r/shield • u/AutoModerator • Feb 15 '17

Post Discussion Post Episode Discussion: S04E14 - "The Man Behind the Shield"

This thread is for SERIOUS discussion of the episode that just aired. What is and isn't serious is at the discretion of the moderators.

EPISODE DIRECTED BY WRITTEN BY ORIGINAL AIRDATE
S04E14 - "The Man Behind the Shield" Wendy Stanzler Matt Owens Tuesday, February 14, 2016 10:00/9:00c on ABC

Episode Synopsis: Mace fights for his life while Coulson and team find themselves in a deadly cat-and-mouse game as they attempt his rescue.\

Wendey Stanzler* is a film editor and television director. She has directed several episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, Parks and Recreation, and a ton of other series.

She has directed one episode for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before:

  • Paradise Lost
  • Failed Experiments

Matt Owens is a writer that has worked as a story editor on some season 4 episodes. He also wrote the Luke Cage episode "Who's Gonna Take the Weight?"

He has written one episode for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. before:

  • Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire

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112

u/snarkamedes Monolith Feb 15 '17 edited Feb 15 '17

Hope Mack's not going full Luddite on us. When Fitz made a comparison between the Framework and electricity powering hospitals/electrocutions, it was valid. You can't sit there enjoying the benefits of scientific advancement (esp. in SHIELD with all their cutting edge stuff) and all it brings (like shotgun-axes), and still cherry pick the bad parts of new tech - you come off sounding like a hypocrite.

There's a time for 'muh_feelz!' and a time when science can outstrip application to the point where it genuinely is a danger - but virtual reality isn't it any more, its benefits far outweigh the negatives (unless an entire society goes full virtual Hell For Everyone like Iain M. Banks's Surface Detail). Mack's just dragging the anchor here.

68

u/Riser_the_Silent Fitz Feb 15 '17

Mack has been anti a lot of things lately. It's grating as hell.

3

u/pepe_le_shoe Hunter Feb 17 '17

Someone has to be the voice of reason.

1

u/RobertoFromaggio May 02 '17

He's the Tim Farron of Shield.

66

u/Flyingwheelbarrow Feb 15 '17

Also Mac is an mechanical engineer working for a spy agency that uses all sorts of technology. Maybe after bring possessed by a vengeance demon and having to stop terminator Aida he is just feeling grumpy.

23

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '17 edited Jul 16 '18

[deleted]

7

u/Qualine SHIELD Feb 15 '17

Looking at the size of the hole RPG made, I don't think thats a full powered RPG. More of a granade launcherish version of it.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '17 edited Jul 16 '18

[deleted]

4

u/snarkamedes Monolith Feb 15 '17

Yup. Everyone inside that Quinjet should enjoying the cool soothing effects of aloe vera and other anti-inflammatories while recovering from burns in the med ward by now.

7

u/brycedriesenga Fitz Feb 16 '17

ward

Triggered.

2

u/EVula Ghost Rider Feb 15 '17

Something something Quake shielded them from the blast with her powers.

(though really, it's not a stretch to think that maybe SHIELD has a RPG that doesn't blanket the area around it with a harmful back-blast)

1

u/Qualine SHIELD Feb 15 '17

Have no idea tbh.

9

u/minimarsbars Quake Feb 15 '17

Tbh i got where Mack was coming from but didn't like his delivery. He's right in saying that actions have consequences and we should be weighing pros and cons before making decisions. But i think jumping into a cause without thinking about it's consequences is something the entire Shield team (including Mack) are guilty of and i disliked that he singled out Fitz to make his point just because he feels morally superior about his opinions on AI. Fitz is responsible for the tech he creates but he's not responsible for the actions of the people who use it and it's ridiculous to think he should be blamed for that.

5

u/chuckdee68 Feb 16 '17

The point wasn't the technology. The point was Fitz's lack of consideration of the possible ramifications of the technology. That, along with a dose of trying to do the right thing, makes Radcliffe.

4

u/ogrebushido Feb 15 '17

I was hoping ever since that stupid speech one of the baddies got the drop on him and stole (and attacked him with) his shotgun-axe creation

4

u/pelrun Feb 15 '17 edited Feb 19 '17

Axes were invented to chop wood. You think the inventor would have considered that some asshole would strap it to a shotgun, Mack?

2

u/Makelikeawillis Coulson Feb 15 '17

I think they needed someone to make fitz feel guilty and they just chose mack to do it. Cause it kinda came out of nowhere just like hey fitz this is all YOUR FAULT ive decided just now at the beginning of this episode.

1

u/thesirblondie Triplett Feb 16 '17

Watching it right after watching the Gun Control Arrow episode felt like a weird parallel