Agents of Shield: The Patriot Recap

Synopsis 4×10: In the wake of Robbie’s demise, Daisy rises as a newly crowned hero as SHIELD moves towards her inclusion as an agent. 

Although the loss of Ghostrider  (Gabriel Luna) was a little disappointing, the episodes as a whole have improved slightly since then. In some ways, the storyline of Ghostrider, and the compelling nature of his characterization, sidelined the main cast for the majority of the first half of the season.

With this episode, we saw a return to form, sort of, with the episode focusing on Daisy’s (Chloe Bennet) new position as a rising star for SHIELD. She works closely with Director Mace (Jason O’Mara), who holds a press event to honor Daisy Johnson for her service.

Unfortunately, this does not go well as a sniper shoots a bullet at Mace, attempting to kill him. This in and of itself is not terribly interesting, except for the fact that the bullet’s burrowing and explosion implies that it might actually be a Judas bullet, first seen in the Netflix show Luke Cage. 

Daisy attempts to find the shooter while Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) encourages Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Mack (Henry Simmons) to take the director to safety via a Quinjet. 

Radcliffe (John Hannah) continues to urge SHIELD to pursue his Life Model Decoy (LMD) program, unknowingly to the team because he is trying to take the Darkhold from them. While he may think he is in control of Aida (Mallory Jansen) and LMD May, as a viewer, I can’t help but suspect that Aida is more than she seems. 

Returning to Coulson, Mack, and the Director, it becomes clear that the bullet was simply the first attempt. It was more a plan to get them onto the Quinjet, where they could be shot down. 

Agent May (Ming-Na Wen), the real Agent May, is able to remove herself from the program that Radcliffe and Aida are keeping her under, but only temporarily. Aida nearly kills May before Radcliffe is able to stop her. Of course, the pair misjudged Agent May, the reason she broke free is because they had her visualizing a relaxing day at the spa. Interestingly, even LMD May seems to be aware that something is off. 

The unusual briefcase that is biometrically locked reveals the truth about Mace himself, that he is not in fact an Inhuman, but taking a super soldier serum given him by Talbot – one derived from Daisy’s father’s serum. 

Using the head of the original Aida as a prop, Jemma (Elizabeth Henstridge) and Leo (Iain De Caestecker) discover the location of the missing Quinjet, revealing to Daisy and LMD May that the director does not have powers. 

Mace, Coulson, and Mack use high-stakes deception, speaking with the Hydra turned Watchdogs about the “cure” for Inhumans. Of course, it becomes clear that this is false, and the three must fight their way out of the base. But luckily, Daisy and LMD May arrive just in time to assist. “It’s about damn time.” 

The episode finishes with mini moments: Fitz, ever the bleeding heart and scientist, downloads a copy of Aida (the decapitated one), receiving a thanks from her. Where this goes, likely with him overriding any programming of Radcliffe’s, remains to be seen. 

Mace is able to reveal the whole truth to Coulson, that he took on the persona in a desire to save Inhumans, in a desire to help. Coulson accepts this and urges him to continue in his role as public “hero” with Coulson making the decisions behind the scenes. 

LMD May realizes that she may not be exactly who she believes herself to be. 

Overall the episode began to circle back towards what makes Agents of SHIELD fun, the characters. It feels like we’ve waited too long to see Daisy return to the group, and Simmons and Fitz actually working together to science something. Hopefully this trend will continue, and the show will keep moving forward.