Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season 4)

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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 4
Promotional poster for the season's first "pod", Ghost Rider, and home media cover art
Starring
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkABC
Original releaseSeptember 20, 2016 (2016-09-20) –
May 16, 2017 (2017-05-16)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 3
Next →
Season 5
List of episodes

The fourth season of the American television series

.

Aida; and Agents of Hydra for the final seven episodes, partly set in a "what if" virtual reality that allowed the return of former series regular Brett Dalton as Grant Ward. The season is also affected by the events of the film Captain America: Civil War (2016), and continues storylines established in the canceled series Agent Carter
.

The first episode premiered at a screening on September 19, 2016, with the season then airing for 22 episodes on ABC, from September 20, 2016, until May 16, 2017. The premiere debuted to 3.58 million viewers, down from previous season premieres but average for the series.[1] Critical response to the season was positive, with many feeling that each pod was better than the last and in particular praising the visual effects and tone of Ghost Rider, the writing and acting of LMD, and the character development and political commentary explored during Agents of Hydra. The season saw series low viewership, but was still considered to have solved ABC's problem during its new Friday night timeslot, and the series was renewed for a fifth season in May 2017.[2]

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
Ghost Rider
671"The Ghost"Billy GierhartJed Whedon & Maurissa TancharoenSeptember 20, 2016 (2016-09-20)3.44[3]
Former
Gabe
.
682"Meet the New Boss"Vincent MisianoDrew Z. GreenbergSeptember 27, 2016 (2016-09-27)2.95[4]
S.H.I.E.L.D. and Daisy independently investigate the figure, an apparent ghost of a woman named
Inhuman
strength, and promises to take care of her. Mack and Fitz arrive at Momentum to find more ghosts, who attempt to blow it up with them inside. Ghost Rider intervenes, destroying one of the ghosts, and Daisy arrives to stop S.H.I.E.L.D. from taking him in. Rather than rejoin S.H.I.E.L.D., Daisy agrees to work with Reyes, who believes that the actions of the ghosts and Watchdogs may be tied to him.
693"Uprising"Magnus MartensCraig TitleyOctober 11, 2016 (2016-10-11)2.68[5]
Inhuman S.H.I.E.L.D. asset
terrigen cocoon
. Hoping to assuage public fears of the Inhumans, Mace announces the return of S.H.I.E.L.D.
704"Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire"Brad TurnerMatt OwensOctober 18, 2016 (2016-10-18)2.34[6]
Daisy coerces Simmons to help track the Watchdogs' actions, discovering that the group hacked the Inhuman list using an Inhuman's monitoring device. Coulson visits Morrow in prison, but gets no answers. Reyes arrives to talk to Morrow, and Mack recognizes him as the Ghost Rider; they capture Reyes and earn his trust. He visits Morrow, and learns that the Momentum explosion was caused by a group of scientists studying the
J. T. James, and destroy his monitor, but he betrays them—he hates being an Inhuman and is aiding the Watchdogs. Coulson and Mack, alerted by the monitor's destruction, arrive to save Daisy and Simmons. The Ghost Rider defeats James. They then get May to help find the Darkhold. Aida supervised May's recovery as a Turing test
by Radcliffe, but Simmons deduces her true nature, while being set to take a lie-detection test for Mace.
715"Lockup"Kate WoodsNora Zuckerman & Lilla ZuckermanOctober 25, 2016 (2016-10-25)2.30[7]
Lucy uses her ghostly state to wake Joseph and ask where he hid the Darkhold. Coulson arrives, and is able to learn of this before Joseph dies from her "infection". Coulson decides to use Morrow against Lucy, but doesn't tell Mace. The latter, whose public approval was high after heroics during a bombing in Vienna,[a] becomes more popular after he reveals his Inhuman status in a television debate with Nadeer. However, Simmons threatens to reveal the truth about his Vienna actions, and he agrees to exempt her from any lie-detection tests. At the prison, Lucy infects the staff, who attack Coulson and May. Daisy saves them while Mack and Reyes break Morrow out. Reyes confronts the last member of the "Fifth Street Locos" gang who had paralyzed Gabe in a paid hit. Reyes loses control, and the Ghost Rider kills the prisoner. This allows Lucy to kidnap Morrow, whose help she needs. Mace secretly meets with Nadeer, and agrees to help her when she blackmails him with footage of the Ghost Rider's actions while working with S.H.I.E.L.D.
726"The Good Samaritan"Billy GierhartJeffrey BellNovember 1, 2016 (2016-11-01)2.43[9]
Mace sends Simmons on a secret assignment, then takes a team to board Coulson's plane and arrest Reyes and Daisy. The pair hide with a newly picked up Gabe, where Robbie explains that he and Gabe sneaked out to race in Morrow's car, but they were attacked by the Locos. Gabe was paralyzed and Robbie was killed. Robbie promised an unknown voice that he would seek vengeance if given a second chance, and was resurrected when the spirit of the Ghost Rider was passed to him by a stranger.
Roxxon
power plant. May takes and hides the Darkhold while Robbie destroys Lucy, after the latter reveals that Morrow craves the Darkhold's power himself—his own experiments created the ghosts, and Joseph had ordered the hit on Morrow's car to stop him. Morrow now uses an improved version of the Momentum machine to gain the power to create matter. Robbie, Fitz, and Coulson disappear.
737"Deals with Our Devils"Jesse BochcoDJ DoyleNovember 29, 2016 (2016-11-29)2.41[10]
Coulson, Fitz, and Reyes are trapped between dimensions, and helplessly watch as Morrow kills several agents and escapes. Fitz overhears Mace arguing with Nadeer; he needs Simmons to understand Morrow's technology, but she has been taken to Nadeer's brother,
Vijay
, who she helps escape from his terrigen cocoon. In Simmons' absence, Radcliffe studies the technology, and is presented with the Darkhold by May in her desperation to save Coulson. Radcliffe believes the book contains too much knowledge for a person to process, but Aida is able to read it, revealing her android nature to Coulson and May. Aida constructs a portal through which Coulson and Fitz return. During this time, the Ghost Rider spirit had left Reyes and possessed Mack to avoid the other dimension, where it had been before. Reyes confronts the spirit, promising to serve it even after they defeat Morrow if it leaves Mack. It agrees, and Reyes returns with it through the portal. Secretly, Aida begins experimenting with her new knowledge from the Darkhold, creating an artificial brain.
748"The Laws of Inferno Dynamics"Kevin TancharoenPaul ZbyszewskiDecember 6, 2016 (2016-12-06)2.37[11]
Coulson tells Mace that Aida is an android and he agrees to use her in the fight against Morrow. He also approves a strike team consisting of Rodriguez, Reyes, and Daisy, as long as the latter two keep a low profile. The team attempts to enter an abandoned building in which Morrow has barricaded himself via his growing abilities but, at first, only Reyes can make it through Morrow's initial trap. By viewing Reyes' body-cam, Fitz deduces that Morrow is drawing his power from the other dimension and has created a demon core that could destroy half the city if activated. Aida creates a new dimensional portal beneath the demon core, through which the device and Morrow are dragged. Reyes also falls through the portal after using the Ghost Rider to hold Morrow in place. Daisy is seen by local media and Mace publicly clears her name, reinstating her as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. He then allows Radcliffe to continuing working on his Life Model Decoy (LMD) program after his success with Aida, who has secretly replaced May with an LMD.
LMD
759"Broken Promises"Garry A. BrownBrent FletcherJanuary 10, 2017 (2017-01-10)2.72[12]
Fitz and Radcliffe are sent to clear Aida's memory of the Darkhold, but she reveals her new-found sentience and overpowers them. Taking control of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems, Aida finds the Darkhold after Coulson gives its location to the May LMD (which doesn't know it isn't the real May). Fitz is able to take control of the systems before Aida escapes and Mack beheads her. Radcliffe later laments about this to a new model of Aida, as he had programmed the original's apparent sentience in an attempt to steal the Darkhold for himself. Senator Nadeer orders a group of Watchdogs to kill a now recovered Vijay, but he convinces her to spare him as his long terrigenesis appears not to have affected him. Simmons, having identified Vijay from photographs, arrives with Mace and Daisy, as Vijay discovers he now has super-reflexes. Ellen convinces him to leave with her, but then shoots him in the stomach. Ellen asks the Watchdogs for reinforcements from "
The Superior
" as Vijay's body is dropped into a lake and enveloped by another terrigenesis cocoon.
7610"The Patriot"Kevin TancharoenJames C. Oliver & Sharla OliverJanuary 17, 2017 (2017-01-17)2.03[13]
Mace holds a press conference for Daisy, celebrating her "undercover" actions, until a sniper attempts to assassinate him. Coulson and Mack escort Mace and
Hydra
agents, hired by the Watchdogs, who have recovered Burrows' body. In the ensuing fight, Mace tries to get a serum from the briefcase, but it is destroyed and he is injured. Mace explains that he is not an Inhuman and that he was given his abilities by a super-serum from the government to create a trustworthy, enhanced leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. After their rescue by Daisy and the May LMD, Coulson tells Mace to continue as "the Patriot", the face and political leader of S.H.I.E.L.D, while Coulson takes back command of operations. The May LMD discovers her robotic skeleton from a wound and Fitz secretly begins studying Aida's severed head.
7711"Wake Up"Jesse BochcoDrew Z. GreenbergJanuary 24, 2017 (2017-01-24)2.00[14]
Daisy and Mace attend a
Senate hearing
to ratify the former's signing of the Sokovia Accords, with Senator Nadeer questioning Daisy's undercover actions. Coulson and Rodriguez infiltrate Nadeer's office to install surveillance devices, but are caught, giving Nadeer an excuse to start a full investigation of S.H.I.E.L.D. The May LMD realizes that she subconsciously leaked the details of Coulson's plan and confronts Radcliffe, as Fitz discovers Radcliffe's treachery from the original Aida's programming. Radcliffe explains to the LMD that her programming will not allow her to reveal her nature to anyone else, just before S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives and arrests him. Fitz later confronts Radcliffe in his cell and deduces that he is also an LMD—the real Radcliffe sought protection from Nadeer after Aida's initial failure. He and Aida have May captive with them, her mind in a virtual reality simulation of a tragic past event. Meanwhile, Mack and Rodriguez have grown close and he tells her of his daughter Hope from a past marriage who died as an infant.
7812"Hot Potato Soup"Nina Lopez-CorradoCraig TitleyJanuary 31, 2017 (2017-01-31)2.15[15]
Agent
Billy Koenig
, whom Coulson entrusted with the Darkhold, is abducted by the Watchdogs. Nadeer directs Radcliffe to the Superior, reclusive industrialist Anton Ivanov, and Radcliffe scans Koenig's brain to learn that the Darkhold was hidden in the Labyrinth, a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility known only to the Koenig family. Coulson secures the rest of the Koenig family, who take him, the May LMD, and Daisy to get the book. The Radcliffe LMD reveals that Radcliffe knows Fitz's estranged father and has created another LMD. Simmons remembers that Radcliffe scanned May's brain when they were curing her of Lucy's influence and warns Daisy of the May LMD in time to stop it from taking the Darkhold and killing Coulson. The Watchdogs arrive with Billy and Radcliffe steals the Darkhold in the ensuing fight. S.H.I.E.L.D. later destroys the remains of the first Aida and the Radcliffe LMD. Ivanov explains to Radcliffe that he plans to use the Darkhold to destroy both the Inhumans and the man who appears to be behind the recent alien crises—Coulson.
7913"BOOM"Billy GierhartNora Zuckerman & Lilla ZuckermanFebruary 7, 2017 (2017-02-07)2.08[16]
Coulson and Mack locate
Tucker Shockley
to expose her to terrigen (provided by Radcliffe), but the substance transforms him instead. Shockley explodes, killing Nadeer, and then his molecules reassemble. Ivanov agrees to use Shockley's new ability against S.H.I.E.L.D. Radcliffe meets with Kitsworth and convinces her he can save her life if she escapes with him before S.H.I.E.L.D. captures them. Daisy confronts Shockley, and distracts him long enough for Fitz and Simmons to contain him in a specially-made device. Ivanov uses this as a distraction to attack and kidnap Mace, who has learned that each time he uses his super-serum there is a chance that it will kill him. As Kitsworth dies of the cancer, Radcliffe places her consciousness in the virtual "Framework" with May.
8014"The Man Behind the Shield"Wendey StanzlerMatt OwensFebruary 14, 2017 (2017-02-14)2.13[17]
Years ago, Coulson and May recovered an unknown object from a Russian outpost, besting an
treasure hunt
around the world, including to that outpost, in their search for Mace. Ivanov has been torturing Mace, disgusted at his attempts to emulate the Inhumans. The team eventually finds Ivanov, and Daisy overpowers him. Coulson and Mack save a near-death Mace while Fitz and Simmons attempt to locate any sign of the Framework in hopes of finding May. Unsuccessful, the pair reunite with the others and they return to base. Aida, whom Radcliffe has left to carry out his plans while he spends time in the Framework, finds a crippled Ivanov. At base, Fitz and Simmons are alerted by their LMD security system, learning that four agents were replaced with LMDs by Aida while Fitz and Simmons were separated from the group. This includes Coulson, as the Coulson LMD wakes the May LMD from storage.
8115"Self Control"Jed WhedonJed WhedonFebruary 21, 2017 (2017-02-21)2.01[18]
The new LMDs are aware of their nature, and plan to carry out Ivanov's goal of destroying all Inhumans. Simmons discovers that Mace, Mack, and Fitz are the other new LMDs, and overpowers Fitz. Daisy also discovers them, and plans with Simmons to hack into the Framework remotely to find the others from the inside. Aida kills Radcliffe's body, but lets his consciousness live in the Framework. Daisy overpowers the Mace, Mack, and Coulson LMDs, but they find the May LMD waiting for them at the base entrance, tasked with detonating a large explosive to prevent their escape. The May LMD instead lets them leave, and destroys the base with the LMDs inside. In the Framework, the agents find an altered reality: Daisy is in a relationship with an alive Grant Ward; Coulson is teaching about Inhumans; Hope is alive with Mack; Fitz is rich; Simmons is dead; and May works for Hydra, which has replaced S.H.I.E.L.D. In the real world, Aida is able to sever Ivanov's living head from his crippled body and builds android bodies for his mind to control.
Agents of Hydra
8216"What If..."Oz ScottDJ DoyleApril 4, 2017 (2017-04-04)2.15[19]
In the Framework, Daisy discovers that she and Ward are agents of Hydra, working under May and Fitz. The tragic event from May's past has no longer happened; in the real world, she killed
Katya Belyakov
, a young Inhuman girl, but in the Framework, she brought the girl back to the United States as a refugee who then became a mass murderer and the catalyst for Hydra to take power. Simmons awakens in a mass grave of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and eventually comes across Coulson, who is teaching a Hydra-approved curriculum that warns against the dangers of Inhumans. Simmons is unable to convince Coulson that he is inside a virtual simulation and he calls Hydra. Daisy races to find Simmons before the rest of Hydra and is followed by Ward, who reveals himself to be a mole inside Hydra for the Resistance. Daisy and Simmons try to exit the Framework using a safeguard the latter created, but it has been blocked by Aida, who has entered the Framework as the Director of Hydra and Fitz's lover. Daisy then goes to Coulson and he remembers her name.
8317"Identity and Change"Garry A. BrownGeorge KitsonApril 11, 2017 (2017-04-11)2.32[20]
Hoping Radcliffe can help them escape, Daisy returns to Hydra and locates him, but May gives her a new mission on the orders of Fitz and Aida, the latter choosing to go by Ophelia, or Madame Hydra. Ward directs Coulson (who can remember some things, thanks to previous tampering with his mind) and Simmons to the Resistance, the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. under the command of an Inhuman Mace. Ward, Simmons, and Coulson take a stolen Hydra quinjet to extract Radcliffe. May and Daisy arrest Mack, and May forces him to trick Daisy into confessing her true allegiance. The others find Radcliffe living in seclusion with Kitsworth, and he explains that he and Kitsworth cannot leave the Framework due to their real bodies having died. Fitz and Madame Hydra arrive, and Radcliffe attempts to appeal to Fitz, though Fitz already knows of the "other world" and that Radcliffe had enslaved Aida there. He kills Kitsworth and imprisons Radcliffe, torturing him and Daisy. Regretting his actions, Mack joins the Resistance.
8418"No Regrets"Eric LaneuvillePaul ZbyszewskiApril 18, 2017 (2017-04-18)2.43[21]
Mace and Coulson infiltrate a Hydra "Enlightenment Camp" to free an undercover agent—
Antoine Triplett
, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who died in the real world. They are tracked there by May, who uses a super serum to fight Mace. Through the vents in their holding cells, Daisy learns from Radcliffe of a backdoor he installed to escape the Framework that Aida is unable to disable. Coulson attempts to save one of his former students who he sees being held in the camp, and Mace follows him into a building to help. Hydra uses a missile to bring the building down, and May enters the rubble to ensure Mace is dead. She finds him stopping debris from crushing the student, with Coulson and Triplett helping other children escape the building. May is horrified to find children being victimized by Hydra. With the others having escaped to safety, Mace is crushed beneath the debris, and in the real world Aida finds his physical body dead as well. Turning on Hydra, May sneaks a Terrigen crystal to Daisy so she can gain her Inhuman abilities within the Framework.
8519"All the Madame's Men"Billy GierhartJames C. Oliver & Sharla OliverApril 25, 2017 (2017-04-25)2.15[22]
May and Daisy escape Hydra, with Daisy using her abilities to break Ophelia's back. Ophelia insists that Fitz complete work on their secret Project: Looking Glass, after which her Framework body will no longer matter. May and Daisy join up with S.H.I.E.L.D., who are struggling to regroup after Mace's death. May provides them with body cam footage from the attack on the Enlightenment Center, which Coulson broadcasts to the world to counteract Hydra's propaganda. Meanwhile, Simmons and Triplett investigate a Russian oil platform which he believes is the location of Looking Glass from his time undercover; the platform is the Framework equivalent of Ivanov's oil platform in the real world, from where Aida is running the Framework. The pair find the platform empty, and Simmons deduces that Looking Glass consists of a machine built on the real world platform, to be connected to a machine in the Framework using knowledge from the Darkhold, allowing Ophelia to go from the Framework to a true human body in the real world.
8620"Farewell, Cruel World!"Vincent MisianoBrent FletcherMay 2, 2017 (2017-05-02)2.15[23]
After Daisy and Simmons entered the Framework, their bodies were protected by Rodriguez and Agents
Alistair
, and Fitz begins hunting her with help from Radcliffe, Fitz having offered to send Radcliffe through the machine, restoring his living body. Ophelia initiates her transference into her new body. Daisy takes the group to Radcliffe's exit point, where she, Coulson, and May cross back into the real world. Fitz arrives and confronts Simmons, but is overpowered by Radcliffe, who regrets all his actions since he first saw and wanted the Darkhold. Radcliffe sends Fitz through, followed by Simmons. Mack decides to stay, not wanting to live in a world without Hope. At Ivanov's platform, the newly human Ophelia confronts Coulson, May, and Fitz, teleporting away with the latter.
8721"The Return"Kevin TancharoenMaurissa Tancharoen & Jed WhedonMay 9, 2017 (2017-05-09)2.14[24]
The agents on Zephyr One fight off Ivanov's men and race to the platform to save Coulson and May from Ivanov's android bodies. Ivanov launches torpedoes at the platform that threaten Mack's body, but the latter is saved by Ophelia, convinced by Fitz to put to good use the Inhuman abilities his machine had given her new body. In isolation at S.H.I.E.L.D., Fitz and Ophelia discuss her newly discovered human
Glenn Talbot
arrives at the ruined S.H.I.E.L.D. base, where Ophelia kills several of his soldiers and other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents including Prince. Coulson and the others flee in the Zephyr once more, while Ophelia returns to Ivanov, who plans to use knowledge from the Darkhold to apply the changed reality of the Framework to the real world. Meanwhile, Rodriguez enters the Framework herself to try to convince Mack to leave, and the Ghost Rider returns through a portal from the other dimension.
8822"World's End"Billy GierhartJeffrey BellMay 16, 2017 (2017-05-16)2.08[25]
Ivanov takes the Darkhold to an international meeting on S.H.I.E.L.D. and the recent events. He proposes to use the book against the Inhumans, which is timed with an attack on the group by an LMD of Daisy, who shoots Talbot in the head leaving him comatose. In the ensuing fight, S.H.I.E.L.D. is able to retrieve the Darkhold with Reyes' help. In the Framework, Rodriguez is unable to convince Mack to leave, but he returns with her after Hope's code is deleted as a result of Ophelia shutting down the Framework. Radcliffe is also deleted, after accepting that immortality without Kitsworth is worthless. Ophelia comes for the Darkhold, and Coulson surprises her by unleashing the Spirit of Vengeance himself, having made a deal to become the Ghost Rider for a short time. He incinerates Ophelia. Reyes, now the Ghost Rider again, takes the Darkhold through a portal. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents then wait to be arrested by the government, but are instead taken by a mysterious group. Some time later, Coulson finds himself on a space station.

Cast and characters

Production

Development

The series was renewed for a fourth season on March 3, 2016,

Gideon Malick in the series' third season.[53]

Writing

The season shifted to the later 10 pm timeslot, allowing it to take on a darker, more mature tone than previous seasons. According to Tancharoen, "The whole tagline for this year is 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. After Dark'." The timeslot gave the series the opportunity to present an increased level of violence and partial nudity, as well as take more risks and present edgier themes.

Holden Radcliffe, who work together. The Fitz-Simmons relationship was also explored more, examining the new challenges it presented for the two "working together, loving each other and living together."[27]

Following the third season's dealing with the themes of

the Inhumans film being removed from Marvel Studios' release schedule, the series had "a little more freedom" and were "able to do a little bit more" with the species, including the potential of introducing some of the "classic" Inhumans,[60] though the series would focus less on Inhumans than the third season which saw "a real significant Inhuman agenda story".[61] It was not intended to be a spin-off of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[62] On the evolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. to featuring so many powered characters, Whedon said "the dynamic in the world has changed. There was one person with powers, and then by The Avengers there were maybe six total ... now they're much more prevalent, so there's reaction from the public based on that."[27]

The season is structured into three "pods" based on its airing schedule: the first eight episodes, subtitled Ghost Rider;

big bad or a single plot line, especially for an audience", and for the past two seasons, the series was able to have two separated halves that "allows us to introduce a big bad. And then, something happens and we rise somebody new ... Now, there's three of those."[61] "Financial considerations" were also taken into account in creating the pods for the season, as using LMDs does not "cost as much as setting a guy's head on fire via CGI".[69] In terms of writing the "complicated season", Whedon said the writers were "aware that our fans are our fans and have spent some time with these characters and are clever and see things coming sometimes ... Part of our job is to create not just what we are presenting on plot, but letting the audience be one step ahead of us and being one step ahead of that."[70] He added that the writers knew that they wanted to tell a Ghost Rider story, an LMD story, and a "what if" scenario, and the hardest part was making each pod still fit together as a single season. The major connection ultimately became the Darkhold, which leads from the magic of Ghost Rider to the advanced science of LMD and then the Framework in Agents of Hydra.[71] Ghost Rider also reappears in the final episode of the season, "World's End", as an additional connection.[72]

Ghost Rider

While planning the fourth season, Marvel suggested that the series introduce Ghost Rider,[73] after the character's film rights had returned to Marvel from Sony in May 2013.[74] Loeb felt that this made the season unquestionably "the series' biggest" with the "most ambitious story yet".[29] He added that "one of the things that we talked about is, S.H.I.E.L.D. always looked out for the weird, the unusual, the things that were and could be a problem for the public," and Marvel realized that Ghost Rider's abilities, which are more mystical than anything seen in the series to date, opened up "a quarter of the universe that we haven't really spent a lot of time exploring ... what happens if our very real, our very grounded agents who are very much a family have to take on something that is as bizarre and powerful and unique as Ghost Rider."[75] Bell added that the producers would have been willing to give an entire season of the show to a Ghost Rider arc if the season was 13 episodes or less, but 22 episodes seemed too long to "feel like one flavor".[61]

The Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider was chosen over other versions of the character from the comics because of his relationship with his brother Gabe, which Loeb said harkened back to the familial nature of the series.

Spirit of Vengeance as a being from that other dimension.[64]

Marvel trusted the producers of S.H.I.E.L.D. with creating and using Ghost Rider how they wanted to, but did ask them "to be true to what it is" in the comics. They looked to do this by taking the original elements from the comic, but putting their own spin on them. This included Reyes' uncle Eli, who is the spirit possessing Reyes in the comic, appearing as an external villain.[61] Reyes is instead possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance, which is passed to him by another Ghost Rider; in the comics, multiple Ghost Riders exist at once, but for the series this was changed so the power can only be used by one at a time, and they pass it on to the next Ghost Rider.[78]

LMD

Since the beginning of the show, the producers had wanted to introduce the concept of LMDs, which

Aida, an android.[64] Additionally, with LMDs chosen as one of the pods for the season, Whedon said the writers questioned, "what are all the things we could do? You don't want to do the ones that have been done [in similar tropes], and you don't want to leave any on the table." One idea that "we knew we wanted to have early on" was to reveal that the majority of S.H.I.E.L.D. have been replaced at once.[70]

Tancharoen hinted that the series would continue Age of Ultron's theme of "diving into the world of A.I. [and] things may not go as planned".[80] On what makes Aida different from the villain Ultron, Whedon explained that "Aida started as something that was supposed to mimic human behavior. Ultron came out almost a fully fleshed-out creature with his own agenda, where she's been discovering hers along the way."[64] He added that instead of thousands of robots, the LMDs would be presented as android versions of the other characters in the series. Whedon said of themes that are raised in the second pod, "there are issues of reality and identity. Trust is always an issue in a spy organization. It's much worse when you don't know if the person next to you is the person next to you ... When you get into trust, that's when things get emotional."[61] The pod ends with the Melinda May LMD seemingly destroying herself and all the other known LMDs besides Aida, concluding her specific arc which explored the nature of humanity and identity. Asked if any of these LMDs survived this act, and could carry over to the third pod of the season, Whedon said "We'll see, but the idea was to put that chapter behind us."[67]

Agents of Hydra

The third pod of the season "ties together [the season] thematically",[70] taking the characters into the virtual world of the Framework, where their lives are different from the real world. This explores "what if" scenarios for many of the characters by showing who they may have been if a major regret of their life was changed,[81] hence the pod's title, Agents of Hydra.[68] This continues the season's focus on the nature of identity and reality, having "payoff[s] to all the reflection[s] on the past" such as Mack's tragic loss of his daughter and Fitz's troubled relationship with his father. Bennet called the pod "very relevant. It's definitely a theme that I think has been kind of hopping around in pop culture at the moment. But it's kind of like a fun Marvel take on that. For all those people who wished to see these characters in a different light, this is going to be the time for that to happen."[70] Whedon felt that this storyline would not be interesting early in a series, but is rewarding after spending "80-plus episodes with these characters".[81]

Whedon said they replaced S.H.I.E.L.D. with Hydra in the Framework to show "that this world was not what was intended, and what really symbolizes the opposite of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the ultimate evil in our world is Hydra. It's more about our people than it is about the organization itself this time around."[81] It was noted that "the bad guy [Hydra] is in charge and Inhumans are being hunted" could be taken as a commentary on the political climate under the Presidency of Donald Trump. On approaching this subject, Tancharoen said that there was no nervousness in the writer's room, and Whedon said that the similarities to Trump's America was simply an attempt to "paint the reality where, what if the world just turned upside down?" The pod sees Hydra based out of the Triskelion, a S.H.I.E.L.D. building that was destroyed by Hydra previously in the MCU. It also features the return of the character Grant Ward to the series, with Whedon explaining, "We figured when you get dropped into an alternate reality, what better way to show that it might not be everything you imagined than the return of one of our most loved and most hated characters."[67]

Whedon noted that the pod does not entirely take place in the Framework,[67] and that the characters "have their full memories of what happened" once they return to the real world. Some, such as Fitz, struggle with their actions in the Framework.[82] The producers felt the impact of the "what if" scenario comes from rooting the changes in character choices, with Bell saying, "I will give the writers room credit that everything that was chosen had an emotional resonance. It was something you hadn't seen, or wanted to see or wondered about, so for us it was really rich territory to mine." Whedon added, "It wasn't just, 'OK, let's go Wacky World!' It was, 'What if you'd made different decisions?' That made it for us a much more fun puzzle." Regarding the season finale and setting up the next season, Bell said that "Each year we've tried to reinvent the series in some way ... I think the end [of the finale] really does suggest something quite different."[83]

Casting

John Hannah joined the series' main cast for the season, promoted from his previously recurring role.

Main cast members

Holden Radcliffe,[28] promoted from his third season recurring role.[27] Within the Framework reality, Daisy is referred to by her original name, Skye, while Fitz is also known as "The Doctor".[84]

Also returning from earlier in the series are

Advertisements for the show ahead of the 2016

Gabe, respectively.[89] At the series' Comic-Con panel, the speculation was confirmed—Gabriel Luna was announced to be cast as Robbie Reyes,[29] and Lorenzo James Henrie was later revealed to be cast as Gabe.[31]

Also in June, the series was looking to cast an actress for the recurring role of

In May 2016, Tancharoen said "we're always open" to the possibility of Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood appearing in the season,[79] after they left the series' cast during the third season for the spin-off series Marvel's Most Wanted,[94] which ultimately did not get picked up.[95] Whedon reiterated in January 2017 that "Once an agent, always an agent, so it's always out there in the ether", but stated that the pair were unlikely to return during the fourth season.[96]

Design

Each pod of the season introduces new title graphics for the series: a "hellfire"-based title card for Ghost Rider;[97][98] a graphic constructed from robot circuitry for LMD;[98] and a more traditional Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. logo for the third pod that changes onscreen to Agents of Hydra for episodes primarily set in the Framework,[99][100] but remains Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. during "The Return". The Ghost Rider title card was used again for the season finale.[101] For the Framework setting, the production team chose a specific, more "washed" out palette to clearly differentiate those scenes from the real world. This was realized through a combination of production and costume design, and cinematography.[102]

Ghost Rider was designed by Marvel Television creative director Joshua Shaw, based on Felipe Smith's design from the comics. His jacket was then custom made by costume designer Ann Foley and her team.[103][104] The character's skull design includes exhaust-type jets of flames coming from the temples to mimic the effects on his car.[105] Foley worked with the visual effects department to ensure that the costume would not interfere with their work.[103] Aida's costume was also custom made, and inspired by the works of Alexander McQueen.[103] The costume evolves through the season, becoming a darker shade of gray when the more ruthless "Aida 2.0" is introduced.[106] Foley left the show after the thirteenth episode of the season, to work on a television adaptation of Altered Carbon,[107] and was replaced with Amanda Riley. Riley used her previous experience recreating costumes to "blend in" with Foley's established look, and also noted that the majority of her work was designing for the Framework reality which allowed her to not exactly match with previous designs. Riley took Foley's costumes for Aida as the base shape of the Madame Hydra costume, but looked to make it feel "stronger" and more military-esque than those costumes by having the shoulders of the costume evoke epaulettes. The costume uses the color green, which is closely tied with the character in the comics.[102]

For the Darkhold, writer

Kree weaponry designed for the previous season when designing the cover of the Darkhold. Multiple versions of the book were created for the show, with the frames created by 3D-printing molds to create durable rubber casts. These were then given to a bookbinder with aged, vellum pages, who assembled the props and created the leather cover. The pages were filled with text and illustrations inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.[110]

Filming

Production on the season began on July 21, 2016,[111] in Los Angeles.[112] Whedon made his directorial debut with "Self Control". Whedon noted he had decided at the end of season three to direct an episode in season four after doing some second unit work on "Spacetime" under Kevin Tancharoen. He credited his brother and series creator Joss Whedon along with Tancharoen, and his "years working with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s directors from a showrunning perspective and his close relationship with the cast and crew" for why now was the right time for him to direct an episode. The cast expressed enthusiasm with Whedon directing "Self Control", given he also wrote the episode, with Bennet feeling, "The vision is so clear. There's a lot more room to play, like 'what about this?' and the enthusiasm because he wrote these words, he knows what's coming next. It's been so much fun."[66] Ahead of filming the final episode of the season, Wen injured her leg in an on set accident with "a fairly severe injury". Wen noted the production was able to work around her injury with no delay and that she would still be involved with the episode.[113] Production on the season concluded on April 17, 2017.[114]

Music

The season saw "several major creative turning points" in the score from composer Bear McCreary. Given the introduction of Ghost Rider and the Framework in the season, McCreary used "searing synths" over the regular symphonic orchestra.[115]

Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins

In March 2016, Tancharoen stated that there was a possibility the season could continue the story of

Darkforce, while Momentum is shown experimenting on extra-dimensional energy using the Darkhold, the Book of Sins from the comics.[117][118] In December, Whedon said that Peggy Carter "is a part of the universe, and she's a character we care about", and that there was a good chance of having bigger connections to her show moving forward after the Ghost Rider pod.[61]

The season's exploring of supernatural and mystical concepts ties-in with the release of

Kamar-Taj library seen in Doctor Strange.[61]

On the season having a big crossover in early 2017 like previous seasons, Bell said that any crossover will not be as large scale as the first season crossover with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which changed the premise of the series, and noted that the MCU film being released at that time is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which would be difficult to tie-in with as it is not set on Earth, and takes place earlier in the MCU continuity than the season is set.[61]

Marketing

In July 2016, members of the cast and the executive producers attended San Diego Comic-Con to promote the season.

1969 Dodge Charger was revealed on the show floor.[122][123] The first teaser trailer for the season was released in early September 2016, as "found footage" showing Ghost Rider's car "peeling out",[124] followed shortly after by a teaser with actual footage from the series.[63] The premiere episode "The Ghost" was first screened on September 19, 2016,[125] and the episode "Uprising" was screened on October 7, when Gregg, Bennet, and Luna were promoting the series at New York Comic Con.[126]

A six-part web series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot, debuted on ABC.com on December 13, 2016. It follows Elena "Yo–Yo" Rodriguez on a secret mission, with Cordova-Buckley reprising her role, shortly before the start of season four.[65] Gregg, O'Mara, Simmons, Bennet, Wen, De Caestecker and Henstridge all reprise their roles in the series.[127] In March 2017, Marvel re-released previous posters for the series, updated to show what they would have looked like had the series taken place in the Framework reality.[128] They also released faux propaganda posters highlighting Hydra's surveillance state within the Framework, and their focus on hunting Inhumans.[129] The episode "What If..." was screened on April 1, 2017, at WonderCon, with members of the cast, including Dalton, and the show's executive producers promoting the series.[51]

Release

Broadcast

The season began airing in the United States on ABC on September 20, 2016,[130] and completed its 22-episode run on May 16, 2017.[131][132] Unlike the previous two seasons, which were split into "two little mini-seasons" based on their airing schedule, this season was broken into three different sections by the schedule. This led to the season's three pod story structure, which Tancharoen said "has made our lives easier, to break it down in that way."[73]

Home media

The season began streaming on

Region 2 on July 2, 2018, by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.[135] It became available on Disney+ in the United States on March 16, 2022,[136][137] joining other territories where it was already available on the service.[134]

Reception

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
No. Title Air date
Rating/share

(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
DVR
(18–49)
DVR viewers
(millions)
Total
(18–49)
Total viewers
(millions)
1 "The Ghost" September 20, 2016 1.1/4 3.44[3] 1.1 2.79 2.2 6.24[138]
2 "Meet the New Boss" September 27, 2016 0.9/3 2.95[4] 1.0 2.43 1.9 5.39[139]
3 "Uprising" October 11, 2016 0.9/3 2.68[5] 1.0 2.21 1.9 4.89[140]
4 "Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire" October 18, 2016 0.7/3 2.34[6] 1.1 2.44 1.8 4.78[141]
5 "Lockup" October 25, 2016 0.8/3 2.30[7] 0.9 2.25 1.7 4.55[142]
6 "The Good Samaritan" November 1, 2016 0.8/3 2.43[9] 0.9 2.14 1.7 4.57[143]
7 "Deals with Our Devils" November 29, 2016 0.8/3 2.41[10] 0.9 2.22 1.7 4.63[144]
8 "The Laws of Inferno Dynamics" December 6, 2016 0.7/3 2.37[11] 0.9 2.12 1.6 4.49[145]
9 "Broken Promises" January 10, 2017 0.8/3 2.72[12] 0.8 1.94 1.6 4.66[146]
10 "The Patriot" January 17, 2017 0.6/2 2.03[13] 0.9 2.02 1.5 4.05[147]
11 "Wake Up" January 24, 2017 0.6/2 2.00[14] 0.8 1.97 1.4 3.97[148]
12 "Hot Potato Soup" January 31, 2017 0.6/2 2.15[15] 0.9 2.08 1.5 4.23[149]
13 "BOOM" February 7, 2017 0.7/3 2.08[16] 0.8 2.04 1.5 4.13[150]
14 "The Man Behind the Shield" February 14, 2017 0.6/2 2.13[17] 0.9 2.03 1.5 4.16[151]
15 "Self Control" February 21, 2017 0.6/2 2.01[18] 0.8 1.87 1.4 3.88[152]
16 "What If..." April 4, 2017 0.7/3 2.15[19] 0.8 2.07 1.5 4.22[153]
17 "Identity and Change" April 11, 2017 0.7/3 2.32[20] 0.8 1.68 1.5 4.01[154]
18 "No Regrets" April 18, 2017 0.8/3 2.43[21] 0.7 1.82 1.5 4.25[155]
19 "All the Madame's Men" April 25, 2017 0.7/3 2.15[22]
20 "Farewell, Cruel World!" May 2, 2017 0.7/3 2.15[23] 0.7 1.60 1.4 3.75[156]
21 "The Return" May 9, 2017 0.7/3 2.14[24] 0.9 1.88 1.6 4.02[157]
22 "World's End" May 16, 2017 0.7/3 2.08[25] 0.8 1.99 1.5 4.07[158]

The season's new timeslot, 10 p.m. on Tuesday, was nicknamed the "death slot" for ABC by commentators, with nine different series being scheduled in the slot between 2011 and 2017, and all of them dropping in viewership while airing then. This was the same for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4, which reached series' lows of 0.6 live ratings and around 2 million viewers, a drop from the third season of around 30 percent.[159] However, by the season finale it was described as having "helped solve [ABC]'s problem" in the timeslot, while being "a solid DVR performer" and draw for international viewership. This led to the renewal of the series for a fifth season.[2] The season averaged 4.22 million total viewers, including from DVR, ranking 110th among network series in the 2016–17 television season. It also had an average total 18–49 rating of 1.5, which was 70th.[160]

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 96% approval rating with an average score of 7.8/10, based on 25 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. explores darker territory in its fourth season with the thrilling introduction of Ghost Rider, setting up an action-packed new chapter of Marvel's edgier mythologies."[161]

Jeffrey Mace / Patriot
), were highlighted by critics.

Reviewing the premiere, Terri Schwartz of

ScreenCrush said, "I'm nervous for Season 4 overall, especially if said reinvention doesn't goose the ratings like Marvel and ABC hope, but "The Ghost" is reason enough for some casual optimism." He was positive about the new similarities to the darker series Daredevil, but felt that the series "doesn't have the firmest handle" on Ghost Rider yet.[164] Evan Valentine, writing for Collider, said that the series "certainly benefits somewhat from taking a page from" the Marvel Netflix series, highlighting the number of more mature elements in the episode's opening as "a nice introduction that shows you this may not exactly be the same show you've gotten to know over the years."[165]

For the change from Ghost Rider to LMD, Joseph McCabe at Nerdist said that any doubts he had about the change "are more or less eliminated" by the series take on a robotic antagonist, which he called "Avengers: Age of Ultron done right ... where it most obviously improves on the overstuffed second Avengers film is in the humor department".[98] Schwartz called the transition smooth, and felt the series' ongoing Inhuman subplot complemented the LMD storyline well.[166] Valentine said that the beginning of LMD "doesn't maintain the heights of [the series'] days with Ghost Rider in the driver's seat, but it does manage to remain a solid entry on the airwaves." He was very critical of the Inhuman subplot, calling the Watchdogs "pretty much played out at this point" and feeling the Inhumans had become stale after the previous two seasons.[167] Fitzpatrick also criticized the "flat" Inhuman storyline, but felt the change to LMD "got off to the best possible start" given the "obviously less of an immediate hook" than Ghost Rider.[168] Beginning the Agents of Hydra pod, Schwartz said "this return episode more than delivered" on the previous episode's cliffhanger. She was satisfied that the Framework reality was not undone within a single episode, and was hopeful that the remaining episodes of the season would offer "similar surprises [that circumvent] our expectations".[169] Valentine felt "What If..." "made for a very good start" to the pod, feeling it "continues to build on the goodwill created by season 4 of S.H.I.E.L.D. presenting an interesting concept and world to be explored".[170] McCown-Levy continued the praise, saying "This could've been a sodden slog through too-obvious reveals and portentous doom and gloom. Instead, S.H.I.E.L.D. kept its fleet and efficient pacing, but bent it to the service of a dark and compelling narrative arc already paying dividends in terms of rewarding long-time viewers with deep-pull references and stories".[84] Fitzpatrick, however, felt the episode "stumbled" and was "something of a bumpy reentry into season 4, and doubly so for anyone who lost sight of the Life Model Decoy conflict in play, or harbor concern ABC might not order a fifth season." He found it difficult to determine the rules at play in the Framework, and felt the storyline was done more so because the "producers missed working with Brett Dalton".[171]

By "All the Madame's Men", McCown-Levy felt that Agents of Hydra was "the most consistently entertaining arc the series has ever done. The show has had higher highs, but never this constant a level of quality. I've argued several times of late that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been getting steadily better each season, and even in a year that had strong arcs like Ghost Rider and LMD, this final storyline tops them all ... the show has essentially managed to create an alternate reality where it can work out longstanding issues and address unfinished character beats, all while smartly delivering action and thrills ... And insofar as this keeps working, it's managed to turn the TV equivalent of a fun B-movie into a superior television show."[172] Overall, Schwartz awarded the season an 8.8 out of 10, stating the season was "the best [the series has] ever been, maturing as a show and learning the right lessons from what's come before." She praised the pod format, saying it "helped tighten the season and give it a stronger throughline" and added that each new pod the season introduced was more successful than the previous, with the Agents of Hydra pod and Framework story arc possibly the strongest of the entire series. Schwartz also spoke fondly of the guest stars throughout the season, particularly Jansen, who she called "the season's MVP" and felt "stole the show" with Aida, who was "the standout new character" of the season. Some negatives on the season were the additional villains, Eli Morrow and the Superior (not "a particularly standout villain", and never "as imposing or terrifying as he should have been", respectively), and some of the early effects work, though she also praised "the great CGI work" with Ghost Rider.[173] Den of Geek's Rob Leane also praised the pod format, saying it "fixed the 22-episode problem". He felt the Ghost Rider pod had amazing visual effects, and was a "natural" length that other series may have stretched further. He also highlighted Wen's performance as LMD May in the LMD pod and the Agents of Hydra pod's Mack and Hope storyline, and praised the guest performances of Luna and Jansen (feeling that bringing the latter two together in the finale "was the perfect way to wrap things up"). Leane called the season "a master class in how Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. can thrive going forward ... the writers keep throwing in more sci-fi concepts, the special effects team keep delivering, and the cast keep stepping up their game to keep up with it all."[174]

Analysis

Many critics noted the commentary on the Trump administration during the Agents of Hydra pod, including Hydra leader Fitz wanting to "make society great again" and saying of Daisy "Nevertheless, she persisted", news reporter Bakshi offering to take a female colleague furniture shopping, and Coulson referring to Hydra's approved history as "

Nazis, which he found to be more effective than the other commentary since tied to character development.[178]

Amanda Marcotte of

Salon felt that by May 2017, there "hasn't been time for most of pop culture to react to [Trump's election] but there is one truly remarkable exception to the rule: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ... the writers and producers did a remarkable job shaping the latter half of this season into a horror-show mirror of what it feels like for liberals living in Trump's America." Marcotte noted that the "Resistance" is lead, for the audience, by two women in Daisy and Simmons, reflecting the 2017 Women's March, and also that Hydra gained power using fear of Inhumans just as "Trump was able to ride a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment into power". She also highlighted Simmons' warning to a young boy that all Hydra agent are Nazis, calling this a warning "to the audience, reminding them not to forget exactly what kind of authoritarian monster has been put in the White House."[179] Michal Schick of Hypable noted that the political commentary had been running throughout the season, with Nadeer and the Humans First movement, but that "in the face of murderous demons with combustible craniums and body-swapping LMD's, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. largely kept the commentary in the background. That changed—drastically—as the show entered" the final pod. Schick highlighted the fact that "for all of the clear allusions to Trump's America, the president himself remains unparodied. The mistress of the Framework's perversities is Aida, as Madame Hydra, and it's hard to imagine a more different figure from Trump ... By omitting this easiest and most obvious point of satire, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. broadens its message beyond straight contemporary commentary. It is easy (and desperately tempting) to place blame all of our ills and evils on a current administration, and easy to pin all the ills of the Framework on Aida. But an element of individual responsibility burns through, both in our own lives and in this fiction."[180]

Writing for Polygon, Eric Watson said that "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fourth season pulls the best elements from the MCU and the most over-the-top elements from comics to remind me why I love Marvel: superheroes punching Nazis." He said this was refreshing after the controversial comic storyline Secret Empire which sees the patriotic Captain America revealed to be a sleeper agent for Hydra.[181] Carli Velocci at TheWrap also discussed the season in relation to Secret Empire, noting that Agents of Hydra "hasn't spawned a digital mountain of outrage" like the comic event. She said that Secret Empire "all but ignores [the] real world context, minus acknowledging that Nazis tend to like concentration camps. If anything, it treats the subject matter like window dressing, background for a plot intended to blow readers' minds ... Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, however, embraces that real world context. It does everything it can to ensure that the real world still matters and that the audience understands the negative consequences of a Nazi-driven society. And unlike the comic book counterpart, it doesn't shy away from the fact that Hydra is definitely rooted in the Third Reich." She continued that the series "manages to create a world where Hydra is the establishment, but every other plot point is about questioning it explicitly" and "what's more inspiring than seeing an actual symbol of America not taking crap from Nazis? Wherever the comic series takes Captain America, it shouldn't have lost sight of that. Fortunately, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't."[182]

Accolades

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was included on Laura Hurley of

CinemaBlend's Top 10 Shows of 2016 list, ranking 2nd.[183] Comic Book Resources named "The Ghost" as the 15th best episode in 2016 among comic book-related television series.[184]

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2017
Golden Reel Awards
TV – Short Form – Dialogue/ADR "Deals with Our Devils" Nominated [185]
Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Family TV Show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nominated [186]
Saturn Awards
Best Superhero Adaptation Television Series
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nominated [187]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Action TV Show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nominated [188]
Choice Action TV Actor Gabriel Luna Nominated [188]
Dragon Awards Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nominated [189]
[190]

Notes

  1. ^ During the events of Captain America: Civil War.
  2. Johnny Blaze version of the Ghost Rider character and that unspecified legal issues prevented this from being made explicit.[8]

References

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General references

External links