- "This is what we're fighting for."
"Family." - ―Phil Coulson and Daisy Johnson
What We're Fighting For is the thirteenth and final episode of the seventh season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as the series finale.
Synopsis[]
With their backs against the wall and Nathaniel and Sibyl edging ever closer to eliminating S.H.I.E.L.D. from the history books, the agents must rely on their strengths to outsmart and outlast the Chronicoms. This is their most important fight, and it will take the help of friends and teammates, past and present, to survive.
Plot[]
Leo Fitz explains time travel
With the team now reunited at The Krazy Kanoe in New York City. They argue over what they should do and what they can still do. Leo Fitz explains that they can still save the original timeline and they are clearly frustrated by the fact that they were left to try and survive an alternate timeline.
Fitz explains that Kora is the key to their plan working and that they can use the Quantum Realm to return back to their timeline. Phil Coulson stops him and explains that they can not in good conscience just leave the Chronicoms to freely take over the current alternate timeline. Deke Shaw comes up with a plan to use the Quantum Tunnel to bring not only them, but all of the Chronicoms back to their original timeline.
Unfortunately, they realize that someone will have to stay behind to set up the device and activate it but Daisy Johnson points out that it will not matter because this is their last mission together anyway. Daniel Sousa volunteers to be the one to stay behind but Shaw cuts him off and nominates himself instead. He points out that he is the only one who would be able to set it up and is kind of a rockstar in this alternate 1980s timeline anyway.
The team puts their plan into action and with Shaw activating the device, they all manage to jump back to their timeline and take the Chronicoms with them. However, now they still have to deal with the Chronicoms in their time. Meanwhile, the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents look to Shaw as the new guy in charge and he accepts the position.
The team travels through the Quantum Realm
On Zephyr One, Fitz tries to tell Jemma Simmons a story to help bring back her memory. He asks her about her favorite star, to which she answers Alya. His face lights up and he lets her know she is right. He then explains exactly what happened to them and how they all got into this time travel mess in the first place. He explains that he and Simmons took years to live together before finishing their time machine, taking advantage of the nature of the machine they were making.
Fitz explains that one of them had to stay behind to establish the link between the timelines and it had to be him because his mind could not handle the implant that has been blocking Simmons' memories. When he finishes the story, Simmons remembers him but is still forgetting important things and can not quite come to terms with what is happening. Fitz tells the rest of the team he has to fill them in on something else and Coulson urges him to hurry because the enemy is coming up with a plan.
Elsewhere, Nathaniel Malick argues with Sibyl that he could have stopped S.H.I.E.L.D. if she had given him control of her Hunters. She explains that they are on their way to the original timeline, where Earth is already under attack by another Chronicom force. Still upset, Malick storms off and leads a group of goons into a cell where he is keeping Kora. He ordered them to hook her up to begin stealing her power.
Alphonso Mackenzie prepares Yo-Yo Rodriguez and Sousa to go with Fitz and Simmons to the Temple of the Forgotten. He explains that they still have some unfinished business there because they are traveling to a point before the temple has been cleaned up after their fight. They get ready by putting on hazmat suits with visors so others can not see their faces.
The Zephyr and the Chronicoms jump out of the Quantum Realm and back into the original timeline. The team immediately kills power to the Zephyr, hiding from their enemy. Coulson tells the team to be patient and wait for their moment. Sibyl orders her Chronicoms to find and destroy the Zephyr.
On Earth, the hazmat crew lands a Quinjet outside the temple. They approach that timeline’s Simmons and Enoch and she orders them to follow her. They head into the temple and get to work on what needs to be done for Fitz and Simmons to build their time machine.
Back on the Zephyr, Coulson continues to have the team on standby. Sibyl’s ship fires at the other Zephyr on Earth, which time jumps just before it could be hit, and the team takes advantage of their window to land on the Chronicom ship. While one of the robots informs her Zephyr was destroyed, Sibyl remains skeptical.
Mackenzie, Johnson, Coulson and May blow a hole in the roof of the ship and get inside. They split up, with different goals to achieve. Johnson comes across a handful of Hunters and handles them herself, telling Mack and Coulson to go about their mission. They split up and each took care of a hunter before Coulson was ambushed by Sibyl and more Hunters. Meanwhile, Malick finds Johnson and they prepare for their own fight.
At the Lighthouse, Rodriguez speed punches some Chronicoms and clears the path for her, Fitz, Simmons and Sousa to get into Head Quarters. Fitz goes to work on their part of the plan while Rodriguez and Sousa begin to prepare for an attack. Simmons overhears them talking about Mackenzie and Johnson and suddenly remembers why she and Fitz spent so much time together and what they are fighting for.
Quake fights against Nathaniel Malick
Meanwhile, Johnson and Malick trade quakes and some not-so-witty banter as their fight continues, with Malick getting the upper hand. Mackenzie finds Kora unconscious and carries her out of her cell. The now captive Coulson, seemingly lets it slip that the rest of the team is at the Lighthouse. Which prompts Sibyl to give the order for the hunters to head to the Lighthouse and Coulson tells her that is exactly what they wanted before May drops in and she and Coulson take out the Chronicoms. Shortly thereafter, Sibyl is very quickly taken care of as well.
Mackenzie enters with Kora in his arms and Coulson wakes her up, asking for her help. She agrees and heads to the controls of the ship. Meanwhile, Hunters begin to bust into the Lighthouse. Kora uses her powers to boost the Chronicom ship and May uses her new power and the Chronicom ship’s tech to send a signal of empathy to all of the hunters below. The signal kicks in just in time as the Hunters burst into HQ and, instead of attacking, they freeze. Rodriguez asks if they are friends or enemies and they answer that they are friends. With this, the Chronicom posing a threat comes to an end.
On their way off the ship, the team sees Johnson in her fight with Malick. Mackenzie explains that they need to let her do her part, whatever the cost may be. Johnson tells Malick how her team has won and he responds by explaining there is no way for her to kill him without killing herself. She agrees and lets out a quake that destroys all of the Chronicom ships in the process.
The Zephyr finds Johnson floating in space and they manage to bring her aboard, where Kora quickly uses her powers to bring her back. Fitz and Simmons run to the time machine, which they left Piper and Flint behind to guard. For them, Fitz and Simmons were only gone a few moments. Confused, Piper opens the machine to see that Fitz is no longer inside, but Fitz and Simmons rush to the back where they open a different door. Inside, a sleeping little girl wakes up and Simmons calls out Alya. The girl rolls over and replies with “momma” before embracing Simmons.
One year later, the team meets inside the old bar in New York. Coulson enters, followed by Johnson, Rodriguez, May, Fitz and Simmons and finally Mackenzie. They catch up, each sharing quick stories about their new jobs and lives, without going into too much detail. Fitz and Simmons are raising their daughter, whereas Johnson and Sousa are now together and May has a mysterious new job. Coulson explains that he is just taking some time to see the world and the rest of the team each offers him a spot with their new teams.
Johnson flickers for a moment and Rodriguez looks over at nothing and it quickly becomes apparent that none of them are actually physically there. Rodriguez explains that she has to go and one by one they all agree. They decide to make this a tradition and joke about how just about all of them died at one point or another.
Rodriguez says her goodbyes and removes a device from her head, revealing that she is actually in a car with Piper and an LMD of Davis. She opens the door of their moving car and speeds away, heading for her mission.
May is next, as she appears in front of a building with Flint calling out to her, telling her they are late to class. May explains that she is not late because she is the one giving the lecture. As she walks away, the new school is revealed to be Coulson Academy.
Fitz and Simmons explain that they are in the middle of a picnic with Alya and they leave next. Simmons watches as Fitz plays with their daughter and smiles.
Mackenzie asks Coulson if he got his package before saying goodbye as well. As he removes his device, he is revealed to be standing on a Helicarrier with two unnamed agents behind him.
Johnson and Coulson are the last to stay and they say a long goodbye before Coulson removes his device, leaving her alone in the bar. She returns to Zephyr Three where Sousa is sitting next to her. From the cockpit, Kora calls both of them to come look. The three of them look out into space as they prepare for their next mission.
Coulson opens the briefcase Mackenzie sent him and finds a device and a car key. He hits the button and hears a car in the distance before looking over to find L.O.L.A.. As he starts the car, it becomes apparent that Mackenzie made some new technological advancements to the old car. Coulson puts on his sunglasses as he watches the car transform and simply says “cool”, before he flies off.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson
- Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May
- Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson/Quake
- Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons
- Henry Simmons as Alphonso Mackenzie
- Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Yo-Yo Rodriguez
- Jeff Ward as Deke Shaw
Special Guest Star:
Guest Stars:
- Joel Stoffer as Enoch
- Thomas E. Sullivan as Nathaniel Malick
- Dianne Doan as Kora
- Briana Venskus as Piper
- Stephen Bishop as Major Brandon Gamble
- Cassandra Ballard as Agent Grace Mulcahey
- Maximilian Osinski as Agent James Davis LMD
- Coy Stewart as Flint
- Tamara Taylor as Sibyl
- Enver Gjokaj as Agent Daniel Sousa
- Katy M. O'Brian as Kimball
- Harlow Happy Hexum as Alya
- Joss Glennie-Smith as Malachi
- Rachele Schank as Agent Victoria Hand
- Christian Ochoa as Baal-Gad (uncredited)
- Jan Uddin as Enoch (archive footage; uncredited)
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- New York City, New York
- The Krazy Kanoe
- World Trade Center
- Madison Square Garden (mentioned)
- Lake Ontario, New York
- Washington, D.C.
- Yucatán, Mexico
- Los Angeles, California
- Multiverse
- Hub (mentioned)
- Moscow, Russia (mentioned)
- Theta Serpentis (mentioned)
- Alya (mentioned)
Events[]
- Chronicom Colonization of Earth
- Shrike Infestation
- Battle at the Temple of the Forgotten (concurrent event)
- Hijacking and Retaking of the Iliad (indirectly mentioned)
- Snap (mentioned; deleted scene)[1][2]
Items[]
- Yo-Yo Rodriguez's Prosthetic Arms
- Daniel Sousa's Prosthetic Leg
- Quake Gauntlets
- Shotgun-Axe
- Deke Shaw's Helmet
- Chronicom Rifle
- Cryo-Freeze Chamber
- Time Di'Alla
- Time Stream
- Quantum Tunnel
- D.I.A.N.A.
- Phase Harmonic Teleportation Device
- Phil Coulson's LMD Switch
- Inter-Planetary Conveyance Disc (flashback)
- Bendeery English Ale (logo)
- O'Harren's Scotch Whisky (logo)
- Framework (mentioned)
Concepts[]
Vehicles[]
- Zephyr One
- Quinjet
- Chronicom Destroyer Ships
- Containment Module
- Confederate Destroyer Ship
- Helicarrier
- Zephyr Three
- L.O.L.A.
Sentient Species[]
- Humans
- Inhumans
- Life-Model Decoys
- Chronicoms
- Zombies (mentioned)
- Demons (mentioned)
Creatures[]
Organizations[]
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Chronicom Hunters
- Nathaniel Malick's Crew
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Deke Squad (mentioned)
- United States Army (mentioned)
Mentioned[]
- 0-8-4
- Jemma Simmons' Father
- Izel
- Phil Coulson
- Sinara (indirectly mentioned)
- Graviton (indirectly mentioned)
- Sarge (indirectly mentioned)
- Jiaying
- Jiaying
- Calvin Zabo (indirectly mentioned)
- Leo Fitz (indirectly mentioned)
- Alphonso Mackenzie
- Leo Fitz
- E.T.
Trivia[]
- Alphonso Mackenzie gifts Phil Coulson a briefcase that is unlocked with the combination code “1-3-6”, a reference to the fact that this is the 136th and final episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
- Coulson flying off in L.O.L.A. is a callback to the Pilot episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where he flew off with Skye. This ends the series as it started: with Coulson flying off.
Video[]
References[]
External Links[]
What We're Fighting For on Wikipedia- What We're Fighting For on IMDb
- What We're Fighting For on Disney+
- What We're Fighting For on Marvel Database
