Now that the character of Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider has been firmly established, along with the existence of the Darkhold, it’s time for the introductory phase of the season arc to be completed.  And sure enough, that means answering one of the primary questions about Ghost Rider: what are his origins?  Oddly enough, it is how well the writers tie his uncle to the threat posed by Lucy and the Darkhold that ends up being the most intriguing element of the story.

 

 

Lucy seemed to be the author of most characters’ ills this season thus far, but that’s far from the truth.  Yes, Lucy and her husband hired people to take out Eli Morrow, and that led to the incident that left Gabriel paralyzed and put Robbie in the position to become Ghost Rider.  But that underscores the true situation: “Uncle Eli” is insane on the order of a Lovecraft tale, and things are going to get much worse before they get better.

 

Robbie prayer for vengeance summons the previous Ghost Rider, and it’s almost certain that this is the more familiar Johnny Blaze version that a lot of fans expected when the character was first announced.  (It could also be Danny Ketch, technically.)  That expands the mythology behind Ghost Rider considerably, though it’s unclear how far the writers intend to go in exploring those depths.  Still, in essence, Robbie has been given this burden of power to take vengeance on his own uncle, which adds a bit more to the overall struggle.

 

 

Meanwhile, the expected heat for Team Coulson from Director Mace comes quickly in this episode, as Mace demands the arrest of Robbie Reyes.  While it’s pretty clear that Mace doesn’t quite understand the full measure of the situation, he’s also motivated by politics, so it puts Coulson in a predictable position.  As much fun as it is to have Team Coulson going maverick again, it does feel a little too soon after the team was legitimized again.  That said, seeing Mace take on Ghost Rider was worth the setup!

 

With the season taking a short hiatus, the situation is actually quite precarious.  Coulson and Mace are at odds and members of his extended team are caught in the middle.  Eli Morrow has gained some unknown measure of power thanks to experiments with “zero matter” concocted from the Darkhold.  (And that’s a nice reference to the second season of Agent Carter!)  I’m quite intrigued to see where the story unfolds from here.