The satisfactory feeling of witnessing a good ending to a beloved series or a film franchise is unparalleled. And that’s what we got from the Agents of SHIELD series finale. Not all shows need to have a sad or thrilling ending that includes multiple deaths. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. proved that by giving us an ending full of love, empathy and optimism. The only thing “bitter” about the sweet ending of the series was that we won’t get to see the agents return for a Season 8 as they’ve all gone their separate ways. But the way every character got a well-deserved happy end was commendable. The one thing that the Agents of SHIELD finale also gave us was clarity over the show’s connection to the main MCU. Along with that, we got some major references and parallels to MCU films. Let’s take a look at them.
Keep in mind that Spoilers for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series finale follow.
Avengers: Endgame & Ant-Man and the Wasp
The first and the major connection that the finale had was with Avengers: Endgame & the two Ant-Man movies. This connection not only allowed the show to have a fitting end, but it also left us with a way to connect this series with the main MCU. In the last couple of episodes, we got to know that the S.H.I.E.L.D.’s battle against the Chronicoms had created a new timeline. But there was a doubt as to whether the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents will be able to go back to their original timeline. Well, they were totally able to do that.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quantum Realm
And guess how the managed to do it? Obviously through the Quantum Realm. Agent Fitz was able to design his own working Quantum Tunnel through which he arrived in the new timeline that was created throughout Season 7. And then he took all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and the Chronicoms back to their original timeline (which is not the main MCU timeline). We were shown how the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and the Chronicoms took a trip through the Quantum Realm.
This was exactly like the ending of Ant-Man and the Wasp, and the central plot of Endgame. In the MCU timeline, Ant-Man and the Wasp was the first one to use the Quantum Tunnel to time travel. And then, Tony came up with a time space GPS that allowed the Avengers to navigate through the Quantum Realm. That’s exactly what Fitz did in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. timeline. This Quantum Realm connection allowed us to understand and believe that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was always set in its own timeline separate from the MCU. We could believe that Phil Coulson died for good in the main timeline, and in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. timeline, Nick Fury revived him.
Avengers: Infinity War & Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
The two part finale had a very subtle callback to both the Guardians of the Galaxy films and Avengers: Infinity War. Remember when Nebula blasted Gamora’s mining pod in Vol. 1? Gamora was left to die in the vacuum of space. Her body started to freeze like ice (or crystalize). Then Quill made a sacrificial move, saved Gamora, and we saw how his body began to turn white. The same happened with Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and even Ebony Maw in Avengers: Infinity War.
As we saw in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Daisy Johnson also made a sacrificial move by blasting off the Chronicom ships. Her body was left floating around in space, replicating what happened in the 3 MCU films that have been mentioned above. Although, Daisy was pulled back and her sister Kora healed her. This healing bit was another parallel to Season 2 when Jiaying saved Daisy.
The Avengers & Avengers: Age of Ultron
As the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents went on their own merry ways, Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie continued being the director of the organization. He was last seen in a trench coat on a flying Helicarrier. The only thing missing from his whole look was an eyepatch. Which another director of S.H.I.E.L.D. wore a trench coat and had a very empowering presence on a Helicarrier in both The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron? Yes obviously, Nick Fury.
Honorable Mention – Future MCU Films/Shows
Spider-Man: Far From Home ended with an introduction to SWORD as we saw Nick Fury in outer space. SWORD will be further explored in WandaVision, and the upcoming SWORD series that will carry the Secret Invasion plot in the MCU. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. possibly gave us its own version of SWORD as it left Daisy, Kora & Daniel Sousa in charge of deep space missions.
In the end, I’d like to add that the MCU is moving towards the Multiverse direction in Phase 4, so the characters from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could cameo in the MCU movies if Kevin Feige ever wished to establish a connection like he possibly did with the main MCU & the Agent Carter series. This connection could be made through Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Loki, or the unannounced SWORD series. But we shouldn’t really put all our hopes on it. It is entirely possible that the finale episode was the last time we’d ever see the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Phil Coulson. So, it was important that the show had a satisfactory ending, and that’s what the fans got.
Were you happy with the way this amazing series ended? Did you spot any other connections to the MCU during the two part finale? Tell us in the comments.
