Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Season 4, Episode 10 Review

In 'The Patriot', Agents of SHIELD delves into the character of Jeffrey Mace - the current director of SHIELD. I've not quite warmed to Mace as a character over the course of this season, but I think this episode has finally actually explained him. He isn't the hero SHIELD wanted to sell him as, but at the same time he does have the ambitions of being a hero. I think making him a fake, but turning this twist into a character-revealing moment about Mace wanting to become a Captain America-esque character makes the twist more endearing than anything.
This episode felt strengthened by Mace's character development, as otherwise there's a lot of treading water. May discovers her robotic nature, Daisy does some badass stuff, Coulson and Mack have some fun interactions, and everyone discusses the aftermath of Aida's attack. This actually works quite well, as the episode has a central focus and everything else is still present, but simply background additions to keep the season's over-arching narrative going. While it's not completely an adventure-of-the-week episode, it is closer to that, and I am pleased to see the series go back to this format, even if it isn't entirely. It's easy for Agents of SHIELD to avoid these more standalone episodes.
Overall, 'The Patriot' is a solid episode of Agents of SHIELD, harking back more to some of the series' earlier episodes. It has a strong focus, a good main character, and General Talbot returns being just as brilliant as usual (please can we have see more of him in future?)

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