Episode Rankings: Agents Of Shield

Agents Of SHIELD is a pretty fantastic show. Despite its now infamous slow start, this season boasts some of my favorite material in the whole MCU. Its cast is so likable that you can't help but grow attached, the production values and fight scenes are astonishing for a TV show like this, and the show boasts at least five of the greatest plot twists in any TV show to date. Here's my ranking of its episodes:

1. As I Have Always Been (S7.09) - Time loop episodes are always fantastic
2. Self Control (S4.15) - This episode has like 20 plot twists and all of them are fantastic
3. 4,722 Hours (S3.05)
4. Inescapable (S6.06)
5. Turn, Turn, Turn (S1.17) - One of the greatest twists in TV history
6. The Devil Complex (S5.14) - I don't think I've ever felt this anxious and out of breath after watching an episode before. Oh, and it has one of the greatest twists in TV history.
7. What We're Fighting For (S7.13) - I love how the last ten minutes are basically an exposition dump but the chemistry between the cast and the subtle dialogue turns into the best part of the episode rather than an in-your-face slog
8. SOS: Part 2 (S2.22)
9. The End (S5.22)
10. Farewell, Cruel World (S4.20)
11. What They Become (S2.10) - Another one of the greatest twists in TV history
12. The Real Deal (S5.12) - You guessed it, another fantastic twist
13. Spacetime (S3.15)
14. No Regrets (S4.18)
15. Many Heads, One Tale (S3.08)
16. End Of The Beginning (S1.16)
17. World's End (S4.22)
18. Beginning Of The End (S1.22)
19. Melinda (S2.17)
20. Rewind (S5.05)
21. What If... (S4.16)
22. A Hen In The Wolf House (S2.05)
23. Parting Shots (S3.13)
24. Rise And Shine (S5.15)
25. Fear And Loathing On The Planet Of Kitson (S6.03)
26. Deals With Our Devils (S4.07)
27. The End Is At Hand (S7.12)
28. SOS: Part 1 (S2.21)
29. A Trout In The Milk (S7.05)
30. T.R.A.C.K.S. (S1.13)
31. The Return (S4.21)
32. Maveth (S3.10)
33. The Dirty Half Dozen (S2.19)
34. Ascension (S3.22)
35. The Good Samaritan (S4.06)
36. Alien Commies From The Future (S7.03)
37. Leap (S6.10)
38. Nothing Personal (S1.20)
39. All Roads Lead (S5.18)
40. Broken Promises (S4.09)
41. New Life (S6.13)
42. All The Comforts Of Home (S5.11)
43. The Team (S3.17)
44. Closure (S3.09)
45. Identity And Change (S4.17)
46. Face My Enemy (S2.04)
47. Orientation: Part 1 (S5.01)
48. Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire (S4.04)
49. Emancipation (S3.20)
50. The Magical Place (S1.11)
51. The Force Of Gravity (S5.21)
52. Fun & Games (S5.06)
53. Out Of The Past (S7.04)
54. Wake Up (S4.11)
55. The Things We Bury (S2.08)
56. All The Madame's Men (S4.19)
57. The Honeymoon (S5.17)
58. FZZT (S1.06)
59. Purpose In The Machine (S3.02)
60. Ragtag (S1.21)
61. Option Two (S5.19)
62. Aftershocks (S2.11)
63. The Laws Of Inferno Dynamics (S4.08)
64. T.A.H.I.T.I. (S1.14)
65. Principia (S5.13)
66. Shadows (S2.01)
67. Collision Course: Part 2 (S6.09)
68. Code Yellow (S6.04)
69. A Fractured House (S2.06)
70. Past Life (S5.10)
71. The Man Behind The Shield (S4.14)
72. The Only Light In The Darkness (S1.19)
73. Scars (S2.20)
74. Chaos Theory (S3.07)
75. Girl In The Flower Dress (S1.05)
76. Absolution (S3.21)
77. Inside Voices (S5.16)
78. The Patriot (S4.10)
79. The Frenemy Of My Enemy (S2.18)
80. Making Friends And Influencing People (S2.03)
81. The New Deal (S7.01)
82. The Sign (S6.12)
83. Orientation: Part 2 (S5.02)
84. Laws Of Nature (S3.01)
85. The Bridge (S1.10)
86. The Ghost (S4.01)
87. One Of Us (S2.13)
88. Bouncing Back (S3.11)
89. Seeds (S1.12)
90. Collision Course: Part 1 (S6.08)
91. The One Who Will Save Us All (S5.20)
92. Adapt Or Die (S7.06)
93. Lockup (S4.05)
94. The Last Day (S5.08)
95. Providence (S1.18)
96. Among Us Hide (S3.06)
97. Ye Who Enter Here (S2.09)
98. The Other Thing (S6.05)
99. Stolen (S7.10) - Still mad about Jiaying's death, episode was alright otherwise
100. The Singularity (S3.18)
101. Uprising (S4.03)
102. Know Your Onions (S7.02)
103. Afterlife (S2.16)
104. Missing Pieces (S6.01)
105. After, Before (S7.08)
106. Devils You Know (S3.04)
107. The Asset (S1.03)
108. Paradise Lost (S3.16)
109. Watchdogs (S3.14)
110. Pilot (S1.01)
111. Heavy Is The Head (S2.02)
     
112. Toldja (S6.07)
113. Together Or Not At All (S5.07)
114. Hot Potato Soup (S4.12)
115. The Writing On The Wall (S2.07)
116. Failed Experiments (S3.19)
117. The Hub (S1.07)
118. Meet The New Boss (S4.02)
119. Brand New Day (S7.11)
120. A Life Spent (S5.03)
121. One Door Closes (S2.15)
122. The Totally Excellent Adventures Of Mack And The D (S7.07) - I'd love this one more if it was better-paced. The first half is literally just Mack being mopey.
123. 0-8-4 (S1.02)
124. Best Laid Plans (S5.09)
125. A Wanted (Inhu)man (S3.03)
126. Repairs (S1.09)
127. Boom (S4.13)
128. Who You Really Are (S2.12)
129. Eye Spy (S1.04)
130. Window Of Opportunity (S6.02)
131. The Inside Man (S3.12)
132. A Life Earned (S5.04)
133. From The Ashes (S6.11)
134. Love In The Time Of HYDRA (S2.14)
135. The Well (S1.08)
136. Yes Men (S1.15) - Ward gets raped and no one cared. The nadir of the series by a long shot.

Agents Of SHIELD (Season 7)

Agents Of SHIELD was originally intended to end at Season 5, and thus had a fantastic final episode that season that could have worked as the end to the whole show. Did Season 7, the show's actual final season, live up to that lofty standard? Thankfully, yes. Not only is this one of SHIELD's better seasons, but it had a fantastic ending.

Season 7 follows after the cliffhanger from last season, where the Chromicons hijack the Lighthouse and plan to take over the world, so SHIELD travels back in time to figure out how to stop them. I really like the Chromicons as final antagonists. Their body-swapping capabilities is legitimately scary, and the fact that they can essentially see everything before it happens leaves the viewer wondering how the Agents could possibly stop them. This storylines also allows for a lot of fun time travel hijacks that send the characters to a bunch of different time periods and meet a bunch of characters from the past, like John Garrett, Jiaying, and Daniel Sousa. This also sounds fantastic and it mostly is, at least whenever the real main antagonist Nathaniel Malick isn't on screen. I didn't think you could get much worse than Kasius, but Nathaniel is just the worst villain of the whole show. He's basically a spoiled rich kid who wants Inhuman powers, and all of his moralizing of how he's "providing for the people who need it" just gets on my nerves so much. The Chromicons were great enough villains, we really didn't need this guy. And if they had to have a villain, they could've just stuck with young John Garrett, who was way more well-acted, way more interesting, and would've done a great job at bringing the series full circle. Seriously, anything but Nathaniel!

Thankfully, Season 7 manages to make up for a weak villain by just being really damn fun. I praised the previous season for being fairly experimental, but this season blows that one out of the water. It really feels like the cast and crew were just going all out for the final season. We had a noir parody, a time loop episode, a B-movie parody, and several beautiful recreations of certain time periods with colorful costumes and really solid set design for a TV show. The dialogue was also just a lot lighter and funnier than I was used to seeing from the show, though the season can still be dark when it needs to. As the end of the series, Season 7 also does a great job of honoring the show's past, from exploring the history of SHIELD to even revisiting Afterlife. Most of the characters have fairly solid final arcs, with my personal favorite being Coulson dealing with dodging death a second time and becoming an LMD, though I wasn't the biggest fan of May being an empath, Fitz being sidelined for the whole season, or Jiaying dying without getting a proper redemption (I always thought she was the most sympathetic antagonist).

The season had a lot of fun episodes, but these were my favorites:

Alien Commies From The Future: This episode was just plain funny. With the main plot being about an alien invasion, the decision to take the characters to the 50s and frame them as ridiculous conspiracy theorists was a stroke of genius, as was the decision to have Simmons pretend to be Agent Carter only to run into Sousa from her own show. The episode is filled with interrogation scenes but all of them manage to be really entertaining, especially as Coulson and Simmons try to find who the Chromicons are by asking innately human questions.

A Trout In The Milk: This episode was just so clever and unpredictable. I loved the idea of forcing the Agents to try and stop Project Insight like 40 years in the past. A Trout In The Milk was a very jam-packed episode, from finally getting to meet Rick Stoner (the person that Lighthouse hologram is based on), to the reveal of Simmons' implant, to the final confrontation with Wilifred Malick before he gets killed off and replaced with the much worse Nathaniel.

As I Have Always Been: Time loop episodes are amazing, it's a fundamental rule of television. If-Then-Else, Remedial Chaos Theory, and I Won't Rely On Anyone Anymore are three of my favorite episodes of all time, and they are time loop episodes. And I didn't even bring up Cause And Effect, White Tulip, and Time Bomb, which are great episodes in their own right. And while I haven't seen them, the time loop episodes for Stargate, Legends Of Tomorrow, and Supernatural are some of the best received in their respective shows. So with all that said, As I Have Always Been is the greatest episode of Agents Of SHIELD.

It takes the time loop premise and adds some wrinkles like the limited amount of loops before everyone dies and Daisy losing her memory if she dies in a loop. The pacing is quick and snappy, footage is never reused (which is impressive given how many loops there are), the episode boasts some of the funniest moments in the show (along with a hilarious Buffy reference), Daisy and Coulson get some great development even through the time loops, and Enoch's death is an emotionally effective and heartbreaking way to not only end off the episode but kick off the show's final stretch of episodes.

The End Is At Hand/What We're Fighting For: Even with a weaker finale, Agents Of SHIELD really did save their best finale for last. The opening scene alone boasts a massive twist that completely recontextualizes the entire season, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. The final battle is thrilling and satisfying, that final epilogue is heartwarming, and I feel like everyone got a good ending. Deke staying in the alternate timeline to become his own director of SHIELD, May becoming a teacher, Coulson traveling the world, it all fits perfectly.

Overall, Season 7 was a pretty great ending to the season. While a bad villain threatens to drag the whole thing down with him, the season still manages to be a strong ending to the show for its sense of fun and creativity, fantastic batch of episodes, and mostly satisfying character resolutions.

4/5 Stars

My ranking of the Agents Of SHIELD seasons is:

4 > 5 > 7 > 3 > 2 > 1 > 6

My ranking of the Agents Of SHIELD arcs is:

1. Framework (4C) - Absolutely classic, every episode is amazing. Great villain, gripping storyline, perfect pacing.
2. Changing The Future (5B) - Fantastic love letter to the series, amazing villains, and emotional stakes
3. Hydra Uprising (1) - Hands down the most iconic arc, with a great twist that really ratchets up the tension
4. ATCU/Maveth (3A) - Rosalind is such a great character, has one of the show's best episodes, feels like the big final battle with Hydra
5. Hydra And The Obelisk (2A) - Hydra is always a reliably great villain, Simmons undercover is fun, and the Inhuman twist is so good
6. LMD (4B) - Drags in the middle but the start and end are fantastic, Aida's a great villain, and the themes are interesting
7. Ghost Rider (4A) - Slow start and villains are weak but Ghost Rider absolutely lives up to the hype
8. Inhuman/Real SHIELD (2B) - Inhuman stuff is amazing, Real SHIELD stuff is not, but at least the ending was great
9. Hive (3B) - I don't love Hive as a villain and the arc drags a bit, lacking the heights of some of the other season enders
10. Kree Station (5A) - Very rough, it's depressing, claustrophobic, and frankly kinda generic 

My ranking of the Agents Of SHIELD finales is:

7 > 5 > 2 > 4 > 1 > 3 > 6

And just for fun, my favorite plot twists from each season:

1. Hydra is not only still around but has fully integrated with SHIELD, May was reporting to Fury and made the team herself, Garrett is the clairvoyant, Hand is killed, and Ward is a mole for Hydra (Turn, Turn, Turn)
2. Inhumans exist, Skye and Raina are Inhumans, Triplett dies, and Skye turns out to be Daisy Johnson, aka Quake. (What They Become) 
3. Hydra has been around for millennia, and everything that has been going on through the season, from Will, to Maveth, to "It", to the ram symbol, are all connected to Hydra. (Many Heads, One Tale)
4. In the Framework, Daisy's dating Ward, Coulson's a teacher, Hope is alive, Simmons is dead, Fitz is with someone else, Shield is replaced by Hydra, and May works for them. (Self Control)
5. Either the reveal that Deke is Fitz and Simmons' grandson, or Fitz realizing that he was The Doctor and still finishing the procedure on Daisy. (The Real Deal/The Devil Complex)
6. The fact that the agents lose the Lighthouse in the finale, or pretty much the entirety of Enoch's plan. (New Life)
7. Enoch is the saboteur, and he's gotta die (As I Have Always Been)

Favorite Episode: As I Have Always Been

Agents Of Shield (Season 6)

Coming after the very final Season 5, this season had a bit of a tough task as it had to justify the show continuing even with the main character dead. Did Season 6 do that? Probably not, but it did give the writers the chance to go balls to the walls.

Season 6 is a bit of a mess, plot-wise. It starts with May learning that an alien named Sarge has arrived to Earth, looking exactly like Coulson. Sarge is trying to stop an ancient entity named Izel (who commands these creepy crystalline creatures called the Shrike), partly out of revenge and partly out of wanting to prevent her from destroying any more planets. This whole storyline is a bit all over the place. Sarge's motivations and morals are fairly inconsistent, and Izel was an underwhelming villain. As a matter of fact, I think both villains started off promising but got worse. I liked Sarge when he was a morally ambiguous inter-dimensional thief, and I liked Izel when she claimed to be a mercenary. The fantastical elements that came into play in the last few episodes just made them both lamer to me. It wasn't all bad though. I loved the Shrike, they not only looked awesome but were truly terrifying antagonists, and Izel's possessing ability led to some great sequences. In addition, the storyline about Simmons trying to find present Fitz in space is genuinely a ton of fun, as it lets Fitz and Simmons to sort out all of their issues, gives Enoch a lot of screentime and development, and allows for a lot of creative interstellar locations and storylines.

The Fitz and Simmons stuff is emblematic of all the things Season 6 did well, even with the weak Izel arc. The character work is still fantastic, and I love the direction many of the characters took. Deke was surprisingly the highlight this time. Not only was him being a tech mogul hilarious, but I loved seeing him unite with present Fitz in the hope of actually getting off on the right foot with him. And while I'm not a fan of Sarge as a character, I do love that it allowed the characters to reckon with Coulson's death, which was pretty much what I wanted from the season. I also think this season is easily the lightest and most inventive in the series, from the mushroom samba episode, to the episode focused entirely on Deke, to the episode where Fitz and Simmons literally face their demons, Season 6 is packed with some really experimental outings that ended up becoming my favorites of the season. The lighter tone of the season also did wonders for the space stuff, which didn't really gel with me back in Season 5 but absolutely did here, almost giving me Farscape vibes at points. With how dark the last few seasons were, it was really nice to see SHIELD be a bit more silly.

Even with how uneven it is, Season 6 did have its highlights:

Fear And Loathing On The Planet Of Kitson: I think the Farscape comparisons apply the most to this episode, which shares a lot of similarities to Scratch N Sniff, that show's own drug-induced episode. It's nowhere near as stylish as that one, but Fear And Loathing is still a ton of fun, from seeing Fitz and Enoch gamble, to Daisy and Simmons getting incredibly high, to Daisy actually getting a badass fight scene despite being high, to the ending where Fitz and Simmons briefly reunite.

Inescapable: This is one of the best episodes in the series, like probably Top 3 so far. Obviously the mind prison setting is incredibly inventive and allows for a lot of unique visuals and settings, but what really made this episode for me is the conflict between Fitz and Simmons. Inescapable looks back on everything these two went through and all of the issues they still deal with. Obviously Fitz has his whole Doctor thing, but it was interesting to learn more about Simmons's flaws and how she tries to suppress all of her pain. The acting is fantastic, that final scene in the containment chamber is electric, and the ending where Enoch helps Fitz and Simmons escape their mind prison was a heartwarming way to end things off.

Leap: While the big Sarge loredump at the end was definitely on the clunky side, Leap made up for it with its fantastic main premise. Izel jumping around the Lighthouse possessing everyone's bodies could have just been a pretty standard "Among Us" plot, but instead she starts to cause as much mayhem as she possibly can, from having Piper shoot her own hand, to dropping Davis off a ledge, to forcing Mack to bang his head into a wall. We even got this amazing long take of Izel hopping from body to body, Leap was an absolute spectacle.

New Life: This is definitely the weakest finale of the show, but still a great episode in many ways. The Izel plot is a bit shaky (though that sword fight is great), but it's the Chronicom stuff that really shines. From the Agents ending the season having lost the lighthouse, to that awesome cliffhanger with the Coulson LMD, the finale did a good job of making me excited for the show's final season.

Overall, Season 6 was a very mixed bag. While it suffered from a messy plot and weak set of antagonists, the light-hearted tone, experimental nature, and strong character work still made for a fun season of the show.

3/5 Stars

Agents Of Shield (Season 5)

So, I finally got around to seeing Season 5 of Agents Of SHIELD. The ambitious season where the cast goes to space and discover time travel. Was it worth all the hype? Well, at first it wasn't. But then it absolutely was.

The first half of Season 5 has the Agents sent to a bad future where Quake had destroyed the Earth and much of humanity is kept captive in a Kree station. Despite the interstellar setting, this is very much a dystopian story, and to be perfectly honest, it didn't make much of a good impression for this season. As much as Agents Of SHIELD has changed over the years, it was always a spy show, so the shift to the "dystopian rebellion bad future genre" just didn't work for me, especially considering it's a genre I don't particularly love. The main villain Kasius was pretty generic (especially after Aida), the core location of the Lighthouse was drab and claustrophobic, most of the new characters aside from Deke and Enoch weren't all that interesting, and most of all, this arc was just plain depressing. Skye got sold to slavery, Simmons was made a servant and lost her hearing, the rest of the cast was put to work, the sheer hopelessness of much of this arc was enough to get me to quit that first time around. Not to say the arc didn't gave its good points, I loved the first episode's survival horror vibe, the sole Earth episode was by far the best of the arc, and much of Fitz's stuff was great, but for a while, I was beginning to think that maybe I shouldn't have returned to this show. But then the agents went back to their time...

The second half of Season 5 is amazing. Obviously the Framework arc is hard to top, but this was definitely the second or third best storyline in the series. With the agents back in the present, their primary goal is to stop the aforementioned Bad Future from happening (something I can absolutely get behind), while also stopping General Hale's evil Hydra team. While I'm sure some might get tired of Hydra coming back, it's hard for me to really get all that mad. Hydra is the villain of SHIELD, and their existence always makes the show better. It helps that the antagonists in this part of the season are all great, from the cold General Hale, to the scarily unpredictable Ruby, to General Talbot, who ends up becoming the unstable villain Graviton. You can tell this was meant to be the final season because the arc also brings in past villains (Creel, Ivanov, Werner) and plot points (Centipede, Cybertek) to tie the whole show together. But even more, the character work this arc is outstanding. The drama over trying to stop the bad future from happening is very compelling, especially once it becomes apparent Coulson is going to have to die. The team really starts to get fractured throughout this arc as they all make some really morally grey decisions, most notably Yo-Yo and Fitz, but the drama works better here because it feels more complex, character-driven, and better balanced out by levity (mostly spawned from Deke adjusting to the present).

This season had plenty of great episodes, especially in the second half:

Rewind: The one episode I really loved from the first arc just happened to be the one episode to take place on Earth. While nowhere near as gripping as 4,733 Hours, this was a great Fitz-centric episode as we learn about how he made it to space as well as the general state of Earth at the time. Hale makes an impactful first appearance, and it was so great to finally get to see Hunter again. The stories he told of his time with Bobbi really made me wish we got that spinoff with them.

The Real Deal: I love 100th episodes, it's the perfect time for shows to celebrate their history and deliver a slam dunk of an episode. The Real Deal is a great episode in a lot of ways. The team learns about Coulson dying, the fear dimension is a great way for the characters to face spectres from their past, Deathlok reappears (since he's their first case), and Fitz and Simmons get married. But biggest of all is the crazy twist that Deke is Fitz and Simmons's grandson, ending this grand episode on an even grander note.

The Devil Complex: I can only imagine how controversial this episode must've been when it aired, I'm pretty sure this is the Buffy's Seeing Red of Agents Of SHIELD. It's emotionally exhausting but wow, I was so gripped. The reveal that Fitz is The Doctor was so shocking, and the fact that he went ahead with Daisy's surgery without her consent is even moreso. And if all that wasn't enough, Coulson got captured, Simmons learned Deke was her grandson, and Hale works for Hydra. Just what an episode.

Rise And Shine: I wasn't expecting a straight-up Hydra school, but it made for a really entertaining and surprising backstory for the Hales. It was cool to see past antagonists like Whitehall and Sitwell, and the aforementioned backstory had a lot of great twists and turns. Even better, however, was the scenes between Coulson and General Hale. They played off each other very well and every scene with the two of them was a treat.

All Roads Lead: This episode starts off fairly solid but once Ruby infuses herself with Gravitonium, things just spiral out of control from there. Werner getting his skull crushed was shocking enough, but Yo-Yo abruptly killing Ruby was a stunning twist that left me wondering who the antagonist would be for the rest of the season (it was Talbot).

The End: This is an amazing finale for this season, and it simultaneously works as a series finale and a season finale. I love how it balances being a genuinely action-heavy final battle with Graviton as well as an emotional climax with the discussion over whether or not Coulson should live. It's packed with powerful scenes like Fitz's death, Coulson and May's final scene in Tahiti, and Mack being made director. The End brings the whole series full circle, but the hook about saving Fitz left me excited to see Season 6 nonetheless.

Overall, Season 5 of Agents Of SHIELD is an interesting one for me. The first half was the worst arc in the show since "Real SHIELD", it was claustrophic, depressing, and lacking much of the show's identity. Once the team returned to Earth, however, Season 5 turns into a gripping story about fighting fate that ties all of the show together into a phenomenal character-driven arc that lived up to the high bar set by the Framework. As a whole, I'm glad I finally got around to watching this season. It took a bit to power through that first half, but the second half was just so worth it.

4/5 Stars

Agents Of Shield (Season 4)

Season 4 of Agents Of Shield is amazing. The showrunners made the decision to split it into three separate arcs, which could've made the season feel disjointed, but it works. Everything transitions seamlessly, and the pacing is excellent. This was my favorite Agents Of Shield season that I watched prior to these reviews, and it's still fantastic.

Since this season is divided into three arcs, I'll split up my review accordingly:

The Ghost Rider Arc: The first eight episodes of this season revolve around the Ghost Rider, a really badass superhero whose only other live-action appearance was in the Nicholas Cage films. It's great to finally get to see that character done well, and his struggle with his "devil side" is very compelling. It also parallels Daisy spending much of this arc as a vigilante, pushing herself away from the rest of the team after the events of Season 3, and the dynamic between her and Robbie is great. Meanwhile, there's also a lot of focus put on SHIELD trying to improve their reputation by making an Inhuman their new director, a storyline that stays consistent through the whole season. The new director Jeffrey Mace is a bit annoying for most of this arc but you do warm up to him by the end. Unfortunately, while I do really like the Ghost Rider storyline, it's my least favorite of the three upon rewatch. It gets off to a bit of a slow start, the villains are some of the weakest in the whole show, and the midseason finale is honestly kind of dull. At its best, however, this arc offered some great episodes and a fantastic depiction of the iconic Ghost Rider character.

LMD Arc: I didn't love the LMD arc when I first saw it, but it actually held up really well upon rewatch. The Ghost Rider arc introduces the LMD that Radcliffe built, Aida, who ends up having to read the Darkhold (that evil Doctor Strange book) to save the team. This prompts Radcliffe to want the Darkhold for himself, replacing May with an LMD in an attempt to get it. There's a great sense of paranoia to the whole arc, especially once the show introduces the fact that characters other than May could be LMDs as well, as well as some interesting themes on man vs machine. The stuff regarding SHIELD's reputation is also mostly fantastic, between the reveal that Mace isn't an Inhuman and the stuff with Nadeer. However, I think the arc does start to suffer once it introduces the Superior, the Russian leader of the Inhuman-hating Watchdogs. He's not very compelling at all, and really drags down the season. Thankfully, it all ends on one of the, if not the, best episodes of the whole show, making the whole arc more than worth it.

Framework Arc: But while I like the LMD and Ghost Rider arcs, they don't even come close to the final storyline of the season: The Framework arc. I've expressed my distaste with alternate universe episodes but this is a huge exception, I love this storyline. It's primarily about Daisy and Simmons going into the Framework that Radcliffe and Aida built to save the rest of the team, a virtual reality where everyone's regrets never happened. Unfortunately, those regrets not happened ending up leading to a 1984-esque Hydra-owned hellhole, where May and Fitz are the villains, Ward is a double agent but for SHIELD, and Mack has the daughter he previously lost. Seeing Daisy and Simmons try to survive such an oppressive place is already super gripping (and the political commentary, while not subtle, very much works here), but I especially love how the Framework fits in with everyone's character arcs for the season. Fitz has to deal with feeling like a monster after helping to create Aida, Daisy has to deal with Lincoln's death all over again, Mack has to deal with the loss of his kid, and so on. Despite being an alternate reality, much of the development from the Framework ends up sticking, and the last two episodes taking place back in the real world not only affirms this development but brings together all the previous arcs for one big final battle with Aida. It's just fantastic.

While most of the season was great, these are the highlights. Yes, I know most of them are from the Framework arc:

Tbe Good Samaritan: This episode was a pretty fantastic turning point for the Ghost Rider arc, as it really feels like everything is starting to reach its fever pitch. For starters, Robbie reveals that he's Ghost Rider to his brother, as we finally learn about his backstory. The big confrontation on the Quinjet is tense, the reveal of the true villain was pretty cool, and the big cliffhanger left me stunned when I first watched it.

Deals With Our Devils: I was surprised to find that I liked this one a lot more than when I first watched it, the way it jumps between the perspectives of the team and Fitz, Coulson, and Robbie is really cool. There's also a lot of fantastic plot progression, like Simmons and Fitz reuniting, Aida reading the Darkhold, and Coulson learning that Mace has been colluding with Nadeer.

Self Control: This is an amazing episode, easily the show's best up to this point. With LMDs all over the base, the sense of paranoia is off the charts, and it leads to plenty of electric scenes where the characters just can't trust anyone. The whole episode is filled with legendary scenes, like Fitz and Simmons trying to figure out which of them is the LMD, Daisy blowing Mack to pieces, the Daisy LMDs, LMD May's sacrifice, Radcliffe being killed, and of course, that insane final scene that introduces the Framework. I also have to say, as of this episode, I think I'm starting to like the Skimmons ship... huh... 

What If...: This was such a tense and anxiety-inducing episode, and a strong start to the Framework arc. The show throws both Daisy and Simmons in the deep end and forces them to quickly adapt to a Hydra-occupied world that they're completely unfamiliar with. It all adds up to one of the bleakest episodes of the whole show.

No Regrets: I can't understate just how much of a 180 I made on Mace both times I watched this season. The writers want you to hate him at first, because he's new, unfamiliar, and a bit untrustworthy. But eventually you realize that he really does want to save the world, and his sacrifice to save a child and the rest of the team is just such a noble end to the character. A true patriot. Oh, and May turning against Hydra and giving Daisy a Terrigen crystal is pretty great too.

Farewell, Cruel World: This is pretty much the end of the Framework arc. While not the season finale, most of the cast is back in the real world by the end of this episode. Thankfully, Farewell Cruel World is a fantastic episode. It's fast-paced, tense, and action-packed that evokes the third act of the Matrix in a lot of ways. The final third in particular is fantastic, from Coulson and May's reunion, to Simmons's confrontation with Fitz, to Mack deciding to stay. The emotional moments all land incredibly well. 

The Return: I know I said What If... is one of the bleakest episodes in the series, but The Return is the bleakest episode in the series, at least so far. Saying the team had a rude awakening would be putting it lightly, with Coulson and May trapped underwater, the base being destroyed, SHIELD being declared fugitives again, Elena learning about Mack, and all that sweet sweet drama between Fitz, Simmons, and Aida. This episode is raw, emotional, and incredibly well-acted, while also managing to include some great action and the long-awaited return of Ghost Rider.

World's End: This finale is absolutely packed, but still manages to be a satisfying ending to the season. Obviously, the big emotional stuff happens in the Framework, with Hope disappearing and Radcliffe's death. But there's also Coulson briefly becoming the Ghost Rider, May and Coulson finally getting to discuss their relationship, Talbot getting shot, SHIELD's reputation getting destroyed, and of course, that pretty crazy abduction cliffhanger. This was the last episode that I saw before quitting the show, and I couldn't be more excited to see what happens next.

Overall, Season 4 is amazing. It's well-paced, character-driven, exciting, emotional, and every single one of the three arcs are great in their own ways. And the Framework arc, one of the best storylines in all of television. I can't overstate this enough, I love this season, and it held up just as well upon rewatch.

5/5 Stars

Agents Of SHIELD (Season 3)

While an improvement over the first, Season 2 suffered from a weaker second half. While I overall liked Season 3 even better, I'd be remiss not to say that it has the exact same problem.

Season 3 starts with more and more people getting turned into Inhumans due to the Terrigen getting into fish oil pills. The president establishes a unit called the ATCU, forcing SHIELD to figure out whether or not they're a friend or foe. I really like the ATCU as a foil of SHIELD, they work a lot better than the "real SHIELD" does especially due to just how great of a character Rosalind is. Her chemistry with Coulson is fantastic and I like her morally ambiguous nature. As a result, I am a bit mixed on her death at the hands of Ward. On one hand, it's blatant fridging and a waste of a great character. On the other hand, it really shocked me when I first watched the show and did give the season momentum going into the midseason finale. Similarly to Season 2, this half of the season has a lot of fantastic subplots, like Ward trying to make a new Hydra, May contemplating getting back into the field and dealing with learning her boyfriend Andrew is a murderous Inhuman, and best of all, Simmons being rescued from the planet the Monolith sent her to and working with Fitz to go back and save the person who helped her survive. All of the subplots fit together really well, and it all leads to three really strong episodes to end off this first half.

However, the second half of Season 3 is, once again, not as strong as the first. The main arc is about Hive, who took over Ward, trying to... There thankfully aren't any awful subplots like the "real SHIELD" arc, but I always found Hive to be a pretty dull antagonist. Given how cruel and sadistic Ward has been in the first half, Hive basically just being an Inhuman cult leader just isn't as fun. However, there is a lot to like about this half as well. It's really satisfying to see Hydra finally go down for good, the half deals with the public reaction to Inhumans in some pretty great ways, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez makes her first appearance, and we have plenty of really great and surprisingly emotional episodes like Parting Shots, Spacetime, and The Team. The final few episodes when Skye gets swayed to Hive's side, while not as good as the ending to the last two seasons, is still a solid and tense way to end the season. Frankly, my other biggest issue with Season 3B is the waste of some characters and plotlines. Hunter and Morse left the show for a spinoff that never ended up happening, but they never actually returned which sucks given how much fun they were this season. And while The Team's big twist was really cool, it does come at the cost of us not actually getting much time to see a full-on Secret Warriors team in action.

This season had some of my favorite episodes in the show to date, such as:

4,722 Hours: This was one of my favorite episodes upon first viewing and I still think it's fantastic. I just love its concept, spending the whole episode with a single character trying to survive on Maveth. Elizabeth Henstridge proves that she can carry an entire episode herself, and I think this episode was at its best when it was just Simmons trying to figure out how to survive. In addition, the final scene where Fitz decides to help Simmons save Will despite believing that she likes him was pretty great too.

Many Heads, One Tale: This show has the best plot twists, I swear. The reveal of Hydra's history and how much it has been responsible for was so well-executed and ties together the whole first half of the season. This episode had plenty of fantastic scenes outside of the ending though, like Fitz and Simmons's first scene, Coulson accusing Rosalind of being a part of Hydra, and funniest of all, the hacking mission that lovingly apes Mr Robot.

Maveth: I definitely remember this episode being a bit of a let-down after the shock-heavy Closure, but Maveth really did hold up a lot more after rewatching. The scenes on the titular planet were brutal and harsh, and there were a lot of big twists between the Will reveal, Ward's death, and the final Hive scene. Even more, it was really cool to see Lincoln and Joey go on their first mission as we get to see the Inhumans really start to integrate into SHIELD.

Parting Shots: Bobbi and Hunter's final episode was already pretty fun, with a neat Deus Ex Machina structure and plenty of moments that showcase the two at their best. But what really pushed this episode up for me was the beautiful final scene, a spy's goodbye, one of the most iconic tearjerkers of the whole show.

Spacetime: This was another episode that I really liked when I first saw it, and I think it's even better upon rewatch! The main plot about Daisy trying to change the future and save an Inhuman is a great standalone story, balancing some serious emotional heft with a surprising amount of humor (I could watch those practice sessions all day), but it also fits in perfectly with her character starting to be a bit more cocky and overly prideful about being an Inhuman. And if all that's not enough, Andrew permanently turns into Lash, the agents learn Ward is "alive", Chloe Bennett gets another great one-take fight scene, Fitz and Simmons hold hands, and Daisy learns of the Shield agent dying in the spaceship, really pushing the season's arc forward. It really is impressive how much happens here.

Ascension: While not one of the show's better finales, Ascension was really tense when I first saw it with all the hype around who's going to die. Of course, it had to be Lincoln (and I'm kinda glad it was), and his death scene with Hive was really great. I also loved the time jump and the LMD hook for Season 4.

Overall, Season 3 was pretty great. It was a satisfying end to the show's big conflict with Hydra, boasting some of the best episodes in the series and plenty of really strong emotional moments. However, once again, its first half was much better than the second, and the loss of certain characters (Rosalind, Morse, Hunter) was a big mistake.

4/5 Stars

Agents Of SHIELD (Season 2)

Season 2 of Agents Of Shield is a showcase of just how much the series has changed since its humble beginnings. It's dark, serialized, kinda messy, and it takes all of its characters to some really interesting places. 

This is the first season of Agents Of Shield to utilize the "half-arc season" format, with a storyline in the first half of the season and an entirely different one in the second half. The first arc of Season 2 mostly focuses around the fight between Shield and Hydra, and it's pretty great. I really liked seeing Shield try to take down Hydra without further damaging their reputation, and the central mystery about the obelisk and Coulson's sketches are really fascinating. But what really makes this part of the season for me are the myriad of subplots, such as Simmons going undercover at Hydra, Fitz dealing with the damage caused by his sacrifice last season, Ward confronting his ambiguously abusive brother, and May getting to fight an agent that looks exactly like her. All of these storylines weave together super well and really push the characters into unique directions. I love how Skye starts training with May and develops into a genuinely fantastic fighter, Fitz and Simmons's relationship straining is painful to watch, and Ward is probably at his most interesting here. It all culminates in a fantastic midseason finale that really changes the status quo, revealing that Skye and Raina are Inhumans.

Unfortunately, the "Inhuman arc" of Season 2 is a bit more mixed than the first half. Skye's character development is definitely the best part of this part of the season as she learns to control her powers and come into her own, ending the season as Daisy Johnson (aka Quake). It's really hard to watch the rest of SHIELD struggle to figure out how to treat her, but it's also pretty realistic too. I was also surprised at how good the Afterlife stuff was. When I first watched it, I thought it was a bit too slow and fantasy-heavy, but the character work for Skye was really great (Lincoln still sucks though). The Real SHIELD arc, on the other hand, was so much worse than I remembered it being. This was hands down the worst thing about the season, and I can't even begin to explain my issues with it: Why are they called "Real SHIELD" if they're not actually doing anything to protect humanity? Why are they mad that the leader of a spy organization is keeping secrets? Why didn't they do anything in the first half of the season when Coulson was having his visions and actually acting irrationally? The whole conflict felt dragged out and manufactured. Thankfully, though, the season once again manages to end on a fantastic streak of episodes, including a May backstory, Age Of Ultron crossover, and a phenomenal two-part finale.

Season 2 does have a lot of great episodes that aren't entirely focused at the end due to its overall better quality:

A Hen In The Wolf House: I really liked the "Simmons goes undercover" storyline, and A Hen In The Wolf House was a fantastic resolution, with Bobbi Morse making a killer debut as she arrives to save her, which in turn allows for an uncomfortable reunion between her and Fitz. Skye also has a big episode, as she learns what's been going on with Coulson as well as the fact that her father is kind of an awful person.

What They Become: I remember the hype around this episode, all those previews announcing that this midseason finale would be a game-changer. They were so right. Skye's father is Mister Hyde, her name is Daisy, and she and Raina are both Inhumans! It's an outstanding ending that permanently transforms the show, pretty much forever. Not to mention the deaths of Triplett and Whitehall, and many plot threads from the first half of the season getting resolved.

Melinda: This was such a fantastic episode, and not just because the real SHIELD was nowhere in sight. May's backstory was just as good as I had hoped. Not only did she live up to the "Cavalry" stories, but May getting traumatized was an huge punch in the gut. The Afterlife stuff was great too, with three awesome twists revealing that Jiaying is Skye's mom, that the kid May killed was an inhuman, and that Raina's power is future sight.

The Dirty Half Dozen: This was a pretty great tie-in for Age Of Ultron, and one of the last major MCU tie-ins this show would do. I love the idea of the show bringing together the original six for one last mission to take down Hydra, and there's a great tension about whether or not Ward will turn on the team. Not to mention the action is some of the best in the series, especially that Skye long take.

SOS: It's a shame we don't get as many grand two-part finales anymore, just like the best endings of something like Lost or Buffy, SOS feels cinematic. It feels like an "Agents Of SHIELD movie". Every character gets something to do, the action is grand, the plot twists are shocking, and by the end of the finale, the status quo has been dramatically changed. Obviously there's Bobbi and May leaving, Skye going by Daisy, several characters dying, Coulson losing his left arm, and Ward taking over Hydra, but none of that even comes close to the huge cliffhanger of Terrigen getting into the water. 

Overall, Season 2 was a bit of a messy season at points. It had a really strong start, a fantastic end, some great subplots, a stronger sense of serialization, and some amazing plot twists. However, the real SHIELD arc was very poorly-written and did drag down the season a bit for me.

4/5 Stars

Agents Of SHIELD (Season 1)

I used to love Agents Of SHIELD. I watched up to Season 4 while it was airing, but I stopped at Season 5, around the same time I stopped watching the Arrowverse. Though unlike with those shows, it's not that I stopped being interested, I was just tired of all those superhero shows at time. So I decided to go back, watch the whole thing, and see what I missed, starting with Season 1, which is almost unanimously considered to be a slow start for the show. I, however, think that's being a bit harsh.

Agents Of SHIELD is a spinoff of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though like the Netflix series, it eventually becomes its own disconnected thing. After the Battle Of New York, a revived Phil Coulson creates a taskforce of SHIELD Agents to deal with unusual people, technology, and cases. The first half of the season is fairly procedural, focusing on one-off baddies and episodic situations. I think that's why a lot of people find much of this season pretty dull, and I will admit that there are some rough episodes at points, especially the Thor crossovers. However, even the early episodes have some compelling mysteries, like how Coulson came back to life, what the hacker Skye's origin is, and pretty much everything about Centipede. Sure the season starts episodic, but it slowly becomes more serialized, not unlike one of my favorite shows of all time: Person Of Interest. Personally, I think the midseason finale is a big turning point, as the stuff around Coulson's backstory is actually really intriguing. But even when the season is weak, it helps that the main cast is likable and has a great banter with each other. Coulson and Skye are great leads, May is just incredibly badass, and Fitz and Simmons are adorable. The only weak link in the cast for much of the season is Agent Grant Ward, but that changes in the final third. 

Because while I do actually enjoy much of the first two thirds of the season, everyone knows that Agents Of SHIELD gets a massive boost in quality around Episode 16, as we learn that Hydra has been fully integrated into SHIELD, and that Ward is a Hydra agent. This was actually a crossover with The Winter Soldier, but it actually helps the series really come into its own. The Ward twist is one of my favorites in all of TV, as it was surprising without being completely out of character. Rewatching the first two thirds of the season knowing Ward is a Hydra agent gives his character a bit more depth, and while I don't know how well it was planned out ahead of time, I think it fits perfectly. In addition, SHIELD being pretty much taken over by Hydra gives the show a much needed sense of urgency, forcing the agents to go on the run for the final third of Season 1. It leads to a phenomenal last batch of episodes that really does blow anything the show has done out of the water, managing to tie a lot of the season's more disparate plot threads together in an impressively satisfying manner.

This season had a bunch of strong episodes, especially in the final third:

T.R.A.C.K.S.: This was a nice change of pace for the series, an experimental episode about the agents attempting a train heist that quickly goes completely off the rails (get it?). The perpsective jumps were super creative and led to a lot of strong comedic moments. This was easily the funniest episode of the show so far... at least until Skye gets shot kicking the show into second gear.

End Of The Beginning: While "Turn, Turn, Turn" is the more iconic episode, I think this one rivals it in terms of sheer twist-y ness. Because Ward kills the Clairvoyant in this episode, the season should end here, right? But then Skye realizes the Clairvoyant is a mole in Shield, and then Fitz discovers May's encrypted line, and then the Bus starts heading to the Hub so that Hand could slaughter everyone, and it's really starting to feel like the agents are really starting to fall apart.

Turn, Turn, Turn: This is still one of the best episodes in the series, it's a nonstop series of twists and turns that turns Agents Of Shield completely on its head. I actually really like the chaotic opening where everyone is turning against each other and screaming like crazy, and it just so happens that Skye is the only one not being accused of anything. In any other episode, that would be the best scene. But then there's the reveal of May being the one to make the team, and the reveal that Hydra has taken over Shield, and the reveal that Garrett is the Clairvoyant, and of course, the shocking ending where Ward shoots Hand four times revealing he's also an agent of Hydra. Just, what an episode. Even when I know what happens, it's nail-biting as hell.

Nothing Personal: It's been a long time since Skye's first mission, and Nothing Personal is a showcase of how much she's grown and improved. While Skye managing to survive under Ward's watch until the fun rescue mission is already great, this episode also manages to pack in the most screentime Maria Hill has ever gotten, the agents dealing with learning Ward is part of Hydra, the attack on the Providence base, and the big reveal that Coulson was in charge of Project T.A.H.I.T.I.

Beginning Of The End: This is a pretty great finale, pretty much giving everyone a chance to shine. May and Ward got the best fight scene in the whole season, Coulson defeated Garrett in a hilariously satisfying manner, Fitz and Simmons's subplot continues to be emotionally wrecking, and Skye got a great chance to show her growth. Not to mention Nick Fury's appearance, as well as the bucketload of cliffhangers that cap off the episode.

Overall, I still really like Season 1. Admittedly it does have a pretty slow start and a bunch of really weak episodes early on, but the characters are likable, the mysteries are compelling, and the final batch of episodes once Hydra takes over are absolutely fantastic. Also, given that later seasons would delve into Inhumans, outer space, and time travel, there's a charm to Season 1 simply being an espionage show about SHIELD agents.

3/5 Stars