[SPOILER ALERT! WATCH OUT!!]
Yayyy! Agents of SHIELD is back on ABC! Woo-hoo for us MCU fans!
However, the I should probably say off the bat that the status of the show as part of the MCU has to be called into serious question. The episode totally ignores the events of Infinity War and Endgame and takes its own path, continuing one year after the end of season 5. Coulson is gone, Mack is director of SHIELD (we knew that already), Daisy, Simmons, Piper and Davis are in deep space searching for Fitz, while the rest of the organization are on Earth, dealing with an unexplained phenomenon (of course) that has got them worried.
Perhaps, one of the best aspects of the new show is the new agents. Like it was in the beginning, SHIELD is a large organization once again, with departments heads and loads of new agents we get introduced to. Having the episode oscillate between space and earth was also great... we're experiencing new frontiers while not losing track of the old ones.
As it turns out, Fitz's ship didn't last long in space, but was destroyed a strange energy blast--perhaps a natural phenomenon, perhaps not--that split it in two. After a year of looking (during which they found the first half), The space crew finds Fitz' cryochamber in the 2nd half of his ship on a distant planet. However, Fitz is not inside and they hit a dead end. They crew are finally beaten, but Jemma won't give up. While the rest are discussing returning home and regrouping, she climbs into the chamber herself and finds another clue, pointing to the manufacturer of the chamber on an even more distant planet. She wants to go, but the Zephyr is super low on supplies, the crew are worn thin, and they elect to return to Earth and regroup before setting out again.
But then, the Confederacy's Destroyer emerges from nowhere and attacks! They have to make a quick jump, and Jemma, instead of taking them home, puts in the coordinates of that far distant planet instead and sends them there with little hope of return or success.
Back on Earth, the unexplained phenomena turn out to be a portals opening up and admiting a particular group of people, from where no one knows. The SHIELD agents have no theories--both Fitz and Simmons are gone and though they have a lot of new brawn, they have few brains on the team. This leads May to track down and attempt to recruit Doctor Marcus Benson, professor of Culver University and founder of the department of Natural Sciences there, meaning him to head their Science and tech department, and eventually, create more great minds by building a new SHIELD academy in Coulson's name. The Doctor is reluctant at first, but when he hears of Daisy's and Jemma's deep space adventures, his curiousity gets the better of him and he accepts. Not long after, they get a clue as to the location of the next portal opening (in five minutes!) and hurry there. Those who have arrived through the previously opened portals are already there, preparing the place (An entire museum) for teh arrival of someone called Sarge. TRhe agents are late... the museum is blown to bits, and in a huge trailer, Sarge arrives... and he is no other person than Phil Coulson himself!
The agents are confused. But this version of Coulson doesn't know what SHIELD is, doesn't care, and wastess no time in shooting one of the new agents to rescue one of his soldiers before taking off.
Meanwhile, on an unknown planet, is Fitz...
The new season begins with a bang... and a lot of questions to answer! Simmons is in that brutal persona she always assumes whenever the love of her life is missing, Deke was nowhere to be seen and Coulson is the bad guy. Oh, and let's not forget the show has decided to ignore the movies completely. Or... amybe not. The new arrival seem to be coming form another universe, something that might be explored in the upcoming movie Soiderman: Far From Home. Perhaps there might be a connection? Yeah I know... that's just wishful thinking.
