“BOOM” is episode thirteen of season four of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the previous episode, “Hot Potato Soup”, Fake May was finally revealed as the other android inside S.H.I.E.L.D. Fake Radcliffe has been destroyed, and both were shown to be using a brain made of light, something that Aida was seen building at the end of “The Laws of Inferno Dynamics”. Radcliffe and his new associates did manage to take the Darkhold as well. Anton Ivanov, who may be the Superior for the Watchdogs and their associated organisations, revealed that his ultimate aim was the get the person he considered responsible for all the alien and Inhuman happenings, someone who was supposed to be dead yet is always lurking on the scene – Coulson. Okay, Coulson isn’t dead and does tend to be involved, but he hardly seems like the one behind everything.
This episode opens in Caldes de Montbui, Spain with Coulson sitting along in a cafe, apparently talking to himself. He’s actually talking to Mack, who is on the radio. They are looking for a woman who disappeared who may lead them to Agent May. Mack is not convinced that May is still alive, but Coulson has not given up hope – rightly so.
The woman in question looks like Aida. It seems that she is Radcliffe’s ex, and he modelled Aida on her. Creepy much? The woman is also dying, she has an inoperable brain tumour which Radcliffe was unable to fix, so he left her. She also wants to spend her last days as she wants, so is unwilling to help. Coulson is willing to force her to cooperate but Mack isn’t, and says that May wouldn’t have wanted him to do that either.
Director Mace is undergoing physicals with Simmons. It seems the drug that is making him stronger, as discovered in “The Patriot”, will also eventually kill him. Maybe not next time he takes it, but eventually it will. At which point Fitz excitedly shows up saying that the Director’s suit has been modified to directly inject the serum into him. Perhaps not the best timing in the world. Mace is struggling to work out what his place is in things now.
Aida and Radcliffe have now expanded the framework which May is in into an entire, complete world (hey, why stop at the City of Light when you can build an entire world?). Ivanov has also read the Darkhold, which is disturbing and doesn’t make Radcliffe happy. Ivanov does say that the book gave him the answer to what will help him get what he wants – Radcliffe. He wants Inhumans to lure S.H.I.E.L.D. but Radcliffe hasn’t managed to find any. What he does have is terrigen crystals, taken from Hive, so they will be able to create their own Inhumans.
Ivanov’s first attempt to create Inhumans is to send Shockley to Senator Nadeer’s office to expose her to the terrigen crystals. After all, her brother became Inhuman, so it’s in her DNA. However, it’s Shockley who cocoons, pleasing Nadeer very briefly before her office explodes. Killing her as it turns out too – not too great a loss, but Mace is upset that she won’t now be brought to justice. S.H.I.E.L.D. investigates the explosion and Shockley is now the scum he detests (which is amusing) and he can also explode at will.
Aida is acting in a slightly odd way. Perhaps it’s connected to the mention of the uncanny valley?