Robbie Reyes attempts to control the Ghost Rider; S.H.I.E.L.D. breaks into a high-security prison to decipher secrets.

Eli Morrow Robbie’s uncle

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is rather boring in its fifth episode as Robbie and some of SHIELD head to grab his uncle Eli Morrow from prison before the other ghosts get him instead.

The whole episode plays off of the fact people lose it when they’re infected by the ghost-like beings. That of course, gets the prisoners riled up for the eventual moment when everyone is let loose to fight the agents as they try to make their escape.

And that’s my issue with this episode. That’s about it when it comes to what happens and the whole build up until the end. It’s predictable and you can see where it’s going the entire time. There’s very little that’s exciting or shocking. Call it writing by numbers.

There is a cool moment that involves Robbie channeling his inner Ghost Rider and taking up a flaming chain. It’s something so many of us have been waiting for and we got the payoff.

But for me, that’s about it for the episode. It got us to the next thing where the end needed to be so we can get to the next episode and move the story along. For the season though, this was the most boring episode so far. Here’s hoping the next one is a bit more interesting.

Overall Score: 6.70

As Ghost Rider’s quest for vengeance brings him into an explosive confrontation with S.H.I.E.L.D., Coulson and Mack must rely on an unlikely ally in their time of desperate need; and Daisy reunites with a familiar face to stop the Watchdogs.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings some things together as we finally get an idea as to what the main goal of the bad guy is (sort of) and Ghost Rider, Daisy, and Coulson’s SHIELD come together.

The episode has Daisy and Robbie/Ghost Rider going after the Watchdogs and need to help of a familiar face from last year. There’s a twist to that little plot and it’s absolutely the worst thing of the episode. It’s a plot twist that’s not explained and so far just thrown out there. We don’t quite get why this particular thing happens and it the Watchdogs basically become a side story for the season based off of what is revealed. Hopefully they weren’t just a macguffin to get characters to this point, but we’ll see.

There’s some cool moments. Coulson and Robbie get into a drag race with some solid humor and entertaining back and forth between Coulson and Mack. It’s cool to see the two power cards take each other on and how Robbie is stopped got me to laugh pretty good. So, the action is decent.

We also get some more with Ada and I have no idea where the plot with the life model decoy is going. I’m interesting in seeing it, because this is a concept that’s really ingrained into the Marvel universe and opens up a lot of possibilities. Again, there’s some humor there too.

But, the biggest reveal is what the ghost is after and it’s an item that really takes the series and Marvel Cinematic Universe into some spiritual territory. It’s something familiar to comic fans, or at least those who read Marvel’s horror comics of the 90s. I don’t want to ruin it, but it’s a cool blast from the past for me. It’s also clear the show is going to tie into Dr. Strange somehow.

Again, the episode is a decent one. It’s not bad in any way, but it also doesn’t quite jump out to me. There’s some good. There’s some bad. Thankfully more good than bad. The episode had a goal and that was to bring together some of the characters and it pulled that off in an interesting way. We also have a direction going forward and out of everything, that’s the most interesting aspect of the episode.

Overall Score: 7.70

May fights for her life as her illness worsens and Simmons and Dr. Radcliffe try to save her. Also: Coulson, Mack and Fitz attempt to thwart a rogue group looking to end Inhuman Registration.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gives us a pseudo stand-alone episode as a group sets off electronic magnetic pulses and demands the end of Inhuman Registration. There’s an obviously different motive for the move and it’s pretty clear what their plan is. It’s all convoluted, so not sure what the overall point is to it all, but it’s an episode that doesn’t dive too deep into everything else going on, but sets things up for what’s to come down the road in the series.

The rogue group really feels like it’s more meant to give some drama to May’s recovery and also put Daisy and Robbie closer together.

The loss of power expands around the country forcing some of the SHIELD team to deal with the EMP source and also Daisy and Robbie to deal with issues locally. It’s all decent with some team building but overall, kind of boring. There’s some great special fx using Yo Yo, but overall, nothing jumps out too much as far as the rest. In fact, seeing her in motion really emphasizes how boring the rest of the episode is.

Then there’s May’s condition. Simmons and Dr. Radcliffe work to save her and that too feels like there was just a need to resolve the issue, but not really a major understanding of what is happening.

The episode overall is very blah and not too exciting. It moves the plots set up in the previous two episodes but itself lacks a lot of excitement. It also sets up some things to come like who is really behind the attacks.

The episode isn’t bad, but it also isn’t necessarily good. It just is.

Overall Score: 7.65

Daisy goes to battle Ghost Rider at a terrible cost, and Coulson faces the new Director, and his bold agenda surprises them all.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps up the momentum with the second episode of the fourth season with a whole lot going on to move the various plot points along.

Daisy talks to Robbie and gets to know him a bit. Sadly this is both good and a low point in some ways in that it follows the rather stereotypical path of fighting and then teaming up eventually. I wish things went a bit differently, but it is what it is.

Most of the episode though is to introduce the new S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Jeffrey Mace played by Jason O’Mara. That’s a character that comic fans will know, but this one is a bit different and how much the television version is similar to the comic version remains to be seen. But, there’s a reveal here that’s pretty cool.

The episode also moves along the whole “ghost” story and it’s interesting. It’s clear from the make-up that this part ties into Doctor Strange which is out this November, but what’s going on and how Ghost Rider fits in is actually a solid mystery.

This second episode was really solid with great action, a great build to whatever is happening, and a slow reveal. I have no idea what happened over the summer but the show really feels like a solid reboot in many ways and I have to say, the show is finally working.

For once… I’m actually looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Overall Score: 8.15