Revelations, surprise twists, and character development galore! Let’s see where this week’s episode takes us.
1. Original Aida
We begin by meeting Agnes, the woman Aida was designed to look like. Throughout the episode, we explore some of the effects this knowledge has on both Agnes and Aida. Anyone would be unnerved to learn that their ex has created a robot double of them, but to learn that you’re a robot double of someone else? Aida almost appears to be expressing jealousy, or perhaps some existential angst, which may actually lead to some character development from an artificial intelligence.
Sure, there’s a little bit about how it’s necessary to avoid the uncanny valley, but it’s moreso telling about Radcliffe. It reveals some background to his motivations, his unwillingness to accept failure or let go, and perhaps the source of his desire to transcend mortality.
All in all, good character work.
2. The Matrix Has You
When we last saw Agent May, she was trapped in progressively more complex layers of virtual reality. This has grown to an entire virtual world, similar to “The Matrix.” (In fact, a prior episode showing that May’s mind rejected peaceful simulations even parallels how the Matrix was once designed as a human utopia, before the robots realized humans need conflict, but that’s just an amusing similarity.) Yet such a vast virtual world can’t be solely for the purpose of keeping May imprisoned, right?
In fact, it’s the next step in Radcliffe’s post-humanistic endeavors, transcending the body by storing the mind in a digital world. His LMD work was initially described as a means of protecting lives, and he’s using the same reasoning for this; no human body means no bodily death. Yet apparently this, too, ties into Agnes and her inevitable death. It seems his every motivation is tied to this, and perhaps the obsession has been amplified by the Darkhold. When she accepts his offer to enter “The Framework” (because “The Matrix” was already taken) it seems like he’s achieved his goal.
However, it’s very likely that Agnes willingly allowed herself to be uploaded in order to find May and let her know it’s all a simulation. Will it result in a Black Mercy sort of escape to reality? We’ll find out soon enough.
3. Such Explosive Irony
As soon as we first learned that Senator Nadeer’s brother was Inhuman, my first thought was “Wait a second, the Inhuman gene is shared down the family line, shouldn’t she have it too?” Well, clearly I wasn’t the only one who thought that.
Yet in the first actual twist I didn’t see coming, it turned out that Nadeer was not only not Inhuman (I’m sure some geneticist could map out how the Inhuman gene skipped her; it’s probably a dominant allele and she inherited recessive alleles from their parents) but her Watchdog companion, Tucker Shockley, was. Good job, Agents of SHIELD, you actually got one by me!
Then he explodes. Didn’t see that coming either.
So is that really it for Senator Nadeer? All that time building her up; her ruthlessness, her influence, her connections to anti-Inhuman groups, all played out and tossed aside. This isn’t the first time the show has treated female antagonists as entirely expendable, but I’d have hoped for a more climactic sendoff.
At least it got the surprise factor right.
4. Nitro?
At any rate, Shockley has now become a more dangerous force to be reckoned with. He built up a decent body count, nearly got Mace and Daisy, and proved that even as an Inhuman, he was still dedicated to the Watchdog cause. All this leaves one important question: is he supposed to be Nitro?
His powers are pretty much the same, right down to re-forming after he detonates. But not only is Nitro not Inhuman in the comics, his name is Robert Hunter, and he’s rather different from Shockley in every way aside from powers.
So no, it’s not the same character, but they certainly have a similar power set.
5. Dangit, Mace!
Poor Director Mace. He just wants to be useful. After losing his super serum, though, all he can really do is try to look impressive while SHIELD tries to recreate the formula.
Of course, practically every other agent is a regular non-powered human as well, and they do just fine, but I suppose it’s hard to move on after having super strength for a time. But Jeff still tries to make himself useful, which ends up just getting him captured by an anti-Inhuman group that’s still convinced he’s Inhuman.
So now May’s not the only one in need of being rescued, because Jeffrey Mace still had to be the hero. Whoops. I suppose it’s still better than him actively messing up Coulson’s operations, at least.
