Agents of SHIELD continues to flesh out the magical side of the MCU, which is of course rather timely, given the recent release of Doctor Strange.  The existence of the Darkhold actually fits rather well with some elements of that film, and considering the direction taken with one of the characters in this episode, there is still a lot of room to play with the “magic as uber-advanced science” concept that was laced throughout the Thor films.

 

 

In the wake of Eli’s gambit in the previous installment, several agents (and Robbie) are trapped in a parallel dimension.  One highlight was seeing the same events and conversations through the lens of characters on both sides of the dimensional veil, and how the writers managed to make what could have been a retread and filler seem fresh and interesting.

 

The situation was also more than just a clever one-off scenario, as it pushed Ghost Rider to make some major decisions that will have lasting consequences.  It was cool seeing Mack “possessed”, and now he and Robbie have a basis for working together in the future.  And since that could be at odds with the demands of SHIELD, it drives even more of a wedge between Team Mace and Team Coulson.

 

 

The notion of having Radcliffe use the Darkhold was terrifying in its own right; I was shocked when he declined to do so, given his previous choices.  That said, using Aida sounded like a good idea at first, which made it the perfect trap.  Aida has been a bit of a landmine waiting to be triggered, and considering that she could essentially become an incarnated version of the Darkhold, this is a very interesting and worrisome turn of events.  I don’t recall there being an attractive robot sorceress in the Marvel canon, but there is one in the MCU now!