Agents Of SHIELD: 10 Best Episodes, Ranked

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. brought the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the small screen in 2013. With the series resurrecting Phil Coulson from his demise in The Avengers, fans were curious to see how the property would tie in to the larger MCU. Six seasons later, the series stands on its own.

With only one more season left before the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents say goodbye, we’ve taken a look back at the best of what the show has to offer. More than 120 episodes have been narrowed down to the top 10. Proof that the series only improved with time, most of the best episodes of the series come from seasons four, five, and six. Time will tell if Season Seven adds any episodes to the top 10. Watch out for spoilers if you’re not up to date with the show!

10 “The Real Deal” (S5E12)

“The Real Deal” marked the 100th hour of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Making it to 100 episodes was a huge deal, no pun intended, for the Marvel flagship series. The episode leads off the top 10 because, though not as intricately crafted as the top nine, it was very much a love letter to fans.

In Episode 100, not only did fans get to revisit some classic characters like Lash and Deathlok, but they also got to see the team come together for a momentous occasion. Fitz and Simmons tied the knot after spending five seasons figuring out their relationship. 

9 “Turn, Turn, Turn” (S1E17)

For a lot of fans, Season One was very uneven. It holds a lot of the worst episodes of the series, but only because the writers were biding their time until revealing a major plot point. “Turn, Turn, Turn” is where that happened. It is this episode that changed the course of the series – for the first time.

S.H.I.E.L.D. became compromised as Hydra emerged from the shadows. None of the main characters knew who they could trust, and it became a psychological thriller while they figured it out. Hydra then became the major recurring villainous group for the series going forward.

8 “What They Become” (S2E10)

Like Season One, only one episode from Season Two makes the top 10. Also like the Season One episode, this episode changed the course of the series. In “What They Become,” all of the mysteries of the last dozen installments came to a head.

The team ventured into an ancient underground city that would eventually be revealed as created by the Kree. There, Skye and Raina underwent a massive transformation in a stunning display of visual effects. The episode exemplified how ambitious the show could be and paved the way for the introduction of Inhumans.

7 “The End” (S5E22)

The Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. characters have been through a lot over the years. Season Five saw them travel to the future, only to have to save the world in the past all over again. It also saw Coulson reach “The End,” thanks to his deal with Ghost Rider. 

As the team worked together to save the world one last time, Coulson gave Daisy the boost she needed to save the planet. One version of the time traveling Fitz lost his life to break a time loop. There were plenty of poignant moments for the team, and it could have worked as a series finale if the show hadn’t earned two more seasons. 

6 “Rewind” (S5E05)

Smack in the middle of episodes about time travel and alien invasions was one comedic hour. It’s not an hour with the most intricate fight sequences or foreshadowing of events, but it was sorely needed.

In “Rewind,” the audience got to catch up with Fitz while the rest of the team traveled to the future. He had been held in a military prison. Fitz spent six months trying to figure out what happened to his team. From his point of view, they simply vanished. Then, his letters in a football magazine were finally answered, when Lance Hunter (pretending to be his lawyer) broke him out him out. The two friends got to catch up and find a way to get Fitz to the future, in a fun episode that was a breath of fresh air amidst the survivalist nature of the future storylines.

5 “4,722 Hours” (S3E05)

In Season Three, the show writers took a big risk by devoting an entire hour to just one main cast member. Jemma Simmons had been sucked into a monolith and spit out on an unknown planet as Season Two came to an end. “4,722 Hours” allowed the audience to see what she had to do to survive.

Aspects of the story itself didn’t sit well with the audience – like Jemma managing to end up with a love interest on the hostile planet. The audience, however, couldn’t deny that her tale of survival was extremely well crafted. It remains a critical favorite.

4 “The Devil Complex” (S5E14)

Thanks to his time spent in the Framework, Fitz has memories of a whole other life tucked away in his head. The isolation and stress he experienced in Season Five caused the Doctor of that other life to make himself known, in an episode that stunned fans.

While trying to seal a dimensional rift, the stress became too much for Fitz. The Doctor became the one to solve Fitz’s problem – by forcibly performing neural surgery on Daisy to reactivate her powers. He needed her abilities to help him finish the job. It was a sharp turn in a storyline that had previously seen people’s fears brought to life by the rift. 

3 “Inescapable” (S6E06)

After six years of trauma, there’s a strong contingent of fans who believe the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. team could use some serious therapy. The Season Six episode “Inescapable” gave two of them an immersive experience that forced them to confront that trauma instead.

When Fitz and Simmons found themselves captured by the Chronicoms, they were asked to help them create a way to time travel. That involved hooking both of them up to a machine that dug around in their minds. What followed was both of them having to confront all of the bad things they’d been through. The episode was full of emotional catharsis… and easter eggs for longtime fans.

2 “What If…” (S4E16)

The creation of the Framework in Season Four brought a whole new reality to the show. Like the Marvel Comics of the “What If” line, it explored what happened if certain pieces of reality were tweaked.

The episode allowed fans to see what happened if Hydra wound up on top instead of S.H.I.E.L.D. May and Daisy were high ranking Hydra officials. Mack’s daughter was still alive. Coulson was a history teacher. Fitz was the Doctor in charge of experimenting on Inhumans. It was a much darker world that allowed all of the actors to stretch their performance muscles in new ways.

1 “Self Control” (S4E15)

“Self Control” leads to the “What If” of the Framework. With the previous episode in the second spot, it only makes sense that “Self Control” would end up on top.

The episode saw the S.H.I.E.L.D. base infiltrated by Life Model Decoys following a mission. Of course, the trouble was that the LMDs were some of the agents returning to base. While the audience could easily figure out who some of the LMDs were, others were a mystery, leading to a tense stand off between sets of characters. Fitz and Simmons argued before the former revealed himself as an LMD by stabbing the latter in the leg. The quick change in performance stunned viewers and left critics praising the two for their work. 

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