The end of Agents of SHIELD is heartbreaking but not surprising

Agents of SHIELD was Marvel’s first television experiment, and it had a great seven-season run. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

Last season, fans said goodbye to Agent Phil Coulson (again) on the long-running ABC series Agents of SHIELD Next year, they’re going to have to say goodbye to the rest of the crew — and the show as a whole. Marvel Television’s first-ever series began in 2013 and will air its seventh and final season in 2020.

You can point to a handful of different possible reasons for next year’s finale. The first that comes to mind is that many other beloved Marvel shows have already been dusted. Netflix has officially canceled all of its Marvel-associated programming. Jessica Jones aired its final episodes earlier this year, and later in 2019, The Punisher will do the same.

Is Disney planning on moving SHIELD to Disney+ or Hulu — even though it owns ABC’s television network? Maybe. It wouldn’t be the first show to get “un-canceled” on behalf of a streaming service. But that probably won’t happen, at least not until someone decides a reboot would be a good idea. (It wouldn’t.)

Let’s be honest, agents: It’s time for SHIELD to end.

Here’s a look back at seasons one through five:

The whole premise and appeal of the show in its early seasons was that Phil Coulson — who fans saw die on-screen during the first Avengers film — was actually alive. Now (spoiler alert) he’s dead. Again. His story arc is, as far as we know, complete.

And he’s not the only character whose story reached its peak. Fans waited seasons for Fitz and Simmons to declare their love for each other. They’re now married, and though that doesn’t have to mean the end for them, there’s one less couple to root for. They made it. They (hopefully) got their happily ever after.

It’s also been a while since Marvel’s television and cinematic universes tried to line up. Though the movies influenced much of the show’s plot early on, it eventually broke away into its own universe within a universe. Existing completely separately from the movies means its story can close out quietly without impacting the MCU.

Marvel shows and movies are changing, too. Phase 4 is upon us, and this marks the perfect time to put Marvel Television’s “firstborn” to bed. It had a successful run. It captured many hearts. But sometimes it’s better to end a series on a high note rather than stretching it out.

It’s been quite a ride. May SHIELD’s final season be its best.

What have been your favorite moments from Agents of SHIELD so far? What do you hope to see in its seventh and final season next year?