Warning: spoilers ahead for the seventh episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L..D. Season 5, called "Together or Not at All."
Season 5 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. took the agents into space and into the future, and they've been more or less improvising for most of the episodes so far. These characters have gotten pretty good at winging it over the years, but most of them haven't had many advantages since ending up in a place controlled by the Kree. While Fitz's arrival in the future changed the game thanks to his inside info (and stash of S.H.I.E.L.D. tech hidden in the wall), the odds against the agents felt almost insurmountable... until the very end of "Together or Not at All" when we discovered that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brought none other than Robin Hinton back into the mix in a pretty wild way.
Yes, Robin Hinton turned up in 2091. Like Fitz, she took the long way to the future. Unlike Fitz, she wasn't cryo-frozen for the 74 years between 2017 and 2091. The little girl last seen a couple of episodes ago is now a woman in her 70s, living on the desolate chunk of rock that was once Earth. Robin entered the scene when May and Enoch were rescued on the surface of the remnants of the planet by a group of mysterious survivors. May and Enoch were taken to safety in the shell of the Zephyr, and there they met a mysterious older woman who seemed oddly serene considering her surroundings. The woman was clutching the little wooden bird that young Robin treasured, and she had a simple message for May: "I have waited so long to see you again." Robin is back, and she could change everything.
Robin's abilities to see into the future could be a huge asset to the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. moving forward. Admittedly, her visions are what led most of the characters to be sent into the future whether they liked it or not, but they also enabled Fitz to travel to the future and join them. She could give them an advantage simply by virtue of sharing information, which they have been sorely lacking in the Lighthouse almost all season. Knowledge of the future is also an advantage that can't be simply replicated by the Kree. Robin may be the factor that turns the tide in the conflict of humanity vs. the Kree overlords. If the S.H.I.E.L.D. crew is the missing link that needed to be sent from the past, the time may have finally come for humanity to fight back against the Kree.
Her appearance in 2091 raises a lot of questions about what happened in the previous 74 years. When last seen on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., she and her mother were hiding from the nefarious government people who wanted to use her Inhuman powers for their own goals. Hunter promised that he and Bobbi would protect them, and we have no reason to doubt that he would keep his word. Her survival may be largely thanks to Hunter and Bobbi, and she's one of the few S.H.I.E.L.D. characters who believably might still be alive in the hellscape 2091.
The youngest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. crew are already in their late 20s, and I think it's safe to say that the Kree haven't been working to help humans live long healthy lives. Unlike young Robin, Fitzsimmons and Daisy would have undoubtedly died by 2091. Still, we have no idea what happened between 2017 and 2091 that landed Robin in a position of post-apocalyptic power on what remains of Earth.
Robin's comment that she's waited a long time to see May again may be a big clue that the agents make it back to 2017/2018 and cross paths with Robin. Daisy and Fitz are the only two members of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team to spend significant time with Robin on the series so far; if Robin has been waiting to see May again, it stands to reason that the two spent some time together back on Earth while Robin was still a child. Could this mean that Robin will play a role in bringing May and Co. back from the future? It would only be fair, really. She was the one whose visions sent them far from their own time, and May did suffer a serious leg injury.
Interestingly, Robin in 2091 seems a lot more outgoing and communicative than she was in 2017. Fitz could barely get a single sentence out of her, and she almost exclusively shared her visions via drawing. Whatever happened, the difference in Robin's demeanor as a child and an adult is significant. We'll have to wait and see what happens next with Robin. The scene in her rather disturbing drawing from Fitz's episode hasn't yet happened, and that seems like too specific of a detail not to be revisited sooner rather than later. Take a look:
Unfortunately, the drawing was made by young girl with poor communication skills, so we don't actually know who or what it's depicting. The two people with long black hair could conceivably be May and Daisy. The seemingly dead person on the floor has lighter hair, which could point to either Jemma or Yo-Yo. Of course, neither May nor Daisy have blue or green eyes like the two people with black hair in the drawing, and it's entirely possible that people in the picture aren't actually women. Maybe the four-year-old just draws most people with long hair. Or maybe Robin just drew a few random people who aren't actually any of the major characters.
Now that Robin is back in the mix, hopefully we'll get some answers. Coulson, Daisy, Fitz, Jemma, and Deke all crash-landed on what's left of Earth at the end of the episode, so they'll be crossing paths with her (and reuniting with May) soon. You can catch new episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. For more of your viewing options now and in the coming weeks, take a peek at our midseason TV premiere guide and our 2018 Netflix premiere schedule. The first four seasons of S.H.I.E.L.D. are currently available streaming on Netflix if you're in the mood to rewatch some of the earlier days of the series.
