Agents of SHIELD Review: Lockup (Season 4 Episode 5)

“Lockup” delivers once again on two things Agents of SHIELD gives us consistently: shock and surprise.

We get more of these thanks to a Prison Riot and a Lie Detector test. Neither is very appetizing, but they both do lead to a few anxious moments for our agents.

Before we discuss either of those, let’s get into the flashback that starts “Lockup” as we bear witness to Lucy, our not so friendly ghost, and her husband uncovering the Darkhold book. Everything about this screams “BAD MOJO,” and they start reading from the book as soon as they find it. As we go back into present time, the husband dies as soon as Lucy starts looking through the Darkhold again.

The one weak spot of this season continues to be Lucy. I know she is necessary for the story line, but I feel nothing for her — good or bad. Hopefully her arc can improve as there aren’t the same emotional stakes to her saga as there are with Robbie and his battle with the demon inside of him.

Before we have time to process all of that, Coulson decides to go back to the prison to question Robbie’s uncle, Eli, one more time. The scenes of Phil leading the team and then chatting with May in the prison had the feeling of early Agents of SHIELD episodes.

It feels wonderful to have this Phil Coulson back — the one that has never been afraid in diving head-first into danger with a sarcastic joke in his back pocket.

It’s not surprising that Lucy starts a Watchdogs-led prison riot just as the team arrives.

One thing that upsets me is that Agents of SHIELD never gets enough credit for is how the action sequences merge so well with character moments. “Lockup” gives us both as in the middle of the riot, Daisy locks out May and Coulson, so she is the one who fights off the Watchdogs by herself in a fantastic fight with multiple prisoners.

Daisy knows that this is a very dangerous situation, and she doesn’t want anyone hurt because of her anymore. Daisy’s selfless nature is undoubtedly one of her greatest strengths and also one of her worst weaknesses.

All season long, Daisy has been dealing with a lot of pain that she feels is her fault. Even though that’s wrong, Daisy knows she can’t let anyone else sacrifice themselves for her. So Daisy continues to fight alone and is overwhelmed by the prisoners until she is saved by the team and Ghost Rider.

Thanks to Fitz’s captaining and the power of Ghost Rider, the team is able to squash the riot. This leads to May having a heart to heart with Daisy on the Quinjet.

May: “You don’t get to choose who cares about you.”

This is my favorite scene as Agent May sees Daisy is becoming a version of herself — cold and hardened. So May tries snapping her out of it with a touching speech.

Daisy has been through a lot in her life, and she knows deep inside that she will always be the hacker girl looking for family. Having May deliver this has the feeling of a mom trying to convince her daughter to come home.

Daisy gets angry when May mentions that Lincoln wouldn’t have wanted this life for her. Chloe Bennet delivers here as Daisy’s facade breaks when May leaves and the tears start flowing. Daisy knows that she is still hurting people who love her. Only this time, instead of physical pain, she is hurting them emotionally.

I’ve said before that Daisy has to reach rock bottom and that would be when she would let people in to help her.

My hope is this will finally be what breaks down her wall and lets her ask for help from the team — especially Phil and May.

I have no doubts while making this prediction: Jemma Simmons is going to be the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future.

The other story in “Lockup” is Simmons trying to keep Director Maze from finding out that she knows about AIDA. Seeing Jemma escape from trouble by first helping Jeffrey in his debate with Senator Nadeer to then basically blackmailing The Director was another indication of how much Jemma has grown over time.

Only next to Felicity Smoak on Arrow, Jemma is the smartest character on TV. She is able to outsmart The Director over her failed test with “the Vienna Incident,” and she proves that she has the smarts and ruthlessness that one needs in S.H.I.E.L.D.

Cheers also to Jemma using Jeffrey’s phrase to the little weasel agent who had her results.

What this does lead us to is the final shocking scene where Senator Nadeer shows The Director footage of Ghost Rider helping the team at the prison and killing a few prisoners, including one of the gang members that crippled his brother.  Senator Nadeer seems like she’s just starting to become a serious threat as she uses the information she has to blackmail Jeffrey.

At first, I was thinking that they were going to be in cahoots, but now I feel really terrible for Director Maze. He seems like a good guy who only just wants what is best for SHIELD and Inhumans alike. I fear for what terrible things Sen. Nadeer might force him to do.

Surprises and shocking moments are nothing new on Agents of SHIELD, but with the Darkhold book in the hands of Lucy and Robbie’s tempted uncle Eli, things are only going to get stranger for everyone.

Other Thoughts: 

• Fitz and Mack have a funny chat about whether Fitz would be coaching or quarterbacking the team from the jet. Both terms are correct in this case.
• Before the riot, Phil keeps asking what May had seen when she died. At first, I thought this was concern from Phil to a long-time friend but now thinking about it I also believe he wants to know if there is really a TAHITI out there when we pass away.  It’s going to be very interesting to see if this death experience will change May as early indications feel unlikely.
• Coulson’s Captain America Shield is still awesome.
• I don’t talk about Ghost Rider much in this review, but Robbie fitting in so well has been a glorious thing. It has been a breath of fresh, mystical air that the show needs to counter the slow burning Inhumans story arc. Also, after seeing Robbie still uncomfortable with the team and his vengeance on one of the gang members that crippled his brother, I don’t ever want Ghost Rider to leave.
• Jeffrey reveals himself to be an Inhuman during the debate. It really didn’t feel like a dramatic enough moment for that reveal but Jason O’Mara was able to sell enough for me to care about it at the end of the debate.

What did you think of this episode of Agents of SHIELD? Let us know in the comments below!

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Agents of SHIELD airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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