 |
| Image Courtesy www.facebook.com/AgentsofShield |
By now it’s
pretty well known that the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: LMD arc is going to
conclude next week with the episode “Self Control.” This is the fifteenth episode of the season,
leaving seven more episodes for the third and final arc of the season. However, as of late we do not have any
definitive information about that final arc beyond a comment from Chloe Bennet
that it will give something of a payoff for fans who have been watching since
season 1. I really don’t know what that
means, but we’re going to speculate, anyways!
What could
the final arc of this season be? Here
are at least a few possibilities.
What We Know/Suspect So Far:
As stated
above, Chloe Bennet teased a connection to season 1, though that could mean
just about anything.
It is also a
confirmed fact (shocking, I know), that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
will be releasing in U.S. theaters on May 5.
There was a small connection to Doctor Strange in the first arc
of the season, so it is equally possible for there to be some degree of connection
with Guardians Vol. 2 in the final one.
However, that is not a certainty.
Finally, it
has been stated that they will take a hiatus between arcs (I would guess about
a month, starting up again either March 28 or April 4). This doesn’t mean much beyond the possible
connection with Guardians Vol. 2, since either date would place the
season finale either 1 week or 2 weeks after the movie’s release.
 |
| Image Courtesy www.facebook.com/AgentsofShield |
Option 1: Deathlok
This isn’t a
particularly exciting option, but it is something we have waited over a season
to see. Whatever happened to Mike
Peterson, a.k.a. Deathlok, after he was sent away to have his dismantled leg
repaired? We have not received any hints
of what happened to him since then, even though he would certainly have been
affected by the Sokovia Accords last year.
If Deathlok
is the focus of this arc, it would be easy enough to explain his absence for a
year. The first time he disappeared for
half a year, he was off on a secret mission for Coulson; the same could be true
now. The other option is that the process
of rebuilding his leg has been unsuccessful, keeping him sidelined for the last
year. As a possible connection to the
previous arcs, this would give a reason for Dr. Radcliffe to stick around with
another plea deal to replace Deathlok’s leg and upgrade some of his hardware.
Deathlok doesn’t
provide much in the way of obvious connections to Guardians of the Galaxy
Vol. 2, however, which would be a bit disappointing.
The Berserker
The
Asgardian presently known as Dr. Elliot Randolph has made a couple of
appearances so far to help the team with alien artifacts. Given that he would (presumably) be covered
by the Sokovia Accords in the same way that Thor is, I would be very curious to
know how he maintains his privacy and secrecy in an atmosphere of suspicion and
fear.
That he is himself
an alien would offer an obvious potential connection with Guardians of the
Galaxy Vol. 2, though there are a lot of directions to take it. However, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has
already explored human fear and mistrust of “aliens” using the Inhumans, so
that would be pretty redundant.
The other
issue with focusing on Randolph for an entire seven-episode arc is that there
really isn’t quite enough there for a full arc.
Thus far his character has been good in small doses, but unless they
find a way to tell the full story of his time on “Midgard” in flashback and
make it interesting, this would not be my preference for a seven-episode arc.
 |
| Image Courtesy abc.go.com |
Inhumans
This almost
feels like cheating since so much of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has revolved
around the Inhumans. Additionally, there
is an Inhumans TV series and “movie” (the first 2 episodes released in
IMAX) coming later this year.
However,
this feels like the right move precisely because of the previous two
points. Given that so much of the series
has focused on the Inhumans—and given that they will now be taking something of
a backseat with their own series coming, making the Inhumans the focus of this
final arc would be a good “send off,” opening the series up to place more focus
on other stories and characters moving forward.
This could also give the Royal Family a small introduction in advance of
their series, simultaneously increasing hype for Inhumans and infusing
new life into AoS.
The
first-season connection is fairly obvious:
the Kree body played a significant role in the season and gives a
connection to both the Inhumans and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Oh, and
there’s also Vijay who is still at the bottom of a lake somewhere in his second
Terrigenesis cocoon, and that’s bound to factor in here somewhere.
Even if the
final arc of the season is not focused primarily on the Inhumans, I do expect
this final arc to give the Inhuman storyline a worthy conclusion and perhaps
help to set up Inhumans in some way.
 |
| Image Courtesy en.wikipedia.org |
Agents of S.W.O.R.D.
I suggested
this as a possible spinoff from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. last year, but
that obviously did not come to fruition.
However, that’s no reason it couldn’t work as a story arc in this season
and set up a potential spinoff in the near future (that’s what they sort-of did
with Ghost Rider).
Given that
extraterrestrial visitations have become something of a regular occurrence on
this series (and in the MCU as a whole, though the only “aliens on earth” story
for the last year has been the Inhumans—and that’s a misnomer), it would make
perfect sense for the now-legitimate S.H.I.E.L.D. to begin preparing for the
eventuality of future alien invasions.
This may not actually cohere into S.W.O.R.D. until the end of the arc
(and end of the season), but the idea of aliens and alien invasions would be an
interesting connecting plot for the arc.
This could also bring together a number of new Inhumans (such as Vijay) and
other enhanced individuals (such as Deathlok) as a team formed specifically to
deal with extraterrestrial threats when they arise. This team would become the basis for
S.W.O.R.D. by the end of the season, perhaps after fighting off an alien
invasion with the help of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a team of Inhumans.
And an alien invasion would be an amazing tie-in for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Conclusion
Of the four
options explored here, the one I like the most is “Agents of S.W.O.R.D.,”
followed by “Inhumans.” These are the
two that I think connect the best with season 1, as well as everything that has
been going on in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this season.
However, I strongly
suspect that they will surprise us with something that we really don’t see
coming. But regardless, I am excited to
see where this series is going.
What do you
think the final Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4 arc will be? Do you like this method of breaking up the
season? Let me know in the comments!
No comments:
Post a Comment