Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Season 4

The Ghost

1. Season 4 introduces the Robbie Reyes version of the Ghost Rider who drives a Dodge Charger instead of a motorcycle.
2. When Yo-Yo Rodriguez walks onto Zephyr One for her check-in, she greets Agent Davis by asking how his wife is doing. He answers, "Getting bigger every day," to which she scolds him and he changes to, "Getting more beautiful every day." Maximilian Osinki, who plays Davis, is married to Dichen Lachman, who played Jiaying in Season 2 and was pregnant at the time.
3. S.H.I.E.L.D. is finally out of the shadows and it has a new director, as the public still thinks Coulson is dead.
4. The opening scene where Robbie Reyes' Charger is hit with an RPG, flips in the air, and lands on its wheels is a direct reference to All-New Ghost Rider #2.
5. The first reference to Life Model Decoys in the MCU was in The Avengers (2012) when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) attempted to avoid a video call from Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), claiming to be the LMD for Tony Stark and reciting Stark's consultation hours. It didn't work.
6. The effect of Ghost Rider and his flaming skull was imitated on set by Gabriel Luna wearing a hood fitted with flickering lights, which could be adjusted to match different temperature fire for different situations. The skull was then produced using CGI.
7. In December 2016, Comic Book Resources named "The Ghost" as the 15th best episode of the year among comic book-related television series.
8. The Ghost" originally aired on ABC on September 20, 2016, at the later time of 10:00 pm which allowed it to be darker and more mature than previous seasons. The episode was watched by 6.24 million viewers within a week
9. Aida the android/robot is the first TV appearance of a long time comic S.H.I.E.L.D. idea, that of a "LMD" or Life Model Decoy. They've been used numerous times in the comics to explain things such as Nick Fury's apparent death.

Meet the New Boss

1. Jeffrey Mace, in the Marvel mainstream continuity,is known as the Patriot; a non-augmented human but very capable fighter. Jeffrey Mace was also the 3rd Captain America, and held the role longer than Steve Rogers before Rogers was found in the ice. He is also the Uncle of General Thaddeus Ross.
2. This is the second comic book character that Jason O'Mara has played. He voices both Bruce Wayne/Batman in six DC animated movies.
3. The title of this episode is also half of the well-known expression (Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss).
4. The title of this episode is a lyric from the song "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who.
5. "Meet the New Boss" originally aired on ABC on September 27, 2016, and was watched by 5.39 million viewers within a week of its release.
6. The book that the ghosts are searching for in this episode called the Darhold is the Darkhold from the mystic side of Marvel. Billions of years ago, the evil Elder God known as Chthon put into writing all his evil works and spells. Originally a collection of parchments, often referred to as the Chthon Scrolls, the pages were later bound together into a tome as "the Darkhold." Also called the Shiatra Book of the Damned, or The Book of Sins, the Darkhold has served as the source for other spellbooks, such as the Necronomicon. The pages of the Darkhold are enchanted as to be indestructible, so that they may always serve as a conduit to the Earth-Realm for Chthon's influence and power. The book has been used by many characters in Marvel and is the source of both Vampires and Werewolves in the Marvel universe. It was also used by Doctor Strange to wipe out all vampires on earth except for Hanibal King (who Ryan Renolds played in the movie Blade Trinity)whom he restored to human form. The book has many ties to all the mystic arts and practitioners in Marvel.
7. When Fitz is talking about the ghosts, he makes a reference to Tobias Ford, a similar ghost-like character from Season 1.
8. The new boss aka Jeffrey Solomon "Jeff" Mace, also known as the Patriot and Captain America, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He has been around since 1941 but in 1976, Marvel revealed via retroactive continuity that Mace had become the third Captain America some time after his World War II era adventures. In the comics he has no superpowers, but is an incredible hand to hand combatant. In this episode he is revealed as an Inhuman with enhanced strength and some level of invulnerability, so the show has tailored this character to fit the current Inhumans' mythology.

Uprising

1. Daisy calls Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider a "vengeance demon." Buffy the Vampire Slayer, another Joss Whendon show, included vengeance demons - most famously Anya, who was a part of the Scooby Gang.
2. When Simmons and Holden are trying to figure out how to save May, they paraphrase Sherlock Holmes' famous quip "When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth".
3. Episode takes place after Captain America Civil War in the MCU. The new director mentions the Sokovia Accords, and Steve Rogers being on the run.
4. First episode of Parminder Nagra. She and Ming-Na Wen were co-stars of the 10th season of ER (1994).
5. John Hannah starred on elementary (2012-2019) as series about Sherlock Holmes. In this episode, Radcliffe and Simmons paraphrase the Holmes phrase
6. "Uprising" debuted at New York Comic Con, before airing on ABC on October 11, 2016.
7. The episode was watched by 4.89 million viewers within a week
8. Although Coulson, Mack, and Fitz are supposedly in Miami, when they enter the EMP radius, they pass the Nicodim Art Gallery which is in Los Angeles.
9. Simmons kills May and brings her back to life.

Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire

1. Uncle Eli is shown reading "The Positronic Man" by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. It is about a robot with a positronic brain that is ultimately declared an official human being. This may be a reference to Aida who is passed off as fully human in front of Agent May.
2. The Turing Test referred to in this and earlier episodes is a challenge for artificial intelligence to pass as human when interacting with a human. It is named after Alan Turing, the WWII-era British cryptanalyst who created the machine that cracked Germany's message encryption and led directly to the end of the war.
3. The car chase scene mirrors the race in Grease. Both racing older cars and, like in Grease when the victor got the title of the others' car, Phil says, "I get his car now, right? Isn't that how this works?" Both races were also filmed in the same area, the dried up bed of the LA River.
4. The title of this episode is a lyric from the song "Fire" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
5. Many of James' quotes throughout the episode are a reference to Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch. Specifically the character Junkrat, who is also an explosive-crazed Australian. James also hurls explosives that look much like Junkrat's weapon of choice.
6. The apartment Jemma (Elizabeth Henstridge) looks at is a real location. The Langham is an historic building at 715 South Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles.
7. "Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire" originally aired on ABC on October 18, 2016, and was watched by 4.78 million viewers within a week of its release.
8. The poster was drawn by comic book artist Francesco Francavilla
9. JT James (aka. Hellfire), the explosive Inhuman drops references to the first-person shooter Overwatch (2016) with his lines, most notably fellow Australian explosives-obsessed Jamison Fawkes (aka. Junkrat). The lines include: "stop me if you've heard this one before", "this bomb's for you", "it's a perfect night for some mayhem" and "well that's a nice how-do-ya-do". Some of Jemma Simmons' lines also reference the same game's British character, Tracer.
10. First episode to feature Ghost Rider wielding his iconic flaming chain.
11. Final appearance of Axle Whitehead as J. T. James aka "Hellfire".

Lockup

1. The letters on the book, "Darkhold", form an ambigram. That is, it is the same word even when turned upside down (not to be confused with a palindrome).
2. When Lucy and John are looking for, and find, the Darkhold, one of the walls has a poster for Quentin Carnival, a clear nod to Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze.
3. Peter Fonda's Capt America helmet from Easy Rider is on the shelf 1minute 17 seconds into episode. Peter Fonda played the devil in Nicholas Cage Ghost Rider.
4. The Darkhold first appeared in Marvel Spotlight #4. The very next issue (Marvel Spotlight #5) was the first appearance of the original Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze.
5. When Robbie enters Santino Noguera's cell, Santino is reading a Spanish language copy of Stephen King's 'Pet Sematary'.
6. Both Parminder Nagra and Ming-Na have played in E-R.
7. Parminder Nagra and Jason O'Mara both co-starred with Sarah Jones. Parminder & Sarah on FOX's Alcatraz. Jason & Sarah on CBS' Vegas.
8. The introduction to Director Mace on TV debate say that he is a Patriot. In the Comic, Jeffrey Mace is known as The Patriot
9. Contains the first reference to the events of Doctor Strange (2016) which had just released. On the news, it is mentioned that there are reports of activity in Hong Kong which is where the climax of Doctor Strange occurred.
10. The episode reveals that Mace became a public hero after the bombing of a United Nations meeting in Vienna, an event depicted in Captain America: Civil War. Mace was one of the many diplomats at the meeting, and was photographed saving another's life. However, the episode does indicate that Mace may not be telling the truth about this.

The Good Samaritan

1. This episode references the second season plot of Agent Carter.
2. Robbie says 'the other guy' in reference to his Ghost Rider persona which is also the phrase Bruce Banner uses in reference to his Hulk persona
3. Eli Morrow mentions: "The first law of thermodynamics" which states that energy cannot be created nor can it be destroyed. But it CAN change from one form into another.
4. The title of this episode is a reference to the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
5. "The Good Samaritan" originally aired on ABC on November 1, 2016, and was watched by 4.57 million viewers within a week of its release.
6. Judging by the motorcycle that the "Good Samaritan" rode when he gave Robbie Reyes his powers, it hints that he was Johnny Blaze, the first Ghost Rider, and he is now free of the deal he made with the Devil for his father's life.
7. This Episode introduces Johnny Blaze Aka Ghost Rider into the MCU for the first time.
8. This episode reveals that the Momentum Energy Labs group introduced in the season and tied to Eli Morrow is actually a successor to the Isodyne Energy company from the second season of Agent Carter.
9. The episode is part of the first "pod" of eight episodes for the season, subtitled Ghost Rider, and uses flashbacks to tell the origin story of how Reyes became the Ghost Rider. This included the surprise appearance of the Marvel character Johnny Blaze as the titular "Good Samaritan", introducing him to the MCU.

Deals with Our Devils

1. The episode was nominated for best Dialogue/ADR in Television Short Form at the 64th Golden Reel Awards.
2. "Deals with Our Devils" originally aired on ABC on November 29, 2016, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 4.63 million viewers within a week of its release.
3. This episode marks the second time that Alphonso Mackenzie has been controlled by a power-bestowing force, the first one being Ye Who Enter Here.
4. This episode tells the audience that Robbie's car only repairs itself when he is the driver.
5. Mack temporarily becomes Ghost Rider

The Laws of Inferno Dynamics

1. When May questions whether Aida the android thinks, Coulson jokes "Maybe about electric sheep." This is in reference to the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? more commonly known by its film adaptation Blade Runner (1982).
2. In the science lab, they make reference to the "Demon Core." Historically, it was one of three plutonium cores used during the research and building of the atomic bombs at Los Alamos during World War Two and was slated for use in a third bomb had it been necessary. The core was named "Demon Core" after it was involved in two critical accidents that resulted in the deaths of two physicists at the lab.
3. The title is a reference to The Laws of Thermodynamics, the first law of which Eli Morrow believes he is breaking by "creating" matter.
4. The VHiH news reporter played by Coleen Sullivan appears again in Runaways: Destiny (2017), Runaways: Hostile (2018) and Runaways: Gimme Shelter (2018).
5. The episode serves as the last in the first "pod" of episodes for the season, subtitled Ghost Rider.
6. This episode marks the first time the winter finale is the season's 8th episode instead of the 10th.
7. "The Laws of Inferno Dynamics" was originally broadcast on ABC on December 6, 2016, and, according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 4.49 million viewers within a week of its release.
8. At the end, Coulson implies Quake (Daisy) should be Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Daisy scoffs and says, "Yeah, right. Maybe in the comic book version." This is a reference to the comic books where she does become Director when Fury retires.
9. Agent Coulson tells Daisy not to count out the previous owner (Robbie) She asks if he thought he will make it back. His reply was the last Ghost Rider did. This refers to Johnny Blaze as the Ghost Rider.

Broken Promises

1. Mack references numerous robot and AI-related sci-fi/horror movies and television shows (mainly from the 1980s) through the course of the episode. Those mentioned include Maximum Overdrive, The Lawnmower Man, The Terminator, Short Circuit ("Johnny 5"), Blade Runner ("Roy Batty"), Small Wonder, and Chopping Mall.
2. Simmons refers to the Director's assistant as" the Director's little Smithers" which is a reference to the character from the TV show "The Simpsons" where Smithers is Mr. Burns shady assistant.
3. When Mack approaches Fitz and asks how Radcliffe is holding up, Fitz's responds "He's taking it pretty hard, actually. Aida was his life's work. She was kind of like a child". Mack comments in return; "Small wonder...". This is a reference to the 1985 TV series Small Wonder, which was based on the premise of a female child robot named VICI, who was created to be a domestic aide.
4. The music AIDA is playing to May at the start of the episode is the Fourth movement of Mahler's Fifth Symphony. The piece was composed as a love letter to Mahler's wife. Despite this, it has been used for the soundtrack to Death in Venice (1971) and was also played at the funeral of John F Kennedy.
5. This episode serve as the first in the second "pod" of episodes for the season, subtitled LMD.
6. Henry Simmons (Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie) and Natalia Cordova-Buckley (Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez) were named as honorable mentions for TVLine's "Performer of the Week" for the week of January 9, 2017, for their performances in this episode. The site praised the pair for their comedic performances, keeping the episode "light and lively--and marvelously meta."
7. "Broken Promises" originally aired on ABC on January 10, 2017, and was watched by 4.66 million viewers within a week of its release according to Nielsen Media Research.
8. The backstory of Ellen and Vijay Nadeer, introduced in this episode, revolves around their mother's death during the Chitauri invasion of New York, as seen in the film The Avengers.

The Patriot

1. Glenn Talbot stated that he was tasked with "finding the next Captain America". This is a reference to Mace taking over the mantle in the comics.
2. The episode's title is a reference to Mace's super hero name "The Patriot".
3. Mace's line "I'm ready to go toe-to-toe all day." is similar to Captain America's catchphrase "I could do this all day."
4. Luke Cage (2016) fans will recognize the bullet the sniper uses as the JUDAS bullet: a bullet specifically designed to penetrate and explode against heavy armor or super-powered individuals.
5. When Fitz and Simmons question General Talbot about Director Mace's "Patriot Injection", Simmons asks "You restarted The Erskine Program?", referring to Project Rebirth which was the secret U.S. Army experiment to create "Super Soldiers" during World War II. Dr. Abraham Erskine created the original "Super Soldier Serum" which was administered to Steve Rogers thus transforming him into Captain America.
6. The revelation of director Mace being a human without "powers" pays tribute to how the character in the comics had been similarly placed in the role of a superhero despite having no superhuman abilities.
7. When the quinjet crashes, agent Coulson does a "CSI Miami-style" quote by saying something punny and afterwards putting on sunglasses. His sunglasses being broke makes the quote fall to the ground though.
8. As the Quinjet goes down after being hit, Agent McCafferty dies the same way as Wash does in Joss Whedon's Serenity.

Wake Up

1. Senator Nadeer's office was in the "Stamford Wing". In the Marvel Comics, a battle between super powered individuals at Stamford Connecticut caused the deaths of hundreds of bystanders and was the flashpoint for the Superhero Registration Act which precipitated the Civil War, pitting heroes against heroes.
2. Sam Koenig mentioned the 1984 Red Dawn film, which features Clark Gregg's wife, Jennifer Grey. Adrianne Palicki appears in the 2012 Red Dawn remake with Chris Hemsworth.

Hot Potato Soup

1. Anton Ivanov shows Dr. Radcliffe a copy of Agent Coulson's obituary. The death date is listed as May 4, 2012- the American wide release date of The Avengers (2012).
2. When the Radcliffe LMD is acting 'possessed' he says "Amicitiae nostrae memoriam spero sempiternam fore. Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur. Alea iacta est." which is Latin and translates to "I hope that our friendship will be everlasting. It is a wise person who talks little . The die is cast."
3. Patton Oswalt's first return as Billy and Sam Koenig since season 2.
4. Sam mentioned the 1983 Red Dawn movie which features Clark Gregg's wife Jennifer Grey, Adrianne Palicki appear in the 2012 Red Dawn remake with Chris Hemsworth.
5. This is the second episode where Melinda May doesn't appear after Laws of Nature, although Ming-Na Wen portrayed her Life-Model Decoy.
6. The final vault inside the Labyrinth is an Excelsior 5200. 'Excelsior' was Stan Lee's famous catch phrase.

BOOM

1. Simmons tells Mace "you'll never be Captain America". In the comics, Jeff Mace did act as Captain America during the period when Steve Rogers was frozen in ice
2. During preparations for a mission, Daisy utters the "Frak!" expletive from Battlestar Galactica.
3. Aida references "the uncanny valley" phenomenon during a conversation with Dr. Radcliffe; an established, human reaction to human-like robots, defined as the "...area of repulsive response aroused by a robot with appearance and motion between a "barely human" and "fully human" entity". (wikipedia)
4. BOOM is the fifth episode of the LMD pod.
5. The explosion caused by Tucker Shockley that killed Ellen Nadeer and destroyed the Stamford Wing of Capitol Hill is a reference to the explosion caused by the super-criminal Nitro in Stamford in the comics, which ignited the Civil War.
6. Mallory Jansen (Aida) gets to use her native Australian accent for her dual role.
7. The necklace Agnes wears that Aida takes (both played by Mallory Jansen) is an ouroboros. This emblem of a snake devouring its own tail represents life, death, and rebirth.
8. As has already noted, the explosion in the Stamford Wing is clearly a reference to the explosion in the town of Stamford, caused by the villain Nitro in the comics, which led to the Marvel Civil War. However, an additional connection is the character Shockley, who caused the explosion in this episode, has the same powers as the comic villain Nitro/Robert Hunter.
9. Ming-Na Wen, who plays Melinda May, had less than thirty seconds of screen time with no spoken lines throughout the episode.

The Man Behind the Shield

1. Mack (Henry Simmons) refers to Ivanov as 'Bond villain.' Before they invade Ivanov's secret base, Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) says they may face sharks with lasers. Sharks with lasers on their heads was a gag from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), a spoof of James Bond movies.
2. When Agent May of the past is talking about the man she's been going on dates with, she mentions he's a shrink. This can be inferred that she was courting her future ex-husband, Andrew, who is a therapist.
3. Coulson's brush off of Ivanov's origin and not remembering the object, is reminiscent of Street Fighter when Raul Julia as Bison is talking to Ming-Na When as Chun-Li "I'm sorry my dear, I don't remember any of it. The day Bison graced your village, was the most important day of your life, but for me, it was Tuesday."
4. While searching for Aida, Simmons says "its like a labyrinth" and the soldier says "hopefully we don't meet the Goblin King" which was a reference to the 1987 move Labyrinth starring David Bowie.

Self Control

1. The song that bookends the episode is Michael Pinder's "Have You Heard", from The Moody Blues' 1969 album "On The Threshold of a Dream". On the album, as in the episode, the peaceful song is presented in two parts, with a dramatic interlude between. The song's lyrics deal with the difficulty in identifying that a dream is not reality, much like in the Framework's virtual world.
2. This is the first episode to be both written and directed by the same person. The closest to this was Pilot, which was co-written and directed by Joss Whedon, but not on his own.
3. Henstridge and De Caestecker were named as honorable mentions for TVLine's "Performer of the Week" for the week of February 20, 2017, for their performances in this episode.
4. The sleeping gas that Daisy is considering using on the base appears to be Methoxypropane, which used to be used as an inhaled general anesthetic. Though it is strange that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be using that, they have access to technology and medications not available anywhere else in the world. Methoxypropane hasn't been used in several decades since the discovery of safer and more effective inhaled anesthetics such as Desflurane, isoflurane and sevoflurane. However those are usually just used for medical procedures, the chemical used by the Russian government in the Beslan siege in 2002 is believed to be a derivative of fentanyl, in an aerosolised form. It rendered a large group of people unconscious, but was also responsible for many deaths.
5. Self Control is Jed Whedon's directorial debut. This is the first episode to be both written and directed by the same person.
6. Visual effects were used throughout the episode, including to depict the Triskelion building within the virtual reality of the Framework, as set up for the next pod of episodes for the season. The digital model of the building used by Industrial Light & Magic for the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier was given to the series' effects team for use in this shot
7. The metal lathe in the shop scenes with Fitz and Simmons is an Atlas 12" Series 3000 or Craftsman Commercial, produced between 1959 and 1981.
8. Self Control is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season and the conclusion of the LMD pod.
9. "Self Control" originally aired on ABC on February 21, 2017, and was watched by 3.88 million viewers within a week of its release according to Nielsen Media Research
10. The fight between Daisy and Mace took 2 days to film.
11. It is revealed that Jemma Simmons' middle name is Anne and her date of birth is September 11th, 1987, the real birth date of Elizabeth Henstridge who plays her on the show.
12. The scene where Fitz goes from pleading with Jemma to strangling her to pleading again was partially improvised during the take by writer/director Jed Whedon and Iain DeCaestecker.
13. The building that May is in riding the elevator at the end is the Triskelion, the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters building that was invaded by Hydra in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). For this episode, Fuse FX was given the digital models that were used in the making of the film: a model of the elevator from Scanline VFX, and the entire digital model of the building from Industrial Light & Magic. A significant alteration is that the VR Triskelion has a Hydra emblem instead of the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem.
14. The tombstones at the end of the episode are referencing Ian Beavers, an Office Production Assistant, and Jeffrey Steck, a Production Accountant on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
15. What viewers may get confused about in this episode if Daisy is or not a LMD. Only quick moment in the last episodes screenshot which Jemma and Fitz were watching, reveals the text "Compile all report totals". This means that the countdown was overall cumulative and the fourth LMD would yet to be revealed to be... Fitz.

What If...

1. At the end, there's an epitaph for Bill Paxton, who died a little more than a month before this episode aired. He appeared in several episodes of season 1.
2. Coulson teaches at Alexander Pierce High School. Alexander Pierce was one of the main characters in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).
3. A newspaper article in Phil Coulson's (Clark Gregg's) folder says 'Winslow Doctor Arrested for Subversion.' While the headline suggests the doctor lives in a place called Winslow, the article says the man arrested is a doctor in Cleveland who was experimenting with altering human genetics. Though they don't release his name, Dr Winslow is the new name given to Calvin Johnson (Daisy's father, played by Kyle MacLachlan) after his mind is wiped by the TAHITI device at the end of Season 2.
4. In the framework the world is taken over by Hydra, this could be a nod to the Marvel Comic event Secret Empire in which Hydra rules the world and Captain America is an Hydra agent.
5. What If... is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season and the beginning of the Agents of HYDRA pod.
6. The title of the show refers to the Marvel comic book series 'What if....?' where regular characters are taken in imaginary what if directions. Just like this story arc where Daisy and Jemma are in a world where Hydra won.
7. In the framework, Aida looks exactly like comic book villain Viper also known as Madame Hydra.
8. In the Framework Daisy finds Jemma's obituary. It reads: Jemma A. Simmons Devonshire native Jemma A. Simmons has returned home to her family. She was a warm and caring person with an intellectual curiosity that carried her around the world. Jemma, a faculty member at the esteemed SHIELD Academy for Science and Technology, died during a laboratory accident that claimed the lives of two hundred other devoted SHIELD researchers. We would like to believe she died as she lived, in service of others. Jemma Simmons was a great friend and a wonderful daughter who was taken from the world too soon. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Foundation for International Medical Response.
9. Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) cuts out a newspaper article with the headline 'Loyalist Felix Blake Given Parade: Hydra Hero and Human First Champion Celebrated for Advocacy.' Played by actor Titus Welliver, Blake first appeared in the Marvel One Shot: Item 47 and then in several episodes as a SHIELD agent and then affiliate of the Watchdogs.

Identity and Change

1. The student who interrupts Coulson before class with the comment "My homework's done. I swear. But then my dad... " is Clark Gregg's daughter, Stella Gregg.
2. Starting from this episode, the introductive sequence "Previously, on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D...." is no longer presented with Phil Coulson's voice but with Daisy Johnson's.
3. When Mace shows Coulson and Simmons the S.H.I.E.L.D. Wall of Valor, two of the first names appearing are "A. GUERTIN" and "G. KITSON," a reference to the Art Dept. Coordinator Aaron Guertin and the Writer of this episode George Kitson.
4. In the board room at the Triskelion, Fitz says "...we will make our society great again," echoing Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. This is another among many Trump references in this Season 4 arc.
5. Holden Radcliffe's island house in "the framework" is the same house with the bell tower as Mr. Rourke's house on "Fantasy Island".
6. The story parallels between Fringe and Agents of SHIELD are many throughout the seasons. The whole 'crossed over from the other side' was a phrase used very frequently in Fringe since it dealt with parallel universes.
7. The infamous Hydra soap cited by Coulson also makes an appearance in episode 3 of WandaVision (2021).

No Regrets

1. Phil Coulson is given a HYDRA ID with the name "Jamie Flugelman". The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the last name as- 1 : A trained soldier formerly posted in front of a line of soldiers at drill to serve as a model in their exercises. 2 : One at the head or forefront of a group or movement.
2. During the commercials before the credits of the episode, an advertising of L'Oreal Hydra Genius Liquid Care, a blue liquid soap, was aired.
3. The plaque that agent May reads at HYDRA headquarters says: "IN REMEMBRANCE OF The two hundred seventy-nine innocent souls who lost their lives in The Cambridge Incident. While they perished at the hands of evil, the fight for justice will go on forever in their names."
4. When Fitz is telling Madam Hydra that Daisy will not give up her story, he uses the phrase, "Never the less, she persisted." This was a common phrase used during the marches of early 2017 to push back on the hindering of women's rights.
5. Adam Kulbersh returns as HYDRA lab tech Kenneth Turgeon, who previously appeared in two episodes of Season 2 as a coworker of Jemma's while she was undercover at HYDRA.
6. The actor who plays Fitz's father (David O'Hara) played a character named Mr. X in a movie about assassins with superhuman-like powers in Wanted (2008). Wanted also stars actors from two other Marvel franchises; James McAvoy (young Charles Xavier/Professor X in the recent X-Men movies) and Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy 1 & 2).
7. The composition of the super serum used by Melinda May in the Framework is the same than the one used by Calvin Zabo in the real world to get his super strength. Coincidentally the improved version of same serum was used in Project Patriot which gave Jeffrey Mace his powers in the real world.
8. This episode features the death of Jeffrey Mace. He died in the Framework world while holding together a crumbling building, and as a consequence, he died in the real world, where the android Aida was keeping him prisoner.

All the Madame's Men

1. At 1:10, during the Bakshi Report, there is a square of the screen for an "In Memoriam, John Garrett, American Hero." This episode aired (April 25, 2017) exactly two months after Bill Paxton, the actor who'd played John Garrett, passed away (February 25, 2017).
2. The elevator that Daisy uses her powers to shove Madame Hydra out of is the same elevator where Steve Rodgers fights Brock Rumlow and the SHIELD strike team in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
3. The comments that Bakshi says to the woman about taking her furniture shopping are clearly referencing the infamous real-life leak of 2005 Access Hollywood footage in which newly married Donald Trump can be heard telling host Billy Bush about his attempt to seduce a married woman by taking her furniture shopping.
4. While ward is talking to Coulson about wanting to rescue Skye (Daisy), he says he was recruited in jail by Victoria Hand to join SHIELD. In Season 1, it's discovered that Ward is a secret Hydra agent when he murders Victoria Hand.
5. This episode pays homage to Bill Paxton who played the character of John Garrett, a member of Hydra infiltrated in S.H.I.E.L.D. Paxton passed away on February 25, 2017 in California, after What if... it was the second tribute to Paxton.
6. The title of the episode is a play on a line from a nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again".
7. When Coulson is exposing Hydra on television he uses the phrase "alternative facts" to describe one of their tactics. This was a phrase infamously used by US Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway in early 2017.
8. This marks the final appearance of Brett Dalton as Grant Ward.

Farewell, Cruel World!

1. This episode sees the return of Phil Coulson's voice introducing the "Previously, on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D...." sequence, which was replaced by Daisy Johnson's voice in the previous episodes.
2. When Coulson is shot in the chest he says "this feels oddly familiar". This is a reference to when Loki stabbed Coulson in the chest with his scepter in The Avengers (2012).
3. This episode does not feature an after-credits scene. Instead, a clip from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is shown.
4. Final appearance of B.J. Britt as Antoine Triplett.

The Return

1. When Anton Ivanov tells AIDA that his Life Model Decoy is "designed only for killing", this is an allusion to Marvel villain M.O.D.O.K. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing).
2. Since the characters escaped the Framework, the title sequence of this episode features a normal "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." title whereas this title was changed into "Agents of HYDRA" in the previous episodes in the final pod for the fourth season.

World's End

1. This episode includes an epitaph for the late Powers Boothe, who died in his sleep two days earlier, before the ending credits. He played Gideon Malick.
2. The title sequence for this episode was changed back to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Ghost Rider title sequence.
3. When talking with Ghost Rider Daisy refers to him going into a "hell mouth." This is a term from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In it, Buffy's town is said to stand on a Hell mouth.
4. This is the first season finale since season 1 to not be aired alongside the previous.
5. This is the first season finale to be written by Jeffrey Bell as opposed to Maurissa Tancharoen & Jed Whedon.
6. Radcliffe's final words are from the T.S. Eliot poem "The Hollow Men" - "This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper." Radcliffe does not finish the line.
7. The inter-dimensional portal Robbie opens with his hellfire chain at the end uses the same effect as the portals in Doctor Strange (2016), also part of the Marvel universe.
8. The last scene where Coulson is seen waking up in outer space hints that Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D will introduce Agents Of S.W.O.R.D. in season 5. In the the Marvel comic-book universe, S.W.O.R.D. stood for Sentient World Observation and Response Department, its purpose being to deal with extraterrestrial threats.