I realize I didn’t end up writing a review for SHIELD’s winter finale back in December, but I can sump up my thoughts on it by saying I was a bit disappointed with it. I wish we got a big showdown between Robbie and Eli, and, at at the time, I wasn’t totally on board with doing the whole “robot becomes self-aware and evil” song and dance yet again.
Now, thanks to this episode, I’m totally on board.
Can I just skip to the good stuff for a moment? Yes? Ok.
The reveal that Radcliffe was behind Aida’s “corruption” and May’s kidnapping/replacement is one of the best twists the series has pulled off. Not only does it axe that evil robot story immediately, but, holy cow, does it make things infinitely interesting. There were so many ominous implications that could be derived from that one scene towards the end, like how Aida wasn’t really “corrupted” at all but simply following orders, or that Radcliffe most likely has several Aidas hiding in storage, or that whatever he pans to use the Darkhold for, it can’t be entirely nice and tidy. Uuuuuugggggghhhhhhh. I love it. Keep pulling the carpet out from under me, SHIELD. You’re awesome at it.
Let’s rewind a bit and talk about the main chunk of the episode. I liked how the writers, even the characters, were fully aware that this storyline had been done a dozen times earlier, and made as many meta jokes as they could through Mack and Elena. There were so many references and quips about evil robot films, and I think it started getting a bit on the nose after joke #22, but leave it to Mack to end the joke spree on a (literally) killer one. “Roll credits.”
The LMD May thing wasn’t what I was expecting it to be either. The ending of the winter finale seemed to imply that LMD May was fully aware that she was an android, but it actually seems more like LMD May believes she is the real May and is totally unaware of any LMD-trickery. Maybe the real May’s consciousness is in the LMD May’s body somehow? We’ll have to wait and see. Also, I’m more in board with the Phil/May romance with every episode. I like how it’s being developed.
While all these robot hijinks were going down, Daisy, Simmons and Mace were tracking down Senator Nadeer and her Inhuman brother. Learning a bit more about Nadeer and her motivations for hating Inhumans was overdue, and the opportunity to make her a seriously unpredictable character was not wasted. I mean, when she has Vijay at gunpoint in the forest, I sort of sensed she would end up sparing her brother. But when she urged Vijay to come with her, and then promptly shot him after their escape, in the famous words of Quicksilver, I “did not zee dat coming.” That really makes her a terrifying antagonist, that she places her agenda over her family. It looks like we’ve got TWO infinitely interesting villains for the back half of the season, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Other Thoughts:
- Any episode that pairs Daisy and Simmons is one I’ll probably love.
- I’m thinking that Vijay’s power is that he protects himself with a cocoon, and re-emerges with a different power every time. Either that, or he’s like Darwin from X-Men: First Class and his body adapts itself to different environments or situations to survive.
- The rest of the season looks great and all, but I do hope that Ghost Rider comes back for an episode or two and then spins off into his own series. Please?
Rating: 9.0/10 motivational washroom posters
Next week, it sounds as though we finally learn what went down with Mace in Vienna…
Noah
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