Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, starring alongside Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward.
Aware of their presence, Sibyl orders Malick not to interfere with Johnson and Simmons' reunion as it will increase their chances of finding Fitz.
After making preparations, May navigates Zephyr One and the Chronicom ships through the Quantum Realm back to their timeline while Fitz works with Simmons to restore her memory.
After May overpowers Sibyl, she combines her abilities with Kora's to magnify a beacon of empathy into the Chronicom army, stopping the assault.
The team rescue Johnson from space and Kora revives her as Fitz and Simmons return to the temple and retrieve Alya.
aired in August 2019, showrunners Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jeffrey Bell revealed that the seventh season would feature the team trying to save the world from invasion by the Chronicoms.
[6] Ming-Na Wen had the idea for Melinda May to say "the Cavalry is here", because she wanted the character "to finally accept that nickname and all of her emotional baggage that she'd been carrying" surrounding it, and "revel in it as opposed to being afraid".
At the time, "The End" had been crafted as a series finale, and Whedon noted it "had its own feeling and its own flavor, and we felt like we had done a pretty good job with that.
Whedon acknowledged it was "just fun to think about" as there were "tons of great options" for the ending, saying, "We sort of tried to put everybody in a different-feeling thing and in a different place and separate them as much as possible."
Maurissa Tancharoen added, "The emotional context of saying goodbye to this experience...is definitely something that's reflected in where we leave our characters at the end of the show.
"[10] Having the characters appear virtually, which was thought of by series writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, did not break the established rule that the team would not be in the same room together after the final mission.
team separated with new lives: Ward revealed that series writer DJ Doyle had pitched a post-credits scene for the episode that was not shot, that featured someone approaching Deke sitting in a S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ward added, since it was unclear if Nick Fury existed in the alternate timeline, Deke would have worn it because it is "a power and cool thing".
[16] With the season renewal, main cast members Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward were confirmed to be returning from previous seasons as Melinda May, Daisy Johnson / Quake, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, and Deke Shaw, respectively.
[18] Guest stars in the finale include Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz, and returning from earlier in the season, Tamara Taylor as Sibyl, Thomas E. Sullivan as Nathaniel Malick, Dianne Doan as Kora,[19][20] and Enver Gjokaj reprising his Agent Carter role of Daniel Sousa.
[22] Additional guest stars in "The End Is at Hand" include James Paxton as John Garrett and Bill Cobbs as an elderly S.H.I.E.L.D.
[5]: 1:03:43 The ending was not easy to shoot, according to director Kevin Tancharoen, because "everyone [on the crew] was emotionally invested" in the lines the actors were saying, and the tone they created on the set "made everyone sad".
While most were "unforgettable, humorous lines", some of the cut content was fight sequences and an origin scene in "The End Is at Hand" for the quantum machine.
[5]: 1:59:04 Fitz utilizes the Quantum Realm, seen in the Ant-Man films and Avengers: Endgame (2019), to travel to the altered timeline and reunite with the S.H.I.E.L.D.
[28] In "What We're Fighting For", McLevy enjoyed "how all-in this show went making a conclusion so proudly, unabashedly nerdy", and while the time-travel was the "most entertaining element" of the finale, it was "also the thing that causes it to be somewhat less impactful in its emotional resonance".
[28] Trent Moore at Syfy Wire felt "seeing Simmons process her scrambled memories and slowly remember her life, and Fitz, was some beautiful acting by Elizabeth Henstridge."
Other enjoyable moments for Moore were Mack and Sousa creating the makeshift Chronicom missile with duct tape ("a great bit of classic, goofy S.H.I.E.L.D.
While Moore felt the final plan was "a bit convoluted and McGuffin-y", he realized the show went out on a big story to justify that.
He said the finale "neatly ties up enough loose plot threads to keep even the staunchest critics happy and still leaves plenty of room for requisite fan service.
The reunion of Fitz and Simmons was "one of the finale's highlights", and given the introduction of their daughter, Vitagliano felt it was "hard to be disappointed with the conclusion of their arc."
Vitagliano felt the showrunners took "extra care" with the ending to satisfy the fans, with "the most poignant exchange" coming when Daisy and Coulson say goodbye.
[14] CNN's Brian Lowry said the finale was "an old-fashioned affair tinged with nostalgia", aimed at those who had watched the series from the beginning.
"[31] Awarding the finale an 8 out of 10, Matt Fowler writing for IGN called both episodes "rollicking affairs filled with action, heart, and humor".
The site felt Henstridge "mined" Simmons' random memory revelations for moments of comedy, highlighting when the character asked Daisy for her own superhero costume, and once Simmons heard from Fitz they had been gone for a long time, the new questions she felt allowed Henstridge to show confusion and frustration that "began building to the emotional climax to come".
Additionally, "Henstridge powerfully communicated the rush of feelings" Simmons felt once she fully remembered her daughter, as the audience was also learning the truth alongside her.