Agents of SHIELD: SPOILER’s Death Answers Some Time Travel Questions

The tenth episode of Agents of SHIELD‘s final season aired tonight and saw some unexpected deaths. While stuck in 1983, the team set out to protect Jiaying (Dichen Lachman) and save Afterlife from Nathanial Malick (Thomas E. Sullivan) and John Garrett (James Paxton). This episode marked the first time Daisy (Chloe Bennet) came face to face with her mother since the end of season two. Back then, Jiaying was plotting an Inhuman takeover and attempting to kill her own daughter, which ultimately resulted in Daisy’s father killing Jiaying. Warning: Spoilers! Tonight’s episode saw a repeat performance of Jiaying’s death, only this time she died protecting Daisy. Not only was it nice to see their mother-daughter story come full circle, but it answered some questions about the show’s time travel rules.

Agents of SHIELD‘s final season has been dealing with time travel, and it’s been unclear if they’re following the same rules as Avengers: Endgame. During the latest episode, the team was adamant about protecting Jiaying to ensure Daisy would be born, which left some fans wondering if they were following time travel rules similar to The Terminator or Back to the Future. While we always assumed SHIELD was sticking with the “you can’t change your own past” rules (especially since Deke didn’t blip out of existence after they broke the time loop at the end of season five), the team’s concern for Jiaying had us wondering if something was different.

Turns out, the team was only trying to ensure Daisy would be born in this new timeline they created. Unfortunately, now that Jiaying has died at the hands of Malick, it doesn’t appear this timeline will have a Quake in its future, which is just one of many big changes. We’re definitely curious to know if the show will end with the team returning to their original future or if they’ll spend the remainder of their days in this timeline. Either way, the final season of Agents of SHIELD has been one heck of a ride!

Recently, ComicBook.com had the chance to chat with Ming-Na Wen and Natalia Cordova-Buckley about the return of Lachman as Jiaying.

“Dichen is lovely,” Wen explained. “She is so chill and we always love having her back and working with her. We were lucky that she was available, too. So, yeah. Just always so fun.”

“I love Dichen’s work. I love her look. I was always sort of like, ‘Oh my God, who’s this girl? She’s got such a stunning face and she’s such a natural actor,’ and I just always thought, ‘I hope she comes back,’” Cordova-Buckley added.

Agents of SHIELD airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 10 PM EST.