The new romantic relationship established in Agents of SHIELD’s latest episode is actually a good move for the ABC series. A kiss between Daisy Johnson (Chloe Bennett) and Agent Carter’s Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) started Agents of SHIELD’s newest romance. It happened when the characters were caught in a time loop, with only Daisy and Coulson (Clark Gregg) able to remember their prior attempts to fix their situation.
Though the team was busy trying to save themselves, Agents of SHIELD season 7, episode 9, titled “As I Have Always Been” took some time to begin a new romance with Daisy and Sousa, which the show has been slowly building up to in the last few episodes. Each loop began with Daisy – who was severely injured in a previous episode – waking up to find Sousa sleeping nearby. In one of the loops, Daisy asks Sousa to explain why he cares so much, prompting Sousa to hint that he may have romantic feelings for her. In another loop, Daisy surprised Sousa by kissing him out of the blue. Though this moment was erased as soon as time reset, this new relationship could be pursued by Daisy in the next episode, since she still remembers it.
This romantic relationship is good for both Agents of SHIELD and Daisy, despite problems that some fans may be having with it. It’s surprising that Agent of SHIELD is giving Daisy a new love interest this late in the series, with many feeling that the age difference between them is too large. However, Sousa is actually less than five years older than Daisy. Plus, their attraction to each other makes sense. Sousa was in love with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) in Agent Carter, and when describing Daisy’s “type,” it appeared that Sousa was talking about Peggy and Daisy at the same time. Daisy shares a lot of the same qualities that he liked about Peggy. As for Daisy, her romantic history with heroic, selfless characters like Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) explains why she would be interested in a strait-laced hero and World War II veteran like Daniel Sousa.
Another reason why Sousa feels like the perfect character for Daisy to ultimately wind up with is a comment made by Daisy in season 6. Back when she and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) were looking for Fitz (Iain de Caestecker), she told Simmons that what she really wanted for herself was her own Fitz. She was referring to the deep devotion that the two characters have for each other, and everything Sousa has already done to take care of her in season 7 indicates that he could be that person for Daisy.
Daisy hasn’t had a real love interest since Lincoln in Agents of SHIELD season 3. Considering how close she was with Lincoln, it may not have worked if the series had given her a new relationship too soon, but now feels like the right time. Being with Sousa could help Daisy get a happy ending in the Agents of SHIELD series finale.