The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot win a war when the enemy knows their every move before the Agents do. In “Brand New Day,” Nathaniel Malick (Thomas E. Sullivan) has the advantage with Sybil (Tamara Taylor) and the time stream on his side.
Nathaniel is looking for Fitz (Iain De Caestecker). Apparently he’s the only person who can thwart Nathaniel and Sybil’s plans. Nathaniel took Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and stole the Zephyr, with Deke (Jeff Ward) aboard. Sybil knows Simmons will know where Fitz is. They don’t know that she implanted an inhibitor in her brain so she would forget.
Kora (Dianne Doan) stays behind so Coulson (Clark Gregg) can take her to the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.s’ base. She says she wants to meet her little sister, Daisy (Chloe Bennet). That might be a bad idea right now. Daisy is in a very emotional state after Nathaniel killed their mother, Jiaying (Dichen Lachman). Things are looking very bleak right now.
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LIGHTHOUSE
The team can only watch as the Zephyr flies out of range into space. Mack (Henry Simmons), Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) and Coulson return with Kora in custody. Daisy, May (Ming-Na Wen) and Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) leave control to meet them. Daisy wants to tell Kora about their mother, but May thinks it’s a bad idea right now.
The first thing Daisy does is quake her sister against the wall, asking where Nathaniel took Simmons. Mack orders Daisy to stand down. After Kora regains her composure, she gives them a story about wanting to be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Something about wanting to work side-by-side with her sister and how they can make the world better by killing people who will hurt others in the future. Of course nobody believes her, least of all Daisy. Kora does point out one fact that everyone agrees on. The timeline that the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were trying to save no longer exists.
Daisy talks to Kora alone, and they end up talking about their very different childhoods. Kora is sad that Daisy never got to know their mother, but thinks she’s better off. Daisy is sad that Kora threw away her relationship with their mother. Kora believes they can work together because Sybil told her there’s no future where Daisy Johnson lets her sister fight alone. Daisy agrees. She gives Kora the keys to her handcuffs and leaves.
The agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. know that Sybil knows their futures and what they will do to protect their timeline. Sybil was right about Daisy and placed Kora at the base. But that’s not the sister Daisy will fight side-by-side with. Daisy already has a sister to save: Jemma Simmons. She knows the only way to stop Sybil and Nathaniel is to be as unpredictable as possible. In a bold move, Sousa and Mack leave with her.
ZEPHYR
Deke gets caught sneaking around the Zephyr by John Garrett (James Paxton). Nathaniel has a Chronicom Cerebral Fusion Machine. He’s using it to look inside of Simmons’ memories to find out where Fitz is. And he finds nothing. Nathaniel gets inpatient and beats up Deke to make Simmons talk. Then he tries to make Deke talk by threatening to quake Simmons’ neck. That’s when he sees the implant.
CONTROL
With the S.H.I.E.L.D. director gone rogue, Coulson and May are left to deal with Kora. Coulson makes her May’s responsibility, but that does not go well. Kora knows about Bahrain and how May killed an Inhuman child. She compares that to how the people at Afterlife wanted her dead, too. Kora gets angry, and that shuts down the power in the base. She also shuts down the firewalls to the base’s computer systems. This is the ’80s, so it probably isn’t hard. This was Kora’s plan all along. And Kora is the only person who can purge Sybil out of the system. Sybil shows up as code, something Coulson is familiar with. May suggests Coulson may be able to read the code. He takes a long look at the screen and studies it.
QUINJET
Daisy and Mack talk about the unlikely possibility of returning to their timeline. Daisy mentions that Enoch (Joel Stoffer) said this would be the team’s last mission. Mack is okay with that, but Daisy doesn’t want the team to become former co-workers. This is her family, and she doesn’t know who she is without them. Mack doesn’t believe that. He says she knows exactly who she is with anyone.
Daisy takes a look at Sousa, and Mack groans. Daisy admits to kissing Sousa during the time loops, which Mack finds messed up because Sousa doesn’t remember any of it. He smiles though, saying Yo-Yo owes him $20. He knows Daisy has a thing for Sousa. Daisy says things will never be the same, and Mack answers that it will be okay.
MEMORIES
Nathaniel finds the scanner, but Simmons is the only one who can use it. He decides to put Simmons back into the Cerebral Fusion Machine and continue to dig for information. Simmons warns him that the more he digs, the more likely Fitz will disappear completely.
Nathaniel enters the memory of the last time we saw FitzSimmons together. Enoch, in a different body, tells them this will be the hardest thing they’ve ever done. He knows he can go a little bit deeper and follows along to see what happens next.
FATE OF THE TIMELINE
The power comes back up on the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Coulson figures out that Sybil is looking for communication files. He’s trying to slow her down. Coulson sends May back in to talk to Kora again. He says to use her superpower to find the good in Kora.
Sybil unlocks the cell doors, releasing Nathaniel’s men. One of them tries to stab Yo-Yo, but she’s too quick and takes the prisoners to the control room. Kora gets out, too. Coulson tries to reason with her to stop working with Nathaniel and help restore their timeline. She kills Nathaniel’s men to start with.
Kora says she can start repairing their timeline, but Sousa will be next. Or they can help her by killing the people on her list. Starting with Grant Ward! Ward was only a child in 1983. Kora says so much pain can be avoided with one death. She says May’s husband, Andrew, Lincoln and Rosalind could be with them now if Ward dies.
Coulson tries to reason with Kora saying they’ve seen a world where Ward is good. He was put on the right path by the right person. People can change. Kora says that’s what her mother thought, too. But this is who Kora is and who she was meant to be. One day she will show Jiaying. May thinks it’s time they go see Kora’s mother.
BIG BROTHER TALK
Daisy takes a nap while Mack has the “big brother” talk with Sousa. Mack wants to know what Sousa’s intentions are with Daisy. He says he doesn’t have any, so Mack tells him to get some… quick! He says Daisy is into him, but he’s not sure she knows it yet. When she does, Sousa needs to be ready. He says Daisy’s been hurt badly. He’s happy she’s ready to dive back in with Sousa. Mack likes Sousa, even though he’s a square, but he won’t let her get hurt. And it’s not just Mack who looks out for Daisy. The whole team will come for Sousa if he hurts her. Sousa says he would never hurt Daisy.
Mack laughs and says who would have imagined the man out of time and Quake would get together. He says it’s like something out of a comic book. This is the first time Sousa hears Daisy’s superhero name, Quake. He thinks it sounds funny… so does Mack.
THE UGLY TRUTH
May takes Kora to the morgue where Jiaying still lies. Kora thinks she can help her mother heal by giving Jiaying her energy. When she realizes that Jiaying’s neck is shattered, she knows her mother is really dead. At first Kora thinks Daisy killed her, but May says she knows who killed Jiaying. Then Kora starts making excuses for Nathaniel, saying he was defending himself and protecting her. May says Jiaying died protecting Daisy from Nathaniel.
May tries to reason with her, saying Nathaniel is using Kora, but Kora doesn’t believe that. She believes that Nathaniel saved her. May says Nathaniel only wants chaos and Kora hits her. She tells May she can’t understand her and will never know what she’s feeling. But May does. She feels Kora’s rage and they begin to fight. May gets the best of Kora, so Kora has to use her powers. Luckily May is limber enough to bend out of the way of Kora’s blast. Before either of them can throw another shot, Garrett teleports in and takes Kora away.
MEMORIES OF THE LAST GOODBYE
Ok, let’s slow down on this part…
Nathaniel sees the memory of Enoch and Simmons working on the brain implant. Fitz works on the time machine, but asks for a moment with Simmons. He suggests they don’t rush to the temple right away. He wants to take time and live. Fitz says they’ve built a nice home. They could live together with no mission, no end of the world. They can just be. Simmons asks if this is about the bloodwork. Ftiz says maybe, but they deserve to just be. He says if May and Coulson taught them anything it’s that they should take the time that they have.
Nathaniel shows up in a white room with Fitz and Simmons discussing the implant. He realizes that something is wrong, but stops to listen. Simmons says the implant was only meant to forget Fitz’s location, but Fitz says that was before they knew. Simmons says she didn’t want this. Fitz says she needs to be strong, and if she remembers she won’t be able to be strong. Nathaniel realizes he’s losing Fitz.
Simmons doesn’t want this; saying goodbye is hard enough. Fitz reasons with her, saying she won’t remember what she’s forgotten. She won’t know. Nathaniel starts yelling at Fitz asking where he is. Simmons gets upset saying she will feel the guilt inside of her. The guilt for having left a part of her being thrown away. She doesn’t want to forget. Fitz hugs her, but then disappears. Simmons is left in the white room. She repeats that she doesn’t want to forget over and over.
Nathaniel gets up, angry that he didn’t get the information he needed. He says they will see if it even matters. Deke and Simmons are going to witness the greatest show on Earth. Simmons gets up and lowers Deke’s gag. Deke says judging by Nathaniel’s attitude, he didn’t find Fitz. Simmons asks, “Who’s Fitz?“
BRAND NEW DAY
With Kora gone, Sybil is gone too. Coulson tries to figure out the last thing Sybil accessed. It’s a map of all of the S.H.I.E.L.D. bases on Earth. This is not a good sign. Coulson gets on the phone to warn S.H.I.E.L.D.
The quinjet finds the Zephyr. Daisy thanks Sousa for being there with them. He says it’s nothing and calls her Quake. He starts making fun of her, saying she needs to put a “Q” on her utility belt. He’s flirting with her, and Mack finds the whole thing amusing.
The quinjet starts shaking, and several Chronicom ships appear in front of them. That’s when they realize that Nathaniel came to space to call for backup.
Nathaniel goes to the bridge. He says Sybil contacted her people years ago. She gave them instructions on how to modify their fleet, and now they are here. Nathaniel calls to the ships, saying Sybil gave them their marks. They can fire when ready. The Chronicom ships fire and destroy every S.H.I.E.L.D. base on Earth.
EPILOGUE
Garrett returns with Kora while Nathaniel watches the Chronicoms fire on S.H.I.E.L.D. He sees Kora and says she is a sight for sore eyes. He thanks her for all she did that day. Kora asks if they gave people a new life. He says they did by ending so many others. Nathaniel kisses her.
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THOUGHTS
I am in shock. Sybil found a way to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D. in the ’80s. How in the world will the remaining agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. win this one? How much of this timeline is completely ruined? Fitz is literally the only hope.
Let’s talk about Fitz. The clues all lead to something bad happening to Fitz. Simmons did something that devastated her. There was bloodwork that made Fitz want to settle down and live his life with what time they had. I’m thinking that Fitz modified the implant for Simmons to forget everything about Fitz. And that’s been evident throughout the season. She forgot Fitz. But is he alive?
I can’t believe it’s almost over. This season just flew by. Each episode is action packed and suspenseful. We’ve seen all of their mistakes. Can they go back and fix them? Or should they just let this timeline play out? What if… just what if… there is a rogue Chronicom, like Enoch, that will turn things around? The whole point was for Earth to become Chronica III. But in the ’80s, do they need it? Anything can happen in these last two Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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