Fans first got a peek of a mysterious space ship in the mid-season premiere of Agents of SHIELD, “Bouncing Back.” The end of the episode “Spacetime” gave that flash forward a bit more context. Daisy touched an Inhuman with the power of foresight and saw that same deadly sequence that fans were shown episodes ago. Since it was established that the Inhuman, Charlie, shows people visions of death it looks like someone on the team is going to die. It is just unknown who will be the unlucky victim. The only thing that is clear is Daisy is in no danger. There is no way that Agents of SHIELD is killing off Daisy Johnson.
Following the Rules
With all the weirdness of Agents of SHIELD, the show has never really touched on one of the oldest Sci-Fi tropes before “Spacetime.” Time travel has pretty much been off-limits. While Charlie’s Inhumans powers aren’t exactly time travel it did lead to a discussion of Agents of SHIELD establishing how time works in this universe. It was a bit confusing because Fitz was explaining it but the one thing is clear about time in Agents of SHIELD, it is set.
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Despite her best efforts and Lincoln’s belief in her, Daisy could not stop the events of her vision occurring in “Spacetime.” Daisy misinterpreted the events she was shown; Coulson didn’t shoot her but the image of her in a mirror; Lincoln’s face did end up getting covered in blood but it was from a minor head injury, etc. Unless Agents of SHIELD wants to go back on all that lore, a space shuttle is going to blow up and a SHIELD member will be inside when it happens. Someone is going die.
This is the other important part of Charlie’s powers. As explained by his wife, whenever Charlie touches someone both people see someone meet their end. Daisy’s first interaction with Charlie foresaw Charlie’s own death. The second time has to point to someone else kicking the bucket. The immediate conclusion would be Daisy but that would be horrible mistake on Agents of SHIELD’s part.
Daisy Isn’t Going Anywhere
While Phil Coulson might still be considered the main character of Agents of SHIELD, he is pretty much playing second fiddle to Daisy at this point. Daisy is the character with the most growth on the show and the character that the show is continually the most interested. Other characters cycle in and out of focus but Daisy is almost always front and center in Agents of SHIELD and has been since the very first episode. Agents of SHIELD killing Daisy Johnson would be akin to Scandal killing Olivia Pope or Once Upon a Time killing off Emma Swan. The show could technically continue without them but it would be a fundamentally different show.
Just because Daisy saw someone die in Charlies vision, doesn’t mean it was her or she was present when it occurred. Daisy saw Lincoln with his terribly bloody face in the first vision but wasn’t anywhere near Lincoln when the injury actually occurred. Just because Daisy saw the space ship explode from what appeared to be a first-person perspective does not necessarily mean she was there. The fact that Agents of SHIELD is implying that Daisy is one who dies in that scene makes it all the more clear that she won’t end up meeting her demise. Agents of SHIELD is not going to spoil the death of one of their main characters in such an obvious fashion.
So Who Will Go to the Spy Agency in the Sky?
There are not a lot of hints about who the identity of the person inside the space shuttle might be, there are only about two. There is a necklace which is very similar to the one new character Yo-Yo was wearing and a jacket with the SHIELD emblem on the shoulder. If you want to take the clues literally than you’d have to assume that Yo-Yo is the character that is going to die. It is her necklace being shown and she is quasi-member of SHIELD. This would be ridiculous though, considering the audience has zero investment in Yo-Yo’s character. She has only been in one episode and that episode barely explored who she was as a person.
It is probable that Agents of SHIELD will bring Yo-Yo back at some point. They could very well need her skills for whatever this mysterious space mission involves. It would be weird to bring her back just to kill her and to tease the death weeks ahead of time like it is a major event. The thing that is far more likely is that Yo-Yo gives whoever dies her necklace as symbol of luck and hope. It does after all hold a Christian cross and Yo-Yo was established as a religious character.
With this clue in mind things do come in a bit more clearer focus. The identity of the SHIELD agent who is meeting their end in the flash forward could very well be Mack. While there is definitely an argument to be made for Lincoln dying. He is the newest member to the team, has a total hero complex and his death would hurt Daisy the most. Lincoln doesn’t make sense with the Yo-Yo connection. Yo-Yo has no relationship with Lincoln. She did however have a very strong connection with Mack in her introductory episode.
There’s nothing to prevent Yo-Yo giving Lincoln her necklace as a good luck charm. The mission that the mysterious agent is going on is clearly dangerous in the flash forward. If Daisy discloses the details of her vision too, it will probably be viewed as a suicide mission. A religious person like Yo-Yo would want to give comfort and solace to any type of person going on that type of venture. It would just make the most emotional sense and fit in perfectly with their first meeting if it was Mack who is making the sacrifice and receiving the necklace.
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Mack also fits the type of character that Agents of SHIELD likes to kill off. The series has shied away from killing any of the original members of the team. Ward is the only (major) character from the first season who has died but his body is still walking around as Hive’s meat puppet. Fitz has an almost invulnerable plot armor, having been killed nearly every mid-season and season finale. May is just too awesome to die. You get the picture.
The newer you are to the Agents of SHIELD though the better chance you have of kicking the bucket. Mack’s other season 2 new additions Bobbi and Hunter have already been written off the show. This just leaves him. Season 3 has shown Mack getting a lot closer to Daisy. Mack’s death would likely hurt Daisy (and the audience) as much losing Lincoln, if not more so. Mack is perhaps the character whose death would cause the most emotional impact while still being the easiest to lift out of the story. Agents of SHIELD can always find another muscle-bound, snarky agent lying around.
But what do you think? Is Mack going to die on Agents of SHIELD? Do you think Daisy might actually be in trouble? Is the whole vision merely a really dark red herring?
Agents of SHIELD season 3 airs Tuesdays at 9pm on ABC.
(Images courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
