Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Absolution and Ascension Review

Marvel Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D. might have had a rocky third season overall, but it sure knows how to pull of a finale. It was an intense two hours from start to finish as the team tried to find “Absolution” and everyone waited to find out which agent would reach “Ascension." The first half began with Daisy waking up in her padded pod. She wasn’t looking too hot when Simmons came to visit to get her up to speed on the current situation. May, Lincoln, Elena, and Mack were on a mission to capture Hive and stop the warhead with the Inhuman virus from launching, while Fitz, Talbot, and Coulson got the codes to stop the launch. As usual, the task at hand was a lot easier said than done, especially with all these new melted-face zombies running around. Coulson, Talbot, and Fitz tricked the military into giving them the kill codes, which helped stop the missile just in time. Hive wasn’t too happy and quickly found Lincoln on his base. Luckily Lincoln led him into a trap, where they managed to electrocute him and make him mentally weak. He started hallucinating and experienced Ward and William’s old memories. It seemed to create a weakness and they managed to trap him in one of the Inhuman cubes where he was still alive, but just unconscious and unable to do anything. And all that was just in the first 30 minutes. So, while it seemed like a win, there was much more to come. The team safely made it back to the base and decided to put everything in lock-down mode. I don’t know what they were planning on doing with Hive at this point, but I guess they just wanted to make sure no one could come save and save him. Just as the lock-down procedure started, everything went to hell. Hive’s minions managed to sneak a Trojan horse package into the hanger and it released some of the gas that created the melted-face zombies. Fitz was there when it happened, which was nerve-racking, especially when he realized he was trapped. However, Simmons came through and Fitz made it back in the base. Unfortunately, everyone else in the hanger was changed. These new creatures proceeded to free Hive from his chamber and everyone started to panic. Seeing as Hive and his goons in the hanger, along with the Zephyr aircraft, it was pretty clear what was going to happen next. Hive decided to steal it and launch his warhead that way. Perfect. Daisy was watching this whole thing go down in her little padded room and she managed to get on the Zephyr to try and stop Hive, or that’s what I'm sure we all wanted to happen. Instead, she begged Hive to infect her again, because she was suffering from withdrawal so badly. He tried, but Lash made it impossible for her to be infected again. That's where the first episode ended, and things did not look good for anyone- except, perhaps, for Hive. The second hour began with the face-melted zombies made their way into the vents. Elena and Mack rushed off to beat them to the weapon room, but they were too slow and when they got there one of the zombie members shot at Mack. But Elena used her speed to jump in front of him and take the bullet. This was the second near death experience for a S.H.I.E.L.D. team member, and it was definitely scary. I didn’t want anything to happen to Elena or Mack. Luckily, they made it out and Mack ended up having to burn Elena's wound with a blow torch to cauterize it. Painful, but at least she was okay. At this point, everyone was trapped and waiting for the zombies to find them, when Simmons realized that they see using infrared, so if she turned up the heat, they would be blinded. It worked perfectly and they were able to freely move about the base. While this was happening, May and Fitz managed to sneak aboard the Zephyr and kill one of Hive's Inhuman minions and get Daisy out of her pod. While everyone was distracted, Daisy decoded she had to get rid of the warhead, so she put it onto a Quinjet and planned to fly it with Hive into the atmosphere where the explosive would have no affect on anyone, aside from her and Hive. Just as she was getting ready to launch, Lincoln dove onto the Quinjet her place and he pushed her out, thereby fulfilling the prophecy that someone would die. Even though I predicted he would be the one to go, it was still very emotional to watch Daisy and Lincoln say their good-byes. At least Lincoln had a purpose in the end. The very last scene was a bit haunting as well. It closed not with a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., but with Dr. Radcliffe. It appeared as if he had made some type of robot that resembles a human, which is an interesting way to launch into season four. Final Thoughts: Overall it was a strong season finale. It was intense all the way through while also managing to have some emotional scenes. My favorite part was Mack forgiving Daisy, even though she didn’t think she deserved his forgiveness. Her arc this season was a painful one and she really needed that hug. I also loved the little scenes between Fitz and Simmons. I think this is the first finale where they haven’t been in peril and thank goodness, because I don’t know if I could take them being separated again. There wasn’t much of a cliffhanger this season, but it did get me excited for whatever comes next. We will see you back here in the fall, when Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns at a new time 10/9c on ABC. Check back here for a season four premiere date.