TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Agents Of Shield Season 04 Episode 11: The Patriot

Well…that escalated quickly. While it was only a matter of time before the backstory of Mace was revealed, I don’t think anyone saw this coming. After all, we’ve seen him in action multiple times, including the climatic battle from the end of the first half of the season. So, for Mace to be revealed as not Inhuman and in fact…uh…very human…but on drugs? Yeah, that’s interesting. I’m glad that this reveal tied into Talbot being at SHIELD, because he was hamming up up just a bit much for me. Yes, that he has that particular ringtone for the president was great…but…he asserted himself a bit too much. So I’m glad it was revealed that it was because he didn’t want them to know about Project Patriot.

Then, for Coulson and Mack to find out about it, as they’re stranded in the wilderness with Mace, and a bunch of Watch Dogs, was also well played, and quite hilarious in regards to how not only did his drug serum get shot, but he basically got shot in the butt. Irony huh?

And yet, for Mace, it wasn’t about lying, or trying to get power, he honestly wanted to do good, to help his country, and most importantly, to help the Inhumans. Now yes, it’s a bit odd that he has such strong feelings about the rights of Inhumans with no clear connection to them. But let’s be honest, Steve Rogers would’ve said the same thing most likely. Furthermore, that ending where Coulson basically took back control of SHIELD, while allowing Mace to still be the “face” of the place was really cool. And something fans will no doubt enjoy.

The only other real sidestories here all involved the LMD’s in one fashion or another. Radcliffe began to spiral out of control a bit as he was told to avoid HQ for a while, which led to him telling off Aida, and working hard to keep the real Agent May restrained. I was glad they figured out while their simulation didn’t work. Because for May? A sauna day? Yeah, that’s torture. But more importantly, it’s becoming clear that Aida isn’t exactly what Radcliffe thinks she is. She clearly got offended numerous times, something that shouldn’t be in her programming, and while she’s playing it cool, something still feels off.

Oh, and now Fitz has downloaded the memory of Aida 1 (or Prime, whatever you want to call her), in a desperate attempt to find out what “went wrong”. While this may seem odd, I don’t blame Fitz for wanting the LMD’s to work. Especially in context to what he, Simmons, and the rest found out about Mace, as well as what almost happened to Phil and Mack.

Finally, LMD May figured out she’s not human. But she didn’t tell Skye about it. So…what does this mean? Will she go through an existential crisis to figure out why she’s not really alive? Or will Radcliffe and Aida intervene before she can spill the beans? Only time will tell.

In the end, while not amazing all around, “The Patroit” did give good context to Mace, as well as set up some key things going forward. And if the preview for next week is to be believed, something bad is about to happen.