Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D - S4E2 - Meet the New Boss

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Previously on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., “The Ghost”

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – S4E2 – Meet the New Boss | Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennett, Henry Simmons, Elizabeth Henstridge, Iain de Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, Gabriel Luna | Writer: Drew Z. Greenberg | Director: Vincent Misiano

IN THE DOSSIER

SHIELD and Daisy are putting the pieces together in separate investigations about the mysterious hotheaded killer in LA. The hauntings continue, but the rage subsides enough for the ghost to seek the purpose of her condition. May begins to lose her marbles at the worst possible time and The Director displays the main reason why he was selected as SHIELD’s top man.

SPECTER? HARDLY KNEW HER!

“New Boss” began with the harrowing ghost floating through a home that was once hers. Enraged, she attacks the homeowner in front of his son, making him as crazed as the Triad members in “The Ghost”. Back at SHIELD HQ, Fitz was able to quantify mysterious readings emanating from the box, discovering a quantum lattice structure that’s beyond his comprehension. Intrigued by this super advanced technology, the Director assigns Leo and Mack to investigate.

While those two are connecting the dots, the “ghost” has a first name and a former occupation. At an abandoned facility formerly held by Momentum Alternative Energy Labs, the apparition named Lucy releases three more of her colleagues trapped in quantum boxes. They never felt like they had as much weight to the overall arc (proven with one of them biting the dust by episode’s end), however their purpose was chiefly for dropping clues about their research and motivations. All but Lucy want to seek revenge against a nameless rogue yet she’s more interested in resuming the program that was inspired by a book steeped in Marvel lore.

It should be interesting to see how the science-heavy tone of SHIELD will meld with the supernatural slant they’re slowly adding with Ghost Rider’s presence and Doctor Strange in less than two months. Hopefully it will be a seamless transition that adds dimensionality to the MCU rather than a concept that is quickly scrapped. For now, all is well.

SOMEONE HAS A DEATH WISH

Since Daisy’s toxic relationship with Hive, she’s been an emotional volcano of sorts. When you’re already lugging tons of baggage, why not add some more weight with an unhealthy obsession to out a vigilante who allegedly sold his soul to the Devil. After a couple nights of stakeouts and thorough hacking, Johnson practically knows everything about Robbie Reyes (Gabriel Luna), down to the name of the arcade he used to hang at during middle school. Naturally, Reyes is pissed - as we all would - and doesn’t know why he deserves the attention of an extremely annoying girl that continues to harass him at his workplace.

We get that the writing staff is attempting to engage us with a plot that gives Daisy a bit of a redemption story but in this instance, Johnson comes off as oddly vindictive. Reyes is correct in his assumption that they share a similar pain yet Daisy retains her haughtiness, enabling her to judge him for killing bad guys when she’s gone off the reservation plenty of times. And she continues to the goad Robbie into turning into the Rider. So which is it? Is Daisy suicidal or just a jerk? In any case, any scene involving Luna as Reyes or the Rider has been the highlight of each episode, proving to all the haters that preferred Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch that they basically didn’t know what they were ranting about. If SHIELD wanted to assume a darker, bloodier tone this season, Reyes is the perfect Ghost Rider to spread vengeance on every street.

IT’S A MAD, MAD WORLD

While everyone has their hands full, The Director (Jason O’Mara) tasks Coulson with tour duty for visiting officials. It’s tedious affair full of oohs and ahhs and grown people cooing at the chance to go inside a Quinjet. These are supposed to be congressmen and women, by the way. Hijinks aside, their opinions are crucial to whether SHIELD has a future or is a lost cause. As The Director continues to flash his toothy smile and drop saccharine platitudes, Agent May is quickly unraveling. After visiting one of the affected Triad members, May believes everyone has been infected and it’s up to her to find a cure. Unfortunately for Phil and Melinda’s strike team, they were unable to lure her to the lab before May thrashed them all single-handedly.

The Director arrived in a timely fashion and took May down in a matter of seconds, revealing his true nature as an Inhuman. Between him and Reyes, it should be a lot of fun to watch how SHIELD’s writing staff will tie these wholly unique story lines together in an ever expanding MCU. Whether or not The Director’s first name is a reference to this obscure character or not, his presence will ultimately influence the legitimacy of the agency. Whether Coulson can handle these changes as a mere field agent is another story altogether.

QUICK HITS

• Where is being May detained? The Fridge? The Sandbox? The Raft?
• It’d be interesting if the acronym of Lucy’s former employer (MAEL) has anything to do with its secretive owner.
• It may be time for Mack to give up on Daisy indefinitely. Fitz was quick to see the writing on the wall. One can only do so much for a person. Sometimes they have to bump their heads a few times before learning their lesson.
• No Dr. Radcliffe this week but he’ll be around plenty next week to get himself and Leo in a whole mess of trouble.