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End of an era

There was an idea. To create a humongous cinematic universe with movies and interconnected shows telling the stories of the ones who couldn't make it to the big screen. When the movies came out successful one after the other, Marvel TV began their venture with the introduction of a highly ambitious project. 


Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

In the beginning, the show was supposed to act like a warehouse of all the secrets and untold stories of the larger universe. Unfortunately, people started losing interest in the concept as it continued to follow it's episodic nature for the better half of the first season. Many of the 'MCU'
fans dropped the show thinking it won't get any better. For many, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D became something that they wished to forget. Who would've thought that the show will live on for 7 long years telling brilliant stories and grade A character development! Who would've thought that AoS will be the first and the last comic book show that spun out of the Phase 1 MCU to have survived this long and have a conclusion of their own!

Captain America: The winter soldier was the pivotal point of AoS's history. Release of the movie made the first major connection into the MCU events even though there were characters who reprised their roles before. How would the HYDRA infiltration of SHIELD affect a show called Agents of 'SHIELD'? In simple words (to avoid spoilers), it changed the show forever! With multiple twists and turns along with the awesome performances from the cast and jaw dropping cameos (you know what I'm talking about), AoS succesfully finished it's first season leaving a part of their story to be told in the next ones. Those who already dropped the show halfway through didn't care at all, but for the ones who stayed, season one finale sparked a hope. Hope that this show can turn out to be something great.

With Netflix Marvel producing more grounded and matured products like the Daredevil, many of the audience went after it looking for the quality they couldn't find in the first half of AoS (and they weren't disappointed ). However, with the support of a few fans who stayed, AoS set out to tell their stories upping their stakes and introducing more intriguing storylines. Rise of the New SHIELD and the Inhumans made the show a lot larger than many looked forward to. This created a fuss among the fans as it didn't make sense why the movies never acknowledged these 'big' changes in the continuity. It was later confirmed that Kevin Feige's promise of 'Everything being connected' worked only in one direction and soon the show(s) and the movies started to move apart from each other. Netflix Marvel took the first step in creating their own self contained plots and it worked as their stories always circled around the block. But AoS was way bigger and was already knee deep in the continuity by directly referencing ultra important MCU events like the age of Ultron. They took their steps carefully by not meddling with the continuity on a larger scale like they did in the first season, hoping to be connected to the movies in the future. Surprisingly, AoS worked better when the team told their own stories rather than depending the wider universe for the storylines and that reflected heavily on the season to come.

Season 3 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D upped their scales again by exploring more and more untold stories of the universe and the secret organizations within it. Many of the characters who the fans thought were unimportant in the beginning were developed so much that it looked as if it was the best AoS could do. Stories that began in the first season were given a well deserved closure and the season came to an ending teasing what to expect in the upcoming one. But what came next was not something anybody expected and it pushed the ratings off the chart!

Ghost Rider! An episodic show that looked like a filler for the MCU is now introducing the Spirit of Vengeance as the main character! How is this possible? How did this show survive this long? Season 4 tease of AoS made some of the audience who dropped the show in the beginning resume it from where they stopped. The fan base gradually started to grow again even though it still wasn't large enough. With mind blowing visual effects and much more darker and matured storytelling, AoS was able to introduce the best live action incarnation of the Ghost Rider in history! Robbie Reyes set the screens on fire with the hell charger and the spiritual side of the universe came to light just in time of the release of Doctor Strange! But what followed was altogether another beast. As far I am concerned, the framework arc of Agents of SHIELD is the peak sci fi I have seen in any conventional comic book show. The characters underwent a huge transition making them the fan favourites with jaw dropping performances, especially from the two who we all love and care.

The last three seasons of Agents of SHIELD is one single narrative split into many different parts. It was the time when Netflix Marvel decided to put an axe on their shows, starting with Daredevil. Many of the shows, even though the fans loved them were a liability to the heads of Marvel studios and Agents of SHIELD was no exception. Even with a high budget space opera setting of season 5, fans feared that this season will be the series finale as Avengers: Infinity war was close. There was no way that the studio executives gave the show's creators any hint about how the movie would change the state of the universe. Well, AoS did what they always did. Tell their own story but this time, prepare for a series finale. Ratings and the viewers count sky rocketed as the show approached the final episodes and suddenly, the most surprising of all things happened! AoS team was asked to renew the show for two more seasons! Risks were high as they had no idea how Avengers: Endgame would play out but the team continued to create more content with each episode more entertaining than the other. The moment season 6 finale aired we all knew that season 7 would be a mini Endgame analyzing the possibilities they could explore in the new set piece and oh boy, wasn't it pure bliss!!!!

From the very beginning to the two hour season finale, season 7 of Agents of SHIELD provided the sent off everybody deserved, and that includes the fans, the actors and all the brilliant minds behind the veil. Each episode was a different genre altogether and they hit all the circles leading to a perfect bullseye! Series finale was supposed to be emotional, but I never thought I would cry this much. Saying goodbye is hard enough, but knowing that these characters was and will be ignored by the ever expanding cinematic universe is heartbreaking.

These Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D are not just people. They are friends. They are family. Thank you for all the beautiful memories we shared together. You will be missed. 

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