SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5 episode “The One Who Will Save Us All.” Proceed with caution.

Updated 5/7/2018:

A few weeks ago, FANDOM spoke with the executive team at Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at WonderCon. During that time, they confirmed that the series would be directly affected by Avengers: Infinity War. Now we know exactly how: Thanos has arrived on Earth and the Confederacy knew it would happen.

After General Talbot decided to inject himself with the remaining Gravitonium and become a superhero, he ascended onto the Confederacy ship to bargain for the life of the Earth. While on board, Talbot and Coulson were informed that an alien named Thanos — THE THANOS — had taken position over the Earth’s atmosphere. According to the Confederacy, they knew Thanos was coming and had planned to extract Earth’s resources before its impending destruction.

Talbot was then told that he alone could save the Earth if he extracted more Gravitonium from the Earth’s core. He was told to do so by a Kree from the House of Kasius. That’s right, the same villain from Earth’s gruesome future. Coulson easily saw how Talbot could become the prophesied “Destroyer of Worlds,” but Talbot was too delusional to believe him.

So, Thanos was called out by name in the episode, as were The Avengers. In fact, Talbot was bold enough to believe he could suit up with The Avengers to stop Thanos. He clearly didn’t get the memo that the Avengers all in Wakanda. So now we know how Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. connects with Infinity War.

Check out the video above and the full interview below for the scope of Thanos’ impact on the series.

Original article posted on 4/7/2018:

Throughout Season 5, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been trying to prevent the end of the world. During their time in the future, the end of the world was believed to be caused by Agent Daisy Johnson. But, with Avengers: Infinity War on the horizon, it’s hard not to wonder if Thanos will split the Earth in two, and not Daisy.

It’s All Connected

FANDOM caught up with the cast and producers of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at WonderCon, and asked them whether Avengers: Infinity War will have an effect on the show. As with all other Marvel films, the answer is yes. Marvel TV President Jeph Loeb also said, “We do what we do best, which is to acknowledge what’s happening in the world around us.”

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. co-creators Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen were also on hand to answer questions about how the show will connect to the film. Tancharoen jokingly said, “It would be a good idea to do that.”

Whedon also sounded like he had already seen a cut of Infinity War, or at least he had been briefed on the grand scope of the film, because he said, “The film they made is enormous,” — the emphasis of which you can hear him say in the interview above — and that they “can’t survive on the planet without referencing it in some way.”

Hail Hydra

This wouldn’t be the first time Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has referenced the events of the films on their show. The entire plot of Captain America: Winter Soldier unfolded between two episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “End of the Beginning” and “Turn, Turn, Turn“. Coulson resurrected a helicarrier in Season 2, which Nick Fury used to rescue the Avengers in Sokovia during Age of Ultron. Coulson even referenced the death of Peggy Carter and the Sokovia Accords after the events of Captain America: Civil War.

Whether the events of Infinity War will come across a newspaper headline or will directly affect the show remains to be seen. But when General Hale told Coulson that the Confederacy was warning her of Earth’s impending destruction and a coming “war”, all that crossed our minds were Thanos and Infinity War. Perhaps this whole season of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been leading to this.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Fridays at 9PM on ABC.