I'm proud to say that I've stuck by this show from the beginning, and my love for it has only grown! The show itself has outlasted every other Marvel Television production, which includes the masterpiece Daredevil. The journeys of Coulson and crew have come such a long way to get us to this final season, and picking just 10 moments was a challenge! I ended up choosing moments that represent a combination of both plot significance as well as my personal favoritism. There will obviously be spoilers if you haven't caught up!
10. General Talbot is Gravitron
General Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) is a charismatic leader who always looks to get ahead of Coulson and his team. Constantly spouting colorful phrases to emphasize his points, Talbot becomes an incredibly entertaining character to follow. Initially, he begins as a side character irritating Coulson, but his character grows to become an integral part of the plot. A series of events involving Talbot sets the stage for his superpowered upgrade.
After being shot in the head by an LMD version of Daisy Johnson (aka Skye/Quake), he undergoes treatment in a hospital. However, he gets transferred to a HYDRA facility where they attempt to extract information on SHIELD and Coulson. After the mental instability caused by both the head injury and HYDRA torture, Talbot realizes he cannot return to his old life as a military officer.
This leads him to jumping into an old machine designed to inject Gravitonium to the occupant. After this procedure, he becomes the hero (...villain?) Gravitron. Ultimately, Gravitron is given a climactic battle against Quake in an epic showdown with the fate of the world in the balance.
9. Fitz "Dies"
Iain De Caestecker (yes, I looked up the spelling of his full name) has maybe one of the toughest acting jobs in all of Agents as Leo Fitz. Fitz's journey includes being a dorky super nerd, mentally challenged engineer, an evil mastermind villain, and a badass bounty hunter. In each role, Iain delivers an epic acting performance that shines.
Fitz becomes a character that you quickly grow to love and enjoy immensely when he's on screen, which makes the scene in season five so poignant. The moment comes suddenly as he and several members of the crew try to stop a certain Kree dominated future from happening (I know it sounds confusing, but if you watch it makes sense...sorta).
Long story short, he ends up caught under debris, leaving us with a heartbreaking dialogue between the two friends, Fitz and Mack. Your heart breaks for a character that you've spent five seasons loving more and more. It's also a huge plot point as his death changes the course of time, ensuring that the Kree dystopian future will not occur. I put "dies" in quotes because it turns out only that version of Fitz died, but there is another Fitz floating in space (I know, I know. It's confusing. Time travel is weird. Just trust me).
8. The Spy's Goodbye
Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) and Hunter (Nick Blood) were on the show briefly in comparison to some other main characters, but in their short time, they endeared themselves to the Agents fan base. Bobbi, the renaissance woman that can hang in the lab as well as bash heads with her signature batons, and Hunter, the suave accented hitman that thinks mostly with his fists but remains fervently loyal to those he cares about, each stake their claim as fan favorites. Their roller coaster of a relationship had many funny yet realistic moments.
Even though they are a power couple in the series, their arcs actually contain very independent plot lines. Bobbi plays a double agent for SHIELD and...SHIELD (yes, there are two SHIELDs for a time during the show). Hunter, despite his more mischievous nature, actually plays the dutiful soldier. Their playful nature and spy expertise make them quite formidable characters.
Unfortunately, the pair is caught during a sensitive mission in Russia. In order to obtain their freedom, they must give up the SHIELD life for good. This leads to an intensely emotional scene in a bar where each member of the team buys them a round and toasts them goodbye (aka spy's goodbye). Being one of the more emotional moments of the show earns them this spot on the list.
7. Fitz-Simmons Becomes Official
Sticking with the couple theme for a second: Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. The couple that everyone knew would end up together, but the journey was incredibly enjoyable to witness. It began as awkward nerds deftly skirting the fact that they are absolutely perfect for each other. Their relationship trajectory took a massive hit when Jemma was teleported to another plant by a monolith (aren't these storylines fun!). They were apart for an extended period of time, enabling Jemma to bond with another unfortunate soul stranded on this planet.
Eventually, Fitz is able to save Jemma, creating a sort of love triangle. Fitz is exemplary during this time and tries to save Jemma's love interest (Will) from the planet, which unfortunately results in Will's death. Jemma and Fitz eventually decide to stop delaying the inevitable and enter in to a formal relationship.
However, that's not where it ends! In season five, Coulson's crew decides it is time to marry the couple before any other possible forces of nature can interrupt the proceedings. The result is a beautiful ceremony with meaningful vows. The two characters finally have their moment in the series in front of friends and even family (looking at you, Deke).
6. Inhuman Disaster
If the word "inhuman" rings a bell, you may remember the short-lived Marvel show Inhumans. It was not a success. In fact, it was an overwhelming disaster, ultimately hurting this event's placement on this ranking. Marvel wanted to set up inhumans for a more major role in their greater Marvel Cinematic Universe. So they tasked Agents with doing a lot of the leg work in establishing them as an entity. When Inhumans collapsed as a show, that left Agents with a dangling thread to deal with going forward.
As a testament to their writers, Agents handled the speedbump expertly and made inhumans a core part of their corner of the Marvel world. The big moment occurred when a large amount of terrigen crystals (a substance that can turn humans into inhumans) were dumped into the ocean, spreading across ecosystems. Eventually the human race would come into contact with the crystal substance in the form of fish oil pills. The diluted crystal would selectively change those with the inhuman gene while not harming those without.
This forever changed the Agents landscape. Powered individuals became abundant, giving our protagonists a lot of work. It certainly gave the show a lot more excitement by adding more enhanced characters. An early complaint of the show was not having enough Avenger level characters. The terrigen incident definitely put some of those complaints to rest. Given it's importance to the show itself, it lands here on my list.
5. Quake Shakes Things Up
Skye, aka Daisy Johnson, aka Quake (played by Chloe Bennet), is another character who goes through a lot of changes over the series: an unknown internet hacker, a SHIELD agent finding her family, an emo vigilante, and finally, a powered up inhuman warrior. Quake is the character through which we experience the world of Agents.
The moment Daisy goes through her transformation via terrigenesis is significant, not only because of her becoming inhuman, but because we also lose a beloved character, Tripp (the diviner is not as forgiving as fish oil pills). After Daisy's transformation, the dynamic of the show changes. We finally have our Avengers level character, and the door opens to many more joining her.
4. Ghost Rider
I'll make this section very brief. Ghost Rider is AMAZING! Robbie Reyes (played by Gabriel Luna) blazes into Agents, capturing everyone's attention. The animation of the signature flaming skull is perfection, and the absolute menace of this seemingly invincible force hunting down his targets makes the viewer starved for more. Shame he only gets one season (season four) to wreak havoc on the Marvel world.
3. The Framework
The single best storyline in the entire show! The Framework is an alternate reality set in a virtual world that our favorite characters are plugged into like avatars in the matrix. This alternate reality has been made by AIDA (a life model decoy) and Holden Radcliffe after reading a mysterious book named the Darkhold.
The Framework takes away one regret of all who get plugged in, changing their reality. For example, Coulson never joins SHIELD, May and Daisy are agents of HYDRA, and Ward is a double agent loyal to SHIELD! The twisted dynamic is a fun playground to observe our favorite characters. The most fun to watch might be Fitz as the menacing "Doctor."
AIDA uses the Framework to build herself a real body with inhuman powers. This means that, once our characters finally escape this virtual hell, they still have a monumental challenge to overcome. Insert #4 on this list. Yes, I'm cheating and talking about Ghost Rider again. He returns with vengeance as he is the only one who can harm the newly powered AIDA, effectively ending this wonderful story arc.
2. SHIELD Falls
The overall trajectory of the Marvel Cinematic Universe nearly crippled the Agents of SHIELD show. The entire premise of the show was destabilized when the events of The Winter Soldier unfolded. However, the talented writing team sidestepped this challenge expertly by taking it in stride, creating some riveting television.
Our characters scramble to discover what is fact and what is fiction as chaos reigns. One of the best characters in the show, Grant Ward (played by Brett Dalton), reveals himself to be a double agent for HYDRA, betraying his friends in sinister ways. All of the confusion leads to a split in SHIELD leadership, establishing a civil war within the organization.
The world-changing upheaval combined with the ability of the writers to take it in stride (as if it was the plan all along) speaks to the quality of this show and all of the people who work so hard on it year after year.
1. The Phil Coulson Finale
Phil Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) is SHIELD. The intense fan base the character cultivated in such a short time in the movies gave this show life. Coulson is the character that everything revolves around. He's the emotional, moral, and familial pillar that all of the other characters cling to in order to maintain their normalcy.
Some of you may be asking, "Didn't Coulson die in Avengers?" Yes, yes he did. There was some SHIELD voodoo that took place to give Coulson new life (it's complicated, but they explain it in the show). Fast forward to season five when they were anticipating the series ending. They had not been picked up for season six or seven until extremely late in the process. Therefore, the finale of season five was made to be the end of the whole series.
There's a moment in season four when the Ghost Rider (yes, another mention) switches from Robbie Reyes to Coulson. When the Rider possesses Coulson, it burns through the voodoo that saved him from death. During the second half of season five, the crew learns of Coulson's fate in a heartbreaking scene where they struggle with the news. This scene is only topped by round two of a spy's goodbye.
The crew say their parting words for their leader as he goes to spend his remaining days on a tropical island. It becomes intensely emotional, especially when Daisy has her final moments with her father figure that has given her life purpose. It's a moment that would have been a fitting ending to a series that has become a fixture in my Marvel fandom, which I will always revisit when I need a fun and meaningful show to get me through difficult times.