TV REVIEWS: FTN Reviews Agents Of Shield Season 04 Episode 14: The Man Behind The Shield

There’s a point in Agents of Shield when you have to wonder if there’s anything Phil Coulson hasn’t seen. He’s seen death and life, gods and aliens, worlds ending, worlds being reborn, and everything in between. And even with the Inhumans, the Framework, Hive, and all this other stuff, he’s really done it all. And so when he himself admits that the Superior is nothing to him? It was kind of meta…but fully awesome.

I’ll give credit where it’s due, “The Man Behind The Shield” made full use of Coulson’s history by showing why the Superior hates him so much. And it even gave us a glimpse into the woman that was Melinda May BEFORE she was The Calvary. It was hilarious to see this lighter side of her, even though we know we won’t see her like this ever again…barring another flashback.

But…like Coulson said…did it really matter who the Superior was? Many have noted how he’s really not the serious bad guy here, it’s really Aida and Radcliffe. So really, his only importance was to bring the pieces together, oh, and have an epic boss fight with Daisy  to show how the “game has changed”.

…and they were right! That twist at the end…I didn’t see coming. I at first thought that somehow they were all put in the Framework, but this was MUCH more scary! Coulson, Mace, Daisy, Mac, ARE ALL LMD’S!!!!!! FEAR FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

Oh, and they reactivated the May LMD…FEAR!!!!!

The only good news is that FitzSimmons knows they’re LMD’s, and can respond appropriately…hopefully.

I did like the Mace/Superior scenes, as they are both men of conviction, and I like how the Superior talked with respect to Mace even when he found out he wasn’t Inhuman, even going so far as to not kill him out of respect…though he was fully willing to let his men to the dirty work.

Then there’s Aida…who’s slowly but surely getting more and more autonomous and evil. Even going so far as to use the Superior’s line about filth…and say it with serious malice.

So where do things go from here? It’s hard to say, Radcliffe is getting usurped by Aida as villain supreme, 5 of the team are now LMD’s, and bad things are sure to keep happening…EXCITING!!! Isn’t it?