Spaaaaace?!
Full spoilers for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD continue below. For more on SHIELD, check out our interview with Jed Whedon and Jeff Bell talking Season 5 plans and THAT cliffhanger.
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD finished out a fantastic season with a great closing episode, successfully managing to tie together the many threads of Season 4 with a satisfying ending. And, in true SHIELD style, it ended with one heck of a cliffhanger.
Robbie Reyes' return shifted the tone of Season 4 back toward where it was in the first pod of the season, but his return also showcased just how much has changed during his absence. To me, the Framework remains Season 4's highpoint, even as well-executed as this finale was. Mixing both the supernatural and technological together one final time this season in the finale allowed for action sequences as great as Robbie and Daisy's showdown against Aida and her goons, but also left room for some emotionally impactful sequences.
There were a lot of separate storylines at play leading up to the finale, and the expectation was that "World's End" would find a way to tie together the Darkhold, Ghost Rider, Aida, the Superior, Talbot's impending closure of SHIELD and the Framework in one tidy 43-minute time slot. The episode actually did do all that, and went beyond that expectation as well, making sure the emotional beats of the season were felt. And as great as the action and plot movement were, it's those emotional beats that were the best part of this finale.
When Fitz offered to sacrifice himself for the team, Daisy used her journey over the course of this season to remind him they need to be in this together. That was a reminder of just how far Daisy has come over the course of this season; it's always welcome for a show to spend time developing their characters and not leave that development in the rearview mirror.
It's been interesting to see how Agents of SHIELD has matured over the years, and for all that moving it to the 10 p.m. time slot meant it could include and explore darker material, one of the reasons Season 4 was so effective was the way it forced its characters to make hard adult decisions. For every robot that needed to be killed or spirit of vengeance mandating a murder, there were explorations of loss, grief, choice and what it means to be human.
That was captured well in the shutdown of the Framework, when Yo-Yo stayed with Mack until the bitter end, trying to convince him to leave behind the simulated world and his simulated daughter to come back with her to reality. Like Fitz and Simmons' emotional reconnection in last week's episode, Henry Simmons' portrayal of Mack's grief when Hope finally disappeared was a standout scene in this episode. It was a human moment in a show that frequently veers into superhuman territory, which is a testament to how SHIELD has grown into its own.
That was showcased best in what was hands down the best scene of "World's End": Radcliffe's goodbye. That sequence was perfect, capturing the pathos of the Framework in just a few moments. It was a gut-punch of a scene, and one that shows just how far this series has come. Between the excellent work of Mallory Jansen and John Hannah (as well as Gabriel Luna and Jason O'Mara), it's a shame this season ending means it's time to say goodbye.
As for that cliffhanger... well, it seems like Season 5 isn't going to leave a lot of time for these characters to get their years, as Daisy said, to cope with the trauma the Darkhold inflicted. But as much as that tease of a season kidnapped in space is incredibly exciting, let's not forget just how earned that sequence at the diner was, when the entire team was together and experiencing a normal, everyday part of life. The capable balance of those two dynamics is one of the biggest reasons I'm thrilled Agents of SHIELD got picked up for Season 5.
The Verdict
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD brought together the many threads of Season 4 into a balanced finale that mixed cool action with emotional beats. "World's End" took the time to reflect back on the 21 episodes that came before it and showcase just how much has changed over the course of this season. While we might not remember several years down the road the specifics of the Darkhold and the Superior and all the other plot details that propelled this season along, the emotional growth of Season 4 made it the strongest SHIELD season to date. Up next: spaaaace!
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