Agents of SHIELD is back! Violet recaps the Winter premiere, Season 4 Episode 9, titled Broken Promises, where Aida is after the Darkhold, and Senator Nadeer has her brother in hiding! Following the recap, both Violet and Josh share their thoughts about the episode.
- His thoughts on Broken Promises, Episode 409 of Agents of SHIELD
- Her thoughts on Agents of SHIELD, Season 4 Episode 9: Broken Promises
Aida removes her bloody clothes, doctors up her gunshot wounds, and puts on clean clothes. She then checks on the unconscious Agent May. It seems there is some sort of purpose that Aida wants May’s substitute to serve.
Over at SHIELD HQ, Mace lays out a plan for Coulson, May, and Mack to transfer the Darkhold to another agent to dispose of it. Fitz is given instructions to accompany Dr. Radcliffe and wipe Aida’s hard drive.
Meanwhile, Senator Nadeer and her brother, Vijay, are staying at a secluded estate. He is surprised to learn that he was in the cocoon for 7 months.
Back at HQ, Simmons has figured out that Vijay was the one in the cocoon, and that someone is hiding him. Mace calls Daisy in to talk to her about team trust. Daisy advises Mace that he should go after the Watchdogs. She also reveals that Senator Nadeer’s brother was the one in the cocoon. Mace makes a plan to rescue him.
When Fitz and Dr. Radcliffe arrive at Dr. Radcliffe’s office, they are surprised to find that Aida made a few “upgrades” to herself. She attacks Dr. Radcliffe and the agents who came with him when she realizes they are there to “kill” her. She throws Fitz through a glass door into the other room, where he sees the dead body of Agent Nathanson, who Aida killed at the end of last episode.
Senator Nadeer asks her brother what happened to him inside the cocoon. He says it was dark an lonely, and for awhile all he heard was her voice telling him to fight. He seems grateful to Agent Simmons for helping him, which sets his sister off about SHIELD. She then suggests a nice walk. Meanwhile, a team of Watchdogs hears this, which is their cue to move into the woods ready to shoot to kill.
Fitz and Dr. Radcliffe return to SHIELD HQ and tell Coulson, May, and Mack that it was the Darkhold’s fault that Aida did this. The next step is to find Aida.
Mace, Daisy, and Simmons get on a plane and head out to rescue Vijay, though they’re not sure where to head. First, Simmons stops by Senator Nadeer’s office undercover to see what she can find out. The Senator’s representative immediately reports Simmons’ presence to the head Watchdog out at the Nadeer estate, who tells the man to take care of Simmons. Simmons overhears and the two fight. However, Simmons bashes the man with a glass pitcher and knocks him out. She is able to trace the call the man made.
Armed Watchdogs surround Vijay and Senator Nadeer while they’re out on their walk. She reminds her brother that they made a promise to each other that if either became infected by the alien plague, they would kill the other. However, Vijay insists that he was unchanged, and that the reason he was in the cocoon for so long was because he fought it off. Senator Nadeer calls the Watchdogs off.
Back at SHIELD HQ, the agents all get a phone call from Aida. She wants the Darkhold. It turns out she has entered the system, and shuts off the power. Coulson sends Mack to get Yo-Yo for backup. Coulson and May encounter Aida in the hallway. Coulson punches her, but she punches back, throwing Coulson across the room, knocking him out. She is then able to shut down the LMD May, saying she needs her help. We see Aida cutting into the side of LMD May’s forehead.
Later, LMD May wakes up locked in a room with Coulson. They have to wait for Fitz to override the system to get out of the room, which has an electronic lock.
Mace, Simmons, and Daisy show up at the Nadeer estate and accuse her of holding her brother there against his will. She threatens to notify General Talbot about their visit. Meanwhile, the head Watchdog there reports to a few other Watchdogs that their superior has told them to eliminate Vijay.
When Mack and Yo-Yo go into the hangar with a few other agents, Aida attacks them remotely by firing on them with one of the planes.
Coulson knocks out the camera in the room so that Aida can’t monitor their conversation. However, they are unaware that Aida is able to see and hear through LMD May, who he tells that the Darkhold is in Mace’s office, cloaked. Aida is able to quickly find it.
Fitz is able to override the system and get the power back on. Coulson and May escape from the locked room. Fitz and Dr. Radcliffe encounter Aida in the hallway with the Darkhold, about to leave. However, she is unable to open the door because Fitz took the base offline, and she is no longer in the system.
The Watchdogs try to attack Vijay, but it turns out he has powers after all, and he is able to quickly dodge their moves. Mace, Simmons, and Daisy hear a gunshot, which confirms that Vijay is there.
Aida seems regretful about what she’s done, saying she only wanted to help. Mack opens the door behind her and cuts her head off.
Senator Nadeer walks in on her brother using his powers to fight back. Simmons tries to convince Vijay to come back to SHIELD with them, but Senator Nadeer tells her brother to trust her, since she’s family. Vijay decides to go with his sister. They run and get into a helicopter with the Watchdogs. Senator Nadeer tells her brother that she’s sorry, then shoots him, killing him. It turns out she was the one who’s been organizing the Watchdogs.
Over at Radcliffe’s place, there is another Aida. He laments that the previous Aida was unable to get the Darkhold. His backup plan is for LMD May to get it for him. It was Dr. Radcliffe all along who was behind May’s kidnapping.
In the final scene, Vijay’s body is thrown from the helicopter into the ocean, with a rock tied to it to weight it down. When the body reaches the ocean floor, a cocoon forms around it.
Her Thoughts on Agents of SHIELD, Season 4 Episode 9: Broken Promises
Oh my gosh, I loved all of the references to Terminator and other movies about robots taking over the world! Hilarious! Because you know that’s what a normal person would be thinking, that every time someone tries to invent some sort of AI, the robots always take over, so we should know by now not to do it. So this was a great tongue-in-cheek way for the show to acknowledge the trope.
It also turns out that Aida may not be the mastermind behind everything that’s been going on, and that it’s actually Radcliffe. That makes sense, but is a little disappointing because it kind of seemed like he was becoming a good guy now. But basically he’s just always on the side of his own self interest, so it’s not too surprising.
I am quite curious what the ultimate result of Vijay having been in the cocoon for 7 months will be. When he emerges from this new cocoon, will he have the same powers as before, or new powers? Or possibly the same powers, plus new powers? Is this a one time thing, or is he essentially immortal, as in a cocoon will always form around him and revive him every time he dies? One thing is for sure though, once he emerges from this cocoon (will it be another 7 months or quicker this time?), he’ll know not to trust his sister this time around. But will he go to SHIELD, or pursue his own interests – which may involve becoming a bad guy and possibly getting revenge?
Agents of SHIELD has done it again and managed to keep me on board. I’m glad it’s back and I’m looking forward to seeing how this part of the season unfolds!
His Thoughts on Agents of SHIELD, Season 4 Episode 9: Broken Promises
COMING SOON
Scenes from Agents of SHIELD, Season 4 Episode 10: The Patriot
Preview of Season 4 Episode 10 of Agents of SHIELD
