Agents of Shield season 4: Wow this was one great, epic 3 Arc Season! First they had to face the Ghost Rider and the Darkhold; and then it branched off into The LMD saga, and ultimately ended with Agents of Hydra in the “Big What” If scenario. Yet at the end of the day…

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This season was ALL ABOUT THE DARKHOLD!

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They totally went from dark Horror, to immense Sci-fi, to a mesh of the two. I'd like to think of this season as a bit of an official farewell to great characters of the shows past and present, an All Star Tribute somewhat. Just to think, if Fitz and Coulson wouldn't have gotten trapped in another plain of reality, then the last two arcs may have never unfolded. Aida had to read the DarkHold, which corrupted her mind, but thats after it manipulated Dr. Radcliff. If those two would have never been corrupted, then the Darkhold would have been disposed of, and the body snatching LMDs would have never happened; and in turn, The Framework would have never been a factor. That would have meant... No Agents of Hydra.

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So I'm gonna go on the record and say that this Ghost Rider has been the best portrayal of any Rider I’ve seen without a doubt; so much so, that he is now officially one of my top Favs in the MCU! Robbie Reyes is simply a beast; hands down! No one in this season could have stopped him... At all... And no one did. Well, his Uncle had him beat sort of, temporarily. The all powerful Aida/ Ophelia/ Madame Hydra... she feared him as he was the only one capable of causing her long term pain, and even death. Honestly, it would have took a God like Thor to take her down!

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Let me get into the Framework and the possible final exits of several characters. Just when we thought we were done with Grant Ward; we get to bid him farewell on a true heroes note, as he time and time again showed that he was on the good side of the tracks, even willing to give his life for Shield’s cause. Agent Trip, it was nice to have him back in action; the last we see of him, he was watching over Mac's daughter Hope, at least until he returned. Since Mac arrived the season after Trip's Death, it was nice to see them come together on some level, for this was destined to never happen otherwise. On the final episode "World's End," Ward and Trip were already presumably Raptured, (deleted) from existence. So it's a sad demise, knowing that they were soldiers to an end, for a cause that truly never existed. Then there was the one MAIN Rapture that brought tears to my eyes... Hope.  I always thought that Mac was not going anywhere after he found out, and I knew the writers would play on the fact that most people will think that he wouldn’t either.  We were right, but Yo-Yo was the deciding variable… along with the deus ex machina timing of his daughter’s deletion. I couldn't imagine having memories of another life, and all of a sudden you find out that your 10 yr old child isn't real, but were real enough to know as being real. I mean... in their case the Framework was just as much of a reality as the world we knowingly live in today, so they were in total “Matrix” mode. Reality, what is it truly anyway!? I cry from in depth videogames, and Disney Pixar movies; so I can't even begin to imagine the pain that the Framework can convey, especially on an immersive level.

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Then... well, Poor Radcliff. All thanks to the Darkhold; he never had a chance. He stayed the course for trying to do the right thing... Ultimately, there was no saving him... Sadly the world to which he created became his tomb. He died alone... He was erased... Alone
I do Love my good endings; but I can't help but wonder why there couldn't have been a way for Radcliff, Hope, Ward, and Trip to come to the real world... With bodies made like Aida of course. I think I feel sorry for Aida just as much, I mean Ghost Rider scorched the mess out of her; and that look of agony on her face before death.  Yet the entire Emotional Roller Coaster was too funny when Leopold finished breaking up with her.

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So I wonder what deal did Coulson make with the Rider? Where are they now in outer space? Setting up for Inhumans, or S.W.O.R.D.? Either way, I am thrilled season 5 has been Green Lit, I wouldn't be able to rest easy with all these cliff hangers!

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I’d like to dedicate this last paragraph to The Patriot.  A Great Team Player, a True Hero until the End… I do hate that he died not knowing/ recalling the real world from which he came.  Even though his death turned the tables for the story progression in Agents of Hydra, it still doesn’t make it suck any less… dying a completely different person, but to him… he died as someone he always was.  Also that little Easter Egg, when Quake told Agent Trip he can suit up in the Patriot’s Costume was an awesome moment.  Surely, they had to look at him being Patriot’s Falcon, as Falcon was to Captain America.  Since Falcon did take over as Captain America after his Death in the Civil War. Plus being African American, I’m sure that it was meant to be a small egg reference/ nod in regards to Trip and Mace.