The agents have dealt with dangers of the Darkhold and Life Model Decoys. Little do they realize their LMD problems are far from over. There has also been some adjustment to Jeffrey Mace being the new director of SHIELD. The others have been suspicious of his motives despite his continued attempts to do what's best for everyone. What he's been hiding comes to light when the agents are out in the field.
Warning: Spoilers for Season 4, Episode 10 of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, "The Patriot," will be discussed below.
Daisy Johnson Is a Hero
Daisy Johnson left SHIELD to go after the anti-Inhumans group, the Watchdogs. During her pursuit, she was branded as a terrorist when used her powers against them. She and Ghost Rider secretly teamed up with SHIELD to defeat the evil Eli Morrow. When the public saw Daisy involved in a SHIELD operation, Director Mace quickly spun the events so that she was actually working undercover with SHIELD.
A press conference is held to honor Daisy for her heroic actions against the Watchdogs. The touchy-feely moment is interrupted by a sniper taking a shot at them with an exploding bullet. Mace uses his strength to deflect the bullet and explosion by throwing a podium above the crowd. The director is taken away to safety, as protocol dictates. Capturing the shooter reveals he's an ex-KGB and ex-Hydra operative.
Mace's Big Secret Is Revealed
Coulson and Mack accompany Mace as he's flown to a safe house in a quinjet. Agent Burrows gets sucked out of the jet when it's breached. Adding to their problems, General Talbot handcuffed a mysterious and important briefcase to Burrows' wrist during the press conference. When the quinjet crashes, Mace makes it clear their main priority is to locate the agent and the briefcase.
Their transmissions are being blocked by enemy soldiers so backup can't be called in. Coulson and Mack offer a distraction while Mace goes after the recovered case. Inside are two vials. Mace is clearly desperate to inject himself with the contents. It turns out the chemical is from a new version of Project: Rebirth. Mace isn't actually an Inhuman. Without the serum, he's a normal human. Talbot was given the directive to find an enhanced candidate to be the new director. One couldn't be found so he made one.
Coulson Is Back in Charge
Coulson exchanges words with Talbot while Mace listens on. Coulson doesn't believe lying to the Inhumans is a smart move. Mace talks to Coulson alone to tell him he was only following orders. He wants the Inhumans to have the same rights as humans and agreed to take a serum modified to his DNA. He offers to resign, but Coulson tells him that's not going to happen. Because Mace was good at being the "face" of SHIELD, he can continue that role along with handling the politics and paperwork. Coulson will be calling the shots once again.
Fitz Secretly Wants to Fix Aida
SHIELD is unaware that Radcliffe has a new Aida LMD and is using the Agent May LMD to try to find out where the Darkhold is being kept. Fitz tells Simmons the reason he and Radcliffe failed with the LMDs was because they didn't have her expertise to safeguard against any problems. She wants to put the LMD talk to rest, but Fitz expresses he simply wants to protect her and other agents.
After Simmons insists he remove the severed Aida head from the lab, Fitz secretly communicates with it by hooking up his cellphone to the circuits. He tells the head, "Don't worry, I'm going to figure out what broke you." The Aida head thanks him, and he locks her up in a storage drawer.
Robo-May Discovers
The real May is still being held at Radcliffe's place. He and Aida have her sedated. Radcliffe is concerned with leaving the other May alone after Fitz tells him he should stay away from SHIELD headquarters to allow everyone to deal with the death of an agent by Aida's hands. When Robo-May and Daisy are able to locate Mace, Coulson, and Mack, the LMD gets injured during a fight. When alone, she feels a big gash on her shoulder. She's able to feel a robotic exoskeleton underneath. Despite believing she is the real May, she remains calm and keeps her discovery from Daisy.
Our Thoughts
The episode kicked off with a great action scene as we got to see Mace using his powers once again. The revelation that he is not an Inhuman and has been enhanced by a chemical cocktail is fantastic. This aligns him closer to the character's comic book roots. Jeffrey Mace was used as a stand-in for the original Captain America after it was believed he died in action. The episode has a fitting title as he was originally known as Patriot. Now that we know his secret, it's clear he doesn't have any dark intentions. This also opens the door to allow Coulson to take over command while the public and government believes Mace is still the director.
The threat of the LMDs continues to build as Fitz is planning on attempting to fix Aida. It'll be interesting to see what Robo-May does with the knowledge that she's an android since her robotic brain is programmed to believe it is the real May. Next week's episode will deal with this.
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