Agents of SHIELD Season 5 Finale Works As Series Ending

Screen Rant

By Craig Elvy

Published Apr 30, 2018

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s showrunner team has confirmed that the forthcoming season 5 finale would work as an ending for the show if necessary.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s season five finale has been designed to work as a satisfying conclusion to the series if it doesn't end up getting commissioned for another run. Coulson and his agents have been as busy as ever in A.o.S.'s fifth season, finding themselves in outer space decades into the future, haunted by their past foes for an 100th episode special and having to deal with the re-emergence of HYDRA. There's also the small matter of preventing the apocalypse for the gang to worry about. In the midst of all the death and destruction, Fitz and Simmons did finally manage to tie the knot and even Coulson and May found time to develop their long-awaited romantic relationship somewhat.

Although A.o.S. season five has been generally well-received by fans and critics, in particular the outer space arc, a sixth outing has yet to be confirmed by ABC and the revelation that the season five finale will be called "The End" seemed rather ominous. Last year, it was reported that ABC actually intended to cancel the series after season four but were convinced otherwise at the intervention of Disney. This time around, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s chances of survival are looking distinctly brighter, as rumors are already beginning to emerge claiming that ABC have renewed the MCU's premiere TV property.

With official confirmation still awaited, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s showrunner team of Jed Whedon, Jeffrey Bell and Maurissa Tancharoen have claimed that "The End" would work as a satisfying conclusion to the show as a whole if another season wasn't green-lit. Speaking with Digital Spy, Tancharoen states:

"We approach the end of every season the same way, which is... we never really know if we're going to get another one until we're towards the end of our shooting anyway, so our goal is to be able to satisfy either way."

Ming Na Wen as Melinda May and Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson in Agents of Shield

According to the original report, Bell went on to stress that although the team are certainly hopeful of continuing the S.H.I.E.L.D. story, they've planned for the worst, with Whedon believing that the season five finale would make for a "satisfying" end.

Although the chances of an A.o.S. season six are currently looking more likely than not, fans will no doubt be mightily reassured by this news, as it suggests that "The End" won't leave any major cliffhangers dangling that could potentially go forever unanswered if the show does get cancelled. However, it is somewhat concerning that Tancharoen believes every season finale has been intended to "satisfy either way" considering season four ended with the group kidnapped by mysterious strangers and Coulson living in a space station with absolutely zero explanation. If the show had been cancelled at that point, viewers would've surely been furious.

Assuming S.H.I.E.L.D. season five does end in a satisfying manner, there are still an awful lot of plot threads to tie up. The recent transformation of General Talbot, the future of Coulson's illness, his deal with Ghost Rider, the stopping of the apocalypse and the mystery behind Davis' scar are all stories currently in need of resolution and will have to be wrapped up by the time the credits roll on "The End."