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!

Welcome back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Exposed, agents! It’s been a long time. Too long, for my tastes. So what’s happened the new status quo for our team?

In short; shit’s fucked. The (yet unseen) new Director seems like a bureaucratic douche-nozzle; separating the team, initiating a colour-coded security hierarchy and wrapping SHIELD in a mountain of red-tape. Not that Daisy is fairing any better as a fugitive but soon the two camps are on a collision course due a new, flame-headed player.

I’m glad to see the gang again but even less so that they’re not working together as a tight-knit unit. Mack and Coulson are field agents while Fitz and May lead their own departments while Simmons has become part of the Director’s inner circle in a sly effort to maintain control.

Fitz has maintained his friendship with inventor Holden Radcliffe, who decides now is the best time to unveil his first Life Model Decoy, AIDA. Mallory Jansen does a pretty good job of making a benign robot be utterly sinister. Or maybe I’m projecting because she’s going to go rogue, right? She has to. It’s like Chekov’s Sexbot or something.

During the course of the episode, a deal between the Aryan Brotherhood and the Korean mob goes south (who’da thunk?) and something is unleashed. Well… Someone. Not named in the episode, this spectral being known as Lucy seems to have the ability to warp people’s perceptions and drive them mad. Is she powered, Inhuman or maybe even a g-g-g-ghost!? Given the supernatural leaning this season, it’s safe to say this is one of the mystic Marvel characters but I have no idea who that could be off the top of my head.

But, of course, this is all an appetiser for the main course. Flame-broiled and spicy hot, the latino Robbie Reyes (played by Gabriel Luna) makes on hell of an impression in his first appearance. I really dug the car-flipping call back to the comics in the cold open and Luna’s performance is… interesting. I know Reyes’ deal but I’m wondering how much of that is being played with here or if his bipolar performance is just bad acting. I hope it’s the former. We also get a peak at another important plot point for Reyes; namely his brother, Gabe.

The skull CGI is much more impressive than I thought it would be and actually looks like a decent mix between Reyes’ silver noggin and the bone skulls of previous Riders. It also emotes! That’s pretty cool.

SHIELD’s return is an explosive, fuel-injected, enjoyable ride and sets up tons of new plot lines for the rest of the season. Next time we’ll be getting even more as we finally get to Meet the New Boss.