reduced budget. Sure, the team was stuck in the same set for the entire season, but the writers found decent plot reasons to keep them there for most of the action. The next season will probably have similar cost saving measures, since the Lighthouse isn't going anywhere, but if ABC is only committed to one half season, it'd be nice if they could up the budget a little, especially if this is the last season.
The time travel / time loop aspect was interesting and the first real use of time travel in the MCU (yes, Doctor Strange had some timey wimey-ness, but it was more a localized time loop). While it's obvious the team was sent to the future so they wouldn't have to spend all of their time on Earth (thus avoiding killing time until the release of Infinity War), it was a good opportunity to see more alien races and it really forced the team to stick together and work as a cohesive front. Team cohesion kind of fell apart once they get back to present, but it did open up some intriguing debates on how to stop the future from happening. Like, is killing people justified if you think it will save the Earth? It's nice that by the finale, they circle back to the heart of what S.H.I.E.L.D. does: it saves people.
Of course, there are some questions going forward. Where did Deke go? Did he fade away? Or is he still around because he's from an alternative timeline now? Is Coulson not coming back at all next season? Or will they find a way to cure him? I haven't looked around to see if Clark Gregg is committed for season six or not. Will the show reference Infinity War and Avengers 4? I'm glad they didn't go into the consequences of Thanos' finger snap, because that would have been a real bummer of an ending, but for once, the show will be airing after the release of the big movie, so the writers should really lean into it if they can.
Random: Killing Fitz was mean, but then, hey, time travel saves him (potentially). It is ingenious when you think about it. Past Fitz is still out there because the events that lead to him to being frozen weren't changed. The future he's trying to reach, though, is gone, so the team can wake him up without a huge time paradox happening. Though, Jemma does say that Fitz hasn't missed much, but um, you guys got married! That's a big thing that Past Fitz missed. I guess they can always get married again. Fitz's life ending injury was a bit odd though. It didn't look like that sheet of metal cut him that deep. It would have been way more dramatic had the sheet nearly cut him in half, but that was probably too gory. Coulson hiding the Centipede formula in Daisy's gauntlet was neat and smart. I love that he hints to it early on with his line about Daisy using the power in her arms to beat Talbot's ass (or whatever he said; I don't remember the exact wording). The fight between Daisy and Talbot was kind of anti-climatic, but I guess the show didn't have the time and money to do a huge brawl. Coulson and May are a thing now! It's nice that May is the first one to say "I love you" and Coulson can't really express his feelings; nice role reversal on the two. Also shows how far May has come. She used to shut people out, but now she has this homemade family. And their kiss on the spaceship! Aliens are shooting at them but Coulson has his arm shield; crazy but the perfect scenario for those two. I never understood Deke's crush on Daisy. At least the two of them didn't get together.
At least we'll get to see Coulson in Captain Marvel. He's meant to be 20 years younger, though, so are they going to de-age Clark Gregg digitally? That's going to be weird.
- In ongoing TV news, The Expanse has been saved! Amazon Prime has picked up the show for season four. I think this easily means the show will last long enough to cover all of the books. It also helps that the CEO of Amazon is a big fan of the books. I'm not sure what this means for Canada, though. Space airs The Expanse in Canada, but can they still do that if Amazon Prime has all of the distribution rights? The Expanse is filmed in Toronto, so there's enough Canadian content to justify airing it on Space, so maybe Bell Media can wrangle a deal with Amazon. It's amazing how, in this day and age, cancelled shows have a chance to find a second life. Had this been five or ten years ago, this would have been the end of The Expanse.