Ghost Rider makes a surprising return; Coulson and the team work to stop Aida from ending the world.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. wraps up its fourth season with an episode that feels a bit mixed in quality as if there’s both too much packed in and a sense folks weren’t quite sure how to end it all.

The episode’s really broken into two main parts. There’s the team’s taking on Aida as she continues to flip out and then there’s Yo Yo and Mac in the digital world.

The former is paint by numbers in many ways as the team has to figure out how to defeat her and they get help with Ghost Rider whose return feels a bit convenient and rushed. Something here doesn’t quite click for me but I can’t put my finger on exactly what that is. I think things a are presented so quickly and just thrown out there without any reflection it all feels like a flowing of scenes where we just accept everything that happens. It’s not bad and is absolutely the big fight you’d expect in the last bit of a movie a lot of flash, some twists, and not much depth.

The Yo Yo and Mac part of the episode is really where the heart of excellence of the episode is. We feel the pain and suffering from both characters as Mac has to realize the digital world around him is crumbling but also decide if he’ll stay with his daughter. No matter the choice he has to lose her twice. Yo Yo does what she can to get him to exit into the real world realizing the pain he’s suffering and his reaction makes her suffer too. It’s heartbreaking and the show has been its best when its focused on these types of interactions. It’s easily the best part of the episode and we get that interaction again as the team comes together at the end of the episode.

There’s also some set up. Coulson has to cut a deal with Ghost Rider and the end of the episode feels like it’s setting up the Inhumans… but how? This is absolutely one of the stronger season finales but it falls a bit flat like a lot of Marvel’s live action series and movies. The concepts are better than the execution and we see that again here.

It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here, but until then we’re left with a satisfying, yet not exciting, ending.

Overall Score: 7.45