Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Season 5 Trip to Space Came With Some Major Twists

Plus, who was left behind on Earth?

By Billy Nilles Dec 02, 2017 3:00 AMTags
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Season 5ABC

Warning: The following contains spoilers from the two-hour season five premiere of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. If you haven't watched yet, you may want to bookmark this page and return once you have. Proceed with caution.

When Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) woke up in space at the very end of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season four finale earlier this year, we all were left asking, "Where the hell is he?" But it turns out the question we really should've been posing was, "When?"

Because as Coulson and the gang found out over the course of tonight's long-awaited two-hour season five premiere, our favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents weren't just transported across space after being abducted in that diner—they were sent through time. And not just a few days or months ahead, neither. No, they've somehow been sent to a distant future where the Earth has been completely decimated—that image of the planet as some sort of crescent moon, with just a very little bit of the Northern hemisphere remaining, left us as startled as May (Ming-Na Wen) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge)—and mankind is hanging on by a thread aboard a space station ruled by the Kree and populated with some especially nasty "roaches."

Of course, that wasn't the only surprise in store...

Not only was the team stuck in the middle of a terrible situation, somehow prophesied by the killed-too-quickly Virgil (Deniz Akdeniz), but as Daisy (Chloe Bennet) learned from her new ally (and potential love interest?) Deke (Jeff Ward), the total destruction of the planet was all thanks to her Quake powers. Oops!

Of course, this wouldn't be a season of S.H.I.E.L.D. if Simmons and Fitz (Iain de Caestecker) weren't yet again cruelly separated, this time with the latter being left behind in the diner, as his name wasn't on whatever list sent that alien dude after the gang. Is he alive? Probably not, considering the state of the planet, but that postcard Virgil was carrying was sent to someone from Fitz, who promised he was "working on it." So, we're still holding out hope he'll save the day from where—or when—ever he is.

All in all, the season premiere was the perfect thing to make us forget all about the costly and embarrassing Inhumans debacle of the fall, restoring the Marvel fun we've come to expect from the studio on Friday nights. And if you think we didn't crack up when Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) told Coulson she always assumed S.H.I.E.L.D. had "people hiding on the moon," you don't know us very well.

What did you think about the season premiere? Any guesses on Fitz's role in all this? And what are your thoughts on Coulson's lingering deal with the Ghostrider? Any guesses on when that'll come into play? Sound off in the comments below!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Fridays at 9 p.m. on ABC.