Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Deals with Our Devils (4x07)

This episode kicked ass! There's so much to talk about!

Cons:

So, the main plot is that Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie are stuck in a different dimension, and they can see everybody else but nobody can see them. The whole team comes together to find a way to get them back. I loved almost everything here, but you know what's annoying? Jemma wasn't there for any of it. She was off in a little subplot, which I didn't mind in terms of the subplot's content, but... I wanted her to be there! I wanted her to fight to get Fitz back just like Fitz fought to bring Simmons back! It feels like a bit of a wasted opportunity, if we're being honest. But that's a nitpick.

Pros:

I'll start with Simmons' subplot really briefly. Basically, she is brought to Senator Nadir's brother, who is encased in rock. She uses her expertise about terrigenesis to help free him from his imprisonment. Of course, Jemma is kept in the dark about who this guy is, and just as she starts to free him, she's ushered away. I love the possibilities, here. We know that Nadir is blackmailing Mace, and we know that her brother has been trapped for months. But Jemma knows none of this, and it seems like Nadir's brother might be a pretty cool guy. He certainly seemed thankful to Jemma for helping him. I can't wait to see where this goes.

In the main plot, we've got May, Mack, Radcliffe, Aida, and Daisy working to get Fitz, Coulson, and Robbie back. May produces the Darkhold, and Aida reads it, finding a way to open up a portal that Fitz and Coulson are able to come through to get back home. However, meanwhile, the Ghost Rider has left Robbie and is inhabiting Mack. Daisy follows Mack, with an invisible Robbie tagging along. In the end, Robbie makes another deal with the Devil, agreeing to take the Ghost Rider back in exchange for the Ghost Rider helping him to bring down his uncle Eli, the guy who started this whole mess to begin with.

I just wrote that plot out rather succinctly, but there's actually so much to unpack here.

Aida reading the Darkhold? Not good! As the episode ends, we see Aida creating what looks like a brain out of strands of light and energy. Whatever she saw when she touched that book seemed to open up a whole new avenue of thought for her. Every AI story I've ever heard of warns that things are not going to go well from here on out. I love the slow burn they've been doing with Aida, and how finally she's gaining more relevance to the A-plot. She was instrumental, after all, in rescuing Coulson and Fitz! Also, the cat is out of the bag. Coulson and May now know about the illegal robot that Radcliffe and Fitz built. How long are they going to be able to keep this from the Director, and what happens when Mace does find out?

May was desperate to get Coulson back throughout this whole episode and it was glorious. I don't know if I want a romance angle with these two, or just the deep friendship we've seen thus far, but either way this episode was perfect. May is such a practical person, but she wasn't being practical at all when she brought the Darkhold into things. She disobeyed Coulson's orders to get him back, which could be a dangerous precedent to set... but how could she do anything else?

Mack as Ghost Rider was amazing! It looks like the experience was really traumatizing for him, and clearly it's dragging up a lot of old issues. Near the end of the episode, we see that Robbie and Mack are going to go off on a revenge quest together. I'm really excited to see that. Robbie is an interesting character who has already done so much to help nuance Daisy this season. I'll be happy to see how Mack and Robbie play off of each other.

The coolest part of the Ghost Rider thing was when it first happens, and Mack hops on his motorcycle and zooms off. Daisy and the others are flummoxed, unable to tell what's gotten into Mack. Of course, Fitz knows, and offers an explanation: "Mack's the Ghost Rider now, but you can't hear us, so... bloody hell." Also, Daisy chasing Mack down in Robbie's car was hilarious. Robbie is sitting in the passenger seat, but of course Daisy can't see him. He's just wincing at her driving, worried about his precious wheels. Ha!

Gabe doesn't get a lot of screen time, but in what might be the funniest moment of the whole episode, Mace learns everything that's going on, and glances over at Gabe, saying: "see the younger Reyes boy gets some counseling." That's hilarious!

Then there's the best part of the episode: Fitz and Coulson. All of the stuff about them being able to see and hear what's going on was just so well done. It's a science fiction cliche, but it's one for a reason. Fitz is getting increasingly agitated as he learns that Mace sent Simmons off on some mission and that nobody knows where she is. Coulson is a little more defeatist, displeased with May for suggesting they use the Darkhold. Fitz won't give up, though. Why? Because he won't put Simmons through that. How. Cute. Fitz is more worried about what his death will do to Simmons than he is actually scared of dying. The best part was when Fitz breaks, yelling about how he and Simmons had a fight, and now she's all alone, and he's gone. Coulson touches his forehead to Fitz's and promises that they'll find a way to get back.

I was just having so many feels about Fitz and Simmons, and about Fitz and Coulson... this was all amazing. When Fitz does get out, he runs straight to Mace and gets up in his face, shaking with rage and fear and demanding to know where Simmons is. Then he hears Jemma's voice, and turns around, and they run into each other's arms. That was the best.

I guess, in short, this episode just had a lot of feelings. All the Coulson/May stuff, and Fitz being desperate to get back to Simmons, and even Daisy and Robbie's fractured and strange friendship. I love all of these elements. This was the strongest episode I could have hoped to come back to. I hope that they can capitalize on this awesome buildup!

9.5/10