The seventh episode of the seventh and final season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aired tonight on ABC and it was quite possibly the most fun episode of not only this season, but perhaps even the entire series. The episode, titled “The Totally Excellent Adventures of Mack and The D,” follows two of the agents on their most bodacious path through the 1980s.
The episode opens with Deke sitting down to speak with Agent May. May asks for a full report but Deke explains that she wouldn’t believe him if he told her. She urges him to try anyway and we get some great 80s synth music to transition us into his story.
We see a man in an office trying to get a small robot to work. We learn that he’s a computer repairman named Russell when he deals with a customer in what seems to be his own store. When he returns to his office, his printer prints a sheet full of strange markings and he gets a mysterious message on his computer asking for help. When he agrees, his printer prints an image of Sibyl before his computer tells him her name.
We then rejoin Deke and Mack in the moment after the Zephyr jumped without them from last week’s episode. Mack is still clearly distraught over the death of his parents and he argues with Deke over thought of messing with the timeline.Deke tries to reach out to help Mack, but hes not having it. Frustrated, he tells Deke to figure it out and leaves him in the field by himself.
Mack visits his parents grave before heading to his uncle’s house to get a look at his younger self and his brother. He pulls a model car from his bag, seemingly wanting to give it to his younger self. He’s unable to do so however and he drives off on his motorcycle once again.
Back in Russell’s office, he has created a device that allows him to actually speak with Sibyl. He mentions blueprints she gave him, saying they are lightyears ahead of anything he’s ever seen. She explains that she needs him to build her “flesh” and that they will be a perfect pair.
We go back to Mack, who enters a small house, accompanied by some somber music. We see a slow montage of him working on model cars before it is interrupted by a knock at the door. Deke comes in holding a bag and attempts to cheer Mack up. Mack pulls a ball from Deke’s bag, who tries to explain he thought maybe they could play. Mack throws the ball out the door and when Deke goes to retrieve it, he locks him out. We then see another slow montage of Mack drinking, watching TV and working on his model cars while grows a serious beard over time. Deke returns several times to bring groceries and eventually to leave Mack an invite to a bar with a note saying “it’s urgent.”
We rejoin Russell who brings roses to Sibyl in her new perfectly 80s robot form. Mack arrives at the bar and asks the bartender for Deke. She explains that everyone is there to see him and directs his attention to the stage where Deke walks out with his band. Deke tells the audience he wrote the next song and the band begins to play Simple Minds’ “Don’t You,” of The Breakfast Club fame. Looks like Deke is once again taking advantage of being stuck in the past.
We jump back out to May and Deke, with May now doubting Deke’s story. He tells her he warned that she wouldn’t believe him and jumps back into the story. Back in the bar, Deke actually puts on a pretty great performance before meeting with Mack.
Deke tells him the song isn’t from The Breakfast Club until 1985. Luckily for him, they’re only in 1983. Mack insults Deke’s cover band and Deke explains that the band is actually a cover (kudos for the play on words there). Deke begins to introduce the members of his band, who he is actually proposing could be new agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., in an A-Team-like rundown. Deke explains that they need Mack to come back in to lead them, especially with the chatter they’ve been picking up. Mack asks is he means the Chronicoms and Deke explains that they need to fall back to HQ, much to Mack’s dismay.
Mack officially meets the whole team in the Lighthouse, complete with its new 80s look. Mack is angered by the fact that this ragtag group is even in the Lighthouse and Deke explains that Coulson was fine with it, surprising Mack. Deke introduces Mack to the new digital Coulson, who is now essentially a talking TV/VCR combo.
Coulson explains that Sibyl slipped away after the explosion and has been living digitally in the local power supply. Deke hands Mack a document as Coulson explains that these have been appearing everytime there’s a power surge. Mack opens it to find more sheets with those mysterious markings we saw in Russell’s office. Coulson explains he thinks Sibyl is building new hunters.
So as to not keep us in suspense too long, the next scene brings us back to Russell’s office where he walks in on his Sibyl robot as it is building yet another robot of the same design. He tries to tell her she can’t leave him and she agrees, but only because he knows too much. A third robot appears and impales Russell with a drill in quite the bloody scene. In fact, this episode is loaded with far more blood that we’ve seen, probably in every previous episode combined. However, it is done in a cheesy 80s slasher movie-fashion.
Mack and Coulson discuss where they’ve been for the past year. Coulson tries to convince Mack that he shouldn’t be dealing with this on his own and he should move back in with them. They’re interrupted by Deke who wants to show Mack what the team can do by running them through his “gauntlet.”
Deke gives the team a pep talk in the most 80s movie way possible. They then run through Deke’s simulated mission and things go spectacularly wrong. Deke tries to convince Mack not to give up on the team just yet and he shows him a new version of his shotgun/axe combo that he designed himself. Mack argues with Deke over the merit of his team and leaves him behind, still clearly not ready to join.
We see robots pull open a manhole cover before joining Deke’s shady drummer in his bedroom with his girlfriend. The two hear a noise and decide to investigate, in true 80s horror movie fashion. They find a robot in the hall, which tries to play innocent by claiming to be lost. Once they let their guard down, the robot reveals a spinning blade and kills the drummer in another bloody scene.
In another part of the base, Mack is joined by Roxy Glass, another member of Deke’s band/team. She brings up Mack’s kid, which gets his attention. She explains that Deke checks in on him once in a while and brings him things. Mack says he didn’t know and she explains that he left the kid. Clearly, Roxy think’s its Mack’s son when it’s actually the younger version of Mack himself. Their conversation ends when another robot shows up and begins to shoot at them before they get away.
Deke tries to cheer up his team and the Changs try to tell him they don’t need Mack and they can just work on their music. Deke confesses that he never wrote any of the songs. Their conversation is interrupted by the drummer’s girlfriend who yells that he’s been murdered. While Deke questions what happened, she is pulled away and more blood sprays and then floods the floor. The robot enters and tries to play off being lost again. Another band member approaches the robot and appears to be ready to start a fight.
The other robot continues to patrol the halls looking for Mack and Roxy. They hide in a closet and Roxy asks if they’ve encountered these things before. He explains that they killed his parents and begins a monologue saying “someone’s gonna pay.” After a moment of awkward silence, Roxy questions if he means the robots and he confirms that’s what he meant. Yet another great gag in an episode that is literally full of them.
Mack and Roxy show up just in time to save Deke and the others, destroying one of the two robots. The two share a very manly handshake that holds for entirely too long (another gag) before Roxy explains that there are more robots out there. Mack tells the team he has a plan, which sparks the 80s-est montage of Mack preparing for their fight.
As the team regroups to go over their plan, Coulson explains that Sibyl is after the timestream, the device which she uses to predict the future. Elsewhere, we see a smaller robot grab a small blue device before Mack and the team put their plan into action.
The team corners the second robot and alter Deke’s “gauntlet” just a bit to surprise it with an explosive. Their celebration is short-lived though as a third robot, this one with Sibyl’s voice, enters and blasts one of them with her laser eyes. Yes, laser eyes.
Two members of the team, the Changs, take off due to their totally reasonable fear of lasers. The rest of the team puts together a plan in which Deke serves as a distraction and Mack blows up Sibyl’s robot from behind. Deke, who was blasted by a laser in the fight, appears to be fine and tries to give Mack the nickname “Mack Daddy.” Unsurprisingly, Mack refuses.
We see the small robot getting away with the small blue device in its robot claw thing. The team never notices its presence. In their post-fight celebration, Deke explains to the Changs that they are still completely welcome on the team. Mack, Coulson and Deke discuss what’s next and Mack tells Deke they have something to take care of.
The two of them head to the home of Mack’s uncle, where his younger self is still living. Deke catches him up on everything that’s been going on over the past year. He tells him he’s still not completely over the loss of his parents but his uncle is doing well and he and his brother are closer than ever. Mack pulls the model car from his bag and Deke convinces him to give it to his younger self.
For the first time in the episode, we find ourselves on the Zephyr as Yo-Yo and May prepare for a mission. Simmons tells them they have 27 days to get back before the next jump. On the Quinjet, Yo-Yo and May discuss how hard this must have been for Mack.
They arrive at the light house and Yo-Yo immediately embraces Mack. May is reunited with the now-digital Coulson and is unsurprisingly unaffected emotionally. She explains that Simmons told them they should recover his hard drive and that she may or may not be working on a new body for him. Mack introduces Yo-Yo to the new team.
In the tag, we follow the small robot arm as it carries the timestream device. After it travels a long way, in yet another pretty hilarious montage, it makes its way to Nathanial Malick who picks it up and turns to speak to a digital Sibyl. She says to him, “I’m confident we’ll make a perfect pair,” the same thing she said to Russell. Looks like the Chronicoms are working with another Malick, but can he actually trust them?
As I said, this is one of the most fun episodes of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ever. It is filled with most excellent 80s gags and movie references while still telling a very heartfelt story centered on coping with loss. Plus, we got a few brand new members of the team. It will be interesting to see the dynamic they have with the existing team.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Wednesday nights on ABC.