Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD season 5 premiere recap and review: Orientation

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD starts its fifth season in space. Any more than that and we’ll spoil all the fun. Here’s our recap and analysis.

Welcome to season five of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD! Who else is incredibly excited to see where space takes us? Because it can literally be anywhere.

So in this two hour premiere, how did our SHIELD friends fare?

Not-So-Short Summary and Analysis

Well, two minutes into this episode, my first theory is that the Men In Black are part of the Marvel universe. Either that or we’ve merged with Alien.

Simmons is so very tired of your space nonsense, Agents of SHIELD, but she resigns herself to the fact that she’ll be here for a little while. Everyone slowly makes their way to space at various points in time.

Looks like this season, SHIELD is out to save humanity. Unfortunately Virgil does not get to show them their orientation video — and good thing I’ve been watching Marvel’s The Punisher because that death was not as shocking and gross as it could have been.

The first real conversation between the majority of them brings up a lot of good points: that bargain Coulson made with Ghost Rider, Fitz and Simmons always torn apart, Elena asking if maybe they’re back in the Framework and everyone exploding at her.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Orientation (Part One)” – Coulson and the team find themselves stranded on a mysterious ship in outer space, and that’s just the beginning of the nightmare to come, when “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” returns for its highly anticipated fifth season with a special two-hour premiere, FRIDAY, DEC. 1 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/Jennifer Clasen)

JEFF WARD

Here come the Kree! Mack and Elena get tortured while everyone else gets rescued by low-budget Peter Quill, aka Deke. May and Simmons get a good look at how big this place is and realize the Kree are within striking distance of Earth for an invasion. A…Secret Invasion, perhaps?

You know what? They’re actually at Earth already. It’s mostly exploded and not functioning. But at least we have a postcard from Fitz that says he’s “working on it.” So they’re in the future. This is fun.

Everyone has a different story for what happened to Earth. Here’s the one we get: The planet was torn apart, some cataclysmic event (Infinity War?!), and then the Kree showed up to erase everything and focus on the future.

Welcome to the Lighthouse.

Simmons gets in trouble by helping out one of the higher-up human helpers and is taken by the Kree. But she is taken to Kasius’s spa. We get a fun scene that continues to prove how much Simmons has evolved from the start of the show. And why she survived so long in Hydra.

Meanwhile Daisy follows Deke to what she assumes is a speakeasy. But it’s actually a Framework-sequel program that lets people live in the outdoors on a real Earth.

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Orientation (Part One)” – Coulson and the team find themselves stranded on a mysterious ship in outer space, and that’s just the beginning of the nightmare to come, when “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” returns for its highly anticipated fifth season with a special two-hour premiere, FRIDAY, DEC. 1 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EST), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/Jennifer Clasen)

CLARK GREGG

“SHIELD tried to save the world. And you want to see the consequences? Take a look,” he tells Daisy after telling her she’s the one who quaked apart the world.

Post-Credits Stinger

Simmons is one of the chosen few and gets to see Ka.

Badass Moment of the Week

May flying out of nowhere to kick that angry dude in the head.

Best One-Liner

“Any idea what part of space we’re in?” Simmons asks.
”Uh… outer?” Coulson replies.

Points to Elena for making the comment about SHIELD having people on the moon. That’s probably as close as we’re going to get to the Inhumans showing up.

Every single character is on their A-game in these two episodes. So many quick one-liners. So much sass from everyone.

There is a lot to digest. Who exactly is Kasius? What exactly will our SHIELD compatriots be working on? How will Ghost Rider save them? And where is Fitz?

Next: Our top 5 favorite moments in the Avengers: Infinity War trailer

This season of Agents of SHIELD looks crazy. And amazing. And I can’t wait to watch it with you guys.