Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ended with a banging series finale. Our favorite agents got their happy endings and left the door open for more adventures. This show has provided some of the best, funniest, most romantic and thrilling moments in television– from the introduction of FitzSimmons, to the shipping of Skye and Ward… The funny moments provided by all of the cast, and frustrating moments when the team lost, and the tears when team members left. This show had all the feels.
I was a fan from Day One! In remembrance of one of my all-time favorite shows, here are my favorite moments from each season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
COULSON’S RETURN (S1E1)
Losing Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) in The Avengers movie was heartbreaking. So when we heard he was returning to star in his own television show, fans were excited, but confused. Was this going to be a prequel to the films? The answer was better than anything we expected. Phil Coulson died, but he was brought back to life, courtesy of Kree technology. Not only was this going to be an exciting adventure, it gave Gregg an opportunity to delve deeper into Coulson’s story.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. began its journey after the Battle of New York. We were quickly introduced to Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), who was oriented by Agent Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders) about the team. Coulson arrived to welcome Ward to level seven, where he was now privy to the fact that Coulson lives. He took advantage of a dark corner to hide in before making his grand entrance. It was a little dorky, but that’s Coulson.
The mystery of Coulson’s resurrection wasn’t a focal point of the series in the beginning. Those who knew him best, like Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) immediately saw a change in him. After just a few episodes, Coulson recognized the changes in him and started investigating. The big secret was that S.H.I.E.L.D. used Kree DNA to bring Coulson back to life.
Here’s Clark Gregg talking about his time as Agent Phil Coulson:
THE BIRTH OF QUAKE (S2E10)
When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. began, Skye (Chloe Bennet) was a hacker with a mysterious past that even she didn’t even know about. That past led her to an interesting future. An orphan, the only information she had about her birth parents was in a redacted file from S.H.I.E.L.D. Skye hacked the S.H.I.E.L.D. system to look for information on her parents, but it was HYDRA that made the first introduction. On the same day Skye met her birth father, Cal Johnson (Kyle MacLachlan), she also found out she had Inhuman abilities.
CHLOE BENNET
Dr. Daniel Whitehall (Reed Diamond) had an Obelisk that indicated which human individuals had Inhuman powers. Whitehall made Skye grab ahold of the obelisk and then planned to reveal her powers. He wanted to take the powers from her the same way he took her mother’s. Fortunately, Coulson killed Whitehall before he could do that. But Whitehall’s associate, Raina (Ruth Negga) took the Obelisk and activated it. Skye, Raina and Agent Antoine “Trip” Triplett (B.J. Britt) were trapped in an ancient temple and hit with Terrigen mist. Raina and Skye’s powers were revealed. Unfortunately, Trip didn’t survive.
This was the birth of Quake and the moment everything changed for Skye. She would soon become Daisy Johnson. Her story would make her the most powerful agent on the show.
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SPIES GOODBYE (S3E13)
Although one of the saddest moments, it is one of the most talked about moments in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. history. Bobbi Morse (Adrianne Palicki) and Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) followed S.H.I.E.L.D. traitor/Head of HYDRA Gideon Malick (Powers Boothe) to Russia, only to get caught. Coulson got to them before the Russians found out too much. He offered to get them out of their predicament, but they’d have had to go into hiding. Always loyal, the couple opted to reveal their identities, and were disavowed from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Bobbi and Hunter talked about their new life when a waitress started bringing them shots. They were confused, because they didn’t order the shots. Bobbi quickly realized that the team were in the bar, but couldn’t talk to them. They were being followed and couldn’t risk exposing anyone else. After Coulson arrived, the team raised their glasses to their former comrades. They secretly toasted to Bobbi and Hunter and then left. Agent “Mack” Mackenzie (Henry Simmons) lingered a bit. He had a special friendship with Bobbi. He took his shot separately before tearfully leaving the bar. That was the Spy’s Goodbye.
THE ENTIRE SEASON 4
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season four changed a lot of things for the team. This was one of the best seasons because of the addition of Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes (Gabriel Luna) and Aida (Mallory Jansen), the Life Model Decoy who took over Dr. Holden Radcliffe’s (John Hannah) Framework.
Ghost Rider was a welcome addition because of the comic book. The show creators used him to introduce the elements of magic and the supernatural to AoS. This happened at a time when Daisy was rebelling and found a friend in Robbie. The two were alike in that they always felt like outsiders and chose not to get too close to people.
Daisy eventually returned to S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming the Inhuman face of the organization with new director, and alleged Inhuman, Jeffrey Mace (Jason O’Mara). Agent Elena Rodriguez (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) officially joined the team, and we met the Koenigs (Patton Oswalt). This was also the season we shipped Coulson and May. And when we thought there wasn’t a evil bone in his body, we got to see Evil Fitz.
The Framework was a virtual world where Holden lived out his greatest fantasies. Radcliffe also built Aida, and she quickly grew fond of Agent Leopold Fitz (Iain De Caestecker). Before too long, Aida decided she wanted to be a real girl and live as a human with Fitz. Unfortunately, Fitz didn’t return her feelings, and that caused some trouble for the agents.
The LMD storyline gave the AoS a chance to see what life would be like if there was no S.H.I.E.L.D. It was really neat to see this alternate world where HYDRA was in control, without changing any of the reality of the show. I also enjoyed seeing the return of Agents Ward and Trip. In a way, it was Ward’s redemption story, even if it wasn’t real. And Trip’s life was cut way too short, in my opinion. It was great to see him and Daisy working side by side again.
The season came full circle when Aida became the human Ophelia by using the Darkhold. Ghost Rider had a connection to the Darkhold. He returned to retrieve the book and destroy the unnatural existence that was Aida. It also took something unnatural from Agent Coulson as well. The Kree technology that saved Coulson’s life was the cost Coulson paid to defeat Aida. And he never regretted that decision. Coulson died… again… the following season.
FITZSIMMONS WEDDING (S05E12)
Their passion was obvious from the moment we met Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. The two met while at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy and shared the title as the Academy’s youngest graduates. Despite specializing in two different fields, there was nothing these two couldn’t figure out together. Except maybe how to be together. Their first attempt was thwarted by Jemma’s trip to a far away planet, where she was trapped for six months and fell in love with another man. That man was left on the planet and eventually died. For some reason it took a little while for Fitz and Simmons to get over it and become the power couple FitzSimmons. Once that happened, nothing would ever come between them again.
Their happiness was tested time and time again. Missions, villains, death, time and space often separated our favorite couple. But they never wavered in their feelings for each other. In season five, all of the agents except Fitz were taken to the future to save humanity. Fitz found a way to join them with help from the Chronicom Enoch (Joel Stoffer). Enoch put Fitz in a cryogenic sleeping chamber so he would be preserved until it was time to join his team and save Jemma.
When they returned to their correct time period, there was no more denying it. FitzSimmons would always be together. They sent Deke Shaw (Jeff Ward) to retrieve a dress, a suit and two rings. Deke found a ring that looked exactly like the one his mother wore. And during the 100th episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Leo and Jemma said “I Do.”
DAISY AND SIMMONS TRIPPING ON PUFFIES (S06E03)
Daisy and Simmons had a sisterly bond from the moment they met on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The two of them grew up in S.H.I.E.L.D. So it’s fitting that when Fitz died in a building collapse, Daisy stood by Simmons’ side. The good news is there was another Leopold Fitz in cryogenic sleep in space. So Daisy offered to go with Simmons to find him.
Their adventure took them far away from Earth, into an alien space port on Kitson. The whole place was like something out of a bad sci-fi movie. The hot commodity was a drug called “puffies.” Simmons and Daisy acquired some puffies and ate them before entering a local bar. Needless to say, the puffies contained drugs– hallucinogenic drugs.
The two ended up under a table, crying and expressing their feelings for each other. Not in a romantic way, but definitely in a funny way. Sisters forever. The best part of the episode was when Simmons hallucinated Fitz dancing around in a monkey suit. The episode was appropriately titled, “Fear and Loathing on Planet Kitson.” You should check it out.
THE FINAL MISSION (SEASON 7)
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Noir episode featuring Daniel Sousa’s (Enver Gjokaj) story had such a classic feel.
- Daisy kissing Sousa during the time storm was so satisfying to watch.
- The Deke Squad. There’s no greater ’80s band in the world.
- The origin of the Koenig family’s association with S.H.I.E.L.D. made the history of the show so more intriguing.
- LMD Coulson becoming Max Headroom… sort of… was one of the great throwbacks to the ’80s.
- Mack giving Sousa the big brother talk about Daisy made me want a big brother like that.
- I breathed a sigh of relief upon Fitz’s return.
- FitzSimmons’ happy ending was everything I wished for.
- The Cavalry! Nothing beats the Cavalry!
- And of course, Lola was the icing on the cake!
There’s so many memories. So many great events and exciting moments that made this team the best in the business. Luckily, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on Netflix, so you can relive it all at any time. Let’s hope Marvel and Disney find a reason to bring some, if not all, of the characters back in the future. Check out Marvel Entertainment’s top moments from all seven seasons below.
RELATED: Read All Our Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Recaps Here
Farewell Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Thank you for seven great seasons of fun, adventure, love and family.
This article was originally published 8/13/20
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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