Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: ABC, agents of shield, AIDA, entertainment, Holden Radcliffe, LMD, television

Poker Faces And Secret Plans – Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD Returns

This article will contain spoilers for the most recent episode of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD – Broken Promises.

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As we roll into the second half of season 4 and the subtitle of the series changes from Ghost Rider to LMD, the story picks up quickly. Where I thought the subterfuge might've been played out over a few episodes, everyone becomes aware of Aida almost immediately. But that doesn't mean the surprises or intrigue was spoiled… it was a very entertaining episode with a lot of questions left.

It started with almost everyone together, getting their new assignments. Mac, May and Coulson are going to take the Darkhold to someone who can make it disappear while Radcliffe and Fitz are sent to wipe Aida's memory because she read the book. But when they arrive at Radcliffe's lab, Aida doesn't allow them to shut her down. She takes out the agents and leaves. They find Nathanson dead and head back to base.

Meanwhile Mace meets with Daisy about her being back on the team. Daisy wants to go after the Watchdogs, but Mace has other plans. He wants to find the Inhuman that Simmons saw. Turns out Simmons recognized him in the files of Senator Nadeer as her brother Vijay. Mace, Daisy and Simmons go to rescue Vijay. There are some moments in this episode where they try and make Mace more relatable. I think this is as a prelude to next episode which seems to be focused on him. The Mace we have in this episode is more of a team player and less about image.

And back at base, for some reason Coulson's team hasn't left to get rid of the Darkhold. So Aida can come and try to take it. She hacks into the base security, which Fitz notes happens a lot. He and Simmons rigged a back up system using computers that might be older than he is. Coulson and May confront Aida, only to have Coulson knocked out and then Aida modify May's programming since she's an LMD. It was at this point that I started to wonder how they found the dead agent at Radcliffe's but not the real Agent May. Aida also hacks into the controls of the Quinjet and turns it against Mac, Yo-Yo and a few other agents. Mac refers to Maximum Overdrive at this point, being one of probably a dozen 80's robot/android/technology based films where the robots try to destroy the humans. Coulson and May are trapped in a room, he takes out the surveillance camera then tells May where he hid the Darkhold. Of course Aida is watching and goes and gets the book. But before she can leave, Fitz takes back over the security systems, stopping her. Then Mac comes up from behind and chops her head off with his ax. All's well that ends well.

Mace and his team track down where the Senator is thanks to some good work by Simmons. Seems that Senator Nadeer is hooked up with the Watchdogs and intended to kill her now Inhuman brother. His powers manifest… seems to be speed related or something… hard to say for sure. Simmons tries to convince Vijay to come with them, but he decides to go with his sister who says things are different now. They head out with the Watchdogs and the Senator kills her brother and the drop him into the ocean. His body hits the bottom, then goes back into the cocoon that he had been trapped in for months. So obviously we're not done with him yet.

We end with May and Coulson having a moment, Yo-Yo and Mac having a moment and Radcliffe back at his lab with another Aida basically laying out that he's behind everything because he wants the Darkhold. Which is more true to his character than the team player he has been lately. And he is still trying to get the book, but will now use the Agent May LMD while he keeps the real one alive and drugged.

I think the big takeaways here is the more friendly version of Mace, learning that the Watchdogs have a Senator with them, Radcliffe is still Radcliffe… and the belief that Coulson might know that May is a fake. Just something about how he played the scenario with her. The relationship thing happening between them. It wouldn't surprise me if he has known of the switch all along.

The synopsis for next week say that Coulson and Mack are separated from the rest of the team and learn a shocking secret about Mace that leaves all of SHIELD in a precarious position. Which explains why the spent this episode getting us to like Mace.

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