Oh! Hello! Didn’t see you there and apparently I didn’t see that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. came back 3 days ago either! This is probably due a combination of my general indifference to life, anxiety of trying (and failing) to get money together to go to Toy Fair and looking after a family member who went through major surgery. So what’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. midseason premiere got to distract me from that?

Ooooooooh, robot uprising! It’s about damn time! I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords and that snazzy new title card for the LMD arc. Real nice, that.

AIDA’s descent into sapience and murder is so rote that most of this plot point is dedicated to Mack and Yo-Yo taking the piss and mentioning movies this kind of thing happened in. Which is actually my favourite part of the episode because those two being snarky fucks is hilarious.

What else have we got… We’ve got Daisy and Mace (feat. Simmons) going on a mission to find Senator Nadeer and it’s nice to see Jeff trying with Daisy. Naturally she’s suspicious of him but running a few missions should build some trust so that they can triumph. God, he’s got me doing it now…

Speaking of trust and the titular Broken Promises, we get a look at the family dynamic of the Nadeers and holy fuck is Ellen an evil bitch! Seriously, Parminder Nagra’s come a long way from the earnestness of Bend It Like Beckham and become Cruella De Vil! Her poor brother, seemingly unaffected by terrigenesis, is ambushed and almost ganked by the Watchdog hired goons Nadeer has on the payroll but surprise!

After revealing some super-speed and getting a shot in his gut for his troubles, his body crusts over as it sinks into the ocean. Now, this secondary terrigenesis isn’t without precedent. Many of the more famous Inhuman characters (ie, the ones we’ll be seeing in ABC’s upcoming Inhumans series) have undergone this and, much like secondary mutation, it can be a crapshoot so who knows what poor Vijay will look like when he emerges again.

Oh and Radcliffe turned heel and built a SECOND AIDA off-screen between season halves. And seems to be trying to get the Philinda ship sailing for nefarious purposes. I didn’t care much for this reveal but then, in retrospect, they jumped to AIDA’s evil reveal pretty damn quickly and we need to pad out this half of the season somehow sooooo…

Not a bad kick-off but I was expecting a little more oomph since we’re dealing with the loss of a major Marvel hero but hopefully Mace will be showing his true colours in four days time with the patriotically titled The Patriot.

Okay, so here’s the thing… Last week was a bit hectic for me. My mum went into heart surgery so I was looking after my family, and I had two extra TV shows to cover for Invasion Week sooooo… Deals With Our Devils slipped by me entirely and honestly… Kinda glad it did.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s an interesting premise for an episode but seeing things play out twice from two perspectives, which could have been done in an interesting fashion, kind of feels like padding while parts that I was genuinely interested in were barely expounded upon.

AIDA’s reading of the Darkhold is of particular interest because instead of what I expected ie; she couldn’t read it, she not only could but it was in binary as well. The line Thor said about science and magic not being as distinct as we perceive them to be clearly has some merit when it comes to the Darkhold.

Another segment was the conversation between Reyes and the Rider (is it too much of a stretch to call him Zarathos since Eli is flesh and blood?). It could have been a fascinating look at their relationship but was boiled down to it’s barest element; the deal.

The deal we finally see sealed in The Laws of Inferno Dynamics, which is a fantastic title. Again, the most interesting parts are from AIDA and Reyes, the former finally revealed as an LMD and the latter making sure his uncle can’t hurt anyone else.

It’s safe to say that Reyes was never going to be in the show for long so bowing out at the mid-season finale makes sense. Might as well take the opportunity to say that I’ve enjoyed Gabriel Luna in this role and it’s a shame to see him go. Hopefully he’ll be back in the future and maybe this will lead to a solo series in the future but for the short time we had him, Luna was a brilliant Ghost Rider.

I really liked this continuity nod toward the end of the episode. Very cute moment to cement Daisy’s return as a rostered Agent. Good thing Mac and Yo-Yo got together too because holy fuck, that was getting tedious. But this is the mid-season finale so we need a cliff-hanger right? Something to get people interested in the next arc. Something like…

Yeah, May being revealed as an LMD’ll do it! I can only presume she was replaced when she was still having visions. Could Radcliffe also been an LMD? Could Fitz? Anyone who has interacted with AIDA in the house is immediately suspect! Shame about whatsisname. Guy. Snappy.

Not a bad winter finale overall but I can’t wait to see how the show progresses with this rogue AI plotline. I guess I’ll see you guys in January!

Devils You Know is a damn solid episode, with action, intrigue and the promises of more to come but what makes this episode so damn good?

The secret of Lash is a major point for me. Having no knowledge of the character, I’m very interested to see where this character goes. He’s actually an Inhuman as it turns out, delivering a service in his own mind but why is he hunting his own kind? A question for another perhaps because finding out that he can transform into a more human disguise is the more interesting wrinkle. Is he someone we know? A member of the ATCU, perhaps? Banks, who disappeared right before the attack? Definitely a possibility.

Coulson might be shopping around for a new work-wife in Rosalind but May’s return to base is just as great as I imagined, fraught with sub-text and longing looks. I hate to admit it but the Philinda shippers might be onto something. May shows up to get some backup for Hunter, who’s gone both totes gung-ho and full retard while dressed like a chav. Coulson’s a little late to the game but luckily, Hunter’s got…

The god damned Cavalry!  Cue Ward shitting himself. Talking all that good shit a second ago but the tiny asian lady is here to kick your ass, boy! No wonder Ward pulls the classic bad-guy move of threatening May’s ex, Andrew. I liked Andrew, I really did but I’m with Hunter on this, Ward must die. Sorry Andrew.

Fitzsimmons hits a rocky patch as Simmons hides her research into the portal. In her conversation with Andrew, Simmons really is suffering with PTSD, despite her protestations. Fitz discovers her notes and confronts her, which is the final scene cliffhanger.

A damn good episode, keeping all the plot lines chugging along quite nicely. Who is Lash? How hard is May go to beat Hunter’s ass? Will Rosalind and Coulson ever have that steamy hate-sex they clearly want and what really happened to Simmons? I guess we’ll find out the answers to some of those next week with 4,722 Hours.