Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5 has come to a dramatic close, with Quake successfully defeating Graviton and saving the Earth. It was a tremendous victory, achieved because the episode gave Daisy a significant power-up.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fifth season saw the showrunners toying with the audience's expectations. Time and again they dropped hints and clues, only to pivot away from them. Will Daisy become the Destroyer of Worlds, or will Ruby? In the end, neither was; the real Destroyer of Worlds was actually General Talbot, a twist that slipped under everybody's radar even though he started dressing in blue and bearing a Graviton beard well before he was exposed to Gravitonium. In exactly the same way, "The End" opened with a fake-out, with S.H.I.E.L.D. convinced the Centipede Serum could either be used on Coulson or on Graviton; they had to choose to save their fearless leader or to save the entire world. In reality, there was no way to use the Centipede Serum, and it was Coulson who made the choice for them. He slipped the last remaining sample of the serum into Quake's gauntlet, and in so doing changed the timeline and saved the planet.

It turned out that boost was what Daisy needed in order to defeat Graviton. She broke free of his grip, and literally blasted General Talbot into space. It's the second time S.H.I.E.L.D. has dealt with a powerful enemy by sending them into space, and both times it's cost Daisy dearly; the first time she lost Lincoln, this time she's lost her father figure. But Coulson may well have left her a lasting gift; it's quite possible that the Centipede Serum will boost Daisy's powers permanently.

What Does The Centipede Serum Do?

The Centipede Serum was developed under the orders of Hydra leader John Garrett, and seems to be a logical next step from Daniel Whitehall's particle infusion generator. It seems the core component of the serum is a chemical that alters the DNA, allowing foreign elements to be grafted into it. The first version of the serum was dangerously unstable, as it incorporated Extremis. Hydra eventually learned how to prevent subjects flaming out, and it then became usable for Garrett; he had a variant strain created that included Jiaying's DNA, allowing him to stay alive even though his body was deteriorating as a result of the Deathlok Program.

The standard Centipede Soldiers were physical powerhouses with advanced strength and resistance to injury. The addition of a dendrotoxin - ironically developed by Fitz and Simmons - meant their powers were stable and they didn't need repeated exposure to the serum. A side-effect of their powers, however, was the fact that they needed to rest after action, and tended to consume enormous amounts of energy for their bodies to metabolize.

Daisy apparently used the last vial of Centipede Serum. The fact S.H.I.E.L.D. believed its effects could save Coulson suggests that it was a later version of the serum, one that didn't require repeated exposure. It's unknown exactly what components were part of this version of the Centipede Serum; given Extremis seems to have been in every version, that seems likely to have been in the cocktail, but certainly S.H.I.E.L.D. had added Jiaying's healing properties into the mix in order to keep Coulson alive. So the sample Daisy injected herself with likely contained both Extremis and Jiaying's powers. It also possibly contained a variant of the super-soldier serum, and even sources of Gamma radiation, both of which were common components in the Centipede Serum.

Page 2 of 2: What Quake's New Powers Mean

What Does This Mean for Daisy?

Exposure to the Centipede Serum certainly seems to have boosted Daisy's own super-powers. She's never been able to blast someone into space before, after all! Doing that requires both an ability to generate vibrational waves of tremendous force, and the force of will to focus all that energy into lateral blasts. It's an incredible feat, but the Centipede-boosted Daisy was able to pull it off (although she did look absolutely exhausted afterwards).

It's important to note that Daisy's vibrational powers actually put a significant strain upon her body. That's why she initially wore those gauntlets; they shielded her body from the damaging effects of her vibrations, which threatened to splinter her bones apart. As Daisy gradually gained control of her powers, Fitz upgraded the gauntlets, and they became a tool to help Quake focus her vibrational waves. But the Centipede Serum has clearly boosted Daisy's powers further, meaning Daisy is working with power on a scale she's never managed before. It's possible those gauntlets aren't giving her enough protection anymore, so there's a real risk to her body if S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't upgrade those gauntlets again. The mission to find Fitz is a vital one for Daisy.

At the same time, though, we must consider whether the Centipede Serum has also given Daisy an entirely new range of super-powers. There's likely an Extremis component in the serum, meaning Daisy's strength and resistance to injury will be enhanced. Certainly, Jiaying's DNA was crafted into the serum, giving Quake an element of her mother's healing powers. There may be a cost to these new powers, though; Daisy will need to eat more food than before, and she'll need periods of rest after using those powers.

The combination of Centipede-granted skills and S.H.I.E.L.D. training will make Daisy Johnson a formidable warrior. She's already a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, trained by Melinda May herself, and has been able to hold her own against Kree soldiers. Now imagine those skills boosted by super-strength and enhanced speed.

How Long Will The Serum's Effects Last?

Agents of SHIELD - Quake promo image

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jed Whedon played coy as to whether the Centipede Serum will have a permanent effect on Quake. "Well, she’s definitely juiced up in some way," he noted, "and how much that carries, we’ll see." The reality is that the showrunners probably haven't had the chance to think much about this; they deliberately wrote "The End" as a potential close to the entire series. Until last week, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was in "the bubble," with ABC only deciding the show's fate last week and renewing S.H.I.E.L.D. for an abbreviated sixth season.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has tended to jump forwards in time every season in order to ensure each season is set at roughly the time it airs. With S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6 releasing in summer 2019, that means quite a bit of time will probably have passed since Daisy dosed up on the Centipede Serum. That gives the showrunners a lot of room to maneuver; they can choose to have Daisy retain these enhanced powers, or they can ditch them without comment. Either way would work absolutely fine from a narrative point of view.

At the same time, it's clear there's real dramatic potential to permanently boosting Daisy's abilities. These new powers would force Daisy to relearn her limitations. A mission to space won't provide her with many opportunities to experiment with her powers; a single mistake could breach the Zephyr's hull, causing explosive decompression. That means Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6 would see a Daisy who's more powerful than ever before, but who's also dangerously unstable, and whose greatest feats come at a great risk to her own health.

More: A Complete History Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 6 will air in Summer 2016.