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TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Agents of Shield Season 05 Episode 21: The Force Of Gravity

May 12th, 2018 by Todd Black Comments

And then there was one. With the series potentially ending (and even the team behind the show admitting that the next episode works as both a season and series finale), a lot of things had to be set up in order to deliver a powerful ending. To that end, “Force Of Gravity” did a decent job setting things up and tieing things into what’s going on in Infinity War, but it did come at a cost.

First and foremost, let’s talk about the most important thing that happened in this episode…PHILLINDA!!! After 5 seasons and endless teasing, Phil and May finally kissed! And unlike what happened in Gotham with Bruce and Selina, it wasn’t needlessly interrupted! In fact, getting attacked while they kissed was a great shot. As was Daisy going from battle mode to “DANG!” mode to her teasing Coulson. In a way, these two have been her parents since Season 01, so she was no doubt proud.

Moving on, the rise of Graviton continued, and in some surprising ways. I wasn’t expecting him to go after Kreel and “join” with him. I’m still a little confused as to why he did it though. Was it because he had the Gravitonium inside of him for a bit? Or something else? It’s not really explained, though it was horrifying to watch. As was his “meeting” with his family. It’s a testament to good writing that the son didn’t think twice about his father suddenly having superpowers, but once his mother got hurt, then he realized the truth. It clearly rattled Talbot when his son said he wasn’t a hero.

Meanwhile, FitzSimmons figured out how to cure Coulson potentially, and the tension between Fitz, Mack, and Yo-Yo continued on. I’m worried that Mack and Fitz won’t get a chance to work it out with the finale looming. I just don’t want it to be a looming thing, especially if the show does indeed get canceled. It would be a waste.

Speaking of waste, though I was happy to see father Kasius join the show, he quickly became a one-note thing. While his chat with Daisy was fun in its own way, because she knew the future, his hold over her broke and it was over. And there’s no way he’s going to be in the finale. Yes, we knew he wouldn’t die because he’s in the “future”, but still.

Also, the Marauders came off as weak tonight. Their previous showing made them seem invincible to anyone without powers. Yet, Zeke and May defeated many of them, on their own! And without powers or serious weapons. And the death of the leader came off well for May, because May is epic, but for the race as a whole? Not so much.

I also want to touch upon the Infinity War tie-in. Timeline wise, we’re apparently at the point just after the initial attack from the Black Order on New York, where Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange got on the flying donut and went away. Based on what I’m seeing in the previews for next week, there’s no way that none of the Avengers noticed what’s going on with Graviton. But I guess we’ll see.

Finally, the big cliffhanger they left us with is that they only have enough Centipede serum to do one thing: Save Coulson, or save the world.

My problem is this, the preview had a “monologue” from Coulson, and they claim not everyone will survive. But…I don’t think it’ll be Coulson. I don’t think they’ll commit to that, and someone else will take the fall. I’m thinking Daisy. Or Mack. We’ll see, cause if Coulson dies, the series needs to die with it.

In the end, “Force of Gravity” did some decent setup, but a few curious things and setups didn’t feel as good. Hopefully the show gets its proper sendoff, it does deserve that much.

4 out of 5 nerds

Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!