page_title: Orientation (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
section_title: Critical response
hierarchical_section_title: Orientation (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) / Reception / Critical response
caption_attribution_description: English: Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen at PaleyFest 2014
context_page_description: "Orientation" is the first and second episodes and two-part season premiere of the fifth season of the American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D., it finds Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they are transported to a future in which the Earth has been destroyed. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and acknowledge films of the franchise. The first part was written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen and directed by Jesse Bochco, with the second part written by DJ Doyle, and directed by David Solomon.
  Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, starring alongside Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, and Natalia Cordova-Buckley. This marks Cordova-Buckley's first appearance as a series regular, after recurring in previous seasons. A fifth season was ordered in March 2017, and filming began that July. Several new recurring guest stars were announced beginning in August, including Jeff Ward, Eve Harlow, and Pruitt Taylor Vince, who are all introduced in the episodes.
context_section_description: Matt Fowler of IGN scored the premiere 8 out of 10, indicating a "great" episode and praising it as a "soft reboot" for the series. Fowler praised  the episodes as "solid (if not claustrophobic) entertainment". He noted that the first part felt like a "mysterious space horror story" and the second part was a "full-throttle remake/remodel of Agents of SHIELD as a series". He complimented the humor of these episodes, as it helped "ease viewers into such a large, and possibly series ending, premise." He noticed that the characters are "strong enough to go off on an adventure totally separate from anything Shield-related - that they can just be their own special band of adventurers." He questioned the importance of the new characters asking, "How invested should we be in what's happening in the future, humanity-wise, if the idea is for everything to somehow get course corrected?"
  The A.V. Club's Alex McLevy graded the episodes an "A-" and praised the move to space, saying that "if season four was Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. firing on all cylinders, especially during its stellar 'Agents of Hydra' arc in the Framework, then this is the look of a show that knows it has mastered its storytelling, and is confidently expanding the scope of its ambition." He noted that part one "works a little better" than part two, but they’re both "excellent installments that can stand on their own, narrative-wise." He described the opening 20 minutes of the premiere as a "miniature Twilight Zone". Levy felt that Mack's attitude towards the team's predicament was a "remnant of being forced out of the Framework (and away from the daughter he presumably remembers all too well) at the end of last season." Danny Hale of Flickering Myth gave the premiere a positive review, in particular praising the development of Simmons. He noted that "her character has become so strong and resilient over the years and her almost jaded attitude when put in front of Kasius was so refreshing. She knows she should probably be afraid of this man but she can’t seem to care enough to bow to him." He also complimented the new additions to the cast, calling Kasius "interesting" who is established as more than just “generic bad guy.” He also praised the performances of Ward and Harlow as Deke and Tess, predicting they will likely have the most interactions with the principal cast.
  Evan Valentine of Collider gave the premiere a "good" rating of 3 stars out of 5, saying that the series "manages to make a welcome and interesting return here, though not one that reaches the heights of its last season yet." He praised the chemistry of the principal cast stating, "the cast chemistry is firing on all cylinders, and while they may have a bump in the road when it comes to some of the new supporting characters, the core members of the team are still a delight to watch." He unfavorably compared the new characters to Ghost Rider from the previous season saying they lack the "same bite". He also expressed his hopes for the series to explore others parts of the MCU, since the Kree are already an established race within the universe. Marc Buxton of Den of Geek gave the episodes a positive review, saying the series "gives the characters and the viewers a sense of displacement with tonnes of world building and new characters being introduced at a breakneck pace." He complimented the episodes for exploring new genres, in particular post-apocalyptic science-fiction, He noted that "This whole genre switch has really allowed the series to reinvent itself here in the fifth season", calling the episodes an "unexpected, claustrophobic, two-hour sci-fi trip and a whole new lease on life for the series."
caption: Showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen, who co-wrote "Part One", were praised for taking the series in a new thematic direction.
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