Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S04E10 "The Patriot" Recap

Mace gives a press conference to publicly celebrate and pardon Daisy, claiming that she was undercover and everything she did during that tie was part of her mission. The press conference is interrupted by the arrival of a sniper that attempts to kill Mace. Coulson and Mack rush Mace to a quinjet along with PR agent Burrows, who always stays near Mace with a briefcase, but the quinjet explodes mid-flight. Burrows is thrown from the plane with his briefcase and everyone lands in a forest. Meanwhile, Daisy and May are interrogating the sniper for answers regarding his assassination attempt of Mace.

In the forest, ex-Hydra agents are lying in wait, having been hired by the Watchdogs. They recovered Burrows' body already. Mace attempts to get a serum from the briefcase but it is destroyed before he can do so, leading him to be injured. Mace reveals to the field team, just as General Talbott reveals to the team back at SHIELD that Mace gained super abilities by a serum developed by the government. He was manufactured to be a enhanced leader of SHIELD that people could trust.

May has ben put in a simulation of relaxing in a spa on a loop but it doesn't sit well with her. She grows increasingly suspicious so she forces herself awake and tries to break out but Aida restrains her. Radcliffe is alarmed by Aida's brutality and insists that she merely sedate May, which she eventually does, but things aren't looking good for Aida's trajectory. Radcliffe realises that the only way for May to accept the simulation is to give her conflict to fight against, as she is a warrior. Meanwhile, Fitz is shown to be secretly studying the original Aida LMD's decapitated head.

Coulson tells Mace that he must continue on as "The Patriot" and has him put his suit back on. Regardless of his lack of abilities at the moment, he can still put on a good front and distract them long enough to get through another round of attacks while Mack is outside shooting and fighting them off. They're eventually rescued by Daisy and the May LMD, who is unaware that she isn't the real May since that's not how she's programmed. When they all return to the base, Mace suggests that he step down from his position but Coulson tells him to keep the title and handle the politics. He will be the public face of SHIELD but Coulson will be reinstated to take command of the operations and missions. Coulson was never a fan of the political side of things, anyway.

Finally, the May LMD discovers her robotic skeleton when examining a wound she gained in battle.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs on Tuesdays on ABC at 10/9c.