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

The series was renewed for a fourth season on March 3, 2016,[49] earlier than usual for the series. Executive producer Jed Whedon said on this, "We're thrilled to know going into the end of [season 3] with certainty that we will be returning, because we can build our story accordingly." Executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen also noted that logistics for hiring directors for the season in advance would be easier, "which is a very nice privilege to have...that's a luxury."[50] The end of the episode "What If..." features an onscreen tribute to Bill Paxton, who died in February 2017 and had portrayed John Garrett in the series' first season.[51] The series paid additional tribute to Paxton in "All the Madame's Men" with promos during The Bakshi Report news segment showcasing John Garrett as a fallen American hero.[52] The end of "World's End" features a similar onscreen tribute to Powers Boothe, who died in May 2017 and had portrayed Gideon Malick in the series' third season.[53]

The season shifted to the later 10 pm timeslot, allowing it to take on a darker, more mature tone than previous seasons. According to Tancharoen, "The whole tagline for this year is 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. After Dark'." The timeslot gave the series the opportunity to present an increased level of violence and partial nudity, as well as take more risks and present edgier themes.[54][55][56] Following the third-season finale, Tancharoen stated that the fourth season would explore the guilt Daisy Johnson has over Lincoln Campbell's death.[57] Executive producer Jeffrey Bell noted the writers tried to continue the tradition of "finding new combinations and new conflicts" between different sets of characters, given "a lot of procedurals [see] the same people doing the same thing for five years". Pairings that would be explored included Coulson and Mack, continuing from the end of season three, who have a mutual respect for one another due to their relationships with Daisy, and Leo Fitz and Holden Radcliffe, who work together. The Fitz-Simmons relationship was also explored more, examining the new challenges it presented for the two "working together, loving each other and living together."[27]

Following the third season's dealing with the themes of Captain America: Civil War, such as the opposing reactions to the Inhumans, Whedon said that the question of "How do you deal with a war with powered people at that level, a government level?" was one that they wanted to answer in the fourth season.[58] Tancharoen called the Inhumans "a permanent part of our universe now", with Whedon adding, "we have a quick-fire way of introducing people with powers. It gives us a lot of leeway in our world, and it lets us explore the metaphors of what it is like to be different. We will never close that chapter."[59] With the Inhumans film being removed from Marvel Studios' release schedule, the series had "a little more freedom" and were "able to do a little bit more" with the species, including the potential of introducing some of the "classic" Inhumans,[60] though the series would focus less on Inhumans than the third season which saw "a real significant Inhuman agenda story".[61] It was not intended to be a spin-off of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[62] On the evolution of S.H.I.E.L.D. to featuring so many powered characters, Whedon said "the dynamic in the world has changed. There was one person with powers, and then by The Avengers there were maybe six total ... now they're much more prevalent, so there's reaction from the public based on that."[27]

The season is structured into three "pods" based on its airing schedule: the first eight episodes, subtitled Ghost Rider;[63][64] LMD (Life Model Decoy) for the subsequent seven episodes;[64][65][66] and a third pod for the final seven episodes called Agents of Hydra.[67][68] Elements and characters cross over between the different pods, but the sections "definitely have a different feel" from one another,[64][69] as Bell explained that 22 episodes "is a long time to hold a big bad or a single plot line, especially for an audience", and for the past two seasons, the series was able to have two separated halves that "allows us to introduce a big bad. And then, something happens and we rise somebody new ... Now, there's three of those."[61] "Financial considerations" were also taken into account in creating the pods for the season, as using LMDs does not "cost as much as setting a guy's head on fire via CGI".[69] In terms of writing the "complicated season", Whedon said the writers were "aware that our fans are our fans and have spent some time with these characters and are clever and see things coming sometimes ... Part of our job is to create not just what we are presenting on plot, but letting the audience be one step ahead of us and being one step ahead of that."[70] He added that the writers knew that they wanted to tell a Ghost Rider story, an LMD story, and a "what if" scenario, and the hardest part was making each pod still fit together as a single season. The major connection ultimately became the Darkhold, which leads from the magic of Ghost Rider to the advanced science of LMD and then the Framework in Agents of Hydra.[71] Ghost Rider also reappears in the final episode of the season, "World's End", as an additional connection.[72]

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

The Robbie Reyes version of Ghost Rider was chosen over other versions of the character from the comics because of his relationship with his brother Gabe, which Loeb said harkened back to the familial nature of the series.[27] This also helped the series distance itself from the Ghost Rider films from Sony that starred Nicolas Cage as the Johnny Blaze version of the character, with Bell describing the series' take as more grounded than Cage's "larger-than-life version".[61] During the series' take on Reyes' origin story, another Ghost Rider appears. While unnamed onscreen,[76] Luna believed it was meant to be Johnny Blaze and that unspecified legal issues prevented this from being made explicit.[9] This Ghost Rider was portrayed by Tom McComas during filming.[77] Given the disparity between the other science-based aspects of the series and the mystical Ghost Rider in the season, Whedon noted that "some very advanced technology [would be developed] this season, and maybe–as that becomes more advanced and we have strange people... possessed people–those things somehow merge down the line."[27] As part of combining technology and mysticism, the series depicts Hell as another dimension that can be reached through a portal, and the Ghost Rider's Spirit of Vengeance as a being from that other dimension.[64]

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

Since the beginning of the show, the producers had wanted to introduce the concept of LMDs, which Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb noted "have always been part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s history in the comics".[57] However, they were unable to before Avengers: Age of Ultron, which sees the introductions of Ultron and Vision in a similar manner to LMDs.[64][79] For the fourth season, they particularly pushed the idea, and Whedon noted that the introduction of Ghost Rider and mysticism allowed the series to introduce new technology that could launch LMDs in a way deemed rewarding,[64] so the Ghost Rider storyline "dovetails" into the LMD storyline.[61] The S.H.I.E.L.D. program is introduced through the character Aida, an android.[64] Additionally, with LMDs chosen as one of the pods for the season, Whedon said the writers questioned, "what are all the things we could do? You don't want to do the ones that have been done [in similar tropes], and you don't want to leave any on the table." One idea that "we knew we wanted to have early on" was to reveal that the majority of S.H.I.E.L.D. have been replaced at once.[70]

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

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

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

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

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

Main cast members Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge and Henry Simmons return from previous seasons as Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Daisy Johnson / Quake, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, and Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, respectively.[26] They are joined by John Hannah as Holden Radcliffe,[28] promoted from his third season recurring role.[27] Within the Framework reality, Daisy is referred to by her original name, Skye, while Fitz is also known as "The Doctor".[84]

Also returning from earlier in the series are Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez,[30] Axle Whitehead as J. T. James / Hellfire,[40][45] Adrian Pasdar as Glenn Talbot,[41] Ava Acres as Katya Belyakov,[85] Patton Oswalt as Billy, Sam and Thurston Koenig,[46] and Briana Venskus, Maximilian Osinski, and Alexander Wraith as Agents Piper, Davis, and Anderson, respectively.[31][39][86] Agents of Hydra also sees the return of former series regular Brett Dalton as Grant Ward,[43] along with the return of B. J. Britt as Antoine Triplett,[47] Adam Kulbersh as Kenneth Turgeon,[44] and Simon Kassianides as Sunil Bakshi.[48]

Advertisements for the show ahead of the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con featuring a flaming chain led to speculation that the character Ghost Rider would be joining the series during the season, though it was noted that the image could just indicate an increased role for Whitehead after he was introduced as James in the third season, and also wields a flaming chain.[87] When casting for two Latino brothers, "one of whom is always the most dangerous person in the room, the other paralyzed in a wheelchair", was revealed to be underway for the series in June,[88] further speculation pointed to the inclusion of Ghost Rider, with those character descriptions resembling those for Marvel Comics' All-New Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes and his brother Gabe, respectively.[89] At the series' Comic-Con panel, the speculation was confirmed—Gabriel Luna was announced to be cast as Robbie Reyes,[29] and Lorenzo James Henrie was later revealed to be cast as Gabe.[31]

Also in June, the series was looking to cast an actress for the recurring role of Aida,[88] a robot whose artificial intelligence was briefly voiced by Amanda Rea during the third-season finale;[88][90] Mallory Jansen was cast in the role that August.[91] Jansen also portrays Agnes Kitsworth, Radcliffe's former lover and partner after whom he modeled Aida.[92] Within the Framework reality, Aida appears as "Ophelia" / Madame Hydra, portrayed as well by Jansen.[32][33] Other recurring guests revealed were Lilli Birdsell as Lucy Bauer, a worker at Momentum Energy;[34][35] Jason O'Mara as Jeffrey Mace / Patriot, the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D.;[36][93] Parminder Nagra as Ellen Nadeer, an anti-Inhuman politician;[37][38] and Patrick Cavanaugh as S.H.I.E.L.D. PR agent Burrows.[39] In October 2016, José Zúñiga was revealed to be portraying Eli Morrow, the Reyes' uncle,[40] while in January 2017, Zach McGowan was revealed as Anton Ivanov, "The Superior" of the Watchdogs.[42] In April 2017, Jordan Rivera was revealed as Hope Mackenzie, Mack's daughter in the Framework reality.[44] Additionally, Blaise Miller and Ricardo Walker make multiple appearances as S.H.I.E.L.D. lab tech Nathanson and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Prince.[31]

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

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

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

For the Darkhold, writer Lilla Zuckerman suggested that the book's cover should feature the word "Darkhold" as an ambigram,[108][109] with the series' props department designing a new font to achieve this. Prop master Scott Bauer was inspired by elements from the Kree weaponry designed for the previous season when designing the cover of the Darkhold. Multiple versions of the book were created for the show, with the frames created by 3D-printing molds to create durable rubber casts. These were then given to a bookbinder with aged, vellum pages, who assembled the props and created the leather cover. The pages were filled with text and illustrations inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.[110]

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

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

In March 2016, Tancharoen stated that there was a possibility the season could continue the story of Agent Carter in some way,[50] given it was not renewed for the 2016–17 season.[116] Whedon added that "We are linked to them through history [but] whether or not we'll tell their stories remains to be seen."[50] The Momentum Energy Labs group introduced in the season is eventually revealed to be a successor to the Isodyne Energy company from the second season of Agent Carter. The two companies are connected by the parent company Roxxon, a mainstay of the MCU, and deal with supernatural entities: Isodyne discovered the extra-dimensional Darkforce, while Momentum is shown experimenting on extra-dimensional energy using the Darkhold, the Book of Sins from the comics.[117][118] In December, Whedon said that Peggy Carter "is a part of the universe, and she's a character we care about", and that there was a good chance of having bigger connections to her show moving forward after the Ghost Rider pod.[61]

The season's exploring of supernatural and mystical concepts ties-in with the release of Doctor Strange, the first MCU film to explore magic. In addition to the Darkhold, this includes the introduction of Ghost Rider, with Whedon explaining in July 2016, that "the Marvel [Cinematic] Universe is moving into new waters [with the upcoming release of Doctor Strange]. We felt that [Ghost Rider] was obviously a great character that we'd love to have on our show that we feel fits with that shift."[119] Whedon pointed out that the previous tie-ins were sometimes "very direct", and other times "more thematic. The tie this year will feel more of a reflection of [Doctor Strange], less an interweaving plot." He added, "Hopefully some of the questions that we're asking will be answered by [the film, which can] then pose some new themes and ideas for us to explore."[80] "Deals with Our Devils", aired after the release of Doctor Strange, sees Aida create a portal to rescue Coulson and Fitz from another dimension. The visuals for these are intentionally reminiscent of those used in the film.[120] Bell added that the Darkhold "feels like it belongs in the library in Kathmandu", referring to the Kamar-Taj library seen in Doctor Strange.[61]

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

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

The season began streaming on Netflix in the United States on June 15, 2017,[133] and was available until February 28, 2022.[134] It was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Region 2 on July 2, 2018, by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.[135] It became available on Disney+ in the United States on March 16, 2022,[136][137] joining other territories where it was already available on the service.[134]

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

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

The season's recurring guests, including (L-R) Gabriel Luna (Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider) and Jason O'Mara (Jeffrey Mace / Patriot), were highlighted by critics.

Reviewing the premiere, Terri Schwartz of IGN praised the introduction of Ghost Rider and subsequent darker tone which "will eventually allow [the series] to sit more comfortably beside its corporate cousins over on Netflix", but did feel that there were some "growing pains" with the transition to more mature material.[162] The A.V. Club's Alex McCown-Levy called it "a standard first episode back, in that it once again does a lot of table-setting, and not always in the most compelling manner". Levy felt that Ghost Rider's introduction was handled well for non-comic fans discovering the character with the show, but that the new positions of the series' main characters were more interesting and should have been focused on more.[163] Kevin Fitzpatrick of ScreenCrush said, "I'm nervous for Season 4 overall, especially if said reinvention doesn't goose the ratings like Marvel and ABC hope, but "The Ghost" is reason enough for some casual optimism." He was positive about the new similarities to the darker series Daredevil, but felt that the series "doesn't have the firmest handle" on Ghost Rider yet.[164] Evan Valentine, writing for Collider, said that the series "certainly benefits somewhat from taking a page from" the Marvel Netflix series, highlighting the number of more mature elements in the episode's opening as "a nice introduction that shows you this may not exactly be the same show you've gotten to know over the years."[165]

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

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

Many critics noted the commentary on the Trump administration during the Agents of Hydra pod, including Hydra leader Fitz wanting to "make society great again" and saying of Daisy "Nevertheless, she persisted", news reporter Bakshi offering to take a female colleague furniture shopping, and Coulson referring to Hydra's approved history as "alternative facts".[175][176][177] Valentine described this as "one of the prevalent themes" of the pod, and felt that "S.H.I.E.L.D. has managed to throw in some biting commentary this season."[175] McCown-Levy said that during the pod, "it became clear the show was leaving behind its former tactic of satisfying itself with coy allusions and nods to the contemporary political reality in the U.S. The Framework is giving this series an opportunity to express its displeasure with the current administration." He also noted that Fitz's Framework upbringing was justified in comparison to the actions of Nazis, which he found to be more effective than the other commentary since tied to character development.[178]

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

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

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was included on Laura Hurley of CinemaBlend's Top 10 Shows of 2016 list, ranking 2nd.[183] Comic Book Resources named "The Ghost" as the 15th best episode in 2016 among comic book-related television series.[184]