If you thought things were going to slow down after Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 Episode 5, you would have been sorely mistaken.
With probably the best and most painful cliffhanger yet, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 Episode 6 left us wanting more of its action-packed goodness.
All of the agents were dealing with different threats, and the importance of needing to be on the Zephyr before it time jumped could not have been more obvious than it was on this hour.
Enoch was left behind in the 1930s on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 Episode 2, so one would think that that would be the last time the team ever made a dire mistake like that one.
Well, the Zephyr disagreed.
Rick Stoner: Your friends blew up my rocket on the Fourth of July.
Coulson: You didn’t want that thing to reach orbit General. You would have found that out the hard way.
Rick Stoner: Because time-traveling robots would have turned the deadly lasers upon the Earth?
Coulson: More or less, yeah.
Mack, distraught at having to kill the Chronicoms that took on the personas of his parents, needed to take a breather after the Zephyr time jumped.
A worried Deke followed him, but no one could have guessed that the Zephyr would time jump again minutes after its last one.
Following the apparent theme of the past few episodes, my best guess would be that Deke and Mack are stuck in the 1990s. As to wherever the rest of the team went, anything and anywhere is possible.
Mack and Deke are a peculiar duo to have stranded together, but that may be why it can work.
The last time we saw the two of them together, Mack was extremely angry at Deke for killing Freddy and disobeying his orders. Since that anger was never resolved, it will most likely be brought up again.
As a result, they are bound to talk about Deke’s struggle with defining his moral code, especially because Mack has always stood firmly on his own. If there is anyone who can make it all much more clear for Deke, it’s Mack.
The contrast of their conflicting personalities will make for some soul searching scenes as they figure a way out of the mess they are in. Hopefully, they find a better solution than waiting as Enoch did.
Speculating about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 Episode 7 aside, let’s talk about Mack.
Poor, poor Mack. It was so cute watching how giddy he was when interacting with his parents in 1976. But that is tainted now that we know it was fake, especially after the heartwrenching scene when he pushed his “mother” out of the plane.
Mack’s mom: Who are you?
Mack: This is Agent Rodriguez, she’s my girlfriend.
Yo-Yo: Oh, I don’t think these strangers care about that, Director Mack-lemore.
As we learned, the Chronicoms can now take on the personalities of the people whose faces they steal.
But since they made it seem like it was a new development that took place after Project Insight blew up, there was never any speculation that Mack’s parents, who were taken hostage before the event, were Chronicoms.
Not only are the writers messing with time by having their characters travel through it, but they are also using it to pull the wool over the audience’s eyes.
Is Phil Coulson truly dead? And how many times have we asked that very same question?
At this point, it’s akin to the boy who called wolf when Coulson “dies.” When one character dies more than two times, it is hard to feel grief at that exact moment because it is unbelievable.
That and the fact that May also believes Coulson will show up again, even after he was blown up, has us thinking the same. Plus, a character like Coulson deserves an epic ending, and that wasn’t it.
May: There’s something wrong with that agent.
Coulson: I know, you’d think someone named Stoner would be a little more fun.
May: No, the woman.
He will make his return soon because he needs to make up with May once and for all as they have felt too far apart this season.
Most likely, it will be because Coulson survived that explosion and will wait many years, like Enoch did, to catch up with the team. But taking into account how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 7 has gone so far, anything is possible.
Before his “death,” though, Coulson reminded us how wise he is by leaving us with one more of his inspiring speeches. This time, it was all about humanity and the complexities and beauty that come along with it.
Sibyl, who is a subtlely terrifying villain with her lack of worry, revealed the truth as to why the Chronicoms believe they should take over Earth from the humans, and it is as simple as mortality.
Chronicoms are immortal, meaning that they never have to worry about death the way humans do. Humans act irrationally because of the knowledge that they may die one day, and that is why Chronicoms are better suited to survive.
Thanks to Coulson, we all know that that is far from the truth.
Humans are worthy of survival because of the emotions they feel and their willingness to survive. It reminded me of the time Steve Rogers stood up against Thanos’ army alone in Avengers: Endgame — humans are unyielding.
When knocked down, humans get back up and fight no matter the cost. And that could not be more symbolic of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a whole.
Coulson: I would argue that you’re wrong about three things, if you don’t mind.
Sibyl: Please.
Coulson: First, the difference is sacrifice. Yeah, time is limited, which means sacrifice comes at a real cost. Not just data. Heart, and pain, and blood, and sweat, and tears. All the good human stuff. And we will never give up.
Sibyl: You said I was wrong about three things. What’s the third?
Coulson: Me. You see, I haven’t feared death for a long time.
Sibyl: Is that so?
Coulson: Yeah. The fact is, dying, it’s kind of my superpower.
Yes, the team is made up of a few Inhumans, but at the end of the day, they are just a random group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who are willing to sacrifice for the greater good.
They have all given up so much to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and they will not stop pushing against those who want to destroy their world until the very end.
It’s a great thing to reminded of as we watch the series come to a close.
We finally were awarded some answers about Simmons and the device in her head.
Simmons has been quite secretive about the exact details of how she and Fitz built a time machine and everything that entails. Thankfully Deke walked in at just the right moment and forced Simmons to admit some of her secrets to him.
I designed a biological implant to suppress my memories. I named her “Diana.” She’s adorable and we’re inseparable, literally.
Simmons
First of all, it is quite possibly the greatest thing in the world that Simmons affectionately named her biological implant “Diana,” and secondly, it is so tragic that Simmons has to have it to take away her memories of where Fitz is.
We dearly miss Fitz, so it’s impossible to imagine how much Simmons must miss him. And no matter the heartbreak everyone is feeling now, the reunion of Fitzsimmons is bound to be one for the books.
Given the fact that Fitz is in the one place in the world where he can keep an eye on the Chronicoms, the matter of his safety is of great concern. But one can still hope that he returns soon. Maybe that’s where the Zephyr jumped to?
While everyone else was worried about the Zephyr and Chronicoms, Daisy and Sousa had to deal with the power-hungry son of Freddy Malick.
It was awful to watch as Daisy was used as a lab rat by Nathaniel Malick, especially knowing her mother’s past experience with Daniel Whitehall.
Coulson: Where’s Daisy?
Sibyl: Abducted. By Nathaniel Malick. He wants to take her power.
Coulson: What are the chances he’ll succeed?
Sibyl: Twenty-two percent.
Coulson: Will Daisy survive?
Sibyl: Eighty-six percent.
Coulson: That’s my girl.
Nathaniel wanted the same thing Whitehall did — to acquire Inhuman powers. Thankfully, it did not work in his favor, and Daisy’s quake powers were too much for him. Was it satisfying for anyone else to watch the roof come down on top of him?
Unfortunately, the matter of Daisy’s powers is up for debate. She was unable to quake while being held captive with Sousa, but let’s hope they return sooner or later and that she makes a full recovery.
One good thing might have come out of Daisy and Sousa’s kidnapping, though, and that is the bond between the two of them.
There have already been hints that Daisy and Sousa were growing closer on past episodes, but going through what they just went through will definitely strengthen their relationship.
It is a complicated matter, however. For one, they are from two completely different time periods. Plus, Sousa is, by all means, dead.
Daisy: Malick’s little psycho-
Nathaniel: Psycho? Now that’s unfair and very well-timed. Wow, right as I’m walking in. Hi, Nathaniel. Uh, the two of you took me hostage, changed my life.
Daisy: Yeah, how about you unchain us and we can hug it out? And HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D can be together at last.
But their chemistry is quite obvious and all but smacks you in the face when they are onscreen together. And Sousa telling Daisy about how he lost his leg while she was suffering from her injuries was a very sweet moment.
While complicated, one cannot argue against the fact that Sousa has wanted off the Zephyr pretty much since he arrived, but now he has a reason to stay.
What do you think, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fanatics?
When and where do you think Mack and Deke are? Where did the Zephyr go? How will Coulson return this time?
And how does everyone feel about Daisy and Sousa?
Let me know in the comments, and do not forget that you can watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. online right here via TV Fanatic.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on ABC.
Sarah Little is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.