Agents of SHIELD Review: Deals with our Devils (Season 4 Episode 7)

When someone loses a friend or loved one, they experience “The Five Stages of Grief” — Denial, Anger , Depression, Acceptance, and Bargaining. Sometimes they experience these one at a time, and sometimes they experience them all at once.

On Agents of SHIELD Season 4 Episode 7, “Deals with Our Devils,” each member of the team goes through all the stages as they race to save Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie.

May

Melinda May showing emotions has always been fascinating yet strange thing to behold.

May truly cares for Phil — one of the most shocking things on the show has always been how much she does– but it is shocking to see it fully out in the open and not bottled in. It’s worth wondering if May’s own near-death experience in “Uprising” is leading to all her feelings for Coulson rising back up to the surface.

I hope as the season progresses we see more of this. May and Coulson possibly becoming more than just partners would be a very enjoyable source of potential for future stories.

This leads May into the bargaining stage as she takes the Darkhold book to Dr. Radcliffe and Aida to help figure a way to save Coulson, Robbie, and Fitz. What a strange sight to see May asking someone for help. but I feel as though we are starting to see the beginnings of a new Melinda May — a Melinda May who sees that emotions aren’t a weakness but a strength.

Daisy and Mack

These two have been through a lot together as agents and heroes. Mack has been the audience this season — worrying and having concern about Daisy. “Deals with Our Devils” lets us see that now the tables are turning and Daisy now is the one worrying and trying to help Mack.

The friendship between Mack and Daisy has always been a strength of the show. We love rooting for Daisy and Mack, so they are always the ones to go through the most.  My one wish is that sometime in the future, we see these two have a nice, peaceful moment. They deserve it.

Daisy goes chasing after Mack only to find that Mack has been possessed by the spirit of the Ghost Rider. I wish we would’ve had more of The Mack Rider as having  the Spirit of Vengeance as a member of SHIELD opens up so many different story possibilities  and Mack is the perfect choice to be Ghost Rider.

Its going to be interesting seeing what effects having the Ghost Rider inside of him will do to Mack. Will having the spirit inside of him change Mack into a darker, more vengeful character? Early indications feel like it is leaning in this direction, and it’ll be exciting to see if this does affect him.

Coulson, Fitz, and Robbie

We learn what happens to these three after Eli’s betrayal in “The Good Samaritan”  as Phil, Fitz, and Robbie are revealed to be stuck in between dimensions. Here is when we see them go through the stages of grief.

We see denial hit Coulson and Fitz in their efforts trying to get the attention of the team.  It has to be a scary feeling as you are alive but no one notices.

Fitz overhears the Director trying to get Simmons back from the mysterious place she was taken to, but the Senator refuses to let her leave.

This scene was another perfect example of how much Fitz truly loves Simmons and even as a ghost , his first thought is to protect Jemma no matter what. Also I swear Agents of SHIELD if you ever even think about breaking up FitzSimmons, there is going to be hell to pay.

One surprising thing is how quickly Ghost Rider went back to Robbie after he’s bargaining for it to leave Mack. At this point now, it feels like an addiction that Robbie has. A need to be with the Ghost Rider.  I fear this ends only badly for not just Robbie but also his brother Gabe as well.

Meanwhile, Aida and Dr. Radcliffe are able to use the Darkhold book’s secrets to create a dimension rift in an effort to return them back. (Aida’s Life Model status comes in really handy here as reading from the book has no effect on her. Always good to have a robot available for these situations.) 

After a few heart-pounding moments, Coulson and Fitz pull themselves  through the dimension rift that Aida creates and all ends that ends well for this moment.

Robbie returns later and with the Ghost Rider inside him again. I love the combo this scene creates as Mack and Robbie agree to join forces to stop Eli. Perhaps both men can help save one another from a life of damnation.

Finally, the team is  now on the hunt for Robbie’s Uncle Eli who now has the power to make matter out of thin air.  Right now  the team is still stuck in one of the stages of grief — ANGER

Quick Thoughts

• We finally see where Simmons was taken too as she ends up being “recruited” by Mace and Senator Nadeer to study a Inhuman in the middle of the transforming process. We get a lovely moment showing how much  humanity Elizabeth Henstridge brings to the role of Jemma here. She is able to calm and talk to the inhuman in a touching scene. Just as the inhuman is finishing his transformation, Simmons is led away by Senator Nadeer’s men. So many mysteries here with the biggest being — “Will we ever see this inhuman again?”
• We got one hell of an emotional but too quick FitzSimmons moment when after Fitz is saved and sees Simmons back at the base. I would’ve had their hug last a few minutes at least.
• “What’s going on?” “Oh nothing much. Mack is the Ghost Rider now but you can’t hear me…bloody hell.”
• It was a nice lighthearted moment to see Robbie backseat ghost riding during Daisy’s chase of Mack. A nice humorous moment in a very serious episode.
• Another nod to Doctor Strange tonight with the dimension rift and Aida’s hand movements making it.
• At the end of the episode, Aida is showing forming a brain much like she did with the dimensional rift. As Westworld  has taught us, when robots start showing signs of sentient thought, things never end up going well.

What did you think of this episode of Agents of SHIELD? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

 

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

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