And so it ends. Another season of Agents of SHIELD is over, with all the good and ill that came with it. So how did the season end? Is it enough to keep us interested for another 20-something episodes, or will the viewers jump ship? Let’s look on and find out.
1. SHIELD on the Run. Again.
Didn’t we already have a perfectly fine season featuring SHIELD going underground, escaping from government authorities? We did, and it was a fun season, but let’s not try to repeat that. We just spent so much time watching them try to get re-legitimized, but now they get screwed over by AIDA and everything gets set back to square one.
The funny part is how Coulson tells Talbot the exact truth, and yet it’s too crazy to be believed. This is an organization that deals with super-powered individuals on a daily basis, set in a world where their heroes include a gamma-radiated rage monster, a girl who can control things with her mind, a robot, and a freaking god from another dimension. As Coulson rightly points out, he has a robot hand and has been to another planet.
But apparently the rest of the world has yet to catch up. Ironically, it’s harder for me to suspend my disbelief that a virtual world and a killer robot with Inhuman powers (not even the first killer robot the world has known) is that hard for people to believe than it is for me to accept these plots in the first place.
But Ophelia/AIDA’s plan to frame SHIELD works nicely, and it brings back the LMD-Daisy from earlier this season. So I’ll take it.
2. Return of the Rider
As mentioned last week, Ghost Rider has returned. How is he back? Why is he back? Well, AIDA used Darkhold tech to make her new body, and as a reader rightly pointed out a few weeks ago, even the Framework itself managed to be as advanced as it is thanks to the Darkhold. So this still ties into the magic MacGuffin that got Ghost Rider involved with SHIELD in the first place.
And as expected, Ghost Rider is quite adept at tearing through LMDs and other robots. No soul to burn? That’s fine, a flaming chain does the trick as well. Sadly, this deprived us of the perfectly symmetrical violence that would have been Quake versus her LMD doppelgänger.
Last but not least, we also see that Ghost Rider has picked up a new trick, which just so happens to be one straight out of Doctor Strange. Yep, he can create swirling portals of fire in the air, without needing a fancy ring. He also mentions a battle waged across dimensions, space, and planets, which sounds like another connection to the good doctor’s tale, so while it’s a small connection, it’s still nice seeing the show tie into the movies as best it can.
3. So Many Fake-Out Deaths…
Someone was going to die in this episode, that was a given going in. But they sure liked making us guess who.
Talbot gets shot in the head – surely that’s the sudden, surprise death to keep us on our toes, right? Nope, he’s only mostly dead, ie. in a coma.
Then we get a dramatic scene where Ophelia/AIDA stabs Simmons to torture Fitz. It’s painful for characters and viewers, it’s dramatic, and ends with an electrifying kick. Could they actually kill off the better half of Fitz-Simmons? Of course not, that was an LMD.
So what about Mack? He’s made it clear he’s okay with staying in the Framework as long as he has his daughter. That dedication hasn’t changed, even with Yo-Yo there. Once more, we get a dramatic, heart-wrenching scene where Hope disappears in his arms, and we see Mack lose the one thing he cared about the most. Over in the real world, we see his data vanish from the Framework, and he’s not waking up.
But of course, that was just played for drama. He’s back as well.
So who does bite the dust? Well, Radcliffe, who technically was already dead. Still, with no body to return to, he’s given a nice little moment where he sits on the beach to watch the Framework end. His last moment gets cut short as he’s simply deleted, before he can even finish his last words, leaving nothing but a half-finished drink behind.
Continued belowThus ends Radcliffe and the Framework, not with a bang nor a whimper, but simply silence.
4. Coulson Goes Ghost
Now this was an awesome moment. It was established early on that not only does the Spirit of Vengeance want to get its hands on Ophelia, but the Ghost Rider’s flames can nullify her healing factor, so he’d have to be the one to beat her.
When the trap was set, I kept expecting to see Robbie Reyes walk out of the shadows and turn his ghost skull on. Sure, Simmons riddling her full of bullets was nice, but it was a welcome surprise to see Coulson himself ignite with the powers of the Ghost Rider. That way SHIELD still gets the kill, but we get to see Ghost Rider vs Ophelia at the same time.
It even opens up a little in the way of character bonding between Robbie and Coulson, as they learn a little about each other from sharing the Spirit of Vengeance. Hopefully we’ll see Ghost Rider return every now and then in the season to come.
5. To be continued…
Of course the season can’t end without a cliffhanger for the next one. When it’s all said and done, the team may have defeated Ophelia/AIDA, but there’s still the mess she left behind and the organization’s shattered reputation.
Still, we get a nice little scene of the team enjoying a meal together at a diner, in a well-deserved moment of peace. Naturally, it doesn’t last, but they accepted it together (and is that the paralysis device from the first Iron Man movie I see?).
Yet like last season, we start this one after it skips just far enough ahead to raise some questions. Coulson is up in space – have they stopped storing prisoners on The Raft and instead started launching them into the stars? Or has Coulson been transferred to SWORD (Sentient World Observation and Response Division)?
Either way, it’ll likely use this chance to tie in to Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 in one way or another.
So, thus ends the season. You’ve heard my thoughts all throughout it, now let me hear yours. Did you enjoy it? What did you feel were its ups and downs? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments, and I’ll see you back for season 5.
