Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. V: You Joined the Cavalry.

[BlueHerring]

Official. Slingshot. On Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xgQ...CNoSblixvAt4BY

Spoiler: Tonight's episode Stinger

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Every time he dies he comes back with a new power?

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Given how Radcliffe is looking to use the Darkhold to gain immortality, this is probably the best explanation for contrast. Someone seeking out immortality, versus someone who never did obtaining it.

[Red Fel]

Great episode, certainly the best of the season so far. Plenty of action in both parallel storylines, and surprisingly hilarious.

Now that dreary, brooding Skullboy is gone, we're free to have crazy fun with science again. This is the S.H.I.E.L.D. I signed up for.

Going to disagree in part, here. Oh, it was good, and fast-paced. Stuff was definitely happening. But it did feel a little by-the-numbers.

Spoiler: Can't we talk this out?

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One of my biggest beefs is when just talking about it could avoid bad things. For example, when they come to remove the Darkhold data from Aida, they're not actually there to deactivate her, and they could have said so. "Aida, we need to remove the information on the Darkhold from your databanks." "You're going to deactivate me!" "No, we aren't, we're just removing this data."

As we later learn, Aida wasn't actually alive - at least, we are led to believe this - but if they had bothered to converse with her in advance, they might have found this out, instead of losing two agents and what I assume was a very expensive pane of glass.

Also, given that Fitz was at the lab, how did he not find May? That's just a gaping plot hole. Did nobody think, "Killer robot on the loose, let's search this lab for clues or useful intel? OH LOOK IT'S A COMATOSE AGENT MAY." How did that not happen?

Spoiler: Et tu, Coulson?

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I think Coulson knows. Two things. First, LMayD has been borderline flirty with him, which is a bit out of character for her. She's been opening up more, but never that much. Second, and this is big, May was asking about the Darkhold non-stop. Every other sentence. May has always been business-first, and if there was an instruction to destroy this very dangerous object, she would simply have respected it, rather than kept asking for more info. Surely, that should have tipped Coulson off.

Even if Coulson wasn't tipped off before Aida took the book, however, the after should be obvious. He told one person, May. Other than that, he and Mace knew that the book was cloaked and hidden in a drawer. Yet Aida found it, which suggests that she knew. Coulson's suspicion-dar should have been set off by that, and May is the only one acting out of character, so... He shouldn't have jumped to LMD, but he should have suspected her of being a (possibly unwitting) leak. And I think we saw that, in him saying, "It's more of a solo mission."

If he doesn't figure it out, though? Lazy writers.

Spoiler: Best Lines

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Mac: “The robots always attack!”

Elena: “Someone needs to make Radcliffe watch all the Terminator movies.”
Mac: “Even Salvation?”
Elena: “He brought this on himself.”

Mac: “Roll credits.”
*fist bump*

Spoiler: Robot Apocalypse!

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Loved all of Mac’s one-liners about 80s movies and robots attacking. And of course he was right.

The shotgun axe showed its worth in spades tonight. I admit I wasn’t expecting the mighty sweep that beheaded Aida I, but Mac always has been a man of action.

So much these. So much.

Seriously, Mack and Yo-Yo need to work at CinemaSins. "Smart people are so stupid," indeed.

Spoiler: The Ever-Expanding Roster of Team Evil

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Yeah, Senator Nadeer is squarely on Team Evil now.

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Honestly, I was a bit disappointed by that. I was expecting her to be more conflicted. They give her a bit of conflict - kill her brother or save him - but then they just throw it out. "Nope, she's just a horrible murderous racist, easy!"

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Given how Radcliffe is looking to use the Darkhold to gain immortality, this is probably the best explanation for contrast. Someone seeking out immortality, versus someone who never did obtaining it.

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A lot of this. Given the past tendencies of this series, the A-plot and B-plot generally converge in a neat package, and the theme this time appears to be "immortality." I totally expect that our immortal Inhuman is going to play an unsurprisingly vital role in stopping the Radcliffe's transhumanist ambitions. You know, when he's done with his impression of Dallas Genoard.

[Milo v3]

Spoiler: Tonight's episode Stinger

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Every time he dies he comes back with a new power?

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My guess is that he's a sort of inhuman version of the mutant Darwin. Where powers could be latent until the first time he's in danger and then he gets whichever power would keep him safe + chrysalises when he dies to go back to a blank slate with no powers till triggered.

[Joran]

Spoiler: Can't we talk this out?

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One of my biggest beefs is when just talking about it could avoid bad things. For example, when they come to remove the Darkhold data from Aida, they're not actually there to deactivate her, and they could have said so. "Aida, we need to remove the information on the Darkhold from your databanks." "You're going to deactivate me!" "No, we aren't, we're just removing this data."

As we later learn, Aida wasn't actually alive - at least, we are led to believe this - but if they had bothered to converse with her in advance, they might have found this out, instead of losing two agents and what I assume was a very expensive pane of glass.

Spoiler: Aida

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I assume that the Darkhold's information is inseparable from her core memory. They couldn't delete anything that was Darkhold related; I think they'd have to do a total mind wipe, revert from backups. (Assuming there are backups. We don't know how Aida's hardware/software interact, so it may have required them to delete Aida and start from scratch, so it'd be like killing her and re-creating her)

[theNater]

Spoiler: Can't we talk this out?

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One of my biggest beefs is when just talking about it could avoid bad things. For example, when they come to remove the Darkhold data from Aida, they're not actually there to deactivate her, and they could have said so. "Aida, we need to remove the information on the Darkhold from your databanks." "You're going to deactivate me!" "No, we aren't, we're just removing this data."

As we later learn, Aida wasn't actually alive - at least, we are led to believe this - but if they had bothered to converse with her in advance, they might have found this out, instead of losing two agents and what I assume was a very expensive pane of glass.

Also, given that Fitz was at the lab, how did he not find May? That's just a gaping plot hole. Did nobody think, "Killer robot on the loose, let's search this lab for clues or useful intel? OH LOOK IT'S A COMATOSE AGENT MAY." How did that not happen?

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As the chief expert on Aida, Radcliffe would have been the one deciding how to proceed, and the event went exactly as he intended.

Similarly, in searching the lab, all Radcliffe has to do is wait until Fitz is looking away, open the closet, say "Nothing in there" and get on with things.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Red Fel

Spoiler: Can't we talk this out?

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One of my biggest beefs is when just talking about it could avoid bad things. For example, when they come to remove the Darkhold data from Aida, they're not actually there to deactivate her, and they could have said so.

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I don’t think this would have worked, since Aida was playing the role that Radcliffe ordered (or programmed?) her to do. Engaging her in conversation wouldn’t be likely to affect those orders, especially if—as Radcliffe admitted at the end—she wasn’t as self-aware or emotionally conflicted as they thought she was. Telling her they weren’t planning to deactivate her wouldn’t be a trump card if she wasn’t fully self-aware, since she wouldn’t have been as invested in her own survival.

The only exception would be if it had been James T. Kirk instead of Phil Coulson, because this sort of situation is right up Kirk’s alley. Hot female android verging on self-awareness and susceptible to simple tricks of logic? No problem.

Come to think of it, Kirk probably would’ve been more effective in the fistfight, too. Phil Coulson has yet to master the fine art of the close-quarters headbutt.

Originally Posted by Red Fel

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I think Coulson knows. Two things. First, LMayD has been borderline flirty with him, which is a bit out of character for her. She's been opening up more, but never that much.

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Well, if you saw his expression in the last scene before the stinger—when Radcliffe was watching him eat Chinese takeout through the May’s-eye view—he looked pretty smitten to me. Right now I don’t think Coulson is thinking too clearly where May is concerned.

Originally Posted by Red Fel

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Other than that, he and Mace knew that the book was cloaked and hidden in a drawer. Yet Aida found it, which suggests that she knew.

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It’s cloaked from human sight, but when Aida was scanning Mace’s office, it registered in the Aida’s-eye view even before she’d opened the drawer. So it seems likely she was able to sense it some way other than visual. For all we know, Aida was pinging with infrasonic sonar and integrating a density profile of every space in the office. That would highlight an invisible book in an otherwise empty drawer, no problem.

Originally Posted by Red Fel

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Honestly, I was a bit disappointed by that. I was expecting her to be more conflicted. They give her a bit of conflict - kill her brother or save him - but then they just throw it out. "Nope, she's just a horrible murderous racist, easy!"

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Sadly, sometimes people are.

Not everyone is a complex, layered bucket of nightcrawlers like Loki or Ward. Most people are a more pedestrian, narrow-minded sort of evil.

Without being more specific, let’s just say that given her political office, it rings sadly true to life.

Originally Posted by Red Fel

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Given the past tendencies of this series, the A-plot and B-plot generally converge in a neat package….

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Usually this approach annoys me no end, because it ends up being an impossibly contrived connection, and often very tedious to get there. (Exhibit A: anything and everything to do with Skullboy.)

But in this case I’m genuinely interested in how the storylines will tie together. After nearly walking away from the first half of this season, I’m actually invested in the show again. The fact that Dr. Shadypast is returning to his roots (or never actually left them) gives us a fun villain inside the organization, as well as the shadowy Supervisor somewhere out in the world.

Originally Posted by Red Fel

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…when he's done with his impression of Dallas Genoard.

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Who?

(I feel like the guy asking who Starlord was. Sorry, never heard of him.)

[lord_khaine]

Honestly, i think Mac yet again managed to grab the "least likeable shield agent" once more, managing to be a jerk towards the guy whose invention saved the life of senior shield agents. And the bit about old robot movies were kinda dumbt in my ears. Like if his way of thinking had its way, then we would have progressed in any way from the 80's..

Also, at the same time i think Mace continues to be the most likeable shield agent, dealing with what i think is a generally whiny team of agents.

[Rogar Demonblud]

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Who?

(I feel like the guy asking who Starlord was. Sorry, never heard of him.)

Reference to Baccanol (I think).

[Red Fel]

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I don’t think this would have worked, since Aida was playing the role that Radcliffe ordered (or programmed?) her to do. Engaging her in conversation wouldn’t be likely to affect those orders, especially if—as Radcliffe admitted at the end—she wasn’t as self-aware or emotionally conflicted as they thought she was. Telling her they weren’t planning to deactivate her wouldn’t be a trump card if she wasn’t fully self-aware, since she wouldn’t have been as invested in her own survival.

The only exception would be if it had been James T. Kirk instead of Phil Coulson, because this sort of situation is right up Kirk’s alley. Hot female android verging on self-awareness and susceptible to simple tricks of logic? No problem.

Come to think of it, Kirk probably would’ve been more effective in the fistfight, too. Phil Coulson has yet to master the fine art of the close-quarters headbutt.

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What I think it would have done is exposed the flaw. If they tried to engage her in conversation instead of using force, her resorting to force would have made the entire thing much neater, much easier. If Fitz believed that she had become self-aware, ordered everyone to stand down, and tried to reason with her, and she still went nuts, it'd be easy. Instead, they went straight into force, which led to the whole "Can we kill her?" bit, because for all Fitz knew, she was frightened and trying to protect herself.

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Well, if you saw his expression in the last scene before the stinger—when Radcliffe was watching him eat Chinese takeout through the May’s-eye view—he looked pretty smitten to me. Right now I don’t think Coulson is thinking too clearly where May is concerned.

Fair.

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It’s cloaked from human sight, but when Aida was scanning Mace’s office, it registered in the Aida’s-eye view even before she’d opened the drawer. So it seems likely she was able to sense it some way other than visual. For all we know, Aida was pinging with infrasonic sonar and integrating a density profile of every space in the office. That would highlight an invisible book in an otherwise empty drawer, no problem.

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But Coulson didn't know that Aida had some kind of spectral sight. All he knew is that the book was cleverly hidden, and that Aida somehow found it - quickly, too.

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Sadly, sometimes people are.

Pity.

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Who?

(I feel like the guy asking who Starlord was. Sorry, never heard of him.)

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Anime reference. There's a series called Baccano!, which takes place during Prohibition and involves some immortals and some semi-immortals that age. Guess what happens to one semi-immortal guy who winds up on the wrong side of some bad guys?

[The New Bruceski]

The movie references in this episode take on more significance considering that

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Radcliffe was putting on a show for everyone.

[Giggling Ghast]

Roll credits! I genuinely laughed out loud at that.

The whole "Evil Aida" thing did feel a bit cliché, so I'm glad they revealed who was really behind her rampage.

[dehro]

To be honest, after the Sokovia kerfuffle I was a bit surprised they'd gone down the route of self-aware robots... So, the switcheroo is rather welcome, and well played too

[Prime32]

But what about

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that scene where Ada is apparently using magic to create a brain? It's even in the "previously on" segment. Was she doing that under Radcliffe's orders?

When I saw her cutting the May LMD I first thought she was going to switch their faces and send her to die in her place, then steal the Darkhold as May when SHIELD wasn't expecting it. Though afterwards she's not scarred, and we saw Ada was still wounded earlier in the episode which indicates that she wouldn't be able to hide something like that.

So Ada still being alive and manipulating Radcliffe seems unlikely, but the writers of this show love crazy twists like that so... *shrugs*

[Giggling Ghast]

Well, since Radcliffe read the Darkhold before she did, Ada's presumably been acting under his orders this entire time. We were just meant to think she'd been corrupted.

[lt_murgen]

. And the bit about old robot movies were kinda dumbt in my ears. Like if his way of thinking had its way, then we would have progressed in any way from the 80's..

But killer robots are far more commonplace in movies than helpful ones. Even movies with helpful robots tend to have version where they are less helpful. Even up to the present, most movie portray them as at least potentially violent.

[lord_khaine]

But killer robots are far more commonplace in movies than helpful ones. Even movies with helpful robots tend to have version where they are less helpful. Even up to the present, most movie portray them as at least potentially violent.

Yeah, and thats what i think are pant-on-the-head stupid, to take your lessons on what to do and what not to do from old movies.
Unless you have enough meta-knowledge to know your in an actual tv-serie, but Mac does not know that.

Now what i do think is a potential lesson from those movies, is not to build your dam robot prototype with superhuman strenght..
But of course it turned out in this case to have a good reason as well.

[Joran]

Yeah, and thats what i think are pant-on-the-head stupid, to take your lessons on what to do and what not to do from old movies.
Unless you have enough meta-knowledge to know your in an actual tv-serie, but Mac does not know that.

Now what i do think is a potential lesson from those movies, is not to build your dam robot prototype with superhuman strenght..
But of course it turned out in this case to have a good reason as well.

Well, Mac does live in a world where a killer robot dropped a city from the sky, leading to an International treaty not allowing anyone to do anything like that again. And Radcliffe did it again, in secret, without supervision.

[Milo v3]

Well, Mac does live in a world where a killer robot dropped a city from the sky, leading to an International treaty not allowing anyone to do anything like that again. And Radcliffe did it again, in secret, without supervision.

And the killer robots at the stark expo.

[Lizard Lord]

Personally I am tired of people using freakin' movies to disparage what could be real and groundbreaking scientific breakthroughs. Of course the robots always attack in the movies. They're movies and they require a conflict to tell their story and making the antagonist something not human makes it easier to cheer for the protagonists. That's all there is to it. Besides what about the times where the robots are the protagonists?

Which is why

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I am actually glad for the end twist that if you think about it shouldn't have been much of a twist. If you build you're A.I. correctly you shouldn't worry about it conquering the world. And Radcliffe did program the A.I. correctly. The only problem with the LMDs in this story is the same problem that will always exist with advanced technology. This is nothing more than a case of a bad man with powerful tools and I like it for that.

[Red Fel]

I'd like to point out Mace's demotion from intimidating Big Brother-esque Director to corny Captain America expy, also.

We saw a hint of it before the holiday hiatus, with him in his pec armor, but I think it really came home in this most recent episode. Mace was prepared to go into his mantra of "A Team that Trusts," when Daisy interrupted him. (As an aside, "Yes, I've read the motivational posters in the bathroom" is just such a great dismissal.) And his response... Is to look like a wounded puppy.

In that moment, I stopped seeing his various phrases and direction and such as the acts of a manipulative political figure, and started seeing them as the acts of a corny idealist who is totally in over his head.

That, and Daisy's comment that Simmons had been captured, "Like, four times now?" And not all of them on Earth. Cue sad/worried puppy Mace.

[lt_murgen]

Besides what about the times where the robots are the protagonists?

I'm having a hard time coming up with a movie where the robots were a) the protagonists b) existed at the same time as humans and c) were not armed and dangerous. Even EVE from Wall-e had some kind of powerful weapon.

Robots exist as a physical manifestation of mankind's hubris. If Mack was to look at the ones he referred to, he would better see the pattern and perhaps begin to suspect a man behind it.

ON a side note, did anyone besides me catch Mack's sly robot reference with the toss away line "Small Wonder"?

[Red Fel]

I'm having a hard time coming up with a movie where the robots were a) the protagonists b) existed at the same time as humans and c) were not armed and dangerous. Even EVE from Wall-e had some kind of powerful weapon.

Johnny 5 is alive, laser lips!

ON a side note, did anyone besides me catch Mack's sly robot reference with the toss away line "Small Wonder"?

Saw it, chuckled, but felt they were digging at that point.

The Terminator references were one thing, but by the end, throwing out obscure robo-references was just trying too hard. We get it, you guys have some geek cred, move along.

[Milo v3]

Johnny 5 is alive, laser lips!

*Remembers back to the first five minutes of Short Circuit where he destroys tanks with his laser cannon*... Johnny 5 literally was a weapon.

[Red Fel]

*Remembers back to the first five minutes of Short Circuit where he destroys tanks with his laser cannon*... Johnny 5 literally was a weapon.

Yes, but Short Circuit was designed to be a subversion of the genre. Instead of "robot gains awareness and goes on killing spree," it was "killer robot gains awareness and doesn't want to kill anymore."

Also, I don't recall, but didn't they remove the death laser?

[Grey_Wolf_c]

I'm having a hard time coming up with a movie where the robots were a) the protagonists b) existed at the same time as humans and c) were not armed and dangerous. Even EVE from Wall-e had some kind of powerful weapon.

I'm having a hard time coming up with a movie where the humans were a) the protagonists b) existed at the same time as robots and c) were not armed and dangerous.

C) kills it, really. In an action film, everyone is either armed and dangerous sooner or later, or is a background victim (and therefore not "a protagonist" as required by a).

That said, AI fulfills the requirements of your original requirement, being a drama rather than an action film.

GW

[LaZodiac]

I'd like to point out Mace's demotion from intimidating Big Brother-esque Director to corny Captain America expy, also.

We saw a hint of it before the holiday hiatus, with him in his pec armor, but I think it really came home in this most recent episode. Mace was prepared to go into his mantra of "A Team that Trusts," when Daisy interrupted him. (As an aside, "Yes, I've read the motivational posters in the bathroom" is just such a great dismissal.) And his response... Is to look like a wounded puppy.

In that moment, I stopped seeing his various phrases and direction and such as the acts of a manipulative political figure, and started seeing them as the acts of a corny idealist who is totally in over his head.

That, and Daisy's comment that Simmons had been captured, "Like, four times now?" And not all of them on Earth. Cue sad/worried puppy Mace.

That was a pretty great scene. Important: Mace doesn't deny the motivational posters in the bathroom. They're actually there. Mace is so in over his head, it's a REAL good thing he's indestructible.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

By the way, one nice continuity detail I loved: in the quinjet, Mace & Daisy where simply sitting in the seats, but Simmons was strapped in. She is probably still a bit in shock about having fallen out once.

GW

[theNater]

Yes, but Short Circuit was designed to be a subversion of the genre. Instead of "robot gains awareness and goes on killing spree," it was "killer robot gains awareness and doesn't want to kill anymore."

Also, I don't recall, but didn't they remove the death laser?

Johnny intentionally disarms himself before the sequel, replacing the death laser with what is basically a utility belt.

[huttj509]

Saw it, chuckled, but felt they were digging at that point.

The Terminator references were one thing, but by the end, throwing out obscure robo-references was just trying too hard. We get it, you guys have some geek cred, move along.

I kinda felt that was the *character* digging and beating it into the ground.

[Joran]

I kinda felt that was the *character* digging and beating it into the ground.

Which I enjoyed a lot. I liked Mac and Yo-yo just shooting the breeze and trying to out nerd the other.