RECAP: GHOST RIDER MIGHT BE WHAT ‘AGENTS OF SHIELD’ NEEDED

Marvel’s Spirit of Vengeance scorches in the season premiere.

When Marvel Television revealed that Ghost Rider would be a major player in the fourth season of Agents of SHIELD many were skeptical on how the supernatural character would fit into the show’s decidedly shiny, sci-fi bend. Last night’s premiere, titled ‘The Ghost’, wasted absolutely no time addressing how ol’ Hot Head factors into the new direction of the series.

Going into this season ABC announced the show would be moving to a later time slot. This is typically seen as one of the ominous signs of impending doom for a TV show, but creators assured fans that this change would allow them to push darker material that would be harder to accomplish in an earlier slot. It seems they’ve made good on that promise. Agents of SHIELD has returned substantially darker in both appearance and drama. We find the team of Coulson, Mack, May, and Fitz-Simmons is far from the close-knit band they used to be. The presence and management style of SHIELD’s new, yet to be revealed director has strained their relationships via nettlesome protocol, compartmentalization, and secrecy.

The team isn’t what it used to be.

The action opens with former SHIELD agent Daisy Johnson (aka Quake) still going rogue as she pursues bad guys in league with last season’s meta-human hate group the Watchdogs. Before she can vibrate them into submission they’re hunted and subsequently slaughtered in gruesome fashion by some psychopath in a flaming ’69 Dodge Charger. When Coulson gets word from May that Daisy has been spotted in Los Angeles and leaving dead bodies in her wake, he and Mack break rank to investigate. Meanwhile, Fitz-Simmons mull about their newly busy professional lives. Simmons is effectively now second in command at SHIELD and a special adviser to the president’s cabinet, thus not leaving them with much time for romance. Fitz rolls solo to knock down some brews with Radcliffe (John Hannah returning), who has shockingly created a revolutionary technology by way or a buck naked fembot named AIDA. Radcliffe needs Fitz’s help in perfecting her with hopes the technology can be used to replace agents in the field via life-model-decoys, a familiar element to any comic book fans. Fitz reluctantly agrees, but knows he has to keep it a secret from Jemma or she’ll narc to her new superiors.

Ghost Rider shows Daisy she ain’t about this life.

Later, Daisy manages to track down Robbie Reyes, a lowly junkyard mechanic, inquiring about his beefed up Charger. Robbie’s smart enough to know a shakedown when he sees it, so he and Daisy come to blows after exchanging pleasantries. Daisy then realizes she’s totally up shit’s creek when Robbie’s freakin’ face burns off to reveal he’s the Ghost Rider. Seeing she has no chance in hell of beating the demonic spirit, all she can do is beg for a quick death. Ghost Rider then spares her because he only beats down on the truly evil and Daisy is far from it.

On the other side of town, Coulson and Mack’s investigation leads them to more corpses and a gangland weapons deal taking place in a seedy warehouse (do they come unseedy?). The weapon in question turns out to be a god damn ghost and it causes the gang to freak out and start murdering each other as it escapes. As Coulson and Mack wonder what exactly is going on, Agent May and her new strike team storm in to “ice” everyone. Simmons had dispatched her to retrieve Coulson for a certain reprimand. May herself isn’t spared a lashing since she’s the one that tipped off Coulson in the first place. To make matters worse, the ghost put some bad juju on May prior to drifting off into the nether.

What the premiere reveals is that everyone is out of their depth. Daisy’s quest for justice has her crossing paths with demons. Coulson’s quest for Daisy has him crossing paths with an evil poltergeist. Fitz’s quest to watch a soccer match has him crossing paths with nude, sexy female robots. Okay, so not everyone has it bad. But the team is completely out of their element in their personal and professional lives. The gang is more fragile than they’ve ever been and more vulnerable than they’re comfortable with. The makes for the most compelling drama seen in ages.

If it seems like the premiere covered a lot of ground, it did. There’s about three episodes worth of material here, but it surprisingly doesn’t feel rushed. In a way, the pace and tone of the premiere felt more like Marvel’s Netflix series than what we’ve come to associate with SHIELD. The show’s new edge made Ghost Rider’s introduction more effective than it could have been otherwise. Speaking of, the Robbie Reyes iteration of the character turned out to be an inspired choice. Gabriel Luna plays him with a reserved menace that just feels perfect for the anti-hero. He’s the best part of the premiere and his scenes sizzle even when he’s not aflame. The effects used to bring Ghost Rider to life are adequate, but could stand for some improvement to make him look less glossy. However, the Hell Charger looks amazing and is far more intimidating than the motorcycles we’ve seen in the movies. It’s pure power, a fiery battering ram of death.

The series is going full tilt with supernatural threats, which no doubt will lead in to November’s Dr. Strange, and the symbolism of dealing with ghosts and demons has not been wasted. The entity of SHIELD is an apparition of its former self. Everyone is haunted by the ghost of the past, be that lost teammates, loved ones, or Hydra’s deception. You feel every ounce of the team’s loss. The show has tried this angle before, but it never quite landed like it does now. Instead of just trying something different, Agents of SHIELD feels like it’s becoming something different. Though it’s treading new ground, the shift feels earned. Last season definitively closed the book in the “Inhuman” saga, but also left the characters in a darker place. The team has been to Hell and back. It’s only fitting that a demon hitched along for the ride.