If you would like to read my recap of the last episode, click here.
So I asked the question on Twitter today and below was the result, so here we go.
Should I keep writing TV recaps or just write reviews instead?
— keithlovesmovies.com (@keithlovemovies) January 10, 2017
Synopsis: Though Coulson and May are growing closer, Coulson remains unaware of the dark secret May is hiding beneath the surface. Meanwhile, Aida is unrelenting in her search for the Darkhold. (IMDB)
Writer: Brent Fletcher
Director: Garry A. Brown
Rating: TV-PG
Running Time: 45mins
We are back. In the last episode, Aida showed her true colors but was she really as autonomous as she appeared? Everyone else inevitably became aware of what she had become but they were surprised of the extent to which she was able to easily dispatch the SHIELD agents who wanted to deactivate her. What was weird though was that no one noticed an unconscious May in Radcliffe’s lab.
They knew she read the Darhold but could a book really allow her to do the things she did? This episode put that theory to rest right away but it would have been nice to go with it a little longer. From the last episode, we know that the other May is an L.M.D. but she doesn’t know that which added another great lawyer to Ming-Na Wen’s performance.
The funny thing about the episode was how it fully played into the whole robots going bad storyline as it was something that had been done numerous times in the past. The episode’s running gag was how serious some characters took the whole robot apocalypse thing. This brought on some great lines from Mack and Yo-Yo who seemed to be the only ones who were fully aware of what was happening.
Aida, with her many new upgrades, made a play for the Darkhold. She hacked into the base and managed to take hold of the book but was unable to escape due to some interference from Fitz and Radcliffe before getting beheaded by Mack’s trusty axe.
Aida wasn’t the only thing going on in the episode, however, as we returned to the man in the terrigen cocoon for whom Simmons met before being whisked away. He happened to be Senator Nadeer’s brother Vijay (Manish Dayal). She brought him to an isolated estate for him to recover from what had happened to him, or at least that’s what she thought as he showed no signs of any transformation.
This gave Daisy, Simmons, and Mace something to do as they went on a mission to rescue Vijay and also become closer to one another. Mace believed that the team trust was being eroded and completing tasks was a way to do this. Daisy brought up the Watchdogs but with not enough evidence, they went to try and rescue Vijay instead. For having knowledge on Vijay, Simmons tagged along to go undercover. It was fun to watch but didn’t last long.
Nadeer was conflicted seeing that her own brother may or may not be an inhuman. She attempted to sell him out to the Watchdogs but changed her mind as he convinced her that he hadn’t changed. Once Daisy, Simmons, and Mace showed up, things changed as it wasn’t up to her anymore. Facing death, Vijay’s powers manifested themselves. Given the choice to go with SHIELD or stay with her sister, he chose the latter which ended up being the wrong choice as she killed him herself based on an earlier promise they had made. But was he really dead as the last scene appeared to show otherwise.
There had to be a big twist to the episode because the new L.M.D. arc to the season would not have lasted long. Aida was not as autonomous as she appeared as Radcliffe showed his true nature by having programmed her to do it all along. It was his plan to get the Darkhold for himself. It also appeared that Aida was destroyed but luckily for him, there is at least one more model walking around. He had now has to devise another plan to acquire the Darkhold as it will become more difficult to do so from now on.
Overall, this was a great return for the season and a good start to the L.M.D. arc. It connected many subplots nicely and the Aida and Nadeer stuff was exciting to watch. My expectations were not the highest but the twist gives me faith that the arc can succeed.
Score: 9/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.