AGENTS OF SHIELD: “Lockup” {Roundtable}

Tuesday night’s new episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., once again, focused on Robbie Reyes, who struggled to control The Ghost Rider, as the team infiltrates a high-security prison as they try to unravel the secrets that haunt them all.

Please join us as Roz, Karen and Rueben discuss the new episode:

Armed and Ready

1. The Darkhold book seems to read the people who open its pages? How do you think it does that? And, what do you think is contained on those pages?

Roz: I’m pretty sure the book works based on physical contact and it has some mystic properties that I really think are the show’s way into Doctor Strange. As for the contents, I think lots of unknown powers that most humans shouldn’t have.

Karen: The Darkhold book is a grimoire, created by the Elder Gods on the surface of Atlantis (when it was above-ground of course). It’s also known as The Book of Sins. In Marvel canon, it’s gone through the hands of Merlin, Morgan LeFay, Mordred, Dracula, Red Sonja, Doctor Doom, and even the Marvel Zombies. I’m not sure if the show will be detailed with its background info, so I wanted to share that with you.

That being said, it’s a book imbued with an immense amount of magic, and it can do/will do many things to those that possess it.

Rueben: Wow, Karen, thanks for that information. Since I’m a novice where the Marvel Universe is concerned, I had no idea what to think about the Darkhold book; and now to have these details give me at least a bit more insight. I still have to wonder just how this book will be used in future episodes.

2. How cool was that Captain America-like shield that Coulson produced from his robotic hand? Do you think we will see more creations like that?

Roz: I want to see more gadgets from all the team.

Karen: He used it briefly in 3×18 as well, and I went fangirl then too. I LOVE his go-go-gadget hand BIG TIME, and the nod to Captain America is just too much. I mean, for a guy who wanted Cap to sign his collection of Collectible Cards – it has to be the coolest thing ever, right?

Rueben: Oh man, I don’t even remember seeing the shield used before. It’s a great nod to Captain America; and thanks to your reminding me about Coulson being a big fan of Steve, that only makes the homage even better.

Daisy getting ready for a fight

3. Daisy, May and Coulson figured out that the Watchdogs are being formed in prison? Just how widespread do you think this new “big bad” group is?

Roz: There are too many prisons in the US, so I think widespread enough.

Karen: We saw some Watchdog action near the end of last season, but they were pocket groups that were largely overshadowed by Malick/Wade and the Hive storyline. Now we know that the Aryan Brotherhood and Chinese Mafia are their allies, so they’re a much larger threat than was thought. Also, they’re recruiting from prison, but the organization exists outside of the confines of the system. I suspect they want to use the convicts as their “human shield” (no relation – wink!) army.

Rueben: Man this all just makes my head spin. I missed that mention from last season, too, and I thought I’ve been following the show pretty closely. It certainly is unsettling to think just how far-reaching the Watchdogs can be, that’s for sure.

4. What did you think of the verbal sparring between Senator Nadeer and Jeffrey Mace? She’s obviously not going to back down from her stance especially given what she threatened Mace with in the final scene. Just what do you think she wants?

Roz: What do all politicians want: power.

Karen: She wants some really shifty stuff, that’s for sure. The fact that her brother is affected by terrigen is baffling to me – in that she wants something counter-intuitive to his recovery/acceptance. She’s actually bankrolling the Watchdogs, and that puts her firmly in the bad guy camp for me.

Rueben: I agree with Roz that she wants power, but there is also that whole “what is going on with her brother” issue too. You’d think she’d want to help her brother and who better to do that than S.H.I.E.L.D. I almost don’t want to find out what her ultimate goal is.

5. Daisy took on all those prisoners and didn’t use her quake ability once. How impressed were you by her combat skills? It’s like watching May 2.0, right?

Roz: She’s impressive for sure and I can’t think of where she got all of those skills, but she’s been away from SHIELD so there’s always room for other skills.

Karen: It shows how she was taught by the best. She’s remembering what she was like before she knew about her abilities, and it’s pretty refreshing. Maybe we’ll go back to a softer, gentler, ass-kickinger Daisy. Oxymoron? Maybe, but it makes sense to me. She’s less angsty when she’s being herself. That’s when she’s taking down the bad guys – however she can. If her powers harm her, then she ain’t takin’ out nobody.

Rueben: I was really impressed by all those moves and the fact that she could take so many of those prisoners down…that is until she couldn’t. Her time training with May and her time on her own has obviously turned into one hell of a kick-ass woman. I think she could do more damage without her powers, and given that her powers are going to end up killing her, I think she needs to not use her powers.

Robbie getting angry

6. How dumb could Robbie be to let his uncle walk out of the prison on his own like that when he knew ghost Lucy was in the building? Did you see that coming before it happened? Was he right in getting revenge on that Fifth Street gang member?

Roz: Robbie’s blinded by his vengeance and so he was going to look there before he thinks of a mission. He wants to right a very perceived wrong and that’s admirable if that was his only mission.

Karen: Eli has a lot of unfinished business with Lucy and the Scooby-ghost gang, so I knew it would happen sooner or later. He’s got a countdown timer over his head, and the ghosties are there to help it ticking. I’m excited to see how that unfolds.

Meanwhile (cue Superfriends’ hideout sound effect), Robbie AKA Ghost Rider is compelled to mete out vengeance at times, that’s just how things go for him. He’s not an inhuman, he’s literally imbued with “The Spirit of Vengeance,” and having that personal hatred for the Fifth Street gang is just adding to that compulsion to harm the dude.

Side note: when Lucy and Joseph are searching for the Darkhold book, there’s a poster on the wall for the Quentin Carnival. It’s a nod to the Johnny Blaze version of Ghost Rider. It’s where he worked as a stuntman before he was possessed by TSoV.

Rueben: First of all, very cool that you caught that Easter egg. I certainly didn’t see that poster and wouldn’t have made that connection. It’s great that they included it.

As for Robbie being blinded by vengeance, as Roz mentioned, he totally is and his being easily diverted could easily cost his uncle his life. Did killing that Fifth Street gang member really get any justice?

7. May said that Coulson has a big heart. Do you think that might be the problem where Daisy is concerned? Coulson’s heart is just too big?

Roz: Coulson thinks of Daisy as the child he never had and that makes him biased towards her. Is that just a big heart? I don’t know.

Karen: Yes? Probably? I mean, ever since Wade defected I think Coulson has been blaming himself for a lot of things that aren’t really his fault. The straw that broke the camel’s back was most likely Daisy’s defeat (in her eyes) since she acted as a bit of a daughter fill-in to him. He mentored her and was quite proud of her accomplishments, so when she was pushed too far and went off-grid, I think that really stung. It was probably the defining thing that caused him to re-evaluate and step down as Director. As a Field Agent, he has an immediate responsibility for his colleagues, but not as long-lasting of an impact as he did as Director. I hope that makes sense.

Rueben: It does make sense, Karen; and think you and Roz are both right. Coulson does have a big heart, maybe a little too big. In my opinion, he does see Daisy as a pseudo-daughter and it really hurt him when she left. And, I think he will always hold out hope that he can convince her, somehow, to come back into the fold.

Simmons facing down Mace

8. Who stood out in the episode most? Have any thoughts on what will happen next?

Roz: I’m not sure who we’re meant to think of as the big bad? We’ve been introduced to any number of bad guys but no clear biggest bad.

Karen: I’m all about the nerds this season. Unmentioned so far, we saw a couple of scenes with Fitz and/or Simmons in Lockup – and I’m going to choose Emma as my MVP. She was subjected to what we assume is one in a long string of lie detector tests, and she’s gotten pretty fed up with it. After de Bergerac-ing Mace, she picks up on some of his tells (foreshadowed in a discussion between her and Fitz), and she uses it to blackmail him into discontinuing the “trust exercises” that she’s been subjected to since his arrival. It took some lady-balls to stand up to him near the end of the episode, and it was really nice to see her making a fist. She and May talked about the testing and trust issues in another episode – it’s nice to see the continuity from the writers’ room.

The Eli, Lucy, Joseph, etc story will culminate very soon, and I’m hoping it will pay off in a really great way. It will definitely impact Robbie, and I think Gabe will get a bit of a wakeup call when it happens as well. Nadeer is going to get creepier, which is pretty awesome. I’ve never seen Parminder Nagra in a role like this before, and it’s really cool.

Rueben: I thought the same thing about Simmons and Mace. She really took a risk pushing him like that and I’m just glad that it paid off in her favor. I agree that she stood out in the episode too next to Daisy fighting off all those Watchdogs. Maybe it’s a tie between the two of them this time around.

I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better given whatever the ghosts; namely Lucy, has planned for the Darkhold and whatever the Watchdogs are going to do next. Then there is Nadeer…that storyline can’t end happily either.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will air its next new episode on Tuesday, November 1 on ABC at 10/9c.

Here is a description of next week’s episode entitled “The Good Samaritan” along with a trailer:

“The shocking origin story of Robbie’s transition into Ghost Rider is revealed as the lives of Coulson and the team hang in the balance.”