MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. - "Broken Promises" - 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, on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Eric McCandless) Agents of SHIELD Review: Broken Promises (Season 4 Episode 9)

Agents of SHIELD Review: Broken Promises (Season 4 Episode 9)

Charles Dulaney Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Reviews

One thing that has been always true in the Agents of SHIELD universe is that when it comes to distrust, family and friends always leads the way.

There are two clear cases of this on Agents of SHIELD Season 4 Episode 9 “Broken Promises.”

The first one deals with Senator Nadeer and her inhuman brother Vijay.

We remember Vijay from Agents of SHIELD Season 4 Episode 7, “Deals with Our Devils” and it is lovely to find out more about his relationship with Senator Nadeer. The relationship feels strong, but once again we see Ellen’s true human nature show up when she betrays her brother to the watchdogs.

One of the best human traits is our ability to forgive. Especially when it comes to matters of the family. This is seen later on when Vijay has the choice to go with Simmons, Mace, and Daisy.

Instead, he chooses to forgive his sister and trust her. We know it’s not going to end well for Vijay but he believes in his sister even after all that has happened.  Which makes the gunshot she delivers to him even more heartbreaking.

It feels as though Senator Nadeer and her threat will be on the sidelines for a bit after this. I think this is a good thing as the show’s focus needs to be on the LMD storyline right now. Keeping the Watchdogs in the background as a looming threat.

Yo-Yo: Smart people are stupid.

The second case of this is with AIDA and Dr. Radcliffe. For most of this episode, the indication is that AIDA has gone rogue from her programming. If it wasn’t for the fact that she has Agent May imprisoned and replaced with a LMD, no one would be rooting hard for AIDA to be self-aware more than myself.

MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. - "Broken Promises" - 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, on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Eric McCandless)
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Broken Promises” – (ABC/Eric McCandless)
IAIN DE CAESTECKER, JOHN HANNAH

I should have seen that something was askew with Dr. Radcliffe as he keeps making excuses for AIDA to everyone. Even when AIDA takes control of the base and unleashes a Quinjet on Mack and Yo-Yo, Dr. Radcliffe continues to tell Fitz that this was unbelievable to him.

Although Fitz takes control of the base back and Mack delivers a killing blow to AIDA before she can leave with the Darkhold, the sense of uneasiness hangs in the air. I knew that this story has more left to tell.

So when we see Holden with another AIDA (AIDA 2.0), it hits us that once again the Darkhold has corrupted another person. This time being the now secretly villainous Dr. Radcliffe.

I hate that Dr. Radcliffe, exactly like AIDA did, talks to the real May as he watches LMD May once again flirting it up with Agent Coulson. One trope that is overused so much is when the villain says, “I don’t mean to cause any of this.”

Sorry, Holden, but you have still kidnapped Agent May and holding her against her will.

Just one glimpse at the Darkhold book  has made Dr. Radcliffe into someone who’s going to cause a lot of trouble for our merry band of Shield agents. I’m glad as Holden was never really a character to root for and rooting against him will be so much easier.

These two storylines re-enforce that in a world of inhumans, aliens, and powered people– once again humans are the most terrifying ones of all.

Quick Thoughts:

  • Mack and Yo-Yo bonding over their love of their love of robot movies of the 80’s: Cute.
  • Mack’s catchphrase “Roll Credits” after chopping off AIDA 1.0’s head: Cheesy.
  • One of the strengths of Agents of SHIELD  has always been the ability to make different team-ups work among team members. This time it’s Director Maze, Simmons, and Daisy. There are several nice moments from Daisy telling Maze how bad-ass Simmons truly is, to Maze and Simmons comforting each other after the failed attempt to help Vijay. More of this is always welcome.
  • Jemma’s American accent is almost as cool as her takedown of one of Senator Nadeer’s flunkies. Almost.
  • Mack’s hatred of robots makes me guess that Westworld is not on his DVR, nor will it be anytime soon.
  • It seems that each week Jeffrey is fitting in with the team more and more. I like this as Director Maze is slowly becoming a favorite of mine.
  • We see Vijay’s body in the ocean after his murder but suddenly another cocoon starts wrapping around his body. So have we seen the last of Vijay? Probably not, if my gut is right.

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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Charles is a full-time fan of television and movies when he's not swamped by his many cats. He's also a proud Uncle who can't wait to show his nieces and nephews all of J.J. Abrams' TV work. He loves all things DC TV and Agents of SHIELD.