‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ season 7: After all we’ve been through, what’s next?
The first two episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are out. After much hype, the series is going away and maybe leaving more questions than answers. What started as a compelling tie-in to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe spun off as its own series, bringing us extra Marvel characters and giving us our Marvel fix between films.
We still have a long way to go. From time travel to the ongoing S.H.I.E.L.D. vs. Hydra feud, there’s still a lot of ground Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can cover before they say goodbye. Here’s what we think will happen based on where they’ve been.
Extraterrestrials and the wider MCU
While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the MCU overlap a couple of times, they’ve since veered off from each other. Yet, the films still give hints for the show. Last season, we found out Coulson is a life-model decoy, a replica of Coulson with all of his memories. The life-model decoy was foreshadowed when Tony Stark and Pepper discuss them in front of Coulson.
“To save S.H.I.E.L.D., we have to save Hydra”
Hydra, the archnemesis of S.H.I.E.L.D., is an organization based on tyranny. In season four, S.H.I.E.L.D. has to save the world from a timeline where Hydra takes over the world and rounds up and kills inhumans. They’re not an organization that we want to see survive in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That’s why this line in the trailer made us double-take.
Time travel
In order to keep time in balance, S.H.I.E.L.D. has to protect Hydra in this season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and through multiple times. This season starts in the 1930s, where the crew is jettisoned at the end of season six. It’s rumored that SHIELD will visit other times in season seven.
The MCU films provide some context for where S.H.I.E.L.D. will go in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The 1970s, featured in Avengers: Endgame is a good spot. So is another trip into the future, or even to another time in another realm like Asgard.
The Chronicons are back
In the trailer for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season seven, the Chronicons are introduced as the bad guys. If you remember season 5 (S.H.I.E.L.D. in spaaaace), the Chronicons were aliens who brought Coulson’s team into the future so they could stop the Kree and prevent Earth from being blown up. Specifically, it was Enoch, against the Chronicon’s wishes.
We also wonder if they have anything to do with the Time Bearance Authority rumored to be part of the upcoming Loki series on Disney Plus. The authority is given a passing mention in the trailer. More interestingly, in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. trailer, they steal faces? That would make for some interesting switcheroo/who’s who plotting.
Proto-SHIELD/Hydra
Enoch the Chronicon is back in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., helping the crew stop the Chronicons from . . . oddly enough, destroying Hydra. The Chronicons want to destroy Hydra so there’s no need for SHIELD in the future.
Season 6 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. left us in the 1930s, a decade before Captain America, Hydra, and S.H.I.E.L.D. showed up. In earlier seasons, it was hinted that Hydra is a much older organization, spanning back to when alien life made contact with ancient civilizations.
Another thing, in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season seven trailer, it looked like we saw a younger version of Red Skull. Is it possible that we’ll see this iconic villain in a new light, especially since it looks like the crew will be teaming up with Hydra to save their organization and not mess up the timeline.
Face stealing and LMDs
The season seven trailer of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. foreshadowed that the Chronicons can steal faces. They can take on the identity of anyone. In the first couple episodes, a couple characters weren’t acting like themselves. When May meets Coulson, she seems nonplussed even though she thought he was dead.
There’s also some concern about Daisy acting on impulse in the seventh season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She was rasher in earlier seasons, but is shown to have grown out of it. Could either Daisy or May be Chronicons in disguise? The show is no stranger to an infiltrator plot, so it seems likely one of the Chronicons is already in their group.
Magical Tahiti
With the series coming to a close, we have to wonder how they will end it. Will the survivors keep working at S.H.I.E.L.D., poised to do their work in the wider galaxy? Will there be a S.H.I.E.L.D.? Or will the crew of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. all go to Tahiti somehow, a magical place.
