May works to uncover the truth about what happened to her; Aida’s next move puts everyone’s life at risk.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to be narrowing its focus as it really gets going in the second half of the fourth season. The episode focuses on Coulson wanting to look into Senator Nadeer as Daisy is brought before a Senate committee. It’s some interesting spy stuff getting the team to a more street level in some ways and away from the special fx spectacle we’ve seen in previous episodes.

There’s also the focus on the captured May. That part of the episode plays very Matrix-ish, but it does so in a way that’s really entertaining and I only figured out what was going on a few moments before the reveal. It’s a good part of the episode and one that makes May a badass, but also keeps her captured.

These two storylines come together towards the end and it’s best to not give that away.

The big thing about the episode is Mack and Yo-Yo’s relationship which has some fantastic moments and the highlight. There’s a revelation about Mack that just makes me love the character even more, and that says something considering he’s my favorite character on the show. I’m really hoping they keep this level of “adult” when it comes to these two and we actually get to see something that explores real relationships, something missing with FitzSimmons.

One of the better episode of the season, but it’s still a little uneven. The Mack/Yo-Yo moments while few really pays off with the revelation about Mack adding tons of depth and May’s bit will have you questioning what’s before you. A definite improvement on the season and showing off what really works for the series.

Overall Score: 7.88

Separated from their team, Coulson and Mack discover a shocking secret about Mace, leaving all of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a precarious position.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. focuses on Mace this episode as the episode primarily is about Coulson, Mack, and Mace after they’re shot down and have to survive.

It’s an interesting episode in that it reveals the truth about Mace and we learn more about the character, his background, and the secret he’s been hiding. For most of the season Mace has felt like a suit playing the person in charge and this episode is where it all comes together and makes a lot more sense.

It’s not bad and an interesting twist to everything that sets up yet another dynamic to everything. Who knows if that’s good or bad, we’ll see where it goes and how it does that.

There’s some bad in the episode.

The LMD aspect of the story feels a little plodding and it doesn’t really move along at all. May fights her captivity but overall it’s thrown in there. Instead the episode should have just ignored it as little actually happens it feels like. Everything could have been added to another episode and up the pacing a bit.

I was worried Hydra would rear its ugly head this season and they come up… a lot. Which makes me feel like we’ll see them as the main villain before the season is over. It’s a little boring at this point and it’d be nice if the Watchdogs were a thing on their own instead of being a part of some bigger conspiracy.

For as good as last week was, this week was a step back in too many ways. The series this season as a whole has been uneven and we see that here. The episode ends on a high not though with a creepy horror like tinge that the series would do well to follow. Hopefully, things will pick up from here.

Overall Score: 7.55

Coulson is unaware of a dark secret May is hiding, even as the two grow closer; Aida is determined to find the Darkhold.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. picks up where the intriguing conclusion to the winter break left us with Aida running around trying to get the Darkhold and May replaced with a Life Model Decoy.

The episode basically runs two stories, both of which are pretty solid.

First, there’s Aida and trying to get the Darkhold. She goes with an all out assault and that gets the team working to stop her with a lot of action and some great jokes about the fact there’s a killer robot on the loose. There’s lots of pop-culture references that give the tone of the episode an entertaining one with jokes flying around, especially comments about the Terminator franchise.

What’s more interesting is the weaves this part of the episode pulls off. I’m not going to ruin it, but at first I thought things were wrapped up and settled, but boy was I wrong. In fact, what seems like the end is only the beginning as we learn more about what’s really going on as far as the Darkhold.

The second part of the episode has to do with Senator Nadeer and that mysterious Inhuman. We learn a lot there and again I don’t want to ruin things but Daisy, Jemma, and Director Mace go to deal with that. It’s an interesting new dynamic with Daisy back and not fully trusting her new boss and vice versa.

What I particularly enjoyed was this episode tying into something from earlier, the Watchdogs, that felt like it had been abandoned. They look like they’ll be the big bad for the rest of the season as there’s someone lurking in the shadows. As long as it’s not Hydra again, I’d be happy with that.

The episode is a pretty solid one coming back from an uneven first half of the season to deliver an entertaining hour that had a lot of action and more importantly really sets up where the rest of the season is going.

Overall Score: 7.70