Following the signing of the Sokovia Accords, Talbot and Coulson discuss registering the Inhuman agents, with Coulson taking Talbot to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base to introduce him to Rodriguez and Lash, explain the Hive situation, and show him the need to keep the Secret Warriors anonymous. Hive captures several Watchdogs for Radcliffe's next experiment attempt; they are horrifically mutated into primitive Inhumans, but do fall under Hive's sway, prompting him to proceed with his ultimate plan—to use a warhead (which was stolen from the ATCU) to spread Radcliffe's new pathogen around the world and transform all humans into these primitives. Campbell contacts Johnson and convinces her that he wants to be with her. Hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems as her blood is drained, Johnson helps him escape the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in a quinjet. However, this was a ruse on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s part, with Lash arriving instead of Campbell. Lash uses his abilities to free Johnson from Hive's sway, but is killed by James. Johnson escapes back to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Production
Development
In April 2016, Marvel announced that the twentieth episode of the season would be titled "Emancipation", to be written by Craig Titley, with Vincent Misiano directing.[1]
The episode is set in the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, and deals with how the Inhumans are affected by the Sokovia Accords, with some members of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team feeling "Inhumans should be registered and [others] who feel that's a first step to them being sequestered, imprisoned, exterminated." Bennet said, "we've been dealing with the bigger issues of Civil War on a smaller, more personal scale for a while now. It's been building. We've been having our own mini version of Civil War." Wen noted that "the connection is there, but it’s also very tenuous at this point, because S.H.I.E.L.D. has become so isolated with what’s going on with the Avengers and them not knowing still that Coulson is alive." The episode explains the film's lack of acknowledgement of the Inhumans and the wider effects of the Accords—due to the film having been written before the series' third season began production[5][6]—by noting that S.H.I.E.L.D. would have to become "a legitimate organization again" if it revealed itself and the Inhumans to the general public, and "with that would come any rules and regulations that come with government oversight" which would interfere with the groups' attempts to defeat Hive.[7]
The episode also acknowledges the death of Peggy Carter in Civil War, which executive producer Jeffrey Bell said was important for the series due to her role in the universe as a founder of S.H.I.E.L.D., adding, "Any time we can make a connection to her, whether in a flashback or dealing with what’s happening now, it makes the universe smaller."[7] At the time of "Emancipation"'s airing, the fate of the character's own television series Agent Carter was unknown, with several outlets noting that this could be a surprise, meta-announcement of that series' cancellation.[8][9] ABC officially canceled the series two days later.[10]
Broadcast
"Emancipation" was first aired in the United States on ABC on May 10, 2016.[1]
Reception
Ratings
In the United States the episode received a 0.9/3 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 0.9 percent of all households, and 3 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 2.93 million viewers.[11]
