“World’s End” is episode twenty-two of season four of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the season finale.
In the previous episode, “The Return”, Fitz managed to talk Aida into rescuing Mack from the drilling platform that Ivanov was destroying. Following which, they were both taken prisoner, as neither was terribly trusted by the others.
Whilst in captivity in the rather battered S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters (following Fake May’s detonation of a bomb to stop Fake Coulson in “What If…”), Fitz and Aida seemed to be sharing a moment, at least from her point of view. Fitz agreed that Aida understood him, and said that he could only love one person. Aida had clearly been expecting Fitz to say that he loved her, so when he said it was Simmons, to say that Aida did not take it well would be an understatement. She threw a major hissy fit and demonstrated that she had acquired more Inhuman powers than teleportation (it’s not been made clear how Aida could use knowledge from inside the Framework to add Inhuman powers to a body in the real world. Perhaps it’s through the Darkhold), including healing (so when Coulson said Aida could be killed in “Farewell, Cruel World!”, he was wrong). Aida has now rejoined Ivanov to help him build a world where Inhumans are hunted, only Aida wants to make everyone suffer in the process. It seems she isn’t handling her new emotions that well. General Talbot had also arrived on the scene, and he believed everyone was a robot. Coulson is really not that great at explanations.
Yoyo had gone into the Framework to try and convince Mack to leave it. She had been told that it was bad in there, but no-one elaborated on that. So, when she entered, she got a nasty shock when she found herself inside a damaged facility (presumably the Triskelion) and strapped down.
At the end of the episode, the Ghost Rider, who disappeared with Robbie’s uncle Eli in “The Laws of Inferno Dynamics”, returned to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ using the device that Aida (the previous model) built to rescue Fitz and Simmons in “Deals with Our Devils”. Coulson did say that he thought they hadn’t seen the last of him.
This episode opens with Robbie starting his car and driving off before switching to Zephyr One. Fitz and Simmons are discussing Aida and how to stop her. It seems that, inside the Framework, Fitz had discovered how to extract Inhuman DNA pre-terrigensis, and had done this with over two dozen Inhumans, including people they knew, like Gordon and Lincoln. Although this still doesn’t really explain how knowledge of Inhumans inside the Framework was greater than that outside it, since all the knowledge had to come from the real world in the first place. Perhaps there was simply more processing power. As a result, Fitz is feeling really, really guilty over what he did as the Doctor.
Ivanov thinks that how Aida, a being formerly of pure reason and logic, is now overcome by emotions is ‘sweet.’ Aida wants to burn the world to the ground. There is another model of LMD with them as well when a flaming car arrives and Robbie steps out. He wants the Darkhold and is able to defeat the LMDs. Aida is shocked when she finds out that her powers don’t work on Robbie, and that the Ghost Rider can harm her, and in a way she can’t heal from.
General Talbot contacts Coulson, as he wants him, or someone else important, to attend a meeting the next day. It’s been discovered that Director Mace wasn’t an Inhuman, and Coulson needs to defend S.H.I.E.L.D. Even though that was Talbot’s lie. Coulson gives another one of his amazingly unhelpful explanations regarding what Aida is.
Aida is actually targeting the meeting. By discrediting S.H.I.E.L.D. and Inhumans at the same time, S.H.I.E.L.D. will be closed down and she can start what led to HYDRA’s domination of the Framework, only this time for real.
Coulson gets news that Robbie Reyes has reappeared. Robbie says that the Ghost Rider really, really hates Aida, and wants to send both her and the Darkhold to hell. Or it’s near equivalent dimension anyway. With Aida being made of the same stuff as the Darkhold, the Rider can hurt her. Perhaps even kill her. If she can be kept in the same place without teleporting out anyway, which Aida does every time she sees Robbie now.
Inside the Framework, Yoyo is inside the Triskelion and is about to be killed when Radcliffe arrives and saves her. Daisy had, from the outside, tried to help Yoyo, and this was done by making Radcliffe find lots of yo-yos. Aida is shutting the Framework down and, when this is complete, everyone still inside will be dead. There is no guarantee that Mack and Yoyo will survive to the end either. Mack is still trying to save people, even though equipment, people and eventually everything starts vanishing. He still isn’t willing to leave Hope.
There is a constant discussion between May and Coulson regarding the bottle of Haig that Coulson drank with Fake May and it’s pointed out that saying stuff along the lines of ‘I cannot be stopped’ is just asking for it.
Some threads still left open and a whole new one opens up for season five and the first episode, “Orientation: Part One”.