[CaptainCrunch]

Great ending to what I think was a great season. My thoughts below for spoilers

Spoiler!

I think that the underlying theme of this season was that to be human is to suffer, but humanity has the capability of working through it.

The common thread was the darkhold itself which bookended nicely in the end with the ghost rider being obsessed with retrieving it and destroying its creations, which he effectively did.

This story really split into two separate one in the Framework with Mack, Yoyo Radcliffe and Hope. This was the emotional tale as we've seen that the Framework was built around really having the main characters not having to suffer a key regret in their life and in the end that characteristic nearly destroys everyone.

This was a heart breaking end to the Frame Work as it slowly collapsed on itself as Yoyo tried to convince Mack that Hope wasn't real, but she was and he needed to come home. In the end it was a tremedous kick in the pants as Mack held hope and reassured her and then she vanished and Mack returned to the real world with YoYo. But the Framework arc was so well done that I had to be a little disappointed that they didn't give a proper ending to Trip and Ward . But the real greatness of the ending of the Framework was the ending of Radcliffe who say on the beach and watched his universe end and realized in the end that his attempts to create immortality and a better life for everyone ultimately lead to his lonely demise. It was somewhat poignant that he toasted the sunrise with the familiar quote that "This is how it all ends not with a bang but a whimper" and then he vanished.

The other part of the story was in the real world as Aida continued to rampage and showed that unlike normal humans who could work through their pain, she was incapable of it as she simply relied on the emotion that she felt was most pure and that was the need for revenge.

The problem with a one hour season finale is that it can be rushed, and this was a rushed finale with a lot of loose ends to tie up. Between the return of the Ghost Rider and Aida and her plot to recreate the framework in the real world by framing Shield for the shooting of Talbot by a Daisy Bot (To which I shouted "Holy Sh%t literally because Talbot has been such a great character) and creating another rise of Hydra.

There was a neat confrontation between Aida and Ghost Rider where she realized that he was the only one that could hurt her, and again because she's new to physical pain she couldn't understand why she couldn't heal herself.

There was another tremendous scene where Aida confronted Fitz and Gemma and brutally tortured and killed Gemma in front of Fitz and then snarled at him that she was going to make him watch her kill all of his friends.

Now this was my only real other complaint because immediately after Gemma was stabbed and shocked to death we flash to another room where Coulson waits for Aida and when she arrives Gemma comes out of the shadows and shoots her before Phil turns into the Ghost Rider and in the ensuing fight incinerates Aida.

Apparently Coulson borrowed the Ghost Rider who only agreed to this for a price that remains a mystery but sounds like it could be dire.

I want to stop and say that Aida was one of my favorite villains both because Mallory Jansen was so great in this role, and also because I don't think she was as much of a villain as someone trapped first by circumstance (Radcliffe's programming) and then later by emotions that she just wasn't ready for, she was like a child that goes into a rage with an unlimited battery. So when she was incinerated and she looked at Fitz with a look of pain and anguish and I think regret, I felt really badly for her, and I'm going to miss her.

With Aida's death and the Frameworks end we know that Shield is again an outlaw organization so the team after tying up the theme of the year by telling Fitz that he will work through his pain and they will help him do it decide to go for dinner before they're captured.

They are captured at a diner and the ending scene which is a teaser for next year has Phil waking up and opening a window that looked into a asteroid field before deciding that it was time to stop sightseeing and get to work.

I don't really know where Shield in space is going to go, whether this is related to Thor Ragnorok or if this ties into the Inhumans series is yet to be revealed.

some random thoughts

Coulson is still the king of one liners

After the fight where Daisy and Ghost Rider destroy the Ivanov bot Coulson enters the room and says "I missed it didn't it, you two together and I missed it, damn"

The second line was when May and Coulson were discussing their relationship he quips "You know the Maybot was more supportive.

The deal with the Ghost Rider where he jumped to Coulson has to have a high price as Robbie before leaving told him that he was sorry for him.

The action fight scenes were amazingly well done especially when it came to Ghost Ride, it was almost a shame that this episode was so rushed that we didn't get a chance to savor them.

Final thoughts. This was an amazing season that surpassed season one's betrayal heavy Hydra storyline. The righting and the characters were crisp and right on button. Gemma really grew as a character this year and that's why it was horrifying to see her brutalized by Aida.

Even with a budget reduction next year and the season starting after the Inhumans series (Which is why I think the last scene might tie in) I'm looking forward to what's next.