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Marvel's Agents of SHIELD delivered a double death, as Hive (Brett Dalton) and Lincoln (Luke Mitchell) were killed off in a huge finale.
Dalton, who has been on the show since the very beginning, has now seen his character die twice this season, with Grant Ward meeting his demise a while ago. And this means the actor won't be a series regular when the show returns for its fourth run.
"It was really hard for me to say goodbye to Ward," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I love Hive, but I got to play Ward for longer. He's closer to me."
Dalton added that he would be open to a return someday.
"I would be back on this show even if they didn't pay me," he said. "I love these people and I love this show. I love what we have here. It feels like my second home.
"I think that we're in a world where nobody ever really dies. The whole reason we have a show is because Agent Coulson was killed in one of the movies, and there was this whole fan effort that insisted he was still living.
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"There's always that possibility, and I think the writers are really good at leaving every door open they possibly can and not shutting any doors."
While Hive was the big bad, Lincoln was given a hero's exit - sacrificing himself to save the world from Hive's scheming.
"It was the most heartbreaking decision," executive producer Jeph Loeb said.
Fellow exec Maurissa Tancharoen added: "He did earn it.
"With Lincoln, like Daisy, he has always struggled to find a place to belong... Then right when we see that he is finally at home with SHIELD, he's given himself over to them and he's committed to the cause, and he also admits to himself that he can't offer Daisy anything."
Agents of SHIELD airs on ABC in the US and on E4 in the UK.
