A final season of a television series has to do a lot for the audience. It has to tie up loose ends, provide a satisfying conclusion, and give long time fans a proper good bye. That's a lot easier to do if the production team knows it's the last season ahead of time. The Agents Of SHIELD team went into their seventh season knowing just that.
For 13 episodes, the characters got to hop through time, revisit familiar faces, save the world (again), and find happy endings. The writers had the freedom to make unusual choices for the season, and it shows in just how high the ratings are on the Internet Movie Database.
Episode 7: The Totally Excellent Adventures Of Mack And The D (8.1)
Just because this episode leads off the list doesn't mean it isn't fun. This hour takes a step away from the rest of the team to give Mack and Deke an '80s trip that makes Deke's dreams come true - and Mack's nightmares.
While Mack deals with the grief over losing his parents, Deke makes a life. He checks in on Mack (the adult, and the child), becomes a rock star, and builds his own SHIELD team. The latter is important because it means when he and Mack finally reunite, they have someone to fight Sibyl's army of robots with.
Episode 8: After, Before (8.2)
Much like the previous, this likely ranks lower because it steps away from the team. Centering on Elena and May as they go to Afterlife, the two work with Jiaying in 1983 to figure out what's wrong with Elena's powers.
This is Jiaying before she becomes militant and obsessed with destroying SHIELD. She also has a daughter before Daisy, something that becomes important for the series. Elena's character even moves away from her comic book counterpart when she discovers (through some hilarious attempts at bonding with May) that she doesn't have to actually bounce back with her super speed.
Episode 10: Stolen (8.4)
This episode's title is certainly apt. It's all about Nathaniel Malick stealing what he wants. Not only does he abduct John Garrett, bringing back a fan favorite villain (played by the late Bill Paxton's son), but he also steals the Inhuman Gordon's teleportation powers for Garrett. He also steals Jiaying from the show, just as she starts to connect with Daisy.
Daisy isn't initially keen on SHIELD protecting Jiaying, but she gets to see a different side of her, as well as learn about the existence of Kora. All of the family bonding is put on hold when Nathaniel kills Jiaying and Garrett kidnaps Simmons, taking the zephyr.
Episode 2: Know Your Onions (8.4)
Typically, the premiere sets the events of the season in motion. For the final season of Agents Of SHIELD, it's actually episode two.
This is the episode where Daisy and Deke first toy with the idea of changing the timeline (considering shooting Freddy Malick). It's also the episode in which people outside of the team learn about time travel, the Chronicoms, and the future of SHIELD.The Malick family allies with Sibyl and her Chronicoms when Freddy finds out the truth. The Koenig family allies with Enoch when he doesn't make it to the zephyr in time for the next jump.
Episode 1: The New Deal (8.5)
Picking up where season six ends, this episode throws fans into the past. Specifically, it kicks off in 1931 New York.
The hour has to do a lot of set up, reminding the audience of the danger of the Chronicoms, who Hydra is in the past, and teasing Jemma's "we had time" that doesn't play out until the very end of the series. It also introduces the Life Model Decoy (with Chronicom hardware) of Agent Coulson. Fans love Coulson, and there's no way the series would end without him, but this isn't the same Coulson as he struggles with his place in the world.
Episode 11: Brand New Day (8.6)
Kora claims she wants to be a SHIELD agent. She even offers up a plan: save lives by taking out villains before they go bad. First on her list is Grant Ward. It doesn't take much for May to set Kora off though, revealing that she's not all that interested in helping, not to the audience's surprise.
While Kora distracts the team, Sibyl gets into the Lighthouse's mainframe, and Nathaniel tries to get Fitz's location from Jemma and Deke. Nathaniel's actions only cause her implant to work overtime, erasing her memories of Fitz.
Episode 6: Adapt Or Die (8.6)
It's right that this episode lands in the middle as it works to bridge the two halves of the season. While May and Coulson deal with complications at the Lighthouse, Daisy and Sousa are held by Nathaniel, and Mack tries to figure out a way to take down Project Insight decades before they should have to. Meanwhile, Deke discovers the truth about Jemma - that the implant in her brain prevents her from knowing or telling the team anything about Fitz.
This episode not only sees Coulson sacrifice himself for the team (again), but sees Daisy experience exactly what Jiaying did - being cut up and having her powers taken from her.
Episode 5: A Trout In The Milk (8.6)
This episode turns the tide in SHIELD's approach to the Chronicoms just a bit. When they realize the Chronicoms are already changing the past, they don't try as hard to preserve it.
Deke, for example, decides to kill Freddy Malick in the '70s since he wasn't able to pull the trigger in the '30s. Daisy also uses her powers in front of Nathaniel Malick, kicking off his interest in Inhumans and leading to his alliance with the Chronicoms.
Episode 3: Alien Commies From The Future (8.7)
Is it surprising this episode kicks off the top five? Not when it features so many things fans love about the season.
The team gets new duds in the '50s, starting a trend of fabulous costume changes throughout the season. Jemma gets to pretend to be Peggy Carter, Daisy gets to pretend to be CIA, Elena and May get to "pretend" to be pilots, and the show reintroduces Agent Carter's Daniel Sousa as the team races to prevent the Chronicoms from whatever their plan is - which the team isn't entirely sure of yet.
Episode 4: Out Of The Past (8.9)
It's with this episode that it's clear the final season is playing with style more than usual. It isn't just costumes changing every episode.
Still in the '50s, this hour is told from the point of view of LMD Coulson. It, however, is told in black and white and like a film noir thanks to a glitch in Coulson's system. The team discovers they have to save Sousa from the Chronicoms - or let him die at the hands of Hydra.
Episode 12: The End Is At Hand (9.3)
As the series nears its end, Nathaniel's allies start to see his true colors. Kora changes sides thanks to a talk with Daisy while Garrett changes sides thanks to a talk with Coulson and May. The highlight of the episode, however, is easily Jemma Simmons.
Jemma's memories are completely jumbled thanks to what the Chronicoms did to her. Even though she has no memories of Fitz, she manages to walk herself through assembling 0-8-4s left behind in the timeline with loyal SHIELD families by Enoch and the Koenigs, creating a device and starting it up with her wedding ring, to bring Fitz back.
Episode 13: What We're Fighting For (9.7)
The series comes to an end with a massive fight between Daisy and Nathaniel on the Chronicom ship. She's willing to sacrifice herself to save the world, but Kora brings her back.
There's a strong emphasis on family as Jemma finally gets her memories of Fitz - and their daughter - back, revealing what happened while they developed the technology to time travel. The team goes their separate ways, but reunites a year later to reveal that everyone gets their version of a happy ending.
Episode 9: As I Have Always Been (9.7)
Though this episode ties its rank with the finale, this one has more ratings at the time of ranking, making it the true top episode. It's the directorial debut of actress Elizabeth Henstridge, and it's Agents Of SHIELD's Groundhog Day.
Daisy and Coulson are the only ones aware that they are stuck in a time loop. As they work to save their friends, they learn about the implant in Jemma's brain, and Daisy realizes Sousa's feelings for her. The team loses one of their own as Enoch sacrifices himself to save them from the loop. It has the show's signature blend of pathos and humor, and it's a pretty perfect episode.