Who plays the past version of John Garrett in Agents of SHIELD season 7? Those who have been aboard the Agents of SHIELD bus from the beginning will have mixed feelings about John Garrett. On one hand, Garrett was the Marvel TV show's first major villain and a brilliantly effective one at that. Memorably played by the late Bill Paxton, Garrett was The Clairvoyant - misguided in his self-righteousness and manipulatively sinister in his designs. On the other hand, Garrett broke viewers' hearts. Initially a friendly SHIELD agent and a personal friend of Phil Coulson, Garrett ultimately became the face of Agents of SHIELD's HYDRA infiltration, and was also responsible for turning Grant Ward into a despicable baddie.
Garrett was defeated in the finale of Agents of SHIELD season 1 and hasn't made any further appearances since, but as is so often the case in the SHIELD world, there's always a way to come back. In its current, final season, Agents of SHIELD has been rampaging through its own timeline in an attempt to stop the Chronicoms. The team have meddled in SHIELD's creation, taken Agent Carter's Sousa in as one of their own, altered Mack's personal timeline and narrowly escaped a time storm that could've wiped them out of existence. In "Stolen," SHIELD are still stuck in the 1980s, with an Inhuman-powered Nathaniel Malick now striking out from HYDRA with his apprentice Kora, who also happens to be Daisy's own sister.
This week's episode sees Nathaniel and SHIELD battle over Afterlife and the Inhumans dwelling there, with Malick capable of artificially stealing powers to strengthen his own side. Nathaniel's latest recruit is a (sort of) familiar face - the villain has aligned with a younger John Garrett and imbues him with Gordon's teleportation ability. Tragically, Bill Paxton passed away in 2017. It's likely that another actor would've been cast as the younger Garrett even if Paxton was alive solely due the timeline difference, but given real life circumstances, it might've felt disrespectful to do so, especially when the actor was so warmly received as Garrett. Agents of SHIELD has instead cast James Paxton, Bill's own son, as the past version of Garrett.
This is a choice that works on every level. James Paxton inheriting his father's Agents of SHIELD role is a touching tribute to the original Garrett actor and respectfully honors his legacy, while also allowing the character's story to continue in the show's final season. Agents of SHIELD season 7 has been a rewind of past storylines and to ignore Garrett entirely would be to omit a significant chapter in the show's history. James Paxton's casting hits a middle ground between honoring Garrett as a character and Bill Paxton as an actor, and there's an obvious physical resemblance that makes the younger HYDRA operative more believable.
While heritage might've been behind James Paxton's Agents of SHIELD appearance, the young actor certainly proves himself more than worthy in the role, echoing his father's performance but also adding shades of his own. The similarities to the Garrett of season 1 are certainly present, but the relative lack of experience and increased vigor of youth shine through. Agents of SHIELD fans will be looking forward to seeing more of the new (old) Garrett as the story rockets toward its conclusion.
Agents of SHIELD season 7 continues with "Brand New Day" August 5th on ABC.