Agents Of SHIELD Doesn’t Need The MCU

A Review For Agents of SHIELD Season 5

I recently finished binge watching Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Season 5 on Netflix, and I have to say that I was blown away!

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Season 5 saw the cast go off to space, back and beyond in one hell of a cosmic ride!

Now for those who follow me, you know that I am no fan of Marvel TV, Ike Perlmutter, Joe Quesada, Jeph Loeb or the defunct Marvel Creative Committee, but even I have to give credit where it’s due as the last two seasons of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD were phenomenal!

Last season featured the LMD’s, Ghost Rider and The Framework, and honestly, I didn’t think they could top it, but Marvel TV did with Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Season 5.

I was especially pleased with the first nine episodes, which took place off planet (trying to avoid spoilers here). I found it to be a much better Marvel COSMIC story than what James Gunn has attempted to do with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and whatever the hell Taika Waititi tried with Thor: Ragnarok (both failed miserably in my opinion to do the characters, creators and fans justice). Agents of SHIELD Season 5 is on the more serious and intelligent side and stays away from the goofy, which fans of this site are accustomed to.

While Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD Season 5 has nowhere near the budget of a big movie, I felt that overall the special effects were decent enough (it is TV, ABC and Perlmutter we are talking about here). The story also held its own for the most part, though there were a couple of dips (I believe episode 10 was pretty bad which saw Kasius fight, etc.). Marvel TV did have to create basically 22 hours of story in a short time, which is comparable to 11 movies! That’s crazy! They managed to smoothly transition from one story to the next (similar to last season as well) that it kept you hooked–line and sinker!

I was also pretty happy with the action (I’m a martial artist myself – loved the first John Wick) and haven’t been too happy with the Daredevil and the Netflix shows, but some of the action and moves in Agents of SHIELD were pretty good! The series has definitely improved since Season 1!

The icing on the cake and what truly made this season so special, IMO, is the actors who come about on screen as being a real family. You can see they all have a lot of chemistry, and again, the acting is light years from the first couple of seasons. If I had to name favorites it would be Henry Simmons as Mack and Iain De Caestecker as Fitz. Wow! What an awesome “bad” guy does Iain De Caestecker make! I was also pleasantly pleased with Chloe Bennet (remember! no fan of Bendis, here!) and how they showed her powers; her character has really evolved. Without going into spoilers, I also liked how Elizabeth Henstridge’s Simmons came together with Fitz. Those two probably have made the biggest improvement since the beginning. What happened with Natalia Cordova-Buckley’s Yo-Yo was crazy! I never expected that to be in a Marvel TV show, and to be honest, a lot of what went down this past season I found myself saying, “You’ll never see this in a Marvel movie.” And that’s a good thing! Jeff Ward’s Deke was also a most welcome addition, and he better return next season! Last, but certainly not least, is Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson and Ming-Na Wen as May–there’s some real touching moments between the two. Nicely done! I even shed a tear or two during the last episode!

Now for the potential bad news is that it’s speculated Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD will end with Season 6, as it has been announced to be only half the regular season with 13 episodes. The series also goes on a hiatus (let’s not kid around here) because of Marvel Studios, The Avengers: Infinity War, because Samuel L. Jackson and Clark Gregg return for Captain Marvel, and because of The Avengers 4. While that may seem unfortunate, I’ve actually been thinking it’s a good thing as Agents of SHIELD is a lot better without the MCU. I almost wrote an article how the Agents of SHIELD need to be in The Avengers 4, but then I pondered the thought and decided against it. It’s already known there is a rift between Marvel Studios and Marvel TV, so why not just accept it? After watching the previous two seasons of SHIELD, I’ve come to realize Agents of SHIELD is better on its own and doesn’t need the MCU.

The series doesn’t need cameos by movie actors or a connection to the MCU as the agents of SHIELD are now – and have been – the super heroes that we have needed and deserved all along.

I hope there are plans for Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD to continue past a Season 6; maybe on Netflix or the new upcoming Disney streaming service? I think the fans deserve it and that that the actors do as well.

I’ll also add that if you were turned off because of the disaster known as Inhumans (I’ll raise my hand), you should consider giving Agents of SHIELD another try. Remember, this is coming from basically (loved Punisher) a Marvel TV-hater (lol), so bear that in mind.

Make mine Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD!