Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, starring alongside Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward.

In 1931 New York City, a group of aliens called Chronicoms steal the faces of three police officers and kill a contact from a local speakeasy.

asset and meet its owner, Ernest "Hazard" Koenig, who reveals that the police officers were providing security for a function in honor of Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt.

's future, the team rescues Freddy from the Chronicoms just after he received a job to deliver a package from a Hydra contact, though they get separated in the process.

's Chronicom ally, Enoch, helps heal Agent Melinda May from injuries she sustained during the team's previous mission, but she wakes up earlier than expected and evades him.

[2] Marvel Television head Jeph Loeb revealed in July 2019 that this would be the series' last season, and stated that it had been designed to "tie up any threads" and try to create a satisfying conclusion to the story.

[8] Whedon explained that the time travel story for the season begins in the 1930s because the writers wanted to start "back at the very origin of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tancharoen acknowledged that the period setting created "something for every department to sink their teeth into" despite there being no increase to the series' budget for the final season.

[11] With the season renewal, main cast members Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Jeff Ward were confirmed to be returning from previous seasons as Melinda May, Daisy Johnson / Quake, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, and Deke Shaw, respectively.

[14] Barnet originally auditioned to play one of the cops in the episode, before being called back to read for Freddy and ultimately got cast in the role.

[18] Costume designer Whitney Galitz did extensive research on 1930s clothing for the season, using material from her college studies as well as photographs and other primary references.

Galitz wanted to ensure that the costumes were appropriate to the period, including authentically portraying vintage police uniforms, and that they were worn as they would have been at the time (down to the correct underwear).

[20] She also had to source 60 period black tuxedos for the FDR event, which she called "pretty difficult", since many they found were either deteriorating or did not fit modern-day sizing standards.

[23]: 38:56  Johnson's purple dress and green gown were custom made, as were many of the other costumes used in the various stunt sequences since vintage pieces would have been difficult to find multiple of.

[23]: 27:45-28:25 Yo-Yo Rodriguez continues to wear pants in the episode rather than dresses or skirts, a decision that was made by Cordova-Buckley and the wardrobe department.

Sanford described women of the era as becoming "more vibrant looking" because of the advent of feature films and the end of the Great Depression, and wanted the actors to look this part, while hiding the length of their hair.

[28] The day before filming began, actor Jeff Ward broke his toe and for three weeks until it healed he wore modern running shoes with his 1930s costume whenever his feet were not on camera.

[30][31] The time-traveling aircraft Zephyr One was created digitally by FuseFX,[30] while CoSA VFX provided the effects for the Chronicom's face scanning device and the body repair machine that Enoch uses on the injured Agent May.

[32][33] The faceless police officers were primarily created with practical makeup, though visual effects were used to blend the seems, remove eye holes, and flatten the actors' noses.

He highlighted the story, pacing, and direction, especially commending the series for not trying to catch up new viewers given how much exposition would be required to explain the events of the previous seasons.

[25] Matt Fowler at IGN gave the episode a "good" score of 7 out of 10, describing it as a "fun and charming adventure" but also "more dopey than dangerous", highlighting the period setting and the main cast's chemistry.

Pow!, Wesley Coburn game the episode an "A", calling it "a winner" and "a strong start to this season's time-traveling adventures".

He focused on the lighthearted LMD Coulson, the scenes of the main characters not fitting in with the prejudices of 1930s New York, and the moral questions established for the rest of the season to answer.