MASSIVE SPOILERS | 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' S05E19 leaves fans of the comics pleased
While Earth’s Mightiest Heroes battle Thanos, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. face an alien invasion of their own...
‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ loyalists finally got to witness the rise of Graviton this week, and it was pretty freakin’ epic.
Back in Season 1, ‘The Asset’ introduced Dr Franklin Hall and the rare element Gravitonium to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the comics, Hall eventually becomes the Avengers supervillain known as Graviton - a powerhouse baddie that can control the forces of gravity; and Marvel fans were understandably excited… until he became one of the show’s most infamous hanging plot threads. But here we are, five seasons later and ‘Option Two’ finally delivered – with an alien invasion of its own to boot.
Sent down to Earth by Hale and her alien friend Qovas, Coulson and Co. faced off against a brutal invasion by the Marauders. The Marauders made their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in ‘Thor: The Dark World’ but if they sound familiar, it’s also because Fitz posed as one in ‘Fun & Games’. And with the Lighthouse in lockdown (thanks to Coulson), team S.H.I.E.L.D. are trapped and a claustrophobic and nail-biting scramble ensues…
SPOILER ALERT!
Following Ruby’s short-lived turn as the Destroyer of Worlds, Coulson has a better plan for the gravitonium: to launch it into the sun. But before they can actually execute said plan, the team get side-tracked by a civil war of their own. Yo-Yo defends her decision to slay Ruby, but Daisy argues that it was a selfish act of revenge. After all that arguing, Coulson visits Talbot to check in on him. Poor Talbot’s brain is still a jumbled mess with all that programming, but he eventually realises that the numbers he’s uttering are coordinates to the Lighthouse and that he’s already sent out a signal. And sure enough, a massive alien ship soon appears in the sky.
Emergency protocols (and another video message from our old friend General Rick Stoner) kick in but because he’s impatient, Coulson jumps the gun and presses “2” for nuclear attack, right before the “alien invasion” option pops up – always wait for the whole menu, you guys. Always. The bad news is that the Lighthouse goes into lockdown for fifteen years, but the good news is that the aliens won’t be able to get in now, right?
Wrong, because the Marauders have their own Chitauri teleportation device. Deke recognises the magical alien terrors and relays what he knows to the rest of the team: they have foot-long razor claws, emit darkness (literally), and hunt in the dark. Soon enough, the power-sucking Marauders skitter their way through the Lighthouse and kill a bunch of faceless S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Backed into a corner; Coulson, May, Fitz, Mack, and Deke do their best to fend off the Marauders but it’s hopeless. Until Talbot does the unthinkable. Desperate to “fix things” and make amends, Talbot decides to take matters into his own hands by stepping into the chamber and absorbing 100% of the gravitonium. We saw what happened last week when Ruby only took in 8%, but Talbot appears to be handling his newfound powers (and the subsequent voices) pretty well. And emerging from the shadows, he crushes each and every one of the alien invaders with a wave of his fingers. Even the Marauders are no match against the forces of gravity. Reminding Coulson that he said he could fix this, Talbot then takes Coulson up into the sky with him to pay the Confederacy a visit.
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will know that Qovas’ ship isn’t the only massive alien spacecraft to be appearing in the sky this week. And yes indeed, there is a passing reference to ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ this episode. After the team’s big argument, Daisy leaves the Lighthouse to pursue a lead she has about saving Coulson’s life. She meets with Mack’s old friend Tony “Candyman” Caine and he asks, “Have you seen all this weird stuff happening In New York?” Daisy replies that she “can’t watch the news, it makes me crazy” but if she had, she would have known about the aliens in Doctor Strange’s Manhattan neighbourhood…
The point is, Caine has the very last vial of Centipede Serum. That’s right! The very same serum from Season 1 that kept Garrett alive and gave Deathlok his powers. Daisy wants to use it to help Coulson, but unfortunately, it’s missing a key healing component. Caine, for the life of him, can’t find “Jiaying” on any map, but Daisy knows better than anyone that it’s not a place at all. And the episode’s final scene sees Daisy digging up Jiaying’s grave, in the hopes that her mother’s body might be able to save Coulson.
An exciting and solid episode this week. There was a lot to get through in ‘Option Two’, but it’s better to cram in too much than pander for time, right?
Coulson is back in charge, and not a moment too soon. Our agents have never been in more desperate need of their leader, and the cracks are painfully apparent. The team have remained largely unified in the face of stress, helplessness, and fear but right now, they’re angry and fractured; and Daisy’s relationship with the Invincible Three continues to deteriorate, while new divisions arise between Yo-Yo and Mack. It’s an unusual dynamic to witness on ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’, and while the alien terrors this episode were terrifying, the disunity within the team might be the most dangerous thing facing our agents.
Speaking of Coulson, ‘Option Two’ only reminded fans just how vital he is to the show. From having Coulson hilariously select the “nuclear attack” option on the menu to his apparent joy when he finally got to say “light ‘em up", Clark Gregg truly took centre-stage this week; his everyman/fanboy take on the character has turned Fury’s former right-hand-man into a fan-favourite and Marvel legend in his own right
The ongoing transformation of Talbot continues in 'Option Two', and the main event this episode was his ascension into the MCU’s version of Graviton; but Talbot has already exhibited some cognitive malfunction after surviving the LMD Daisy-inflicted gunshot wound; and now that he’s absorbed an element that drove Ruby to the brink of insanity, there’s no telling what kind of effect the gravitonium will have on him.
Now with Talbot a gravitonium-infused being, fans are left wondering how all of this connects to Daisy and her infamous moniker in the future.
Will the real Destroyer of Worlds please stand up?
New episodes of ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ are updated weekly on Amazon Prime Video.
