Meet the New Boss (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

"Meet the New Boss" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., based on the Marvel Comics organization S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division), revolving around the character of Phil Coulson and his team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as they deal with the enhanced individuals Quake and Ghost Rider. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The episode was written by Drew Z. Greenberg, and directed by Vincent Misiano.

Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, and is joined by series regulars Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet as Quake, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, and Henry Simmons. The episode introduces the titular new director of S.H.I.E.L.D., portrayed by recurring guest star Jason O'Mara, after a new director was first teased in the third season finale. The character is revealed to be Jeffrey Mace, and was made an Inhuman for the series in response to the events of the film Captain America: Civil War. The episode also explores more mystical elements introduced at the end of the previous episode.

"Meet the New Boss" originally aired on ABC on September 27, 2016, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 5.39 million viewers within a week of its release.

Plot

S.H.I.E.L.D. and Johnson independently investigate the figure, an apparent ghost of a woman named Lucy, both concluding that she originated from an abandoned facility. Johnson confronts Reyes again, and he once more overpowers her. Restraining her, Reyes searches Johnson's belongings for a reason to justify killing her, and discovers her research of the facility. He leaves, and Johnson escapes her restraints. As Mace plans to officially announce S.H.I.E.L.D. as a legitimate organization again, the infected May grows increasingly paranoid, seeing all people as monsters, and eventually attacking other agents. Mace restrains May with his Inhuman strength, and promises to take care of her. Mack and Fitz arrive at the facility to find more ghosts, who attempt to blow it up with them inside. Ghost Rider intervenes, destroying one of the ghosts, and Johnson arrives to stop S.H.I.E.L.D. from taking him in. Rather than rejoin S.H.I.E.L.D., Johnson agrees to work with Reyes, who believes that the ghosts and Watchdogs are tied to him.

Production

Development

A flash-forward at the end of the third season finale revealed that Coulson would no longer be the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the fourth season. The showrunners intentionally avoided giving hints as to who the new director would be in the sequence.^[1] Speculation in the media over the following months focused on which previously introduced character could be taking on the role.^[2] In September 2016, Marvel revealed that the character would be introduced in the second episode of the season, titled "Meet the New Boss". The episode is written by Drew Z. Greenberg, with Vincent Misiano directing.^[3]

Casting

In August 2016, the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was revealed to be a new character to the series portrayed by Jason O'Mara. The character was described as having "Marvel roots [that] go back to the 1940s".^[4] The new director was always going to be new to the series, as the executive producers felt that replacing Coulson with someone he knows "wouldn’t [provide] as much tension to mine from".^[5] With the airing of the episode, the character was revealed to be an Inhuman with super strength called Jeffery.^[6] Closed captions for the episode revealed that the character's last name was Mace,^[7] and the executive producers confirmed the character to be Jeffrey Mace, who goes by Patriot in the comics, a week later.^[8]

In September 2016, Marvel confirmed that main cast members Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May, Chloe Bennet as Daisy Johnson / Quake, Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons, and Henry Simmons as Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie would be starring in the episode. In addition to O'Mara, guest stars for the episode include Gabriel Luna as Robbie Reyes, Briana Venskus as Agent Piper, Nico David as boy, John Churchill as father, Adrian Quinonez as Ignacio, Jen Kuo Sung as Chen, Daniel Zacapa as Canelo, Lilli Birdsell as Lucy, Dan Donohue as Frederick, Ward Roberts as Hugo, Usman Ally as Vincent, Deren Tadlock as armed S.H.I.E.L.D. guard and Mark Daneri as Wisconsin congressman.^[3] Luna, Venskus, Sung, and Birdsell reprise their roles from earlier in the series.^[9]

Discussing May's sickness in the episode after being "infected" by the ghost Lucy in the season premiere, Wen explained that "It starts to affect May’s perception of things. It’s almost like being on LSD, but worse. It’s not good. You never want May out of control. You don’t want her to be paranoid."^[10] Mace was made an Inhuman for the series, even though he is "a former reporter who was inspired by Captain America to become a superhero, despite his own lack of powers" in the comics, because Coulson suggested that he be replaced with "a powered person the public could trust" following the events of Captain America: Civil War. This followed the series' pattern of taking characters from the comics and putting "a twist" on them for television.^[8]

Release

"Meet the New Boss" was first aired in the United States on ABC on September 27, 2016.^[3]

Reception

Ratings

In the United States the episode received a 0.9/3 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 0.9 percent of all households, and 3 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 2.95 million viewers.^[11] Within a week of its release, "Meet the New Boss" had been watched by 5.39 million U.S. viewers.^[12]

References

External links

• "Meet the New Boss" at ABC
• "Meet the New Boss" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Meet the New Boss" at TV.com