#fandom mag

  Marvel villains are by far my favorite to study.  They have a motive so human and basic, that it’s easy to believe the evil they’ve committed for the sake of their goal.  John Garrett worked for the most basic human desire: a strong will to survive.  And who would believe a wise-cracking, story-retelling old man in a turtleneck could strike such fear and disgust into our hearts?  I certainly did not.  In this final episode, Garrett certainly stepped up his creepy game, joining Raina in the ranks of this evolutionary motif the show has been arcing towards.  After being injected with the GH325, Garrett sees the universe and all of time.  When he pulls out the rib of one of the military commanders, it’s more than mere coincidence that he chooses “The Adam’s Rib” to kill the man.  The rib that signifies the beginning of mankind as we know it causing certain death ties perfectly into the episode title “The Beginning of the End”.

  Raina herself is out on a conquest to discover who she is and what she will become. Her story parallels Skye’s nicely.  (Don’t think I haven’t noticed the similarities in the names Rain-a and Sky-e.  I doubt it’s mere coincidence.)  Both of them join these secret organizations of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra in order to find out more about who they are and from where they came.  Raina shows a slim knowledge of Skye and her past when she talks to Ward, but it isn’t until she delivers one of the season’s cliffhangers of knowing Skye’s father that we wonder what she truly knows.

  The other two major cliffhangers also display a prominent parallel in the show: what will happen to Ward and Fitz?  Neither of these men willingly wanted to join the team, but they were both urged to by the most important people in their lives.  They each fall in love without meaning to and both swear to Coulson that they will protect the other.  In the finale episode, they both make a choice to sacrifice for the one they care about most.  Ward attacks his former team for Garrett and suffers the consequences.  Fitz believes he is dying in order to save Simmons, but she saves him.  At the end of the season, they have both lost the ability to speak and their future is unknown.  Will Fitz be able to recover?  Will Ward be redeemed?  We’ll just have to wait to know what happened to “our boys”.

  In this season alone, each team member has grown in such a substantial way.  Simmons learned that sometimes rules are meant to be broken and to challenge authority.  Fitz got his hands dirty in the field and learned that true bravery does not mean brawn and muscle.  Skye went from alone and searching, to finding a family and a place to belong.  Ward began to care for the team, even though he tried with all his might not to.  May became more open and caring again.  And Coulson learned that Tahiti is not such a magical place and what it means to be valued by an organization he gave so much of his life to.

  All in all, this episode wrapped up the season nicely.  Everyone has a new role for the beginning of next season, and I believe we are all eager to see how Director Coulson deals with forming the new S.H.I.E.L.D.  We are left with a few questions, which is typical and needed, no matter how annoying they may be.  There are high hopes for the bonding between May and Skye next season as well as a place for Triplett as a permanent fixture on the team.  The summer will be a long one, but well worth it.

  As per usual, I will end with a Song of the Episode.  Now, as this was the season finale, I chose a song more inclusive to the whole season, rather than just this past episode.  This week’s song is “This Is War” by Thirty Second to Mars.  A typical song, I know, but one that fits the battle between Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. perfectly.