A couple of weeks ago we decided to host a live viewing party to celebrate the season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for fans living in the Los Angeles area.
Some of us gathered at the Belmont in West Hollywood before the episode to enjoy some food (I highly recommend the crab mac & cheese!) with one coming from as far as San Diego for the event! By the time 7:30 rolled along 14 of us had moved into the private room to watch a season finale worthy of what has developed into one of the best shows ever on television.
Throughout the episode there were laughs and cheers and tears and also a big “eww” from everyone in the room. Watching a big episode like this with a group of like-minded fans is always a lot of fun and we would encourage others to consider holding their own viewing parties where they live. It was interesting to watch the reaction of the poor bar bartender who had no idea what was going on and seemed confused at some our the reactions, not understanding why certain moments got such a big reaction out of us.
Near the end of the episode I got word that the surprised I had been waiting for was on its way and just before the end tag aired showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen (who also wrote this episode) and cast members Brett Dalton and Elizabeth Henstridge walked in the room. Everyone pretty much went nuts when they suddenly recognized who was standing in the room with them. We paused briefly to watch the tag scene and then our surprise guests took some time out to chat with fans and answer a few questions for us. They mentioned they hadn’t even seen the episode themselves yet because they decided not to start watching the episode knowing they would have to leave before the end to come and see us. They mentioned they wished they could have seen our reactions as we watched but they didn’t want to be a distraction.
Needless to say everyone was overjoyed that Jed, Maurissa, Brett and Elizabeth were generous enough to take time out to come and hang out with us and I want to extend a personal thank you to them all as well as Sandy and Arune who helped make it all happen, and for giving us the Bus blueprints we were able to hand out to winners of some trivia questions.
For those who attended the party, you can download a copy photo here
