Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4

From left to right, Chloe Bennett as Daisy Johnson/ Quake, Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Yo-Yo, Ming-Na Wen
 as Melinda May, Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Henry Simmons as Mack, Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz and 
Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons

Spoilers Ahead:

Chloe Bennett as Daisy Johnson / Quake

            In the fourth season, Coulson and his team are recovering from the aftermath of Hive. Daisy Johnson has left S.H.I.E.L.D. to begin a vigilante crusade that earns her the name, “Quake” in the newspapers. She encounters the Robbie Reyes incarnation of Ghost Rider and they are eventually captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. During all of this, there emerges a foreboding book called the Darkhold, which has an alluring and corrupting effect over those who read it. Also, there is the ill-conceived construction of a female Life Model Decoy called "A.I.D.A." by Holden Radcliffe. The first half of the season is dedicated to the Darkhold and how it relates to the deaths of several researchers of the book, including the incarcerated uncle of Reyes. But the second half of the season finds most of the team placed in an “alternate reality” by Aida, who has become deranged by her exposure to the Darkhold and is now determined to upgrade herself so she can feel emotions. A simulation program called, “The Framework” is employed by Aida to place the consciousness of each member of S.H.I.E.L.D. in a reality where Hydra has conquered the world. They are either assimilated as agents of Hydra, cooperating civilians or resistance. It’s the latter portion of the season that I enjoyed the most here.

            I decided to see the final episode again. There is a profoundly beautiful scene in it where Mack is confronted by Yo-Yo, an Inhuman played by Natalia Cordova-Buckley. In the Framework, Mack is very emotionally involved with his daughter, Hope. So much so, that he is either in denial about the fact that she died or he really can’t remember. Aida begins to see her plans fail, so in vengeance she begins deleting the Framework. Mack will not abandon his daughter despite the pleas of his escaping colleagues. He witnesses the vanishing of objects and people around him, but in growing terror he clutches his daughter lovingly to his chest, both of them in tears on the couch. Yo-Yo slowly seats herself on the small table beside them, having done all she knows how to do for Mack. She's resigned to die because of her love for him. And then suddenly, Mack realizes that his daughter is no longer in his arms. Yo-Yo takes his hand slowly and they weep together. There is an inner hush here. I was surprised to find myself weeping so openly at this viewing. I thought about the temporal nature of our world… and the desire to protect children. I thought about how loss can feel very much like the end of the world. Someone leaves us. We lose a dream or career. Someone we love dies. There is a child-like helplessness in the cry of a man and it underlines how needful and precious we all really are. I suspect that it broke Mack when he lost his daughter the first time. That’s Mack’s end-of-the-world loss. When he confronts Yo-Yo about the things she’s saying, he says, “Daisy said that Hope wasn’t alive in the other world. Well, I’m not living in a world without her.” Yeah. We all need hope to live in this world. 

             

Mack in the Framework

            I was so engaged by the mystery of this new world and how the characters were changed by it. It reminded me of the mirror universe episode from the original Star Trek series. One of the biggest draws was watching how difficult it was for this version of Grant Ward (Brett Dalton reprises the role), now bearing redemptive qualities, to interact with Daisy. He’s a good guy and I pondered how it was so, and what it meant about the real Grant Ward who was dead. Jeffrey Mace/ The Patriot also gets a redemption here of sorts by becoming a worthy Captain America-like figure for the resistance after coming to a less than dignified place in their real world. And what a pleasure to see Antoine Triplet return. I wonder if Aida’s manipulation of the Darkhold combined with the technology of the Framework somehow created a living parallel reality. It’s a very interesting mystery. I was hoping to catch a reference to the whereabouts of the Avengers. 

Mallory Jansen as Aida/ Madame Hydra

Gabriel Luna as Robbie Reyes

Promotional poster for
Season 4

Coulson in the Framework

            In the after-credits scene, Coulson rises from a thin cot jutting out of a wall and opens up a very large window. We see what appears to be space and asteroids. I can only hope that this may lead to a fifth season cross-over with Avengers: Infinity War. It would be a robbery for the show to pretend Thanos never arrives. But it may more likely be the lead to a potential meeting with Black Bolt and the royal family of Inhumans.

            A small aside about Ghost Rider. I love seeing talented Latino actors take on cool roles that aren't negative stereotypes. Gabriel Luna is great! It was cool to see a Johnny Blaze cameo. I know it's fiction, but it’s a conundrum for me too. It’s just… in the really real world, there is nothing inherently self-sacrificing, heroic or friendly about a real demon.

Natalia Cordova-Buckley as
Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez 

            And all of this does not even come close to what I find most extraordinary. In fact, what I find to be most extraordinary really has nothing to do with Season 4. I don’t remember exactly when, but I stumbled upon a trailer that showed Brett Dalton starring in a Christian film. It’s called, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone. I haven’t seen it yet. But if you recall in my last blog post about AoS, I underlined some comments made by Dalton in an interview he gave where he made dismissive references to believers in Christ. Clearly, I have no animosity to the man. I think he’s a talent. His character is officially a Marvel supervillain. I have no idea why he did the film, but it happens to be a wonderful bit of revelation for me. I read one good and one-not-too-good review about it. I’m a bit apprehensive, but I hope it’s an all-around good film.

John Hannah as Holden Radcliffe
Henry Simmons as Agent Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie
Jason O'Mara as Jeffrey Mace/ The Patriot
B.J. Britt returns as Agent Antoine Triplet 

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will begin Season 5 on December 1^st, 2017