S07.E07: The Totally Excellent Adventures of Mack and The D

[Cranberry]

Quote

After being unexpectedly stranded in 1982, Mack retreats to his childhood home to process the death of his parents, while Deke gets to work scouting a chart-topping group of new agents. With no idea if or when the team is coming back for them, time seems to finally be on their side ... at least until the killer robots show up.

Airdate: July 8, 2020

 

[swanpride]

Who else expects this to be one big Terminator parody?

[Raja]

The entire season from killing Sarah Connor Wilfred Malick to the "come with me" and the  three red dots (Sarah Connor Chronicles season 2) have been a Terminator  homage. We have Phil Headroom, Dr Who and weird science stuff coming.

I think this might be the equivalent to the Fear and Loathing on Planet Kitson for this season. 

[swanpride]

Or they are tricking us into thinking that this will be the fun episode but in reality there is a gut punch waiting.

[Loandbehold]

7 hours ago, Cranberry said:

Deke gets to work scouting a chart-topping group of new agents.

"Chart-topping group"? I said it in the previous episode thread, but I really mean it this time - if Deke doesn't get a Flock of Seagulls haircut, I'm gonna be hella pissed.  

[AimingforYoko]

All credit to a commenter on A.V. Club: It's like they discovered Legends of Tomorrow's WTF button and are mashing the hell out of it:

 

[swanpride]

Aaaaand the A-Team has arrived...I wonder if that will also be the inspiration for the title sequence….good, I really want an 80s sequence with the catchy music and the explosions….

[paigow]

Miami Vice pink and blue 

Edited July 8, 2020 by paigow

[RachelKM]

I'm looking forward to this episode generally.   But can we never refer to Deke as "The D" ever again. Just never.  Please and thank you.

[paigow]

Big D, D Man, Deester, Devo...

[RachelKM]

6 hours ago, paigow said:

Big D, D Man, Deester, Devo...

I hate you.

 

 

Devo notwithstanding. 

[blackwing]

I usually watch on the app or the ABC site and don't see an episode, and there are no comments about it here.  Did it actually air last night or did it get moved to next week?

[Llywela]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

I usually watch on the app or the ABC site and don't see an episode, and there are no comments about it here.  Did it actually air last night or did it get moved to next week?

You're a bit early. 😉 It airs Wednesday nights, so that's tonight, I believe (tomorrow for me).

[blackwing]

13 minutes ago, Llywela said:

You're a bit early. 😉 It airs Wednesday nights, so that's tonight, I believe (tomorrow for me).

D'OH!!!!  When you have been working from home for four months straight and wear the same pajamas all the time, all the days start to seem the same.  Thanks for confirming, I thought I missed an episode.

[Llywela]

1 minute ago, blackwing said:

D'OH!!!!  When you have been working from home for four months straight and wear the same pajamas all the time, all the days start to seem the same.  Thanks for confirming, I thought I missed an episode.

Believe me, I understand the confusion - I had to check my phone before I replied to make sure I wasn't getting the day wrong myself! Every day is Groundhog Day in lockdown, they just blur into one another.

[AnimeMania]

Everybody is just a little excited based on the preview. They will really start posting when it comes on tonight.

 

[RachelKM]

51 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

Everybody is just a little excited based on the preview. They will really start posting when it comes on tonight.

 

It airs tonight.  

[KittenPokerCheater]

I hope the writers will somehow refer to Mack's love of MC Hammer.

[Raja]

15 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I hope the writers will somehow refer to Mack's love of MC Hammer.

That could come after the next jump.

[paigow]

Mack will dump the shotgun axe for shotgun hammer???

[AimingforYoko]

I think we're all pretty much agreed "Self-Control" is the best episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. This episode is just below that. The musical cues, the edits, the cheesy one-liners, the even cheesier practical effects, the many, many, many geeky references (Daleks!), I almost couldn't believe how much awesome they packed in. Jeff Ward and Henry Simmons really crushed it.

I don't know how all-seeing Sybil is if she keeps going back to the Malicks.

[missbonnie]

Unpopular opinion here, but I am SO OVER Mack. I mean it, I have never understood the fan love for that character. I wish that they had kept Tripp and got rid of Mack years ago. I also wish they'd give us one more episode with Bobbi and Hunter. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

Aww, my cold heart melted a bit tonight.  Full of 80s cliches, hokey and over the top, and I LOVED that Mac and Deke are friends now.   

[MrWhyt]

not 80's enough

[Jediknight]

Deke is a great friend.  Fitz would be proud of how good of a friend Deke is to Mack.  Like Mack looked after Fitz in season 2, Deke looked after Mack and his brother as kids.  You can't break the bonds of Turbo's family and Mack.

This episode began with the gutpunch of Mack dealing with killing what he believed were his parents, but was heartwarming to say the least.

Poor Cricket is never gonna drink Coke again.

Mack, you went through hell.  You know that Deke has your back, you gotta surround yourself with the people you love.  Put a ring on Yo-Yo's finger.

[cdnalor]

Well, that was kind of a fun episode.  I was a bit shocked by the gruesome deaths of Cricket and his girl, given the light-hearted tone of parts of this episode, until I realised it was an homage to the slasher films of the 80's (I guess?)

It seems odd that Mack could just move into his parents' home like that but we can assume that Deke took care of the details when he started making money.  So Mack was too depressed to keep his beard trimmed, but he could keep shaving his head?  I know I'm being nit-picky but these are the kind of things I notice in shows (sorry).

 

[thuganomics85]

Damn, this episode certainly took the most advantage of the show's TV-14 rating with all of the bloodletting and blood-spurting!  I got a kick out of it since I'm sure it was suppose to be a homage of how bloody films could be in the 80s (here's to you, Robocop, The Terminator, Rambo franchise, and every slasher film from that era!), but I'm surprised they got away with as much as they did.

Fun times were definitely had here, but I guess it isn't too surprising that it took a little bit to get there, with Mack still not over what happened to his parents, and basically isolating himself from the world for about a year.  I guess that would do a number on anyone.  But I'm glad he got through it, thanks to Deke's help.  Yes, even though Deke naturally spent his time finding fame by stealing future songs for his band (he really would be right at home with the Legends over on The CW!), and willing calling himself "The D", he came through big time tonight.  In general, they've done a good job with making his character stronger these last two seasons.  Enjoyed how Henry Simmons and Jeff Ward played off one another here.

Looks like Coulson survived by his memories somehow being downloaded onto a chip that put him inside of a television, Max Headroom-style.  Yep, that checks out!  I wonder how they're going to find him a new body this time!

Sybil creating an army out of 80s robots was hilarious and everything I wanted.  Including the Dalek reference!

Deke not understanding that "coke" meant cocaine was  unexpected and a fantastic bit of humor.  Oh, Deke!

I wonder if we'll see any more of Deke's band members/S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in future episodes/timelines.

Outside of Melinda and Yo-Yo showing up at the end, everyone else got it easy here.  I read somewhere that since we didn't see Daisy, this is the first episode that Chloe Bennett didn't make an appearance in.  It was a good streak though!

 

[mertensia]

They used The A-Team font! 

So... Chip Wozniak? 

 

 

[RachelKM]

OMG!  Repeatedly running down grey walled hallways AND A DALEK SHOUT OUT?! This Doctor Who fan is delighted.  I also enjoyed the Kit inspired red light and woosh-woosh on the murder-bot  notacoms (I can't call those Johnny-5 like things Chronicoms).

Deke's 80s rocker look was hilarious, but may I never hear those bastardized lyrics to Don't You Forget About Me ever again.

Deke built Mack a new fancy shotgun-axe.  Why did it take Mack hearing about Deke visiting baby Mack do understand how much he cared?  Building that lovely manifestation of Mack's weaponry dreams was a beautiful gesture. 

I enjoyed Phil Headroom. I would have appreciated Mack asking Deke when he learned about Max Headroom.  It's a rather obscure reference and the character hadn't been invented yet 1982/3.  And the aethstetic was super specific without a familiarity. 

Okay, so pop culture references aside, this episode didn't advance the plot too much (initiating the rebuild of the Chronicoms), but it was a nice break from the relentless pace of the prior episodes this season and I enjoyed the time taken to allow Mack's story to breath a little and not just move past the murder of his parents coupled with having to kill their murderers as their wore his parents' faces.

I also enjoyed Roxy.  

Was that Nathaniel at the end?  Like, the house falling on him didn't kill him?  Or am I confusing my Malicks? 

Edited July 11, 2020 by RachelKM

[swanpride]

Quote

So Mack was too depressed to keep his beard trimmed, but he could keep shaving his head? 

Where do you get the idea that he is shaving his head in the first place? His lack of hair might not be a choice.

Honestly, I think that was the worst episode in this season so far. I mean, I am all for some character development, and the scenes regarding Mack's and Deke's relationship were the best parts, but in general, the whole episode felt really inconsequential. We didn't get an episode which felt that much like filler since the Watchdog episode...which also happened to be one of those "let's delve into Mack" episodes. And that those tend to fall flat for me has nothing to do with Mack, more with the fact that those episodes don't really tell me anything new about the character or offer up another layer. Mack in this episode reacted exactly how I would expect Mack react. It didn't have the "holy shit, I didn't expect it being that bad" feeling "Melinda" had, or revealed any new strength in Mack.

Also, I think it went a little bit too goofy. I mean they did their best to make Number 5 look terrifying, but I just didn't care about the characters enough to worry about any of the dying and the slasher optic made it hard to take anything which happened serious.

On the upside: No Sousa. and no, that is not a dig against Sousa, quite the opposite. His actor is not a regular this season, so if he keeps turning up, it is very likely that the character won't make it to the end. Less Sousa now means more Sousa down the line.

[paigow]

Is the expanded team going to jump? These people will just disappear and not cause any waves? Did they hire a Jeremy Renner lookalike to be Cricket on purpose?

[swanpride]

I am still not sure if we are at a Tsunami at this point...I really hope they tie the whole thing up in a way it make at least somewhat sense.

[MissLucas]

Some slight pacing issues but given the tragedy Mack had to deal with I'm not sure how else they could have handled it. Otherwise great fun with lots of wonderful details. And Deke did not just rip off 'Don't you forget about me' - he did change the lyrics and it wasn't all just mindless adlib:

Love's strange, so ready or not - Here I come, like a buzz - Running with thunder, blood, and - Slow change may pull us apart - Or if the knife stabs into your heart, Daisy - Don't you, forget about me 

Orig:
Love's strange so real in the dark - Think of the tender things that we were working on - Slow change may pull us apart -When the light gets into your heart, baby - Don't you, forget about me

When the elevator door opened to the boom of doom from Terminator I thought they couldn't top it but then 'Exterminate!' delivered the coup de grace LOL!

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by MissLucas

[KittenPokerCheater]

Deke did not just rip off 'Don't you forget about me' - he did change the lyrics and it wasn't all just mindless adlib:

 

I figured he's heard the song once or twice but didn't get all the lyrics- he misheard them and that was the result.  

Sort of like the story of a person who heard:  "A girl with colitis goes by" instead of "A girl with  kaleidoscope eyes" from the Beatles I am the Walrus.  

Others can be found here and all over the internet:
https://www.insider.com/song-lyrics-that-people-get-wrong-2019-6#taylor-swifts-blank-space-has-a-misheard-line-that-seems-to-mention-a-major-coffee-brand-3

[Raja]

6 hours ago, RachelKM said:

OMG!  Repeatedly running down grey walled hallways AND A DALEK SHOUT OUT?! This Doctor Who fan is delighted.  I also enjoyed the Kit inspired red light and woosh-woosh on the murder-bot  notacoms (I can't call those Johnny-5 like things Chronicoms).

Deke's 80s rocker look was hilarious, but may I never hear those bastardized lyrics to Don't You Forget About Me ever again.

Deke built Mack a new fancy shotgun-axe.  Why did it take Mack hearing about Deke visiting baby Mack do understand how much he cared?  Building that lovely manifestation of Mack's weaponry dreams was a beautiful gesture. 

I enjoyed Phil Headroom. I would have appreciated Mack asking Deke when he learned about Max Headroom.  It's a rather obscure reference and the character hadn't been invented yet 1982/3.  And the aethstetic was super specific without a familiarity. 

Okay, so pop culture references aside, this episode didn't advance the plot too much (initiating the rebuild of the Chronicoms), but it was a nice break from the relentless pace of the prior episodes this season and I enjoyed the time taken to allow Mack's story to breath a little and not just move past the murder of his parents coupled with having to kill their murders as their wore his parents' faces.

I also enjoyed Roxy.  

Was that Nathaniel at the end?  Like, the house falling on him didn't kill him?  Or am I confusing my Malicks? 

I saw the light and thought Cylon, but I guess it had been a thing since The Day The Earth Stood Still.

I thought the Headroom manifestation had to come from Coulson, his ideal for a joke. And he found Deke just like Sybil found her nerd. I probably need to rewatch first but my head canon is that Deke went home, the Lighthouse and turned the S.H.I.E.L.D. caretakers. How someone not fluent in English could become an agent is beyond me but they were all misfits. so the boring duties. The opposite of the S.H.I.E.L.D/Hydra or private contractors who were guarding the base with Kree remains.

Yes Nathaniel survived his wounds. I wonder if he retains the quake power? It seems that he is patient and waiting for Sybil to predict before taking another step. I guess Gideon is a junior officer moving his way up the S.H.IE.L.D/Hydra ranks.

Edited July 9, 2020 by Raja

[Raja]

7 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

 

 

 

I figured he's heard the song once or twice but didn't get all the lyrics- he misheard them and that was the result.  

Sort of like the story of a person who heard:  "A girl with colitis goes by" instead of "A girl with  kaleidoscope eyes" from the Beatles I am the Walrus.  

Others can be found here and all over the internet:
https://www.insider.com/song-lyrics-that-people-get-wrong-2019-6#taylor-swifts-blank-space-has-a-misheard-line-that-seems-to-mention-a-major-coffee-brand-3

I figured that in the Framework Deke had his version of Starlord's mix tape, but a much larger library to draw from. While Mack was acting like Thor after killing Thanos with model cars instead of video games.

[blueray]

11 hours ago, cdnalor said:

It seems odd that Mack could just move into his parents' home like that but we can assume that Deke took care of the details when he started making money.  So Mack was too depressed to keep his beard trimmed, but he could keep shaving his head?  I know I'm being nit-picky but these are the kind of things I notice in shows (sorry).

I thought it was a hotel. But either way, how does he pay for it. Unless Deke was but you'd think Mack would mind this.  But I assumed that as they kept showing Deke with food suggested he had a job. Which he did in the best (and 80's) way possible.

I really enjoyed this episode. I liked that Deke put together a stereotypical 80's action team. And that the band was also a "cover". Though I was hoping then when May and group came in that they would be actively doing a show. Because I feel like they wouldn't let Mack forget if he was seen in Deke's band playing a sackphone. But I guess the episode took a serious turn at that point. And it was good to see Coulson again. Even if he is in the TV. Overall a fun episode, which is always nice to see.

[tennisgurl]

Deke was truly made for the 80s, its really a perfect place for his type of over the top madcap hijinks. Different type of episode this week, I missed the rest of the team, but after such a devastating loss at the end of last week, I can see why they wanted to go a bit more low key...well, as low key as an episode involving a bunch of murderous Johnny Number 5s trying to kill a rock band/aspiring secret agent team can be of course. 

Deke has come such a long way, Fitz would be so proud! He was a really good and supportive friend, even checking in on kid Mack and his family, and he even showed some real initiative, starting his own SHIELD team! Of course its a quirky rag tag bunch of weirdos, but thats kind of just Dekes style. It was really nice to see that, while his team/band was pretty goofy, he really was taking creating this team and trying to monitor any possible Chromicon activity seriously, he isn't just doing the same "pass off future stuff as my own for profit" thing again. Although, I guess he will never solve the mystery now of why he never saw Cricket drinking any coke...

The 80s references were fun, and I think they did a good job mixing the serious fall out from last weeks episode (its kind of hard to walk off your parents getting killed by evil alien robots, having their skin harvested, and creating a new timeline where your an orphan) with the inevitable barrage of 80s references. The most obvious were the Short Circuit/Dalek robots (Exterminate!!!) and all of the old school internet stuff, but the robots also had a lot of references to slasher movies and the ridiculously over the top violence of 80s action films (so much blood!), Coulson as Max Headrom, Terminator, plus of course all of the music and costumes. 

Sybil creating her own army of tiny robots is kind of hilarious to me. She is nothing if not resourceful! 

I can normally just go along with the minutia of what goes on in this show, in a comic book-y kind of way, but this episode did make me ask a few questions about the logistics of Deke and Mack in the 80s. So Mack lived in his parents house, and no one came by the house at any time to get all of their stuff? Their family never came by to sell the house? Little Mack and his brother didn't want their stuff?  Was he paying the heat and electrical bills and such? I guess maybe Deke was paying Macks bills, but in general living in the past, but a past thats pretty close to modern, would be kind of hard. You dont have a social security number, you have no work history, really, making money by being in a band and selling merchandise and such (presumably through cash) is actually a pretty smart move. They lived in the 80s for a long time, just in the normal world more or less, so the practical questions are a bit less easy for me to hand wave away than time travel or magic or crystals giving people DNA superpowers. 

Edited July 10, 2020 by tennisgurl

[swanpride]

Deke managed to found a company in OUR time, I am pretty sure that he can forge a convincing identity if he has to.

[mrspidey]

80's music, 80's slasher aesthetics, A-Team font, Cylon eyes, cheesy oneliners, Phill Headroom, this episode had it all.

This was Legends of Tomorrow levels of crazyness, balls to the walls sillyness and creativity. 

Edited July 9, 2020 by mrspidey

[Orbert]

Today is Jim Kerr's birthday.  Kerr is the lead singer for Simple Minds, who recorded "Don't You Forget About Me".  I watched the episode this morning, then ten minutes later I was on the Internet and saw that and wondered if they'd planned it this way.  Probably just a coincidence, since they're off by a day, but a fun coincidence nonetheless.

I'm pretty sure Deke's 80's rocker look (red handband) was supposed to be Mike Reno of Loverboy.

[TimothyQ]

My least favorite episode of an otherwise  really good season. It doesn’t help that Mack and Deke are two of my least favorite characters. Add in cheap explosion FX and one of the worst fake beards I’ve ever seen and this episode was worlds of meh for me. 

[blackwing]

 

20 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

not 80's enough

I agree.  I was disappointed by this episode.  It really felt like filler.  I spent most of the episode wondering how Mack was surviving.  He doesn't appear to have had a job so where did he get the money to buy food?  Deke dropped off groceries and he wouldn't take them.  Where did Deke get the money?  From gigs of his cover band?  Or was there just some money saved in the Shield base?

20 hours ago, missbonnie said:

Unpopular opinion here, but I am SO OVER Mack. I mean it, I have never understood the fan love for that character. I wish that they had kept Tripp and got rid of Mack years ago. I also wish they'd give us one more episode with Bobbi and Hunter. 

I didn't mind Mack until this season, when he became self-serving and a bad leader.  I found myself not really caring about his grief journey, and his repeated brushing off of Deke really irritated me.  So he's spent 20 months just feeling sorry for himself and not caring about the team at all, and now he's just going to waltz back into his leadership position?  Screw that.  Someone had to take charge of the team while he was missing... whoever that is should be the leader.  I am assuming it's May.

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Orbert said:

I'm pretty sure Deke's 80's rocker look (red handband) was supposed to be Mike Reno of Loverboy.

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by paigow

[Enigma X]

So, they are not just time traveling but are in a parallel universe? How can Mac not have new childhood memories? 

[Terrafamilia]

Heh, even Deke's idea for a rock band as cover for secret agents wasn't original.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

So, they are not just time traveling but are in a parallel universe? How can Mac not have new childhood memories? 

Probably. Within Marvel you can’t change your past so any significant changes causes the timeline to split. At one point Deke mentions the new timeline. 

[bettername2come]

22 hours ago, missbonnie said:

Unpopular opinion here, but I am SO OVER Mack. I mean it, I have never understood the fan love for that character. I wish that they had kept Tripp and got rid of Mack years ago. I also wish they'd give us one more episode with Bobbi and Hunter. 

Are you me? I've always felt this way about Mack, semi-rationally blaming him for them killing off Tripp.

22 hours ago, Jediknight said:

Deke is a great friend.  Fitz would be proud of how good of a friend Deke is to Mack.  Like Mack looked after Fitz in season 2, Deke looked after Mack and his brother as kids.  You can't break the bonds of Turbo's family and Mack.

Bobo would be proud. Even though I just complained about Mack, he really was good for Fitz in season 2.

My favorite part of Deke in the 80s was threatening to turn Sybil's parts into a Speak and Spell. And his shock at Cricket's death. "But Cricket was a saint! Who would ever murder him?!" 

I'm weirdly happy that Olga didn't die.

[Lantern7]

Turns out Deke isn't quite so useless. He's either really irritating or really helpful. I will say he does qualify as an Agent. That said, his Legends of Tomorrow counterpart is Gary. Just put them at the kids' table.

6 hours ago, mrspidey said:

This was Legends of Tomorrow levels of crazyness, balls to the walls sillyness and creativity. 

Exactly! I know it's coincidental, but it's hard not to make the comparison between this season of AoS and any of LoT. And this week, Phil Coulson was Gideon. I'll give him credit for keeping his dignity trapped in the TV. Max Headroom aesthetic, but none of the cuts or stutters. Also, comparisons to Ron Headrest would be acceptable.

Really, though, Deke is the type that can make a plan that's both solid and dicey. Cover band that's actually a cover for a SHIELD splinter group, and the cover songs haven't been produced yet. And I don't blame Mac for being annoyed. Hell, I don't blame his funk at all or his shortness with Deke. Having your parents killed and destroying their android lookalikes is fucked up, even for these SHIELD agents.

Janky "Johnny 5" killer robots for the win. Nicely done, Sybil. I wouldn't even sweat killing the guy that created your body.

Edited July 10, 2020 by Lantern7

[tessaray]

14 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I figured he's heard the song once or twice but didn't get all the lyrics- he misheard them and that was the result.  

Sort of like the story of a person who heard:  "A girl with colitis goes by" instead of "A girl with  kaleidoscope eyes" from the Beatles I am the Walrus.  

 

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds 🙂  (I do love misheard lyrics though.)

I really dreaded what they were going to do with Coulson this season, especially after last year but now I can't wait to see what they do next.  All the comparisons to LoT are spot on.