'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Recap: 'The Ghost'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

Okay, I have to fully confess to all of you, that I've been extremely nervous about this upcoming season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a couple of reasons. The first one being, Ghost Rider as a character has not translated well to live action storytelling and also due to the fact that this series has in a way, painted itself into a plot line corner. Season three was a smörgåsbord of ideas and concepts, where just about anything and everything the show has ever dealt with wrapped up in a single season.

We saw the Fall of Hydra, and not some, 'oh hey there's still a few of us around, we'll be back!' plot thread. Oh no, they're gone, they're dead, the end. We saw Grant Ward die, rise again and die again and in a way the Inhumans storyline, at least the notion of them being evil and a threat to mankind, wrapped up nicely as well and because of that, I've been worried about where the show is going to go because as the show transitioned to their next respective plot last year, it struggled to keep a quality story going, which brings us to last night's season four premiere. Specifically, did it deliver a quality story and kick off a new year in an exciting way? The answer is...yes, because Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has in the most magnificent of fashion, managed to completely and utterly reinvent itself and this new look/new feel show has my attention. 

For starters, this isn't the cuddly fun ride we have enjoyed for the last three years, those days are apparently gone for the most part. What remains is a vastly more adult type of show, one that makes sure to go to darker places as much as possible and while it is jarring at first to see a Marvel spy show become something a little grittier, it's welcome. For the first time S.H.I.E.L.D. is beginning to resemble its sister shows like Jessica Jones or Daredevil in both tone and design which means that now our characters are going to go through tough times no doubt, and last night gave us a taste of things to come. After all, the band is broken, with everyone serving new roles within the now re-legitimized and restored S.H.I.E.L.D. and they all report to a mysterious director that to date remains hidden from the audience. Granted, that's not exactly strife, but clearly they're all struggling with these changes and the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. is not the cozy home it used to be means it won't be long before this newfound tension leads to strife for our heroes.

The only person who I could venture to say is truly suffering at this point in time however is Daisy. She is doing her best to handle the Watchdogs and play the good vigilante, but she's alone and cut off and her powers are slowly taking their toll upon her body and to make matters worse...she's the one squaring off against the Ghost Rider and that's the other issue that we haven't discussed yet. Is the Rider as cheesy as his other incarnations on screen? The answer is no, this Ghost Rider is badass and terrifying because nothing gets in his way. I mean come on, the Rider ripped out a dude's spine last night! It doesn't get more badass than that and the burning skull and the effects that went with that were top notch this go round and the fact that there is depth to this character means we should be in for quite a treat when it comes to his particular storyline. 

Now you've probably noticed that we haven't spent too much discussing the finer plot details of this episode and quite frankly, they were immaterial to this episode. This is a premiere that peppered in a few plot points to set up the story for the season to come, but really the big focus here is the new look and feel of the show and I'm glad that a majority of the time was spent focusing on where our characters are at after that exhausting and costly battle with Hive and the Hydra Remnant. They're hurt, they're licking their wounds and we've never seen them quite like this before. Either way, kudos for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for moving the show in a bold new direction. It feels as though this series is growing up and these darker storylines are intriguing to say the least and well...my fears are quelled for the time being and I have to know what's coming next. 

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