Last week I said the consequences of the Zephyr giving up its position were vague. It seemed to me that blowing up the Insight rocket did not carry enough stakes. It was, therefore, up to this episode to illustrate why Mack’s (Henry Simmons, Man Up!) decision was such a big deal. Otherwise, it would be a waste of a good premise.
I falsely assumed that Mack had not been born yet in 1976. Turns out he had. That means Lilla (Paulina Lule, General Hospital) and John Mackenzie (Sedale Threatt Jr., Siren) dying wouldn’t erase him from existence. That would have been an interesting angle, but too much would change if Mack wasn’t around. The team might not even be on their mission without him. So, it’s ultimately good the show didn’t go there.
Despite the safety of Mack’s existence, our heroes still need to rescue his parents. It goes about how you would expect. The two of them explain how they were just minding their own business when someone kidnapped them. Meanwhile, Mack and the others have to hide their identities or risk further altering the timeline. It’s not a particularly exciting rescue, though.
Elsewhere, Coulson (Clark Gregg, Iron Man) and May (Ming-Na Wen, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens) not only have to escape S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, they have to stop the Chronicoms from replacing other agents from the 1970s. This means they continue to cross paths with General Stoner (Patrick Warburton, Family Guy). I’m definitely biased because of my affection for Warburton’s other roles, but I just enjoy seeing him on screen. He’s so natural as the General. He exudes authority but also approachability.
The Chronicoms’ method of stealing faces is still creepy after all this time, especially when you see a pile of faceless bodies in the corner. It doesn’t seem necessary that they should have to do more than scan faces, but it’s a science fiction show, so the writers can do what they want. We get a little more info on the Chronicoms method of predicting events. It’s about as concrete an explanation as we’re bound to get. Also, it turns out they are not controlling Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge, Ultimate Spider-Man), as I expected. She has an implant that keeps her from remembering vital information the Chronicoms could exploit.
The least engaging storyline this week is Sousa (Enver Gjokaj, Agent Carter) and Daisy’s (Chloe Bennet, Abominable) encounter with Nathaniel Malick (Thomas E. Sullivan, The Irishman). Malick wants to steal Quake’s powers for himself, so he takes a good amount of blood and spinal fluid from Daisy. Fortunately, she survives, and the powers are too much for Nathaniel to handle.
There are three big surprises from ‘Adapt or Die,’ which elevate this hour above some of the lesser recent episodes. The first is that Coulson sacrifices himself to destroy all the Chronicom Hunters. It was such a shocker, and it makes me wonder how he’ll come back. The second, much sadder surprise is that Mack’s parents didn’t make it and had already been replaced by robots. This opens up so many questions about how young Mack is going to live without his parents. As for present-day Mack, he needs some alone time, which he’ll get, because, thanks to surprise number three, he and Deke (Jeff Ward, Channel Zero) are marooned somewhere in time post-1976, presumably in the 1980s.
The team has separated and there’s no telling when they’ll reunite. Until then, it’s the Mack and Deke show.
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