Ranking The First Six Seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

When Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned to ABC for its seventh season on May 27th it did so for the last time.  Fans hope that some of the series’ beloved characters will be able to live on in other Marvel Cinematic Universe projects but it’s definitely the end of an era for the team that Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) built.  So before Daisy Johnson (Chloe Bennett) and company’s final adventure comes to an end I thought it would be nice to look back on their past ones.  So without further ado, here are the first six seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ranked from worst to best.

Spoilers for all six seasons and certain Marvel Cinematic Universe films follow:

6.  Season 6

One of the few things causing me concern for the final season is that it comes on the heels of what is easily the show’s weakest run to date.  In Season 6’s defense, as I mentioned in my review of its finale, it had to accomplish several significant tasks in addition to telling its own story.  During production of the fifth season everyone involved with the show was nearly certain that would be its last run, so much so that the fifth season finale (fittingly titled “The End”) wrote off the show’s leading man, the beloved Agent Coulson, who Gregg had played with such effortless charm since the first Iron Man film in 2008, giving him a perfectly bittersweet send-off.  In an admirable display of creative integrity, the creators refused to simply undo this ending and have Coulson return to Shield duty when the surprising, but welcome sixth season renewal came.  But just because the show was brave enough to forge ahead without Coulson didn’t mean it could get rid of Gregg and as a result the season’s narrative revolved around a new character played by the actor, Sarge, whose true identity and connection to Coulson were gradually revealed over the course of the season.  Unfortunately, by the time the truth about Sarge was revealed it wound up being convoluted and underwhelming, especially because the show had teased the possibility of the character having connections to the mythology of Marvel Comics anti-hero Ghost Rider, who was featured as a fan-favorite guest character in the fourth season, but nothing ultimately came of this.  Also putting a strain on the sixth season is the fact that the seventh, ordered while the former was still in production, was confirmed to be the last, so the show now had to set up another final run.

As a result of all this the story of Season 6 is rather thin and incomplete, clearly only existing to move the characters from where they were at the end of Season 5 to where they needed to be before the start of Season 7.  Season 6 is a run where a lot happens but little of it really feels important or consequential.  For much of the 13-episode stretch, the core Shield family is separated.  Director Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie (Henry Simmons) leads a rebuilt Shield organization spearheaded by Inhuman super-speedster Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) and experienced combat specialist Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) that comes into conflict with Sarge, whose morality constantly shifts, while Daisy and top-Shield Doctor Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) search the far reaches of space for the latter’s missing lover, engineer Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker).  This split narrative occasionally works well, such as in the breezy, fast-paced premiere “Missing Pieces” and the action-packed two-parter “Collision Course”, in which the two storylines finally, well… collide, but for the most part, it highlights the flaws in both storylines.  For the Earth-bound story, the main issue is that Sarge’s motives are left vague for too long.  The space story benefits from the vibrant chemistry between Bennet and Henstridge and Henstridge and De Caestecker but it also fails to meaningfully develop Daisy’s character and relies too heavily on the show’s habit of putting increasingly complicated obstacles in the way of the fan-favorite Fitzsimmons romance.

If there’s one element of Season 6 that stands out in a good way it’s the spectacle it delivers.  The reduced episode count seems to have led to Season 6 having a relatively higher budget than its predecessors (especially its immediate one) and it shows in the visual effects. Shield had been to space prior to this but had always had to depict it in ways that reduced the complexity of production design but that’s not the case here and the environments and aliens depicted are more varied and aesthetically pleasing.  The Earth-bound storyline also offers some striking sights.  Some of the new elements introduced to the series’ mythology in Season 6 forced the show to take influence from a previously unused genre, namely body horror, and the ways in which agents and victims are killed by the villains’ otherworldly weapons are creatively grotesque and sufficiently disturbing.

Most Valuable Performers: It’s a lot of fun to watch Gregg make his heel turn but May gets the fullest character arc and Ming-Na Wen does great with it.

Best Episode: “Inescapable” finally ended the separation of Fitzsimmons and forced the couple to take a long, hard look at the flaws with themselves, each other, and their relationship.  Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge reminded us all why they’re such an incredible on-screen couple and despite coming from the weakest season it’s one of the series’ all-time best episodes.

5. Season 1

The first season is one I wish I could grade in sections, not as a whole because its last few episodes are so strong.  Unfortunately, the show got off to a rather weak start which had lasting consequences on both its popularity and the amount it was allowed to contribute to and or participate in the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe.  As the first television series set within the MCU, there was considerable anticipation surrounding Shield before it premiered, with fans eager to see how the franchise would adapt to including stories within a new medium and how the show would influence future films.  And, of course, the central question of how Coulson could be around to lead the series when he was killed by Loki in The Avengers titillated viewers.  However, after a solid, if unspectacular premiere many were disappointed when the show settled into an almost entirely episodic, procedural format.  Critics and fans alike were dissatisfied with the slow pace at which the show developed serial storylines and how connections to the films came more often in the form of forced references and only the briefest of cameos by MCU actors, rather than meaningful story points.  To some extent, viewers were victims of their own expectations.  Shield may be part of the MCU but nobody should have expected Robert Downey Jr. to be appearing on an ABC show every other week.  But while it shouldn’t be judged for failing to meet unreasonable hopes much of the blame for the weakness of the show’s early days lies squarely at the feet of Shield itself.  The show simply never demonstrated the capacity to make its episodic “freak of the week” elements consistently compelling the way that other fantasy and sci-fi series such as The X-Files (an obvious influence on Shield) and Supernatural do.  And while these lighthearted early installments did allow the cast and writers the opportunity to lay the foundational character dynamics between the six-person team at the show’s core they often did so in bland, glacially slow manners, only offering one or two of the smallest new pieces of relevant information or nuance at a time.

But then everything changed when Captain America: The Winter Soldier came out.  As viewers of what many rightfully deem the MCU’s best film remember The Winter Soldier contains the shocking reveal that Shield had been infiltrated by Hydra since its creation and that around half of the agency’s members secretly served the terrorist group.  This was a devastating enough surprise in the film but was even more so on the show that exclusively focused on Shield and the people in it.  Suddenly Coulson’s tight-knit team found themselves both facing a massive, influential enemy and completely unsure who they could trust, even having to reckon with the discovery that one of their own was a Hydra double agent.  The shift in tone and quality came on rapidly.  The show had been showing some slight improvement in the episodes immediately prior to this point thanks to a dramatic attack on a member of the team and a guest appearance by Thor’s Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander) but it was episodes 16 (“End of the Beginning”) and 17 (“Turn, Turn, Turn”) which take place immediately before and concurrent with the events in The Winter Soldier where the show finally lived up to its full, medium-uniting potential.  These episodes established a new, tense atmosphere and “anything can happen” vibe for the series.  The Hydra twist both led to the show abandoning its episodic storytelling, a decision it never looked back from (even though some plot developments and devices introduced in those early episodes returned, retroactively improving the procedural installments, if only a little) and gave the team the trial by fire they needed to become more fleshed-out, compelling characters worth following.  By the time the exhilarating finale (which includes the show’s best MCU cameo) rolled around the show had established itself as its own worthy Marvel tale.  It’s just a shame it took so long to do so.

Most Valuable Performers: Gregg had to carry this season more so than any of the others and does a good job of doing so.  Exploring Coulson in more depth for the first time was definitely one of the best things about the uneven first run.  Ruth Negga and the late Bill Paxton also steal every scene they’re in as the mysterious, superpower obsessed Raina and Coulson’s old Shield buddy John Garrett, respectively, and Brett Dalton quickly proved those who thought he was just a pretty face (which was pretty much everyone who watched the show) wrong once a key secret about Agent Grant Ward was revealed, allowing the actor to show more range.

Best Episode: “Turn, Turn, Turn” easily.  “FZZT” is also the lone standout among the procedural episodes for the ways in which it explores Coulson’s feelings about his death and rebirth and for being the first time Fitzsimmons were pushed to emotional extremes, allowing De Caestecker and Henstridge to demonstrate their considerable dramatic chops.

4. Season 3

If you like the Inhuman mythology on Shield this season is right up your alley.  If not, it might be harder to get through.  The introduction of the Marvel Comics species, a subset of humanity who, due to alien experimentation, has the genetic potential to develop superhuman abilities to Shield (and the MCU) was one of the show’s most significant accomplishments.  The arrival of the Inhumans gave the show a reliable, easy way to introduce superpowered characters and allowed it to explore themes of prejudice and discrimination similar to how X-Men comics do so and Season 2 did an excellent job of adding the Inhumans to the show in natural, gradual ways.  Season 3 was much more Inhuman-centric with practically every storyline connected to the growing number of Inhumans in the world in some way.  This escalation in the group’s significance made sense but it also cost the show some of the variety that makes it fun to watch.  Additionally, despite the amount of focus it gave to them, the show’s depictions of the individual Inhumans themselves weren’t necessarily all that creative, using fairly standard choices of superpowers that led to designs and visual effects that were less inspired than they could have been.

This speaks to another problem with Season 3, which is its mixed success in delivering payoffs.  This is most notable in regard to what is nominally one of the season’s main storylines, the formation of the Secret Warriors.  The end of Season 2 saw Daisy and Coulson planning to form a version of the covert superhero team (to which Daisy belongs in the comics) under the former’s command in response to the growing number of powered people in the world.  Unfortunately, the third season’s follow up to this exciting tease was anything but satisfactory.  Despite the heavy focus on Inhumans, only two of those introduced in Season 3 became actual agents/superheroes, and only one, Yo-Yo, would continue to appear going forward.  In addition to these two and Daisy, the show’s only other regularly appearing superpowered protagonist was Luke Mitchell’s Lincoln, who was promoted to series regular status after being a guest in Season 2 and while the character had a brief stretch of strong appearances in the last couple episodes of Season 3, for much of his time on the show he was a very bland and lifeless character.  The show’s version of the Secret Warriors also only united for one episode before internal threats broke them apart and while ultimately I think limiting the number of superheroes in the cast is ultimately the right choice, as it allows the show to devote more time to its well-established human characters, its handling of this storyline is the show’s clearest example of failing to deliver satisfying resolutions to long-teased plotlines.  Unfortunately, its not the only example in Season 3 which also sacrifices several compelling characters for poor reasons.  Season 2 introduced Dr. Andrew Garner (Blair Underwood), a Shield psychiatrist who also happened to be May’s ex-husband. Underwood’s performances and Andrew’s relationships with May and the rest of the team were compelling, but rather than flesh them out through further development the show used Andrew’s connection to the Inhumans to set him on a dark path that ultimately led to the character being written off the show.  Likewise, the first half of Season 3 introduced a fascinating new character in the form of Rosalind Price (Constance Zimmer), the head of a rival intelligence agency that formed an unexpected bond with Coulson.  Zimmer’s warm yet authoritative presence and chemistry with Gregg were highlights of those early episodes and yet Rosalind also was written out, before the show even got to winter break.  Worse, her exit was used to fuel the season’s dull, predictable story arc for Coulson.  One of the things that makes Coulson such a charming character is that despite being a badass spy he maintains his enthusiastic, fanboyish personality and doesn’t display many of the angsty behaviors often attributed to male action heroes but Season 3 forgets this and has him go through a fairly standard arc of becoming more brutal and subservient to an “ends justify the means” mentality.  The show does have him recognize this and make active moves to correct it later on but it’s still annoying to watch the character become something antithetical to his appeal.

All of this makes it sound like I hate Season 3, but that’s definitely not the case.  It has some significant issues, most of which I’ve covered, but ultimately it’s a strong and important year that sees the show take the necessary steps to evolve.  And there are some payoffs that are absolutely satisfying, delivering and expanding on some of the show’s other early promises in compelling ways.  The season’s most important success is with Fitzsimmons who answer the “will they, won’t they” question when, after a few trips to outer space and a brief but complicated love triangle, they finally move into a steady romantic relationship.  TV history is littered with examples of shows who couldn’t handle transitioning their respective “best friends who are in love with each other” duos into actual romantic partners but Shield does so gracefully, and watching Fitz and Jemma’s relationship be born and evolve provides the mythology-heavy season with a strong emotional core and after two years of working together, Henstridge and De Caestecker are well prepared for the shift in their on-screen dynamic.  Their chemistry leaps off-screen and makes the love between their characters feel incredibly real.

A lot of Season 3’s successes are similarly rooted in the show’s history, with another prime example being its approach to its villains.  The two halves of the season each have their own Big Bads but they’re both played by Brett Dalton, who does some of his finest work in his last season as a series regular.  The first half sees Grant Ward finally accepting his true identity as a ruthless criminal, seeking revenge on Shield for perceived slights, and Dalton makes his seething rage and self-deluding confidence palpable.  Through one of the show’s signature sci-fi twists the otherworldly villain of the second half, known as Hive, winds up possessing Ward’s body.  This leads to some brief continuations of the character’s story as Ward’s personality sometimes bleeds into Hives but for the most part, the roles are very distinct, thanks in no small part to Dalton’s performance.  While the first half found Ward at his most dangerous it also found him acting more sloppily and impulsively.  Hive is a more calm, deliberate villain and Dalton effectively shifts to a more quiet, discreetly unsettling delivery.  Likewise, while it takes too long for Season 3 to introduce a complex arc for Daisy the one it does include in the final episodes is a doozy, with several significant twists forcing the character to reevaluate her place in the world and feelings towards Shield, which in turn lead to even stronger development of the character in Season 4.

The last of Season 3’s major strengths is the spirit of creative experimentation it brought to the series.  Aside from a few references to the events of Captain America: Civil War Season 3 was the first season to be light on the MCU connections and this forced Shield to stretch itself with its narrative and stylistic choices in order to better stand out as its own entity.  Episodes began to play with varied elements of genre, pacing, and structure more often and more successfully than those in the earlier seasons had.  The prime example of this is the fifth episode of the season, “4,722 Hours” which many still see as a creative zenith for the series.  Chronicling the months Jemma Simmons spent struggling to survive alone on an alien planet the episode is mostly a one-woman show and Henstridge’s performance and its study of themes such as isolation make it a captivating installment.

Most Valuable Performers:  In terms of single episode performances Henstridge’s aforementioned one and Bennet’s in the two-part finale are the most striking but overall this was a spotlight year for Dalton.

Best Episode: I would be kicked out of the Shield fandom if I didn’t at least consider “4,722 Hours” but for me, that finale is the high point.  I appreciate it more on re-watches but Season 3 did come out during a period when there was a particularly high concentration of superhero shows on TV and between that and my dissatisfaction with some of its story choices the home stretch of the season is the one point in the series’ history when I did consider dropping it.  But those last two episodes, with their bold and dynamic storytelling, surprising teases for the future, and vulnerable performances from Dalton, Mitchell, and especially Bennet sucked me right back in.  “Parting Shot” also does an excellent job of finishing the stories of the husband and wife spy duo Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird (Adrianne Palicki) and Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) (after a poor studio decision forced them off the show) and is one of the series’ biggest tearjerkers.

3. Season 5

Shield‘s darkest run is also one of its best.  As I’ve mentioned, everyone involved was convinced Season 5 would be the series’ last and that’s obvious in the storytelling, which forces the agents to face their most desperate, emotionally draining mission.  The stakes for the season are set at an immense height right from the get-go.  Saving the world is what the agents do but the danger to humanity has never been as great as it is here, when, after finding themselves in both space and the future, the team discovers that the Earth has literally been torn apart.

Despite the success of Season 4’s three-part pod structure, Season 5 returns to the regular two half seasons approach, with the first ten episodes depicting the team’s struggle to survive in the dystopian society of an alien-run space station orbiting the remains of Earth before they can return home, while the last twelve focus on their present-day attempts to alter the timeline, so the apocalyptic scenario never comes to be, even as their attempts to do so are hindered by their status as fugitives and a host of emotional and psychological problems that begin to splinter the group.  The writers definitely make some questionable choices throughout (the decision to throw the team into another dystopian scenario immediately after Season 4’s captivating final arc doesn’t do the early episodes any favors) and the latter half is noticeably stronger and more consistent but both are overall exhilarating and well-executed, bolstered by the confidence the show had earned after the increase in critical acclaim that came with Season 4.

Again, Season 5 is a particularly dark period for the show and not just because it has what is probably the show’s highest concentration of extreme violence (give or take the aforementioned body horror sequences in Season 6).  This was a year in which the weight of the many tragedies and traumas the agents had endured pushed down on them harder than ever, exacerbated by their current, similarly brutal, experiences.  The group really goes through the wringer this year, with Daisy and Jemma having a particularly rough go of it in the future and Yo-Yo having to deal with more than anyone ever should in the present.  Maimings, enslavements, psychological breaks, etc., the agents see it all in these twenty-two episodes and while their fortitude is admirable, cracks begin to form in their characters and relationships.  These trends are particularly noticeable in the later episodes, in which the responsibility of saving the world with such limited resources and options forces several agents to take drastic measures, employing tactics that abhor their friends. To make matters worse, the team’s mission is complicated by the knowledge that their success in changing the timeline would likely come at the cost of the life of one of their own.  It’s definitely more than a little heavy at times but it also makes for captivating drama, with the show continuing to push the boundaries of the kinds of stories that can be told in the superhero genre.

The darker tone mostly pays off but this season is also physically darker in terms of lighting and color than any of the others and not in a good way.  To be fair, visuals have always been an area of Shield in which viewers have to take the good with the bad.  The show’s action scenes and special effects are routinely exceptional (I often find myself marveling at the kinds of spectacle the show manages to deliver on a broadcast TV budget) and its bullpen of reliable directors like Kevin Tancharoen and Billy Gierhart have established a fun, if discreet, style of movement for the series that matches its quick pace.  But other areas of mise-en-scene such as color, lighting, and production design have been consistent weaknesses of the series since day one.  Most of Shield takes place in the same nondescript, gray and brown hallways, and office settings, and for whatever reason, whether there was a budget cut or too much money was spent on action scenes and creature designs, the problem became worse than ever in Season 5.  The space station in the first half of the season and the new Shield HQ in which the team takes up residence in the second are virtually indistinguishable and so much time is spent in both locations that viewers rejoiced when treated to even the briefest of outdoor sequences (whether they were actually filmed outdoors or not) of which there were only a scant few.  The show even accidentally drew attention to the issues in the late-season episode “Option Two” in which the headquarters is invaded by a group of aliens called the Remorath who have the ability to spread shadows throughout their environment to blind their enemies.  The agents’ fearful reactions to the new threat are rendered unintentionally funny, rather than dire because it’s so hard to discern the effects of the Remorath from the show’s usual ugly, decidedly uncinematic use of shadow.

Again, it’s easy to overlook some of the show’s issues when it’s firing on all cylinders and it very much is in Season 5.  The bleaker tone is definitely a bit jarring at first but it makes the season’s key moments of triumph and happiness, such as a joyful milestone reached in the hundredth episode “The Real Deal”, or the bittersweet yet optimistic conclusion of the pitch-perfect finale “The End” all the more satisfying.  And it’s not like the show is suddenly devoid of its quick wit, with Coulson continuing to provide a steady stream of amusing one-liners and Jeff Ward, who plays new, future-born team member Deke Shaw, proving to be an invaluable comic asset to the series.  If this had been the end of the Shield it would have been a very good one.  Now it’s up to Season 7 to deliver at least an equally strong conclusion.

Most Valuable Performers: Coulson and Daisy are both pushed to their emotional limits this year and Gregg and Bennet are reliably excellent.  But Simmons is the heart of the season, experiencing the greatest joys and most crushing blows, and Henstridge displays an astonishing emotional range throughout.

Best Episode: “The Devil Complex”, in which Fitz’s struggle with the darker side of his personality reaches a breaking point, resulting in one of the series’ most devastating twists.  “The Real Deal” and “The End” are both close runners up for the strong execution of their high-pressure tasks.

2. Season 2

The last few episodes of Season 1 are leagues ahead of the earlier ones but the show truly came into its own in Season 2.  With Shield fractured and Hydra exposed (but by no means defeated) in The Winter Soldier, recently promoted Director Coulson and his ragtag team must simultaneously rebuild their own organization and battle the terrorist syndicate, all while fugitives from the very governments they once served.  The team was also faced with a plethora of personal issues, from Fitz’s struggle with brain damage after surviving a traumatic ordeal in the first season finale to the tension between the newly reacquainted Bobbi and Hunter.  But most pressing was the group’s investigation into the mysterious web of conspiracies and alien artifacts that linked Coulson’s resurrection to Skye’s mysterious past.  This led to one of the show’s strongest storylines as Skye discovered both her Inhuman heritage and violent family history, leading her to finally adopt the name Daisy Johnson and take her place as the show’s main resident superhero.

As strong as it is, Season 2 is not without flaws, however, and they’re worth noting before continuing to praise it.  The show definitely went through some growing pains as it increased in scale and complexity.  There are one or two storylines this season, particularly that of a rival group to Coulson’s calling themselves “the real Shield”, that aren’t as impactful as the show wants them to be because they don’t have any lasting consequences.  This is also the only season where the size of the ensemble occasionally posed problems.  Season 2 has a larger cast of significant characters than its predecessor or any of its successors.  This makes it a treat for fans, especially on re-watches, for the way in which practically all of the show’s strongest characters, with only Deke and a few Season 4 guests as exceptions, appearing in some form or another, it also means that not everyone is given the room to shine and develop equally.  In order to facilitate the strong, comprehensive storylines it gives to the likes of Daisy, Fitz, and Bobbi the show, unfortunately, pushes other fan-favorites like B.J. Britt’s charismatic Agent Triplett and even sometimes May into the background.

Still, these are relatively minor gripes with what is ultimately a captivating run of television.  As I mentioned in my critique of Season 3, one of the things that make for good Shield is variety, and Season 2 is a prime example of this (as is the following entry).  The season’s main focuses maybe Skye’s journey and the intertwined introduction of the Inhumans but it’s also the season that features the best balance between superhero and spy storylines.  Even as the number of superpowered characters on the show rapidly increased it managed to tell grounded stories about what it means to be a Shield agent and how the lifestyle that comes with the job impacts the agents psychologically, stories that are obvious reflections of the real-life experiences of military, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel.  Bobbi and Hunter’s wonderful shared arc provides the best exploration of this theme as the latter’s recruitment into Shield and the effects it has on their relationship and the lengths she must go to carry out her duties cause Bobbi to question whether she really belongs there herself.  The season’s exploration of Grant Ward, who is at his most morally ambiguous and unpredictable also give it the edge of a good psychological thriller.

But ultimately the season belongs to Skye.  Throughout the first season, a lot of criticism (some warranted, some not) was directed at the character for what were perceived failings in her development and integration into the plot.  But in Season 2 it became clear the show was playing the long game with the character.  The start of the run found her completing her transition from hacktivist to field agent before stepping onto the path of the superhero.  The back half of the season is one of the best live-action superhero origins ever filmed, exploring not just the common themes of power and responsibility but also how her newfound abilities complicated the character’s sense of self and feelings about her difficult past, which are exacerbated by confrontations with her unstable father Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) who is rendered both a gleefully maniacal supervillain and a sympathetic, deeply disturbed man thanks to MacLachlan’s multi-faceted performance.

Most Valuable Performers: MacLachlan and Bennet, easily, though De Caestecker as always deserves credit for the complexity he brings to Fitz and Palicki expanded the series’ range in regard to drama, comedy, and action.

Best Episode: There are a lot of standout hours here but I’ll give it to “Melinda”.  While, May, as I mentioned, doesn’t have the biggest role throughout the season, this episode, which finally delivers the full backstory of what happened to her on her disastrous mission in Bahrain years before, pretty much makes up for it.  Any series runs the risk of not being able to deliver a satisfying payoff when they tease a single mystery this long but Shield did so with flying colors.  May’s shift from the more light-hearted, optimistic woman she was before Bahrain to the fundamentally damaged one introduced in the pilot is heart-wrenching, thanks to nuanced writing and Ming-Na Wen’s moving performance.

1. Season 4

This is the season that made the show a critical darling and it’s easy to see why.  In the middle of the show’s run, Season 4 was able to draw on the history of the characters and themes for narrative weight while also introducing plenty of new ideas that keep things feeling fresh and inviting and its innovative structure makes it a truly remarkable example of pacing that other serialized series, particularly those in similar genres, should try to emulate.

While the main thematic and plot elements of the season and the connective tissue provided by its overarching character arcs are all introduced at the start of the run, one of Season 4’s biggest successes was the decision to split the season into three smaller “pods”.  Each pod is a handful of episodes long and foregrounds specific characters, themes, and narrative devices, even as others develop in the background.  Plenty of connections exist between the pods and ultimately they all lead the show to a harmonious point in the exhilarating finale “World’s End” but they also work as their own, shorter story arcs, which in turn makes the individual episodes more consistently relevant and satisfying.  The approach is very reminiscent of how long comic book runs are structured and it turns something that’s a problem for many other shows, the standard 20 or more episode broadcast season, into a benefit.

But a fancy narrative structure wouldn’t mean much if the actual content isn’t engaging and it is very much so here.  The show both explores a lot of fun new territory and approaches familiar stuff from compelling new angles.  The first pod is the most attention-grabbing, as the show introduces the Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider to the MCU, with a scene-stealing performance from Gabriel Luna as the vengeful vigilante.  Luna’s Reyes added new energy to the series as the gritty storytelling the character inspired led the show to embrace an edgier tone in line with the Marvel Netflix series.  After the Ghost Rider pod, Shield faced an infestation of LMD’s (Life Model Decoys), advanced android replicas of themselves, programmed to believe they truly are the agents by a surprise villain.  The season’s middle portion is a tightly-written suspense thriller in which the possibility of anyone being an LMD forces the agents to question their trust in one another, even as they investigate an international conspiracy against Inhumans.  And finally, the team finds themselves in a virtual reality controlled by their mortal enemy in “Agents of Hydra”, widely considered to be the finest batch of episodes the show ever produced.

Shield has always had more on its mind than simple superhero escapism but Season 4 found the show becoming more sophisticated than ever before, including sociopolitical and ideological themes with greater frequency and in more complex manners.  The show had explored political and social issues before (mostly through the Inhuman storyline) but it became much more political in the fourth run, responding in real-time to the bizarre and disturbing events of the 2016 election and the beginning of the Trump administration.  The creators were most explicit (refreshingly so) in their critiques during the “Agents of Hydra” pod, in which they drew clear connections between the actions of Shield’s Nazi enemies and those of Trump and his followers, and pointing out how real-world America was quickly becoming more like the nightmarish dystopia in which the agents were trapped.  Other issues the season explored included mental illness and the psychological impacts of trauma.  Wracked with guilt over the things she did while under mind-control at the end of Season 3 and the tragic events that followed, Daisy starts the season alone, leaving Shield to operate as a lone vigilante combatting anti-Inhuman hate groups and undertaking increasingly risky missions, some of which are downright suicidal.  Chloe Bennet’s wounded performance and Daisy’s gradual return to her surrogate home and family give the early, action-heavy episodes a significant emotional charge.  Undergoing similarly emotional struggles are Fitz and Mack, who are reminded of past traumas in ways that strain their psychologies in heartbreaking but fascinating ways.

It’s the season with the widest variety of serious artistic fixations but Season 4 never forgets that the show is ultimately also supposed to be a fun one and significant strides are made in challenging and improving the show’s aesthetics and style, with the spectacle it displays often being nothing short of breathtaking.  The visual effects (particularly those used to bring Robbie’s demonic Ghost Rider form to life) are stunning, the action is intricate and energetically filmed, and the sci-fi concepts being explored, such as virtual reality, lead to some creative choices in narrative form.  It’s a pristine, heartfelt season, both one of the best superhero stories in any medium and great television regardless of genre.

Most Valuable Performers: Iain De Caestecker and Henry Simmons share this one, the former for his first depictions of the darker sides of Fitz and the latter for his open-hearted vulnerability.  But I must also give praise to Luna and Mallory Jansen (who plays android Shield associate Aida) for how smoothly they integrated themselves into the cast and for the level of depth they bring to their characters.

Best Episode: This is a nearly impossible choice, as pretty much every episode is at the least a ton of fun and often much more.  “The Ghost” and “World’s End” serve as perfect starting and endpoints but “Self-Control” is a standout.  The last episode of the LMD arc, it delivers edge of your seat suspense, epic action, and striking performances, as a select few agents discover that LMD’s have completely taken over Shield HQ, resulting in a desperate battle for survival.