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.

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.

"Orientation" originally aired on ABC on December 1, 2017, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 4.27 million viewers within a week of its release.

The episodes received very positive reviews from critics, with many generally highlighting the cast's performances, the introduction of new characters, and felt it was a promising start to the season.

A white monolith transports them to an outpost in an unknown region of space, where a group of scavengers are under attack from aliens they call "roaches."

After they reunite with Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez and Jemma Simmons, Coulson finds an old postcard in Virgil's jacket.

Gradually, all of them come to realize that the monolith didn't take them into space, but to a future where the Earth has been destroyed, and the outpost is all that remains of humanity.

Suspicious of Deke's motivations, Johnson follows him to his "gallery", where people pay to enter a Framework simulation to escape the brutal reality of life in the Lighthouse.

[5] On how the episodes would tie into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Whedon stated that "We try to a little bit follow in the wake of the films as they plot new territory in the MCU.

"[6] Whedon added that it's more about a thematic tie-in at this point than one story leading to another, stating "We try to make it feel like that the whole thing is moving in this swelling direction.

"[7] In October 2017, Marvel confirmed that principal cast members Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May, Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson / Quake, Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons and Henry Simmons as Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie.

[8] They are joined by Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, who is promoted from her recurring role in the third and fourth seasons.

[9] Jeff Ward was cast in a recurring role in August 2017,[10] and was revealed in October to be portraying Deke Shaw, alongside other newcomers Eve Harlow as Tess and Pruitt Taylor Vince as Grill.

[11] In November 2017, Marvel confirmed that Ward would appear in part one, alongside Joel Stoffer as Enoch, Jordan Preston as driver, Peter Hulne as Jerry, John Wusah as young soldier, Deniz Akdeniz as Virgil, Nathin Butler as Jones and Derek Mears as captain.

[4] In part two, the guest cast include Ward, Harlow, Vince, Mears, Dominic Rains as Kasius, Florence Faivre as Sinara, Paul Duna as Reese, Kaleti Williams as Zev, James Babson as Holt, Tunisha Hubbard as Ava, Wes Armstrong as Rick and Jay Hunter as watch commander.

[12][13] Henstridge expressed how different filming her role was for this season stating, "She's always been so headstrong and kind of arrogant to a point where she feels like her brain is the best and who cares about anything else.

"[15] In November 2017, Whedon said that the season would not have moved the characters to space if the recent MCU films like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

He explained that they had moved on from the overt tie-ins with the MCU films that the series utilized in earlier seasons because "we have our own mythology.

[17] At New York Comic Con on October 7, 2017, the main cast appeared to promote the season, where they premiered the first 20 minutes of "Orientation".

[23] 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.

He complimented the humor of these episodes, as it helped "ease viewers into such a large, and possibly series ending, premise."

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."

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.

"[25] 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.

[26] 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."