The final season of Agents of SHIELD might be setting up a reveal that the Koenigs are LMD/Chronicom hybrids. Agents of SHIELD season 7’s time travel story began in 1931 with the show’s main agents attempting to stop the alien Chronicoms from changing the timeline so SHIELD never was formed. With Agents of SHIELD exploring the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s past, the series can bring back some familiar MCU faces, and Patton Oswalt was the first returnee.
Oswalt joined Agents of SHIELD in season 1 as Eric and Billy Koenig and has since played Sam and Thurston Koenig as well. The show has explained that they are quadruplets, but one of the oldest fan theories about Agents of SHIELD was that the Koenigs are actually Life Model Decoys. This appeared to be debunked during season 4 when the Koenigs’ sister LT appeared and said their family helped create the LMD program instead. Oswalt’s return for season 7 saw him play their grandfather, Ernest Koenig, and the fate of the elder Koenig could change the truth of his grandchildren.
The end of Agents of SHIELD season 7, episode 2 saw Enoch left behind in 1931, and Ernest agreeing to hire him as a bartender. But Ernest also wants Enoch to teach him everything he can about SHIELD, the Chronicoms, and other technological advances. Ernest caught a glimpse of the future by stepping aboard Zephyr One, and this could begin the family’s interest in tech. However, Enoch also tells his new friend that Ernest’s grandchildren will play a part in the LMD program. Ernest is quite surprised to hear he has grandchildren in the future. He isn’t married at the time and his reaction indicates he doesn’t have children yet, much less grandchildren. While Ernest could settle down in the near future, could his “grandchildren” be LMD/Chronicom hybrids instead?
Since Ernest and Enoch appear to be beginning a new partnership, it is plausible that the LMD program Ernest begins could involve Chronicom tech now. Ernest might still be limited by the technology of his time to complete the LMD program, so it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that he could create replicas of himself using LMD/Chronicom technology when he grew older. The advanced and alien state of the tech could even be why SHIELD never explored mass production of the program too.
A reveal that the Koenig siblings Agents of SHIELD used before are LMD/Chronicom hybrids would also be a natural continuation of the story. Season 7 of Agents of SHIELD is already dealing with an LMD/Chronicom hybrid with Phil Coulson, and the tag scene on episode 2 could tease that the program will be explored further. This could be even more important if it is revealed that Simmons is also an LMD. All of these threads could lead to the team discovering how Koenig started the LMD program by creating more versions of himself using Chronicom tech.
If this is another tease about the Koenigs’ connection to LMDs, then the remaining episodes of season 7 will need to address the truth about their origin. Now that the team is visiting more places in the timeline, it is possible that Enoch and an older Ernest could return in future decades, but it is just as likely that the time travel adventure could bring one of the Koenig siblings back too. There is plenty of time for such a revelation to happen, but if Agents of SHIELD‘s final season concludes without a definitive resolution, then the Koenigs just might not be LMDs after all.
