'AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.' | 'The Force of Gravity' S05E21
With time running out, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. face an impossible choice in ‘The Force of Gravity’.
‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ has been playing the long game with Coulson’s illness for the majority of the season, and this week’s episode finally revealed the mysterious prophecy surrounding S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fearless leader: either he dies, or the world does.
It’s a dilemma that dogs the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. team but, of course, that’s not their only problem this week. Talbot is now hellbent on powering up to defend the world from Thanos and his reign of terror is just beginning…
SPOILER ALERT!
Following Talbot’s heel turn last week, the Confederacy have taken Daisy, Coulson, and May prisoner. Coulson and May are stuck in a cell together but Deke, of all people, soon comes to their rescue and they make their grand escape. Daisy’s unconscious body, meanwhile, is being carried through the Confederacy’s base while Taryan speaks to her mind through astral projection, but this isn’t Daisy’s first rodeo. By concentrating enough, she’s able to use her quake powers to break the inhibitor on her forehead, and she wakes up just in time to escape. She then links up with Coulson, May, and Deke as they take on Qovas’ goons.
Talbot, meanwhile, is on his own mission. He needs more Gravitonium to become Earth’s Mightiest Hero, and that Gravitonium is located within Carl Creel. Even while shaking off the after-effects of touching the Gravitonium, Creel is still loyal to Talbot. Unfortunately, the Talbot that he’s come to befriend is long gone. The new Talbot is desperate for more Gravitonium and, under the guise of helping Creel get the voices out of his head, Talbot absorbs the Absorbing Man (RIP Creel) and gets his Gravitonium fix.
Daisy, Coulson, May, and Deke are ready to beam back down to Earth, but first they need to take care of the missiles that Qovas has aimed at the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse itself is strong enough to withstand such an assault, but the surrounding town isn’t. So, the quartet split up – Coulson and Daisy go to retake the Zephyr, while May and Deke go to redirect the missiles. But what follows is a moment that will go down in history for long-time ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ fans… Coulson and (the real) May finally kissed! And what a kiss it was. A swashbuckling heroic kiss with Coulson protecting the Leia to his Solo behind a holographic shield as aliens opened fire. And Deke and Daisy’s reactions made the long-awaited moment all the better.
Talbot’s next stop, though, is personal and he’s finally back home with his family. All Talbot wants to do is impress his son, so he starts showing off by levitating George’s toys and offering to take him up to a real-life spaceship. But once his wife starts questioning him about S.H.I.E.L.D. and “everything going on in the world” (there are some cuts to news footage of the destruction in New York wrought by Thanos’ Black Order), Talbot loses his cool and hurls her against the wall with his powers. He gets even angrier when Mack and Yo-Yo pull up outside.
Despite their good intentions, Mack and Yo-Yo are no match for Talbot’s powers. Graviton is in full villain mode, and the only thing that makes him stop is George pleading with him to stop hurting people. This gets through to Talbot, and he promises his son that he’s going to save the world by stopping Thanos. Flying off and doing his best Magneto impression, Talbot tells George to keep watching the news.
Back in space, May finally gives Qovas the hand-to-hand fight he (and fans) have been asking for. It’s a great fight, made even better by Deke ducking in and out of the struggle while he works on redirecting the missiles. And the distraction works! Qovas gleefully thinks he’s won by firing the missiles, only to realise they’re actually heading straight for his own ship while May and Deke teleport away. With Coulson and Daisy on their way home via the Zephyr, the team are practically reunited and ready to take on Talbot – until Coulson passes out.
If you’re wondering where Fitz and Simmons have been this episode, they’ve been experimenting with Jiaying’s DNA and the Centipede Serum. And the science duo have come up with a solution for both of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s problems. They can fill one vial of the Centipede Serum with Jiaying’s DNA and save Coulson, while filling another one with Odium and using it to stop Talbot. Unfortunately, Daisy breaks the news that the sample they have is the only vial left in existence, which means the team now has to choose between saving Coulson or saving the world.
Directed by Kevin Tancharoen, ‘The Force of Gravity’ spent most of its runtime moving characters into position for the endgame. As is often the case with Tancharoen’s episodes, the episode’s plot played second fiddle to the action, as showcased by Daisy’s scenes and the May vs Qovas fight (which were both superbly captured).
This final arc hasn’t been stellar in comparison to season four’s framework arc, but it’s been consistently good. Nevertheless, it’s ambiguous in a way that no other season-ending storyline on this show has been and the stakes are super high.
The team now face their own ‘Sophie’s Choice’ scenario but of course, the heated debate they’re about to have could all be for nothing if ‘S.H.I.E.L.D.’ – having already made passing references to the events of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ – fully dives into the ending of the blockbuster movie. And if we’re to believe the math that ‘Infinity War’ takes place over 24 hours, big things should be happening soon…
New episodes of ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ are updated weekly on Amazon Prime Video.
