Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Laws of Inferno Dynamics (4x08)

An interesting mid-season finale, in that it seems to be really wrapping up everything we've been doing thus far in the season. Next year it looks like we're jumping back in with something completely different. And... I like that! Let's take a look.

Cons:

Mack and Yo-Yo finally get their act together and share a smooch, which is long overdue. I guess the thing that's annoying me is that Mack didn't really explain his hot-and-cold behavior with her very well. He was being all weird and protective, which is crazy since Elena's the one with superpowers. It's a small quibble, but I wanted to feel happier about this resolution. Instead, it felt frustrating coming at the end of so much back-and-forth.

Pros:

The main plot can be stated very simply: Daisy, Robbie, and Yo-Yo go in to try and take out Eli Morrow, and... they succeed. Robbie goes up in flames along with his evil uncle, thanks to assists from the Inhumans Daisy and Elena, but also thanks to scientific assists from Fitz, Simmons, and Aida. Coulson and Mack round out the team, and victory is won, with a heavy price.

I'm not going to talk too much about this, but suffice it to say that the action was awesome, especially the stuff with Yo-Yo. I also liked the tragedy here with Eli's downfall. Even as Robbie is determined to get his revenge, he continually calls him "tío" and tries to talk to him about what happened. That made for a very sad conclusion. I also really appreciate the fact that they've left the door open for Robbie's return. This could have been the end of his story, but it certainly doesn't have to be. I hope we see him again. This actor had a great presence and he really added a lot to the show.

This episode also marked the end of some other plot threads - Daisy being separated from the group, and Coulson vs. Mace as authority figures butting heads in S.H.I.E.L.D. I adore the way this all went down. Basically, Coulson decides to come clean about Aida, getting the Director on their side. Mace decides to use Aida as an asset. By the end of the episode, Coulson has also confronted Mace about his secret dealings with Nadir, and Mace comes clean about being blackmailed. It was oddly understated, but we went from having a ton of secrets between these characters to having virtually none. I think the secrets had a place in the story, and obviously Mace is still hiding something about his origins as an Inhuman... but I think a united Mace and Coulson makes for really compelling television.

Daisy is spotted at the scene of the showdown between Eli and Robbie, and the press is all over her. Mace comes up, thanks "Agent Johnson" for saving them all, and goes on to say that Daisy was never really a vigilante, and was instead undercover for S.H.I.E.L.D. the whole time! This was a big gamble for Mace, and while I know he was serving his own interests, it was still a remarkable thing for him to do for Daisy. It looks like she's officially back in the fold, with the approbation not only of her old friends, but of the new Director as well. I still think Daisy will be causing fissures (pun intended) in the group as we go into the back half of the season, but it's nice to have her back where she belongs.

And then we've got Aida. She helps everybody out with the plan, and is so impressive and apparently non-threatening that Mace agrees to let Radcliffe keep working on his project, as long as he does so strictly under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watch. But then we get the twist. As one of Mace's men is packing up Radcliffe's research to bring it over to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, Aida shows up and snaps this guy's neck. We then see what this guy saw when he opened a door: May. She's inside, badly injured and captured. Flash to... May and Coulson sharing their special bottle of booze. Dun, dun, dun... Seems Aida has created another android!

Humans creating life that then creates life... never a good sign. This is very Cylon-like, but I actually really loved Battlestar Galactica, so I'm beyond thrilled. So much genius with the buildup to this, too. Aida has been around all season, hovering over in the B plot. She wasn't super relevant until last week, when she entered the A-plot in pretty spectacular fashion. And now she's this amazing springboard into Season 4B, in that she converts into our main villain. It reminds me of what Once Upon a Time has been doing since Season Two of its show, only this might be a smoother version of that.

Huge props to Ming-Na Wen for her performance this week. The minute May was on screen, I thought I noticed something weird about her. The pauses between sentences were just a little longer than they should have been. The expression of fondness she gave Coulson was a tad insincere. I don't want to say that I saw this twist coming completely, but I really will say that May was just a tiny bit off all episode, and I was definitely picking up on that. This is a great twist, and I'm beyond excited to see where it goes.

Wow. That review is not nearly as long as I was expecting it to be, considering I did really love this episode. I guess Season 4A of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been a little odd, but it's been odd in the best possible way. I know that this show gets middling ratings, and I know that it suffers in comparison with a lot of Marvel's other TV properties on Netflix, but for my money, it's still definitely worth watching!

8.5/10