SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "The Force of Gravity," the latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Phil Coulson's life is officially on the line. In "The Force of Gravity," the latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., he suffered a minor injury that caused him to collapse. When Simmons checked him out, she discovered his neurotic tissue had spread across his chest to his arms. Though he isn't dead quite yet, the end is near for him.
Simmons filled the rest of the time in on Coulson's status at the end up episode, but the news was grim. "He's not going to die. Not yet, at least. But his condition is worsening -- and accelerating," she explained.
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When Daisy asked about her proposed solution, Simmons confirmed she and Fitz had found a way to cure him, saying, "We have something we think will work. It will just take some time to combine it with the centipede serum."
"Time we don't have," Daisy replied, to which Simmons said, "We're doing everything we can."
"What about Talbot? You find a way to stop him? He's worse too," Mack prompted.
"Yeah, we think so. Unfortunately, it's not a cure. It's more terminal," Fitz admitted. "If we can combine the odium with another dose of the centipede serum, it should be able to penetrate his cells."
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"That's not possible," Daisy said flatly.
"Well, yeah, it's entirely possible. We ran the simulations --" Fitz began, only for Daisy to interrupt. "No, it's not possible. There is no more centipede serum," she interjected. "What I brought back, that's the last of it."
"So we either save Coulson..." May began, only for Yo-Yo to conclude, "Or we save the world."
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This puts S.H.I.E.L.D. in a very precarious position. Since Coulson's condition was revealed in the 100th episode of the series, the team has been trying to find a way to fix him. Ultimately, though, this situation may force their hand. After all, the future Yo-Yo had a dire warning for her past self: "The team makes one choice, and it ruins everything. To save him. Phil Coulson is dying, and you have to let him. It’s already begun. He’s sick and he knows it. We tried to stop it. Loyalty. It cost us the world.”
As such, it seems like the team originally chose to save Coulson with the centipede serum, leaving Graviton free to tear the world apart in his search for more gravitonium. However, considering the surprises they've encountered all season, this seems rather too straightforward, so the show may yet have another trick up its sleeve. It's also worth remembering that Ruby's body expelled gravitonium with a concussive force when she died, so Graviton may also suffer the same fate -- and Graviton has much more gravitonium in his system than she ever did, which means his death could cause a much larger explosion.
Airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5 stars Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley and Elizabeth Henstridge.