When last we saw our intrepid team, they did the time warp again and jumped ahead shortly after landing. The only problem is: Mack and Deke were left behind. This gives us an episode focusing primarily on the two characters, continuing the theme of characters being displaced from their own times. So let’s begin.
1. Welcome to the 80’s
This time jump brought the team into the early 80’s, and the team behind the episode clearly had fun with all the 80’s movie tropes. We had synth music playing throughout the episode, the camera angles and the way murder sequences were shot felt like they came right out of 80’s B-movies, not to mention the set and costume designs.
We especially see this in play with Sibyl and her rebuilt Hunter units. 80’s era Earth lacks the technology to rebuild their bodies, so instead she creates killer robots that look like they came right out of Short Circuit. Of course, that doesn’t stop one of them from making a Doctor Who reference with “EXTERMINATE!” but I can appreciate that too.
2. Post-Traumatic Mack
As we saw last episode, Mack went through an extremely traumatic experience. Learning your parents were killed and replaced by robot doubles is rough enough, but then having to kill those robot duplicates? Yikes.
So it’s no surprise that the show portrays the trauma Mack is going through. It does it in a really human way, showing how he shuts himself off from other people and tries to get lost in a hobby that can distract him. Anyone who’s been through a loss like that can understand exactly how he feels.
I’m also wondering how he managed to get a home and groceries when all he does is lock himself in and paint model cars, but I suppose that’s a question for another time.
3. Deke Squad
On the other hand, we have Deke. This isn’t his first time getting stuck in a time period far in the past from what he’s known, so he’s adapted a fair bit better.
This episode did a lot to improve Deke’s character while still remaining true to form. Yes, he makes a living by ripping off famous songs before they’re ever written (I can only wonder what kind of time paradox that’ll cause, but if Marty McFly can get away with it, so can Deke), but he does more than that.
Not only does he try to start his own S.H.I.E.L.D. team, albeit poorly, he tries so hard to help Mack. He checks in on him frequently in spite of constantly being turned away, plus he goes to make sure the young, past version of Mack is taken care of and is doing okay. That’s dedication.
Then we get to his actual team. The introduction sequence is done in a properly 80’s style, complete with title cards, and their inexperience (or in some cases, incompetence) makes them all the more amusing.
Mind you, I feel like there should be an actual, active S.H.I.E.L.D. at this point in history, but it’s not like Deke has any of the knowledge he needs to find them, so he’ll use what little of a base they have.
At least they have Coulson, whose mind managed to get stored on a hard drive, and seeing him address the team as a face on a TV was equally entertaining.
4. How Mack Got His Groove Back
As a character-focused episode, most of our time is spent focused on Mack and Deke. While Deke wants Mack to get back in the field, Mack himself is less than ready. In fact, Deke’s attempts at making a new team only result in making him more frustrated.
Yet we do see them more or less come together in the end, and at least a few members of Deke’s team are actually somewhat competent. When Mack suits up, I was distinctly reminded of Kung Fury, since it plays on many of the same tropes as this episode. But if it makes him feel badass, then who am I to argue?
Overall, it was nice seeing Deke’s team at work, even if the results were mixed. Perhaps most importantly, we get the glorious return of the shotgun axe.
Continued below5. Still Alive
Yes, Coulson survived, to the surprise of no one. That’s a good thing about being a digital brain with a replaceable body, even if Coulson himself seems less than happy about it. Describing it as being “a lot of ones and zeroes trapped in a digital hell” is a pretty apt way to put it.
Of course, this means that any Chronicom can also survive, and we see early on that Sibyl did too. Although her replacement 80’s-style robot body gets destroyed, her mind is still unharmed and she’ll remain a threat as the season goes by.
It wasn’t likely that they’d kill off both Coulson (again) and the leader of the Chronicoms halfway through the season, so this is no surprise. What is a bit more unexpected is the return of Nathaniel Malick, who apparently survived his own unfortunate incident with power-stealing. Has he mastered the stolen quake powers in the 20 months since we last saw him? I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.
