AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: Check Out Last Night's Spoilery Season 4 Finale Twist

While many were correct in the assumption that only Ghost Rider could defeat Aida in the season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it wasn't Robbie Reyes, but Phil Coulson who took on the Spirit of Vengeance to put a fiery end to the android-turned-Inhuman. After rescuing Mack from the Framework and with Robbie taking the Darkhold, the team opts to take full responsibility for the LMD invasion of S.H.I.E.L.D., having one last meal together. In the final scene, the diner lights suddenly shut off and the team are apprehended by a shadowy team of soldiers and a man in a suit. Some time later, Coulson wakes up in a room, opening the window to reveal...an asteroid field in outer space, with a strange blue light in the distance. 

In an interview with EW, showrunners Jed Whedon, Jeffrey Bell and Maurissa Tancharoen remained secretive over the signficance of the scene, but did tease that the "blue light" was important, and that season 5 might attempt the "three pod" story structure they introduced for season 4, depending on the schedule. "Truthfully, some of that comes down to how the season is broken up in terms of airing. If everything is running back-to-back, it feels weird to start calling it different things, but we’ll know more when we know our schedule. We will try to have it in bite-sized chunks," Whedon said.

The showrunners also teased some long-term consequences for Coulson after choosing to be possessed by the Ghost Rider. "We can safely say that having that thing inside of you is no small occurrence," Whedon said. "It happened to Mack because Robbie was being pulled through dimensions, so it’s a pretty large price he paid to have the Ghost Rider inside. Robbie carries it around; it’s the biggest weight on his back. It’s not like he can just hop into Coulson with a thumbs up. Whatever the deal is, it’s fair to say that it’s serious. And you get that impression from Robbie when he says, 'I don’t envy you.'"

As for the show's move to Friday nights, ABC Entertainment Group President Channing Dungey explained that the decision was made to cater their Friday night programmng to fans of sci-fi and fantasy. “We’ve turned Friday into more of a destination for our fantasy and science fiction fans. Once Upon a Time and S.H.I.E.L.D. are airing on the same night for the first time, which is giving many fans of both shows what they’ve been asking for for a long time.”