<P> The season was ordered in March 2016, with production taking place from that July until the following April . Alongside Clark Gregg, who reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, principal cast members Ming - Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Henry Simmons return from previous seasons while John Hannah was promoted to the principal cast after appearing in a recurring role in season three . Due to its broadcast schedule, the season was split into three "pods": Ghost Rider for the first eight episodes, featuring recurring guest star Gabriel Luna as the supernatural Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider to coincide with the film Doctor Strange (which explores mysticism in the MCU); LMD, referring to the new Life Model Decoy program, for the next seven episodes, focusing on recurring guest star Mallory Jansen as the LMD Aida; and Agents of Hydra for the final seven episodes, partly set in a "what if" virtual reality that allows the return of former series regular Brett Dalton as Grant Ward . The season is also affected by the events of the film Captain America: Civil War, and continues storylines established in the canceled series Agent Carter . </P> <P> The first episode premiered at a screening on September 19, 2016, with the season then airing for 22 episodes on ABC, from September 20, 2016 until May 16, 2017 . The premiere debuted to 3.58 million viewers, down from previous season premieres but average for the series . Critical response to the season was positive, with many feeling that each pod was better than the last and in particular praising the visual effects and tone of Ghost Rider, the writing and acting for LMD, and the character development and political commentary explored during Agents of Hydra . The season saw series low viewership, but was still considered to have solved ABC's problem during its timeslot, and the show was renewed for a fifth season on May 11, 2017 . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> No . overall </Th> <Th> No. in season </Th> <Th> Title </Th> <Th> Directed by </Th> <Th> Written by </Th> <Th> Original air date </Th> <Th> U.S. viewers (millions) </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="13"> Ghost Rider </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 67 </Th> <Td> </Td> <Td> "The Ghost" </Td> <Td> Billy Gierhart </Td> <Td> Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen </Td> <Td> September 20, 2016 (2016 - 09 - 20) </Td> <Td> 3.44 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Daisy Johnson, now the vigilante "Quake", is hunting gang affiliates of the terrorist group Watchdogs in Los Angeles when Aryan Brotherhood members are murdered by the fiery "Ghost Rider". Agents Phil Coulson and Mack, who were forbidden from searching for Johnson by new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Jeffrey Mace, are tipped off to her location by Agent Melinda May . Agent Leo Fitz discovers that S.H.I.E.L.D. ally Holden Radcliffe has created the android Aida, and agrees to help perfect her . He keeps this from his girlfriend Agent Jemma Simmons, who is in the Director's inner circle . Simmons discovers that Coulson and Mack are investigating Johnson, and orders May to stop them . The latter arrives to find them surveilling Chinese gangsters who bought a weapon off the Brotherhood: a mystical figure, who turns the gang members berserk, and secretly infects May as well . Johnson tracks down the Ghost Rider, but it defeats her . She later sees its human form, mechanic Robbie Reyes, looking after his disabled brother Gabe . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 68 </Th> <Td> </Td> <Td> "Meet the New Boss" </Td> <Td> Vincent Misiano </Td> <Td> Drew Z . Greenberg </Td> <Td> September 27, 2016 (2016 - 09 - 27) </Td> <Td> 2.95 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> S.H.I.E.L.D. and Johnson independently investigate the figure, an apparent ghost of a woman named Lucy Bauer, both concluding that she worked at an abandoned facility, Momentum Energy . Johnson confronts Reyes again, and he once more overpowers her . Restraining her, Reyes searches Johnson's belongings and discovers her research on Momentum . He leaves, and Johnson escapes her restraints . As Mace plans to officially announce S.H.I.E.L.D. as a legitimate organization again, the infected May grows increasingly paranoid, seeing all people as monsters, and eventually attacking other agents . Mace restrains May with his Inhuman strength, and promises to take care of her . Mack and Fitz arrive at Momentum to find more ghosts, who attempt to blow it up with them inside . Ghost Rider intervenes, destroying one of the ghosts, and Johnson arrives to stop S.H.I.E.L.D. from taking him in . Rather than rejoin S.H.I.E.L.D., Johnson agrees to work with Reyes, who believes that the actions of the ghosts and Watchdogs may be tied to him . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 69 </Th> <Td> </Td> <Td> "Uprising" </Td> <Td> Magnus Martens </Td> <Td> Craig Titley </Td> <Td> October 11, 2016 (2016 - 10 - 11) </Td> <Td> 2.68 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Inhuman S.H.I.E.L.D. asset Elena Rodriguez is caught in a blackout in Miami . Reyes and Johnson are caught in another in Los Angeles . A group claiming to be the Inhuman resistance, fighting registration with the Sokovia Accords, take responsibility . Reyes explains that his uncle, Eli Morrow, was imprisoned for causing an explosion at Momentum that apparently created the ghosts; he believes that atoning for Morrow's sins will pay his debt to the Devil, and rid Reyes of the Ghost Rider . At the Reyes' house, Gabe realizes that Johnson is Quake and asks her to leave Robbie alone . Radcliffe and Simmons "cure" May by killing and reviving her . Coulson, Mack, and Fitz save Rodriguez from a group of Watchdogs, and find the EMP that caused the blackout--it was set off by the Watchdogs, who had access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s list of registered Inhumans, and have backing from Senator Ellen Nadeer, whose brother Vijay is encased in an Inhuman terrigen cocoon . Hoping to assuage public fears of the Inhumans, Mace announces the return of S.H.I.E.L.D. </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 70 </Th> <Td> </Td> <Td> "Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire" </Td> <Td> Brad Turner </Td> <Td> Matt Owens </Td> <Td> October 18, 2016 (2016 - 10 - 18) </Td> <Td> 2.34 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Johnson coerces Simmons to help track the Watchdogs' actions, discovering that the group hacked the Inhuman list using an Inhuman's monitoring device . Coulson visits Morrow in prison, but gets no answers . Reyes arrives to talk to Morrow, and Mack recognizes him as the Ghost Rider; they capture Reyes and earn his trust . He visits Morrow, and learns that the Momentum explosion was caused by a group of scientists studying the Darkhold, a mysterious book . Only Lucy's husband Joseph, whom Morrow had put in a coma trying to stop the experiments, survived . Johnson and Simmons find the next Inhuman on the list, J.T. James, and destroy his monitor, but he betrays them--he hates being an Inhuman and is aiding the Watchdogs . Coulson and Mack, alerted by the monitor's destruction, arrive to save Johnson and Simmons . The Ghost Rider defeats James . They then get May to help find the Darkhold . Aida supervised May's recovery as a Turing test by Radcliffe, but Simmons deduces her true nature, while being set to take a lie - detection test for Mace . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 71 </Th> <Td> 5 </Td> <Td> "Lockup" </Td> <Td> Kate Woods </Td> <Td> Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman </Td> <Td> October 25, 2016 (2016 - 10 - 25) </Td> <Td> 2.30 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Lucy uses her ghostly state to wake Joseph and ask where he hid the Darkhold . Coulson arrives, and is able to learn of this before Joseph dies from her' infection' . Coulson decides to use Morrow against Lucy, but doesn't tell Mace . The latter, whose public approval was high after heroics during a bombing in Vienna, becomes more popular after he reveals his Inhuman status in a television debate with Nadeer . However, Simmons threatens to reveal the truth about his Vienna actions, and he agrees to exempt her from any lie - detection tests . At the prison, Lucy infects the staff, who attack Coulson and May . Johnson saves them while Mack and Reyes break Morrow out . Reyes confronts the last member of the "Fifth Street Locos" gang who had paralyzed Gabe in a paid hit . Reyes loses control, and the Ghost Rider kills the prisoner . This allows Lucy to kidnap Morrow, whose help she needs . Mace secretly meets with Nadeer, and agrees to help her when she blackmails him with footage of the Ghost Rider's actions while working with S.H.I.E.L.D. </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 72 </Th> <Td> 6 </Td> <Td> "The Good Samaritan" </Td> <Td> Billy Gierhart </Td> <Td> Jeffrey Bell </Td> <Td> November 1, 2016 (2016 - 11 - 01) </Td> <Td> 2.43 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Mace sends Simmons on a secret assignment, then takes a team to board Coulson's plane and arrest Reyes and Johnson . The pair hide with a newly picked up Gabe, where Robbie explains that he and Gabe sneaked out to race in Morrow's car, but they were attacked by the Locos . Gabe was paralyzed and Robbie was killed . Robbie promised an unknown voice that he would seek vengeance if given a second chance, and was resurrected when the spirit of the Ghost Rider was passed to him by a stranger . Mace finds the fugitives, but is overpowered by the Ghost Rider . He agrees to use Robbie against Lucy, and Fitz tracks her to an abandoned Roxxon power plant . May takes and hides the Darkhold while Robbie destroys Lucy, after the latter reveals that Morrow craves the Darkhold's power himself--his own experiments created the ghosts, and Joseph had ordered the hit on Morrow's car to stop him . Morrow now uses an improved version of the Momentum machine to gain the power to create matter . Robbie, Fitz, and Coulson disappear . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 73 </Th> <Td> 7 </Td> <Td> "Deals with Our Devils" </Td> <Td> Jesse Bochco </Td> <Td> DJ Doyle </Td> <Td> November 29, 2016 (2016 - 11 - 29) </Td> <Td> 2.41 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Coulson, Fitz, and Reyes are trapped between dimensions, and helplessly watch as Morrow kills several agents and escapes . Fitz overhears Mace arguing with Nadeer; he needs Simmons to understand Morrow's technology, but she has been taken to Nadeer's brother, who she helps escape from his terrigen cocoon . In Simmons' absence, Radcliffe studies the technology, and is presented with the Darkhold by May in her desperation to save Coulson . Radcliffe believes the book contains too much knowledge for a person to process, but Aida is able to read it, revealing her android nature to Coulson and May . Aida constructs a portal through which Coulson and Fitz return . During this time, the Ghost Rider spirit had left Reyes and possessed Mack to avoid the other dimension, where it had been before . Reyes confronts the spirit, promising to serve it even after they defeat Morrow if it leaves Mack . It agrees, and Reyes returns with it through the portal . Secretly, Aida begins experimenting with her new knowledge from the Darkhold, creating an artificial brain . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 74 </Th> <Td> 8 </Td> <Td> "The Laws of Inferno Dynamics" </Td> <Td> Kevin Tancharoen </Td> <Td> Paul Zbyszewski </Td> <Td> December 6, 2016 (2016 - 12 - 06) </Td> <Td> 2.37 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Coulson tells Mace that Aida is an android and he agrees to use her in the fight against Morrow . He also approves a strike team consisting of Rodriguez, Reyes, and Johnson, as long as the latter two keep a low profile . The team attempts to enter an abandoned building in which Morrow has barricaded himself via his growing abilities but, at first, only Reyes can make it through Morrow's initial trap . By viewing Reyes' body - cam, Fitz deduces that Morrow is drawing his power from the other dimension and has created a demon core that could destroy half the city if activated . Aida creates a new dimensional portal beneath the demon core, through which the device and Morrow are dragged . Reyes also falls through the portal after using the Ghost Rider to hold Morrow in place . Johnson is seen by local media and Mace publicly clears her name, reinstating her as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. He then allows Radcliffe to continuing working on his Life Model Decoy (LMD) program after his success with Aida, who has secretly replaced May with an LMD . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="13"> LMD </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 75 </Th> <Td> 9 </Td> <Td> "Broken Promises" </Td> <Td> Garry A. Brown </Td> <Td> Brent Fletcher </Td> <Td> January 10, 2017 (2017 - 01 - 10) </Td> <Td> 2.72 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Fitz and Radcliffe are sent to clear Aida's memory of the Darkhold, but she reveals her new - found sentience and overpowers them . Taking control of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems, Aida finds the Darkhold after Coulson gives its location to the May LMD (which doesn't know it isn't the real May). Fitz is able to take control of the systems before Aida escapes and Mack beheads her . Radcliffe later laments about this to a new model of Aida, as he had programmed the original's apparent sentience in an attempt to steal the Darkhold for himself . Senator Nadeer orders a group of Watchdogs to kill a now recovered Vijay, but he convinces her to spare him as his long terrigenesis appears not to have affected him . Simmons, having identified Vijay from photographs, arrives with Mace and Johnson, as Vijay discovers he now has super-reflexes . Ellen convinces him to leave with her, but then shoots him in the stomach . Ellen asks the Watchdogs for reinforcements from "The Superior" as Vijay's body is dropped into a lake and enveloped by another terrigenesis cocoon . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 76 </Th> <Td> 10 </Td> <Td> "The Patriot" </Td> <Td> Kevin Tancharoen </Td> <Td> James C. Oliver & Sharla Oliver </Td> <Td> January 17, 2017 (2017 - 01 - 17) </Td> <Td> 2.03 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Mace holds a press conference for Johnson, celebrating her "undercover" actions, until a sniper attempts to assassinate him . Coulson and Mack escort Mace and PR agent Burrows--who is often seen near Mace with a mysterious briefcase--to a quinjet, but it explodes mid-flight . Burrows is flung from the plane with the briefcase and the others crash land in a forest . There, they find ex-Hydra agents, hired by the Watchdogs, who have recovered Burrows' body . In the ensuing fight, Mace tries to get a serum from the briefcase, but it is destroyed and he is injured . Mace explains that he is not an Inhuman and that he was given his abilities by a super-serum from the government to create a trustworthy, enhanced leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. After their rescue by Johnson and the May LMD, Coulson tells Mace to continue as "the Patriot", the face and political leader of S.H.I.E.L.D, while Coulson takes back command of operations . The May LMD discovers her robotic skeleton from a wound and Fitz secretly begins studying Aida's decapitated head . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 77 </Th> <Td> 11 </Td> <Td> "Wake Up" </Td> <Td> Jesse Bochco </Td> <Td> Drew Z . Greenberg </Td> <Td> January 24, 2017 (2017 - 01 - 24) </Td> <Td> 2.00 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Johnson and Mace attend a Senate hearing to ratify the former's signing of the Sokovia Accords, with Senator Nadeer questioning Johnson's undercover actions . Coulson and Rodriguez infiltrate Nadeer's office to install surveillance devices, but are caught, giving Nadeer an excuse to start a full investigation of S.H.I.E.L.D. The May LMD realizes that she subconsciously leaked the details of Coulson's plan and confronts Radcliffe, as Fitz discovers Radcliffe's treachery from the original Aida's programming . Radcliffe explains to the LMD that her programming will not allow her to reveal her nature to anyone else, just before S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives and arrests him . Fitz later confronts Radcliffe in his cell and deduces that he is also an LMD--the real Radcliffe sought protection from Nadeer after Aida's initial failure . He and Aida have May captive with them, her mind in a virtual reality simulation of a tragic past event . Meanwhile, Mack and Rodriguez have grown close and he tells her of his daughter Hope from a past marriage who died as an infant . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 78 </Th> <Td> 12 </Td> <Td> "Hot Potato Soup" </Td> <Td> Nina Lopez - Corrado </Td> <Td> Craig Titley </Td> <Td> January 31, 2017 (2017 - 01 - 31) </Td> <Td> 2.15 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Agent Billy Koenig, whom Coulson entrusted with the Darkhold, is abducted by the Watchdogs . Nadeer directs Radcliffe to the Superior, reclusive industrialist Anton Ivanov, and Radcliffe scans Koenig's brain to learn that the Darkhold was hidden in the Labyrinth, a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility known only to the Koenig family . Coulson secures the rest of the Koenig family, who take him, the May LMD, and Johnson to get the book . The Radcliffe LMD reveals that Radcliffe knows Fitz's estranged father and has created another LMD . Simmons remembers that Radcliffe scanned May's brain when they were curing her of Lucy's influence and warns Johnson of the May LMD in time to stop it from taking the Darkhold and killing Coulson . The Watchdogs arrive with Billy and Radcliffe steals the Darkhold in the ensuing fight . S.H.I.E.L.D. later destroys the remains of the first Aida and the Radcliffe LMD . Ivanov explains to Radcliffe that he plans to use the Darkhold to destroy both the Inhumans and the man who appears to be behind the recent alien crises--Coulson . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 79 </Th> <Td> 13 </Td> <Td> "BOOM" </Td> <Td> Billy Gierhart </Td> <Td> Nora Zuckerman & Lilla Zuckerman </Td> <Td> February 7, 2017 (2017 - 02 - 07) </Td> <Td> 2.08 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Coulson and Mack locate Agnes Kitsworth, Radcliffe's former lover and partner . Radcliffe left Kitsworth after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and modeled Aida after her . Coulson convinces Kitsworth to meet with Radcliffe . In case Nadeer is an Inhuman like her brother, Ivanov sends Watchdog Tucker Shockley to expose her to terrigen (provided by Radcliffe), but the substance transforms him instead . Shockley explodes, killing Nadeer, and then his molecules reassemble . Ivanov agrees to use Shockley's new ability against S.H.I.E.L.D. Radcliffe meets with Kitsworth and convinces her he can save her life if she escapes with him before S.H.I.E.L.D. captures them . Johnson confronts Shockley, and distracts him long enough for Fitz and Simmons to contain him in a specially - made device . Ivanov uses this as a distraction to attack and kidnap Mace, who has learned that each time he uses his super-serum there is a chance that it will kill him . As Kitsworth dies of the cancer, Radcliffe places her consciousness in the virtual "Framework" with May . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 80 </Th> <Td> 14 </Td> <Td> "The Man Behind the Shield" </Td> <Td> Wendey Stanzler </Td> <Td> Matt Owens </Td> <Td> February 14, 2017 (2017 - 02 - 14) </Td> <Td> 2.13 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Years ago, Coulson and May recovered an unknown object from a Russian outpost, besting an SVR team that included Ivanov . For the failure, the SVR agents other than Ivanov were tortured and killed . Now, Ivanov leads S.H.I.E.L.D. on a treasure hunt around the world, including to that outpost, in their search for Mace . Ivanov has been torturing Mace, disgusted at his attempts to emulate the Inhumans . The team eventually finds Ivanov, and Johnson overpowers him . Coulson and Mack save a near - death Mace while Fitz and Simmons attempt to locate any sign of the Framework in hopes of finding May . Unsuccessful, the pair reunite with the others and they return to base . Aida, whom Radcliffe has left to carry out his plans while he spends time in the Framework, finds a crippled Ivanov . At base, Fitz and Simmons are alerted by their LMD security system, learning that four agents were replaced with LMDs by Aida while Fitz and Simmons were separated from the group . This includes Coulson, as the Coulson LMD wakes the May LMD from storage . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 81 </Th> <Td> 15 </Td> <Td> "Self Control" </Td> <Td> Jed Whedon </Td> <Td> Jed Whedon </Td> <Td> February 21, 2017 (2017 - 02 - 21) </Td> <Td> 2.01 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> The new LMDs are aware of their nature, and plan to carry out Ivanov's goal of destroying all Inhumans . Simmons discovers that Mace, Mack, and Fitz are the other new LMDs, and overpowers Fitz . Johnson also discovers them, and plans with Simmons to hack into the Framework remotely to find the others from the inside . Aida kills Radcliffe's body, but lets his consciousness live in the Framework . Johnson overpowers the Mace, Mack, and Coulson LMDs, but they find the May LMD waiting for them at the base entrance, tasked with detonating a large explosive to prevent their escape . The May LMD instead lets them leave, and destroys the base with the LMDs inside . In the Framework, the agents find an altered reality: Johnson is in a relationship with an alive Grant Ward; Coulson is teaching about Inhumans; Hope is alive with Mack; Fitz is rich; Simmons is dead; and May works for Hydra, which has replaced S.H.I.E.L.D. In the real world, Aida is able to sever Ivanov's living head from his crippled body and builds android bodies for his mind to control . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="13"> Agents of Hydra </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 82 </Th> <Td> 16 </Td> <Td> "What If ..." </Td> <Td> Oz Scott </Td> <Td> DJ Doyle </Td> <Td> April 4, 2017 (2017 - 04 - 04) </Td> <Td> 2.15 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> In the Framework, Johnson discovers that she and Ward are agents of Hydra, working under May and Fitz . The tragic event from May's past has no longer happened; in the real world, she killed a young Inhuman girl but, in the Framework, she brought the girl back to America as a refugee who then became a mass murderer and the catalyst for Hydra to take power . Simmons awakens in a mass grave of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and eventually comes across Coulson, who is teaching a Hydra - approved curriculum that warns against the dangers of Inhumans . Simmons is unable to convince Coulson that he is inside a virtual simulation and he calls Hydra . Johnson races to find Simmons before the rest of Hydra and is followed by Ward, who reveals himself to be a mole inside Hydra for the Resistance . Johnson and Simmons try to exit the Framework using a safeguard the latter created, but it has been blocked by Aida, who has entered the Framework as the Director of Hydra and Fitz's lover . Johnson then goes to Coulson and he remembers her name . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 83 </Th> <Td> 17 </Td> <Td> "Identity and Change" </Td> <Td> Garry A. Brown </Td> <Td> George Kitson </Td> <Td> April 11, 2017 (2017 - 04 - 11) </Td> <Td> 2.32 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Hoping Radcliffe can help them escape, Johnson returns to Hydra and locates him, but May gives her a new mission on the orders of Fitz and Aida, the latter choosing to go by Ophelia, or Madame Hydra . Ward directs Coulson (who can remember some things, thanks to previous tampering with his mind) and Simmons to the Resistance, the remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. under the command of an Inhuman Mace . Ward, Simmons, and Coulson take a stolen Hydra quinjet to extract Radcliffe . May and Johnson arrest Mack, and May forces him to trick Johnson into confessing her true allegiance . The others find Radcliffe living in seclusion with Kitsworth, and he explains that he and Kitsworth cannot leave the Framework due to their real bodies having died . Fitz and Madame Hydra arrive, and Radcliffe attempts to appeal to Fitz, though Fitz already knows of the "other world" and that Radcliffe had enslaved Aida there . He kills Kitsworth and imprisons Radcliffe, torturing him and Johnson . Regretting his actions, Mack joins the Resistance . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 84 </Th> <Td> 18 </Td> <Td> "No Regrets" </Td> <Td> Eric Laneuville </Td> <Td> Paul Zbyszewski </Td> <Td> April 18, 2017 (2017 - 04 - 18) </Td> <Td> 2.43 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Mace and Coulson infiltrate a Hydra "Enlightenment Camp" to free an undercover agent--Antoine Triplett, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who died in the real world . They are tracked there by May, who uses a super serum to fight Mace . Through the vents in their holding cells, Daisy learns from Radcliffe of a backdoor he installed to escape the Framework that Aida is unable to disable . Coulson attempts to save one of his former students who he sees being held in the camp, and Mace follows him into a building to help . Hydra uses a missile to bring the building down, and May enters the rubble to ensure Mace is dead . She finds him stopping debris from crushing the student, with Coulson and Triplett helping other children escape the building . May is horrified to find children being victimized by Hydra . With the others to safety, Mace is crushed beneath the debris, and in the real world Aida finds his physical body dead as well . Turning on Hydra, May sneaks a Terrigen crystal to Johnson so she can gain her Inhuman abilities within the Framework . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 85 </Th> <Td> 19 </Td> <Td> "All the Madame's Men" </Td> <Td> Billy Gierhart </Td> <Td> James C. Oliver & Sharla Oliver </Td> <Td> April 25, 2017 (2017 - 04 - 25) </Td> <Td> 2.15 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> May and Johnson escape Hydra, with Johnson using her abilities to break Ophelia's back . Ophelia insists that Fitz complete work on their secret Project: Looking Glass, after which her Framework body will no longer matter . May and Johnson join up with S.H.I.E.L.D., who are struggling to regroup after Mace's death . May provides them with body cam footage from the attack on the Enlightenment Center, which Coulson broadcasts to the world to counteract Hydra's propaganda . Meanwhile, Simmons and Triplett investigate a Russian oil platform which he believes is the location of Looking Glass from his time undercover; the platform is the Framework equivalent of Ivanov's oil platform in the real world, from where Aida is running the Framework . The pair find the platform empty, and Simmons deduces that Looking Glass consists of a machine built on the real world platform, to be connected to a machine in the Framework using knowledge from the Darkhold, allowing Ophelia to go from the Framework to a true human body in the real world . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 86 </Th> <Td> 20 </Td> <Td> "Farewell, Cruel World!" </Td> <Td> Vincent Misiano </Td> <Td> Brent Fletcher </Td> <Td> May 2, 2017 (2017 - 05 - 02) </Td> <Td> 2.15 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> After Johnson and Simmons entered the Framework, their bodies were protected by Rodriguez aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft Zephyr One . With their connection to the Framework draining the plane's power, Rodriguez chose to shut off its cloaking ability, revealing their location to Ivanov and his men . In the Framework, Simmons visits and accidentally kills Fitz's father Alistair, and Fitz begins hunting her with help from Radcliffe (Fitz offers to send Radcliffe through the machine, restoring his living body). Ophelia initiates her transference into her new body . Johnson takes the group to Radcliffe's exit point, where she, Coulson, and May cross back into the real world . Fitz arrives and confronts Simmons, but is overpowered by Radcliffe, who regrets all his actions since he first saw and wanted the Darkhold . Radcliffe sends Fitz through, followed by Simmons . Mack decides to stay, not wanting to live in a world without Hope . At Ivanov's platform, the newly human Ophelia confronts Coulson, May, and Fitz, teleporting away with the latter . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 87 </Th> <Td> 21 </Td> <Td> "The Return" </Td> <Td> Kevin Tancharoen </Td> <Td> Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon </Td> <Td> May 9, 2017 (2017 - 05 - 09) </Td> <Td> 2.14 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> The agents on Zephyr One fight off Ivanov's men and race to the platform to save Coulson and May from Ivanov's android bodies . Ivanov launches torpedoes at the platform that threaten Mack's body, but the latter is saved by Ophelia, convinced by Fitz to put to good use the Inhuman abilities his machine had given her new body . In isolation at S.H.I.E.L.D., Fitz and Ophelia discuss her newly discovered human emotions and the fact that he remembers all the terrible things he did inside the Framework . He admits that he ultimately still loves Simmons over her, outraging Ophelia . Talbot arrives at the ruined S.H.I.E.L.D. base, where Ophelia kills several of his soldiers and other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents . Coulson and the others flee in the Zephyr once more, while Ophelia returns to Ivanov, who plans to use knowledge from the Darkhold to apply the changed reality of the Framework to the real world . Meanwhile, Rodriguez enters the Framework herself to try convince Mack to leave, and the Ghost Rider returns through a portal from the other dimension . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> 88 </Th> <Td> 22 </Td> <Td> "World's End" </Td> <Td> Billy Gierhart </Td> <Td> Jeffrey Bell </Td> <Td> May 16, 2017 (2017 - 05 - 16) </Td> <Td> 2.08 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="7"> Ivanov takes the Darkhold to an international meeting on S.H.I.E.L.D. and the recent events . He proposes to use the book against the Inhumans, which is timed with an attack on the group by an LMD of Johnson, who shoots Talbot in the head leaving him comatose . In the ensuing fight, S.H.I.E.L.D. is able to retrieve the Darkhold with Reyes' help . In the Framework, Rodriguez is unable to convince Mack to leave, but he returns with her after Hope's code is deleted as a result of Ophelia shutting down the Framework . Radcliffe is also deleted, after accepting that immortality without Kitsworth would not have been worth it . Ophelia comes for the Darkhold, and Coulson surprises her by unleashing the Spirit of Vengeance himself, having made a deal to become the Ghost Rider for a short time . He incinerates Ophelia . Reyes, now the Ghost Rider again, takes the Darkhold through a portal . The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents then wait to be arrested by the government, but are instead taken by a mysterious group . Some time later, Coulson is working on a space station . </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> No . overall </Th> <Th> No. in season </Th> <Th> Title </Th> <Th> Directed by </Th> <Th> Written by </Th> <Th> Original air date </Th> <Th> U.S. viewers (millions) </Th> </Tr>

When does season 4 of agents of shield start