We’re now up to the fourth (and my personal favorite) season of Agents of SHIELD. Let’s begin!
Episode 1 – The Ghost
While the SHIELD agents grapple with new management, a vigilante Daisy tracks down the mysterious individual known as Ghost Rider.
Immediately, we see that the fallout from the previous season finale is still fully impacting this current season. SHIELD is under new management after the Hive crisis, the Sokovia Accords are radically changing the views society has towards powered individuals, Daisy is still a vigilante actively avoiding SHIELD and her former team, and Radcliffe (who was rescued by and then hired by SHIELD) has begun work on a synthetic android he calls “Aida”. It’s a packed season premiere, and surprisingly not a two-parter, but it still manages time for everything important.
Which, frankly, is almost hard to believe, considering this episode also sets up a ghostly hallucinogenic threat, and an unstoppable, terrifying man with a head made of fire. Ghost Rider makes a bombastic and shockingly violent introduction, and the CGI on his transformation is top-notch. I also really love his interaction and fight scene with Daisy, wherein she begs him to kill her to fulfill her crippling guilty persecution complex, but he spares her because he can tell she is a truly good person.
Also, I mean…it’s Aida’s debut, which is noteworthy in and of itself.
Rating: 9.5
Episode 2 – Meet the New Boss
Jeffrey Mace, the new director of SHIELD, makes his introduction, and Daisy and Robbie (Ghost Rider) officially team up to stop the ghostly threat.
It could be argued that, comparatively speaking, this season has a slow build-up. There’s a lot of plot threads and moving pieces that only get a few minutes per episode to be built upon. Still, it is a markedly deliberate slow pace, and it never drags or gets boring, as long as you’re someone who can appreciate character building. And, I mean, this episode also gives some great comedic one-liners, a fun action scene against a crazed May, fantastic chemistry with Daisy and Robbie, and introduces Director Mace, whom I quite like.
Rating: 8.5
Episode 3 – Uprising
Mass blackouts begin striking across the country, curtesy of the Watchdogs, necessitating the involvement of SHIELD to handle the matter.
In lieu of clear-cut plot progression towards this season’s major storylines, this episode ramps up the humor and action to nearly unseen levels. Multiple entreatingly shot fight scenes, with unique choreography utilizing each character’s skills and abilities, and even a few long takes akin to oners. Plenty of great quips and character beats, and a suitable amount of tension when May’s heartrate flattens during her procedure. Aida pops-up again, slowly but surely introducing herself to the entire cast. This is a fun one.
Rating: 8.5
Episode 4 – Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire
SHIELD collides with Daisy and Robbie, and the group’s join forces to battle the Watchdogs and learn more about the menacing ghostly presence.
Like above, this is another fun episode, but one that definitely pushes the plot forward more than the previous. Daisy and Simmons have a great scene of reconnecting before the inevitable reunion by the episode’s end, Robbie battles a fellow fire-powered enhanced person, there’s a massive fireworks store explosion, and there’s a surprise car chase between Coulson/Mack and Robbie that runs through the LA River (apparently a prerequisite of all cool car chases). The episode closes by revealing the source of the evil ghosts (and the larger threat of the entire season),the Darkhold.
Rating: 8
Episode 5 – Lockup
Discovering that Robbie’s uncle, Eli, is an authority on the Darkhold and the evil ghosts, SHIELD and Robbie set out to spring him from jail.
Can’t have a show like this without an inevitable prison break episode, right? Sure, this one’s cut from a different cloth, but it still hits a lot of the same highlights. Chiefly, action, of which this episode is bursting with. Though there’s a lot of great scuffles, the highlight is definitely Daisy’s prolonged brawl with a veritable army’s worth of thugs (a brawl she instigated herself, as more of her self-destructive need for punishment). Robbie also has a tense scene with an old enemy, Eli is captured by the ghosts, and Simmons outsmarts Director Mace (who at this point is still a somewhat shady individual). A solid episode.
Rating: 8.5
Episode 6 – The Good Samaritan
The truths about Robbie and Ghost Rider, Eli and the ghosts, and even more come to light.
This is, essentially, an entire episode dedicated to revealing the truths about every mystery that has been hanging around since the start of the season. We learn that Eli is the one responsible for creating the ghosts, and that he still has ambitions of gaining power over matter (which he partially achieves by the end of the episode). More shockingly (and upsettingly) we see the flashback of the brutal gang attack and car crash that took Robbie’s life and necessitated him accepting the Ghost Rider’s spirit in order to come back to life and save his brother.
Then, by the episode’s end, Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie are all engulfed in a strange explosion, leaving the viewer on the edge of their seat for the next episode.
Rating: 8
Episode 7 – Deals With Our Devils
The remaining SHIELD agents do everything they can to stop Eli, while Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie have their own struggle to endure.
The episode opens with Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie seemingly vanished from existence, and the remaining agents rush to stop Eli from escaping and causing more havoc. However, ten minutes into the episode, we slip back in time to realize that Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie were all actually there from the very beginning, but are trapped in some sort of space between dimensions rendering them invisible and incorporeal. It all gets nuttier from there, with Mack briefly possessed by Ghost Rider’s spirit, the trapped trio being freed through a portal, Fitz having an emotionally touching breakdown with Coulson, and more.
Also, Aida reads the Darkhold so she can make the portal to rescue the trapped trio. By the episode’s end, she’s discreetly crafting the code to grant herself intelligence. SHIELD was warned that the Darkhold gives anyone who reads it whatever knowledge they’d ever want…surely this will end well, right?
Rating: 9
Episode 8 – The Laws of Inferno Dynamics
The Ghost Rider arc comes to a climactic end as Robbie and SHIELD fight to take down the egomaniacal Eli Morrow.
For as much as I love this season (and it is my favorite season), the Ghost Rider arc never really did it for me, and this concluding episode essentially epitomizes my feelings. It is, without a doubt, a solidly written and acted episode, with some fantastic character beats, more fun action (honestly, the action in season four is just top-notch across the board), and a bit of clean foreshadowing for future plot points (like Aida being treated callously by those around her, and the reveal that May is a prisoner of Aida’s, and that the May walking around with the team is an LMD (Life-Model-Decoy).
And yet, the core plot of Eli and whatever the heck evil plan he was concocting just falls short. He’s not super compelling, and he enters the arc way too late to generate any sort of connection. At least his downfall results in Daisy being officially welcomed back into SHIELD, which is as wholesome as one could hope for.
Rating: 8.5
Episode 9 – Broken Promises
While anti-Inhuman senator Ellen Nadeer contemplates what to do about her recently Inhuman-ized brother, Vijay, Aida seemingly snaps from her programming and begins a violent assault to claim the Darkhold from SHIELD.
The first rule of any science fiction work that includes robots is that at least one robot will, inevitable, turn evil. And while the ending of this episode does reveal that the “evil” Aida was merely a copy of the original Aida programmed to act crazy, seeing Mallory Jansen flex her psychotic/robotic acting is a very welcome treat. Aida’s a genuine threat (she is a super strong robot, after all), and Mack and Yo-Yo provide unexpected comedic relief through their continual exasperated references to other killer AI sci-fi works. We also see that LMD May is unaware that she’s a machine, and we get further evidence of the Darkhold’s corruptive power of knowledge, due to how Radcliffe is now set on attaining it no matter what.
The side plot with Ellen Nadeer is a little less compelling, and I’m not particularly attached to the characters involved, but it’s certainly well-acted. The closing scene on that subplot is notably depressing.
Rating: 9
Episode 10 – The Patriot
Jeffrey Mace, making a name for himself as the proud, vigilant Inhuman director of SHIELD, becomes a target of the Watchdogs terrorist acts.
This is a very welcome character development episode for Mace, and it finally answers the lingering questions about his past, while simultaneously deepening his complexity tremendously. He’s a man who always wanted to be a hero, and when he accidentally found the chance to be just that, he leapt at the opportunity. Though his image is partially built on lies, he has the right attitude and drive to do good, and it’s fun seeing him in action with Coulson and Mack. Alongside this, we also see the real May waking up from her containment and nearly escaping, only to be thwarted by Aida. May isn’t one to go down without a fight, of course, and Radcliffe suggests using the virtual reality known as The Framework to keep her contained.
Rating: 9
Episode 11 – Wake Up
May continues to fight against Aida in her attempts to escape, and SHIELD’s opportunity to bring Senator Nadeer’s crimes to light goes belly-up.
Like the Mace episode before it, this is a May-centric episode that really explores how she functions as a person. Radcliffe tries to keep her content with a simulation of a spa, but the restless and action-focused May can’t accept that, which causes her to wake up. The second simulation is an endless battle against Aida, allowing May to believe she is approaching her freedom when it is actually further than ever. Finally, Radcliffe perfects the Framework (a world wherein a person’s biggest regret is fixed), and May finds peace in a world where she never had to kill the young, crazed Inhuman Katya back in Bahrain. It’s a very interesting journey.
On the political side of things, it’s a refreshing change of pace to see the main characters actually outsmarted by a villain, even if I’m still not a huge fan of Senator Nadeer.
Rating: 8.5
Episode 12 – Hot Potato Soup
The Koenig family makes a return, and SHIELD has to help protect them and secure the Darkhold.
Look, I like Patton Oswalt as much as the next guy, and he’s always super entertaining, but this is easily my least favorite episode of the season. It’s funny, but it feels cluttered with character, unfocused in the overall story it’s seeking to tell, and lacking in stakes or suspense. The best bits of the episode are probably the scene where Aida beats the heck out of a bunch of Watchdog goons as a show of intimidation, and the scene where Fitz and Simmons have a touching conversation about being a good person even amongst trauma and loss. LMD May is also unmasked as a robot, much to the surprise and horror of the rest of the team.
Rating: 7
Episode 13 – BOOM
One of the lead Watchdog members, a man named Tucker Shockley, develops unexpected Inhuman powers. Meanwhile, Coulson and Mack search for an important woman.
I love the double-dose of irony in the early scene, wherein Shockley (a staunch anti-Inhuman bigot) turns out to be an Inhuman himself, and then he immediately kills Senator Nadeer in an explosion when she starts to taunt him. Shockley, despite being handled by the end of the episode, presents a pretty enjoyable threat with unique powers, and I like Mace letting himself be captured in order to protect everyone else.
I also quite like the B-plot, which focuses on Coulson and Mack tracking down Agnes Kitsworth, Radcliffe’s former girlfriend who he modeled Aida after. Agnes is a neat character (and yet another completely distinct persona for Mallory Jansen to act as), and her decision to abandon SHIELD for Radcliffe at the episode’s end is sad but reasonable given her characterization.
Rating: 8.5
Episode 14 – The Man Behind the Shield
The SHIELD members go to rescue Mace, only to stumble upon a conspiracy much more sinister than they could have ever predicted.
This is another very solid episode, and the final installment of broiling tension before everything explodes into chaos starting with the next episode. The torture of Mace is hard to watch, but his perseverance is inspiring. The rescue mission is fun and exciting, and I appreciate the flashbacks to an early mission of a younger Coulson and May that ties back into current story threads. The Watchdogs leader, Anton “The Superior” Ivanov, officially meets the heroes, only for the rug to be pulled out from under him as Coulson mocks his “cool origin story, bro”, and Daisy wipes the floor with him in a battle. Even Aida gets in a cathartic insult as she drags Ivanov’s beaten body from the rubble.
And then, of course, there’s the cliffhanger ending, wherein it’s revealed at all but two of the characters have been, somehow, kidnapped and replaced with LMDs…and there’s no way to know who is left that is still human. DUN, DUN, DUN!
Rating: 9
Episode 15 – Self Control
An entire host of LMDs have infiltrated SHIELD, and no one left knows who to trust.
I think I heard somewhere that this episode’s alternate title is “Acting Masterclass 101”. Weird, that.
Jokes aside, this is one of the best episodes in the entirety of Agents of SHIELD. From start to finish there is nothing but almost suffocating tension and high-stakes action. Daisy and Simmons have a heartbreaking struggle to endure as they avoid the emotionless robotic replacements of their friends and family and try to escape the SHIELD base. Daisy has a well-choreographed standoff against three opponents at once, Simmons rallies the B-team SHIELD agents to escape (including Piper and Davis, who will go on to be significant characters in the future), and even LMD May has a touching moment of self-sacrifice to protect everyone else from the more heartless robot threats.
And, of course, there’s the two big scenes that seal the deal on this perfect episode. Elizabeth and Iain deliver an acting tour-de-force as Simmons and Fitz scream and cry back and forth, neither able to determine which of them is the LMD. Iain’s acting in particular is haunting. Then, Daisy and Simmons are plugged into the Framework, and we get a minute-long tease of the twisted alternate reality to come in the next few episodes. Hold onto your butts, everyone!
Rating: 10
Episode 16 – What If…
Daisy and Simmons enter the Framework, and find the task of rescuing their friends to be significantly harder than they’d ever have believed.
Welcome to the Framework, everyone, and welcome back the man, the myth, and the legend himself: Grant Ward!
Ward’s grand return is only the icing on the cake of this jam-packed, perfect episode. Not only is it a joy to see Brett Dalton again, but we also get to see Coulson as a misguided schoolteacher, May putting her skills and no-nonsense attitude to work for HYDRA, Daisy thrust into life as a HYDRA agent, and Simmons on the run from the authorities for being a SHIELD operative. Then, we get possibly the scariest villain in the show in the form of The Doctor, Fitz’s twisted Framework personality, and we see Aida (calling herself Ophelia) lording over the Framework with a sickly sweet smile on her face.
Elizabeth (who was actually sick during the filming of this episode) puts in a very engaging and pitiable performance as a distraught Simmons, and Iain continues to shine even while Fitz is deliciously malicious. Most amazing of all is the reveal that Ward is a double-agent (just like he was in the real world), only this time he’s working for the good guys at SHIELD! What an amazing start to an amazing arc.
Rating: 10
Episode 17 – Identity and Change
The depths of depravity of a world ruled by HYDRA is further explored, as is the changed personalities of faces we’ve come to know.
This Framework episode centers around Mack and Fitz. The Framework Mack is, heartbreakingly, living a happy life with the daughter who died shortly after her birth in the real world. Their relationship is sweet and wholesome, but knowing that it is all fake adds an element of depressive loss to the proceedings. Meanwhile, Fitz is informed by Aida that interlopers from another world (Daisy and Simmons) are trying to destroy everything they’ve built. Aida urges him to take decisive action, and unable to know any better, Fitz acquiesces.
It all culminates in a shocking scene of HYDRA raiding Mack’s home to attack him and his daughter, an event that spurs him into joining the resistance at SHIELD, which is led by none other than Mace (who, unlike in the real world, actually does have superhuman powers here). At the same time, Fitz tracks down Radcliffe (who at this point was killed by Aida in the real world and trapped in the Framework for eternity). There’s a lengthy, breathtakingly tense scene ending with Fitz killing Agnes on Aida’s command, resulting in the real world Agnes to die too, much to Simmons’ shock.
Rating: 9.5
Episode 18 – No Regrets
More of the SHIELD team assembles in the wake of Daisy being captured, and someone makes a selfless sacrifice.
The standout moment of this episode is, undoubtedly, Mace’s sacrifice. It’s a beautiful, sad scene, because his death in the Framework results in his body in the real world flatlining too. It is also sad because, of course, the Framework is all a simulation, but as Mace points out before committing to putting his life before a building of innocent students, it’s real to him (seeing as how those plugged into the Framework by Aida have no memories of their real lives or personalities). Mace’s sacrifice also mirrors his own misguided attempts to be a hero in the real world, allowing him to finally save others like he’d always wanted to.
The rest of the episode is just as great. More of the cast coming together is always appreciated, even if everyone aside from Daisy and Simmons are having difficulty understanding the fake nature of their world. Daisy and Radcliffe have a great conversation about how Radcliffe only wanted to improve the world, and they mention the nature of how a single choice can alter someone’s entire life. There’s also the fun cliffhanger scene of May (horrified by HYDRA’s willingness to kill children) abandoning her HYDRA status to sneak Daisy a Terrigen crystal so she can get her powers back.
Rating: 9.5
Episode 19 – All the Madame’s Men
Daisy and May team up, Aida’s true plan comes into focus, and the SHIELD resistance makes its move.
If any episode of this Framework arc had to be the weakest, it would be this one, but describing it as such still does a disservice to how high-quality it is. It just doesn’t have as much to contribute as the episodes that came before it, or the conclusion to come. Still, Daisy and May wrecking shop is fun, and Daisy quaking Aida out a fifty story window is extremely cathartic, even if it doesn’t really mean much (she is a robot, after all). Coulson’s heroic speech on live TV about the hope of SHIELD is inspiring, and Radcliffe and Fitz share a great conversation where Radcliffe tries to get him to see reason.
The highlight is definitely Ward’s touching conversation with Daisy, as it also marks his final scene in the arc (and of the entire show). It’s a somber moment, and one that does wonders in deepening Ward’s character and re-contextualizing his behavior and actions in seasons one to three. It made me tear up (not the only time that will happen before this season ends, I’ll say), and it’s such a memorable swansong for one of this show’s most compelling characters.
Rating: 9
Episode 20 – Farewell, Cruel World!
With the clock ticking, SHIELD races to escape from the Framework before it is shut down, but they may be too late to stop Aida.
The frenetic, rushing plot threads of the Framework all collide, as the main cast find the sole escape point Radcliffe hid from Aida. All they have to do is jump inside and they will return to the real world. Coulson and May share a poignant moment about taking a leap of faith (which doubles as commentary on their feelings towards each other), and Radcliffe steps up as a hero to throw Fitz forcibly into the portal to save Simmons (while simultaneously telling Fitz to blame Radcliffe himself for everything, and not feel guilty).
But…Mack refuses to leave. Unable to remember anything about the real world, all he knows is his happy life with his daughter within the Framework, and that’s something he can’t bring himself to leave behind. It’s a terribly sad scene, but Daisy makes the mature decision to not force him to jump, and he is left behind.
On top of this, Aida’s plan was a success, and she has given herself a true human body in the real world, and one fueled by innumerable Inhuman powers to boot. She teleports away with Fitz, leaving everyone else exhausted, stunned, and now facing down an army of robot-powered Ivanovs (curtesy of Aida, because she’s really kept busy). Yikes!
Rating: 9.5
Episode 21 – The Return
With not time to celebrate their reunion, SHIELD is thrust into battle against a robot army and an unstable and seemingly unstoppable Inhuman.
While it’s certainly entertaining to see Coulson and May square up against an army of robot mooks (especially as Coulson really puts his prosthetic arm to creative combat use), and it’s equally engaging to see Daisy and Yo-Yo quarrel about the ethics of letting Mack stay in the simulated world, the true meat of this episode is with Fitz, Simmons, and Aida.
Newly human, Aida is experiencing every possible sensation and emotion all at once, and while she’s overjoyed at the true free choice she now faces freed from her programming, her childlike emotional fluctuation is a cause for concern. Even still, Fitz convinces her to use her powers for good, and she even saves the comatose Mack from drowning as the underwater facility everyone was trapped in collapses. Aida also consoles Fitz as he despondently believes that he can never forgive himself for his crimes (tormenting his former friends and being technically responsible for Mace’s death).
But, despite it all…Fitz still loves Simmons, even though he believes she’ll never forgive him. Hearing that the object of her affections doesn’t choose her like she chooses him, Aida goes absolutely ballistic. Experiencing jealousy, rejection, and true fury all at once, Aida morphs into an unstoppable ball of rage in a brilliant, chaotic, and frightening series of scenes. She escapes confinement and murders her way through countless SHIELD agents, all while Fitz watches on in horror of what he believes to be the consequences of his actions coming to life.
Mallory Jansen’s performance as Aida is one for the ages, and this is the episode that cements that.
Rating: 10
Episode 22 – World’s End
While the Framework is deteriorating, Aida sets about destroying SHIELD from all sides, and it’s everything the team can do to hold tight and stay strong.
This episode continues the trend of absolutely stellar season finales, presenting yet another practically perfect episode to cap off this unbelievably high-quality season. Beat-for-beat, this episode nails each scene, leaving viewers both satisfied and craving more.
If there’s any possible downside, it’s that I think Aida is beaten a little too quickly once the fight starts (curtesy of a returning Robbie and Ghost Rider, who are still as entertaining as always), but she still puts in her best villainous efforts for the majority of the episode. She terrorizes Fitz and Simmons relentlessly, uses a Daisy LMD to attack a government meeting (which officially turns the government and the public against SHIELD), and nearly escapes with the Darkhold, only being stopped by Fitz and Simmons outsmarting her, and a Ghost Rider-powered Coulson taking her down. As I said, it’s a slightly sudden defeat, but suitably epic for Agents of SHIELD’s first (and only) consistent season-long villain.
The episode’s strongest point, though, is in letting the action cease to give the emotional beats time to breathe. And boy-howdy are they emotional. After Aida’s defeat, we have the scene of Yo-Yo visiting Mack in the Framework just in time to comfort him as his simulated daughter evaporates in his arms (all while she cries about wanting to live and be real). It’s an absolutely devastating scene that made me cry like crazy, and my tears only started up again when the scene is followed by Radcliffe’s final moments before the Framework shuts down. It’s a poignant, beautifully shot ending to a great character who had the best of intentions.
The little cliffhanger setting up for the next season doesn’t even invalidate the sense of catharsis that this season finale brings, instead relying on an intriguing premise full of potential. Yet again, a season of SHIELD ends with ramifications that have genuine impact on what comes next, without every getting rote, repetitive, or contrived. Amazing.
Rating: 10
SEASON CONCLUSION
For as much as I could go on and on about praising this season, since it is my favorite after all, I’m not so blind as to say that it’s perfect. The Ghost Rider arc is hit-or-miss to me, and there’s some episodes in the middle that can drag just a bit. But wowzers, it cannot be understated how awesome the Framework arc is, and the two-part finale. What an incredible, basically flawless way to send off a season. It’s a testament to how every little thing about Agents of SHIELD improves with each season. The writing, the acting, the choreography, the soundtrack. It’s all stellar.
And I promise I won’t start ranting and raving again, but Mallory Jansen’s Aida deserves basically every award imaginable. An unmatched performance combined with a chilling string of villainy and complex, sympathetic motivations makes for one heck of an antagonist.
Rating: 9.5
But hey, that’s just my opinion!
The Contrarian Corner 