Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S04E09 "Broken Promises" Recap

The Darkhold is now in SHIELD's custody and they hope to destroy it to prevent it from ever flying into the wrong hands or being used as a weapon of destruction. Fitz is working alongside Dr. Holden Radcliffe on the Aida robot they have built. Their latest orders are to clear the memory inside the android due to her having read the Darkhold. The unfortunate side-effect of her having read it is a greater sentience and thus she chooses to overpower them when they attempt to wipe her memory. She proceeds to take control of the SHIELD operating systems and launches an attack on the facility that holds the book.

Vijay Nadeer is recovering at special facility after having spent several months in an Inhuman Terrine cocoon. His sister is Senator Ellen Nadeer, who is one of the leaders at the forefront of the Humans First political movement, which is a movement of bigotry against Inhumans. The siblings had developed their hatred for aliens when their mother died during an alien attack. It was then that they struck an agreement that if either one of them became infected and transformed into any form of alien that the other would kill them. Senator Nadeer employs a group of Watchdogs, which operate as anti-Inhuman terrorists, and orders them to kill Vijay due to his having been cocooned. Vijay begs her not to have him killed, and notes that he hasn't shown any signs or abilities of being an Inhuman.

Jeffrey Mace, the new SHIELD director, arrives at Vijay's facility along with Daisy and Simmons, who had helped Vijay escape his cocoon. During the tense encounter, Vijay learns and reveals to everyone that he has enhanced, Inhuman reflexes. Senator Nadeer is able to convince Vijay to run away with her instead of going with SHIELD but when they make their getaway in a helicopter, she kills him and throws his body out into a lake where it is once again enveloped in a Terrigen cocoon.

Coulson send the location of the Darkhold to May, not knowing that it is actually an android of May that Aida had created to take May's place for the purpose of using as a spy. The real May is being held captive. Aida uses the May android to get the location of the book but Fitz is able to regain control of the facility's systems in time before Aida can make her escape to go after it. Although Agent Mack is able to behead the Aida android with his ax, Radcliffe has already built a new Aida that he plans to use to obtain the book to use for himself and unlock the key to eternal life. The original Aida was supposed to appear to become sentient but it was all orchestrated by Radcliffe as part of his elaborate plan to get the book. Now it will be up to the May android to retrieve it.

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