Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – The Laws of Inferno Dynamics Review

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has a history of cliffhanger midseason finales, but that streak may have ended. “The Laws of Inferno Dynamics” wrapped up nicely and with a pretty good hint at what is coming in the second half of the season. It might not have been the most exciting ending, but the Ghost Rider storyline finally came to a close and we can all be thankful of that. This episode wasn’t that suspenseful, but it was very science heavy. The episode revolved around Eli testing out his new powers. He kept summoning different elements to prove his power, but Fitz, Simmons and Daisy discovered that his powers were having a negative effect on things. Fitz described it by saying that every speck of matter has a home and when you take that speck away, things are negatively affected. So every time Eli was creating something it was actually taking that matter from somewhere else and making a disturbance in the form of earthquakes. These science bits always trip me up. I know they try to explain it using simple terminology, but just like in high school science, I find myself zoning out. I still don’t fully understand what Eli’s end goal was. He had this cube full of plutonium that I guess he was going to explode, but I didn’t know why. It could be my fault for not paying attention, but I also think it was a major flaw in this Ghost Rider arc. Eli wasn’t a fully formed villain and was so uninteresting to watch. I also think it was rough coming off of Ward’s arc. He was such a great bad guy for so long on the show. Anyway, of course the team figured out how to stop Eli with the help of the whole gang this time, including Aida. She is proving to be an asset, but even her role has some dangerous foreshadowing. There were also some awesome fight scenes leading up to the final Eli showdown. I particularly liked when Yo-Yo arrived and they showed her super speed scenes. Those are amazing to watch and I’m always glad to see her and Mack together. This time they even kissed! It was about time. I know this is mostly an action show, but it has really been slacking on the romance this season. After the fight scene, Robbie as Ghost Rider was able to take out his uncle, the he too disappeared, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. team is left to pick up the pieces. This included giving Daisy credit for helping save the day so she could make a public appearance again, plus she was reinstated as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She's worked with the team pretty much the whole season so I actually forgot she wasn’t an “official” member. Everything seemed wrapped up and happy in the end, but we got two major reveals. The first was that Coulson hinted that Robbie might still come back. He said something about how the last Ghost Rider was able to return. Not sure who he’s talking about there, but I wouldn’t mind seeing more Robbie Reyes. The other big reveal was with Aida. She was finally used for her purpose as a physical shield. She was sent to get fixed up and she promptly killed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who went with her to the lab. That’s probably not good. Then to make matters worse, it was revealed that she also had an unconscious May locked in the lab. Then it cut to a scene with May and Coulson having a drink, so it would appear that we have an android May on our hands, but which one is it? I’m not completely sold on the android storyline, but I’m willing to give it a shot. It’s also interesting that they are giving May another mistaken identity storyline again, since they did something similar in an early season with a face swap technology. I guess I will remain open minded about it for now.

Final Thoughts:

- This first half of the season was not the best. The Eli storyline was underdeveloped and while I like Robbie, I felt like they could have done something more interesting. - Fitz and Simmons ended up together so that’s something. - I always love when Yo-Yo and Mack are in episodes together. - I’m glad to have Daisy officially back on the team. - I really hope there is more to the seecond half of the season than just the android storyline. And how do they kill Aida? She has to have a kill switch somewhere… I hope.