Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. debuted in 2013, and since then, the series has continued to improve with age thanks to some inspired choices. While Marvel has been releasing films and TV shows for decades, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) marked a major turning point for the franchise as the newly created connected universe began to take shape. However, it took several more years for Marvel Studios to embrace TV shows into the official timeline, despite developing programs that had some overlap.

The first of which was Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. However, Marvel Studios did not maintain the connection, and over time, the series drifted from the movie timeline. Despite this, the show made a lot of smart choices from the beginning that ensured its success over time, and helps the series still stand out among the landscape of official MCU TV shows for its incredible story, characters, and development.

10 Making Grant Ward A Traitor To SHIELD

Unexpected Villain Origin

One of the most pivotal parts of the story came near the end of season 1, when one of the core team turned on his friends and revealed himself as HYDRA. Grant Ward was the agent who first opens up the series, a close friend to the rest of the team, and even a love interest for Skye, but late in the 22-episode season, the truth is revealed. Grant Ward was never on their side, and has been a traitor the entire time.

The thing is, the MCU has often been criticized for the way it portrays villains with very little to make them more dynamic. But in the case of Agent Ward, he stands out, to this day, as one of the greatest Marvel villains in live action. And all of this after establishing himself as an integral and trusted member of the team. This arc from season 1 helped to cement the show as one of Marvel's very best.

9 Pacing Out The Relationship Between Fitz & Simmons

Sci-Fi Love Story Evolution

Fitz and Simmons have a clear connection from the start of AoS. While the crush does seem more advanced on the side of Fitz, the pair share a spark, which they both try to suppress in order to protect their friendship and their work together. And in most serialized shows with a will they/won't they romance, it's a fine art to determine when the couple should get together.

Too late, and the characters may have grown apart, with their own relationships and lives to keep them busy.

Too early, and there is a possibility to break up the relationship for more drama down the line. Too late, and the characters may have grown apart, with their own relationships and lives to keep them busy. But AoS timed the FitzSimmons relationship perfectly, building up tension, and bringing them closer together, until they finally make things official in season 5. There are brief romantic moments before this, but because of the slow burn, it allowed the relationship to get stronger, and then sustain through to the series finale.

8 Bringing Coulson Back From The Dead (While Keeping It A Secret)

Secret Project TAHITI

As mentioned before, AoS was intended to be connected to the MCU, and it did include elements that reference the events in the Sacred Timeline, and cameos from major characters. But, the single biggest connection was Coulson. Agent Phil Coulson had appeared in several of the MCU movies up to and including The Avengers in 2012. He got close to the heroes who formed the original team, and he played an essential role in their recruitment.

However, his death in the MCU was also the catalyst for the Avengers to become the Avengers, as it gave them something tangible to fight for when Coulson was murdered by Loki. AoS effectively erases this sacrifice by bringing Coulson back from the dead, but thanks to the show's dedication to keeping his survival a secret from Earth's Mightiest Heroes, it does not interfere. This strengthened both the show and the MCU, with another fine balancing act of serving the story, and highlighting interesting characters.

7 Branching Off From The Sacred Timeline

Timeline Divergence Impact

However, when it was time to split from the Sacred Timeline, AoS did so. The intentions early on were to keep the worlds connected, but when the MCU continued to work on stories independently of events in the show, AoS took their lead and got more ambitious. In the first few seasons, AoS relied on small characters and elements from the comics to bolster their offering, along with original ideas, but once they took off the leash, they incorporated big name heroes like Ghost Rider, used the Darkhold, and explored Inhumans.

Taking off the chains of the MCU's strict timeline allowed AoS to get creative and do more unique things. And while it initially seemed like the world of AoS would be forever isolated from the MCU, the development of the Multiverse Saga opened up the door for these characters to be revisited, without destroying either one's history. The split may have been challenging at first, but now, it opens up more possibilities than ever before for the MCU and the AoS cast.

6 Unlocking Daisy's Potential As Quake

Daisy Johnson's Evolution

While Daisy Johnson is a compelling character brought to life by the talented Chloe Bennet, it wasn't until she became Quake that the character was fully formed. Daisy was a talented hacker, and a promising young agent, but waking up her Inhuman abilities, and learning about her connection to other Inhumans really turned her into a superhero.

Quake became a leader, and helped to gather people who felt lost or isolated under a united goal. This was also true of Daisy early on, when she was able to reach metahumans on a personal level, but granting her powers helped her to fully explore this side of the hero. And it resulted in a lot of incredible adventures that kept the show incredibly compelling right until the end. Now, as Quake, she could appear in the MCU as another hero to aid in major crossover battles like Avengers: Secret Wars.

5 Introducing Inhumans Early To The AoS Universe

Early Inhuman Exploration

When the show first began, Coulson and the other agents were tasked with finding individuals who displayed exceptional abilities, and ensuring they did not present a threat or risk to others. Typically, these people were like Skye, a talented hacker, or Mike Peterson, a man who had enhanced abilities thanks to experimentation and a mix of compounds like gamma radiation, extremis, and super-soldier serum.

However, these individuals did not possess natural powers.

Of course, the MCU also has a lot of regular humans who are intelligent enough to design powerful suits, or receive serums that give them powers, but part of the magic of the stories and the comics that inspired them is the inherent superpowers. And by season 3 of AoS, the show finally makes this the case with the introduction of Inhumans. These people possess advanced genes that get jumpstarted by terrigen mist, and then cause them to leap forward in of their evolution. In a similar way, the MCU is introducing mutants, and making naturally powered people the norm going forward.

4 Hiding Skye's Past To Secure Daisy's Future

Skye's Secret Origins

And one of these key players is Daisy Johnson. Daisy is present in AoS from the very beginning, but when she appears initially, she goes by the name of Skye. As fate would have it, Skye was actually one of these Inhumans, but looking at her family history, that is no surprise. However, the show tactfully withheld a lot of detail about Skye's past, both from the audience, and from Skye herself, who grew up in the system without any knowledge of her parents.

Through SHIELD, she was able to get information about who her parents were, and the slow reveal of these details and the interconnected nature of her family made things a lot more interesting. Had the show teased details earlier, or if Daisy knew about her parents, it would have dulled the impact of the story. Fortunately, the choice to build up towards the big reveal made things a lot more satisfying when it was eventually unpacked on the show.

3 Bringing In Huge MCU Crossovers

Crossover Events Impact

While AoS did strike out on its own, and it forged a new path independent of the MCU, it was lucky enough to pull in some huge cameos early on. With Coulson being an essential part of SHIELD, it made sense to have the character meeting with Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, on occasion. For less vital communications, Cobie Smulders cameod as her MCU character, Maria Hill. The show also had cameos from the actors of Lady Sif, and Agent Sitwell from the mainline MCU.

Despite some distance from the MCU, there were clear ties that made it feel like a part of a bigger universe.

And beyond these early crossover events, the show also featured cameos from Agent Peggy Carter and her spin-off series, Agent Carter, towards the show's end. Despite some distance from the MCU, there were clear ties that made it feel like a part of a bigger universe, and thanks to the Multiverse Saga, all of that can sit comfortably alongside the MCU that originally inspired the show.

2 Being Willing To Change And Shift The Core Team Throughout AoS' Run

Shifting Team Dynamics

Many TV shows develop a story around a core cast, and when one or more of that group decide to move on, the show falls apart. It happens frequently, and it's rare for a show to continue for long without the characters that audiences have developed a close connection to appearing regularly. In AoS, there is a core cast, with characters like Coulson, Melinda May, Daisy, and Simmons appearing in every episode from start to finish, but beyond those four, the team goes through a lot of changes.

Fitz is only absent from 10 of the episodes in the series' run, but there is a period where his character is seen fighting against the core team. Others, like Ward, are ejected by the end of the first season. And still more, like Mack, Yo-Yo, Bobbi Morse, and Lance Hunter all come and go during the series' run. This malleability, and the fact that it was established in the first season, made AoS more resilient to change, and ultimately preserved the legacy.

1 Sending Coulson To Tahiti (To Retire For Real)

Tahiti's True Purpose

When AoS began, Coulson's resurrection was a mystery that required time to unpack. The character had undoubtedly died, but as far as he could , he was just on a long vacation to Tahiti. Once the mystery was resolved, the gaga of Tahiti remained a staple in the show, and it became a regular bit that was associated with Coulson. So, when the series wraps up, they found the perfect way to pay tribute to the character and this long-running gag.

Coulson retired to Tahiti, for real. Coulson worked incredibly hard to lead his team, to salvage SHIELD, to protect those in need, and to do what was right. For much of his life, he was a company man, working with superiors like Nick Fury to get the job done. And, he laid down his life for the cause, and stayed dead in order to help the Avengers stay motivated. When it came time for Coulson to retire, he deserved to settle down and enjoy a relaxing life on the beach, which gave Agents of SHIELD its perfect ending for this pivotal character.

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