Agents of SHIELD ended up a cliff hanger of epic proportions. With Coulson and co. in space, Season 5 should be out of this world. Daisy Johnson is beginning to come into her own as a leader, Fitz is bearing the burden of his life in the framework and the horror of AIDA, there are a lot of plot threads that could be picked up when Agents of SHIELD returns. While we eagerly wait for the December 1st release date here are five things that we’d like to see on camera this season.
A SHIP SHOULD SAIL
Season 5 should see a new ship and our nominee is Philinda. After the Life Model Decoy of May clearly had feelings for Coulson, it would make sense for the pairing that a large number of fans have been waiting for for 5 seasons. Coulson thought he was kissing the real Melinda May. We want a real Philinda kiss in Season 5.
Apart from Fitz and Simmons there’s no bigger and better partnership in the television MCU – indeed in the MCU at large that care about one another. Give May and Phil a chance to talk about their relationship and perhaps engage in something more. Philinda however has been around since season one. It deserves to unfurl it’s sails and ride off into a hopefully happy sunset.
DAISY SHOULD MENTOR A NEW HERO
Daisy’s monologue at the end of the show is a sign of the growth of the character. She’s gone from Skye, a girl who didn’t know who she was – to a woman who can stand with Phil Coulson, Captain America and the greatest heroes of the Marvel Universe. Inspired by Melinda May Daisy is gradually stepping up into a leadership role and eventually we’d like to see her repeat what Coulson did for her and what – to a smaller extent – Lincoln did for her as well.
The biggest reason behind this is the direction she’s taking in Secret Warriors. Teaming up Daisy with Kamala and Lunella is one of the strongest decisions that Marvel’s made recently. We have a list of heroes that we humbly offer as suggestions who we’d like to see in the MCU. She’s a role model for so many girls in real life, seeing her mentor someone else just like Coulson and May mentored her would be inspiring for kids in reality.
NEW TEAMS
We’ve had five years to get to know Coulson’s team and the relationships they’ve developed make them like family. In season 3 and 4 they introduced Piper, O’Brien, and had May working with training new agents. While it’s unlikely that Coulson and company will disappear, having a second focus on newer teams and newer character dynamics would be a breath of fresh air. While there’ll never be another twist as great as Grant Ward or another relationship like FitzSimmons the wide nature of the MCU is part of it’s appeal.
With Coulson in space and the possibility of a space based organization is a real issue, one wonders just what other sorts of ‘teams’ Coulson and company might encounter. While they shouldn’t share the spotlight, it would be nice to have opposing groups to root for or rail against now that HYDRA is hopefully dead and buried forever.
A REDEMPTION ARC
Daisy’s return to SHIELD was the best part of Season 4. She had been on the run and needed to come home. and what people were rooting for the most. We want to see SHIELD truly return to the light, now that Hydra has been extinguished. SHIELD needs a full real redemptive arc. Robbie has his brother keeping him good, but seeing someone inspired by the team or by their kindness to change their ways would be a nice way to round out the season. They broke out of the mold by creating the complexity of Grant Ward, it’s time for a redemption to happen on SHIELD. The show has inspired so many people around the world they need to drive the message that kindness and compassion can change the world and change a life home.
In or out of the team, we’d argue that more time for positive mental health could be taken and showing kindness or understanding especially since the team now understands a lot about Ward – would be good. The team has shown that it understands people as a family, they’ve had their moment with Vengeance. It’s time to take a lesson from Black Panther. Vengeance has consumed you, but I will not allow myself to be consumed.
THE RETURN OF GHOST RIDER
While we take a moment to talk about Vengeance it’s important to state again – because it needs to be repeated – how much Ghost Rider either needs to return or to be a part of the show again in some way. The wider Robbie travels the more he knows the stakes when it comes to the Ghost Rider. Vengeance is not a way to live, the team has lived it and it’s cost them. They can maybe let go of things in the past.
Robbie, brought to life by Gabriel Luna’s incredible performance, knows the sacrifices that he has to make to have the absolute power of the rider. The Rider can beat up the hulk in canon and he obviously if that finale is any indication has some Doctor Strange like powers (and how cool was that?)
Further exploring Vengeance, and what it’s done to the team is clearly a fertile gold mine for the show. With the addition of Daisy making some choices like T’Challa did in Civil War and a desire to mentor a new young hero, we’ve got high hopes that the nature of self and our struggles will continue to be explored. Plus again, we can’t speak highly enough of Gabriel’s performance. Ghost Rider must return.
That’s only 5 things that we really want to happen. Do you agree? disagree? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Agents of SHIELD returns to ABC December 1.