Mack Becomes the New Director of SHIELD

CBR

Agents of SHIELD Names a New Director

By Meagan Damore

Published May 19, 2018

The Agents of SHIELD Season 5 finale left the covert organization with a new director who wears a familiar face.

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "The End," the Season 5 finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has a new director. In "The End," the Season 5 finale, a core member of the team stepped up to fill Phil Coulson's shoes: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie.

Originally, Coulson wanted Daisy to take over for him after he died. However, in his absence, her leadership only served to split the team further apart. So, by the season finale, she realized she wasn't the right person for the job -- but she knew exactly who was. With this epiphany, she called the team together to announce her decision to hand the position over to Mack.

"I'm aware that we rolled the dice with Coulson and I still believe we need him for this, but I will admit that I let my emotions get the best of me. I thought that Coulson was the only one who could keep us all on the same page," she explained, then spoke directly to Yo-Yo. "You would say that's proof that I can't do the job, that I shouldn't lead. Well, I agree."

"The truth is I can't hold the team together, but he can," she continued, looking directly at Mack. "Coulson wants me to call the shots in his absence. Well, that's my decision. Mack should call the shots. He has the biggest heart. I mean, physically, but also, y'know. You are our moral center. And look, I never want to stop being a soldier. He's a general we can all rally behind."

"Anyone who thinks I'm 100% right about this, raise your hand," she concluded, raising her hand. The rest of the team immediately followed suit. Thus, Mack became the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., with a full blessing from Coulson himself. Indeed, after the team elected Mack as the new director, Coulson asked him what they should do next. "We save lives," Mack announced, kicking off the mission that would save the planet from utter destruction.

Though Mack was prophesied to die, he ultimately survived the battle with Graviton. Per the final scene, he will retain the title of director moving forward. After they dropped Coulson and May off in Tahiti, the rest of the team headed off on their next adventure. "Alright, director: where to first?" Daisy asked, and the shot cut to Mack, who smiled but didn't answer.

"We keep moving Mack further towards the foreground, because he just has this strength to him and Henry [Simmons] gives you good humor and he gives you good heart. So that was part of it," executive producer Jed Whedon explained to CBR.

"The other part is Daisy coming into her own skin and realizing who she is over the last five years, having this handed to her by Coulson and feeling like she didn't want it. This is sort of her moment of really stepping into the shoes that Coulson asked her to fill," he continued. "You've got to start making these decisions, and this is her first big decision. I think it was a good one. The team gets behind it, and it shows that her capability as a leader is her stepping aside as one. We thought that was a cool character moment for her and sort of a strong moment for her. She still wants to be leading the charge. She just wants someone else doing the math on how we're going to do it."

Returning Summer 2019, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stars Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley and Elizabeth Henstridge.