| "Deals with Our Devils" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode | |||
| Episodeno. | Season 4 Episode 7 | ||
| Directed by | Jesse Bochco | ||
| Written by | DJ Doyle | ||
| Cinematography by | Feliks Parnell | ||
| Editing by | Eric Litman | ||
| Original air date | November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29) | ||
| Guest appearances | |||
| |||
| Episode chronology | |||
| |||
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.season 4 | |||
| List of episodes | |||
"Deals with Our Devils" is the seventh episode of thefourth season of the American television seriesAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Based on theMarvel Comics organizationS.H.I.E.L.D., it followsPhil Coulson and his allies, who are trapped between dimensions. It is set in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and acknowledgesthe franchise's films. The episode was written byDJ Doyle, and directed byJesse Bochco.
Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, and is joined by series regularsMing-Na Wen,Chloe Bennet,Iain De Caestecker,Elizabeth Henstridge,Henry Simmons, andJohn Hannah.
"Deals with Our Devils" originally aired onABC on November 29, 2016, and according toNielsen Media Research, was watched by 4.63 million viewers within a week of its release. The episode was nominated forBest Sound Editing – Short Form Dialogue and ADR in Television at the64th Golden Reel Awards.
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Phil Coulson,Leo Fitz andRobbie Reyes are trapped out of sync with reality, unable to interact with the real world, with no-one else able to see, hear or touch them. They are being drawn to another dimension, which Robbie describes as Hell, revealing that the Ghost Rider spirit has been there before. Killing several agents using his new powers,Eli Morrow escapes, while the Ghost Rider spirit, unwilling to return to "Hell", abandons Robbie and instead possessesAlphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, just as he learns Morrow was allied with the ChineseWatchdogs, having recruited them to retrieve the ghost scientists and find theDarkhold. Mack hunts down the remaining Chinese gang members, andDaisy Johnson pursues him, unknowingly accompanied by Robbie, who convinces the spirit to return to him and help him exact revenge on Morrow, in exchange for Robbie continuing to serve as the spirit's host afterwards.
Melinda May decides to use theDarkhold to rescue Coulson, Fitz and Robbie, and enlistsHolden Radcliffe to read theDarkhold, but he finds the contents are too overwhelming for the human brain to perceive.Aida suggests she reads it instead, revealing her android nature to May (and Coulson), and with the magical knowledge she learns from the book, she builds a machine that opens a dimensional portal, through which Coulson, Fitz and Robbie return.
Meanwhile,Jemma Simmons freesVijay Nadeer from his Terrigen cocoon by touching it, at which pointEllen Nadeer immediately has her removed. Upon returning to thePlayground she reunites with Fitz, who learned of the dealJeffrey Mace made with Nadeer while out of sync. In an end tag, Aida secretly begins experimenting with her new knowledge from theDarkhold, creating an artificial brain.
In November 2016, Marvel revealed that the seventh episode of the season would be titled "Deals with Our Devils", to be written byDJ Doyle, withJesse Bochco directing.[1]
Main cast membersClark Gregg asPhil Coulson,Ming-Na Wen asMelinda May,Chloe Bennet asDaisy Johnson / Quake,Iain De Caestecker asLeo Fitz,Elizabeth Henstridge asJemma Simmons,Henry Simmons asAlphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, andJohn Hannah asHolden Radcliffe were confirmed to be starring in the episode.[1]
Also revealed was the guest cast for the episode, includingJason O'Mara as DirectorJeffrey Mace,Gabriel Luna asRobbie Reyes,Mallory Jansen asAida,Manish Dayal asVijay Nadeer, Alexander Wraith as AgentAnderson,Lorenzo James Henrie asGabe Reyes,Maximilian Osinski as AgentDavis,Patrick Cavanaugh asBurrows,José Zúñiga asEli Morrow, Blaise Miller as AgentNathanson, Arnell Powell as scientist, Lance Broadway as Tac Team Leader and David An as Zhi.[1] O'Mara, Luna, Jansen, Wraith, Henrie, Osinski, Cavanaugh, Zúñiga, and Miller reprise their roles from earlier in the series.[2][3][4]
"Deals with Our Devils" was first aired in the United States onABC on November 29, 2016.[1] It began streaming onNetflix, along with the rest of the fourth season, on June 15, 2017.[5]
In the United States the episode received a 0.8/3 percent share among adults between the ages of 18 and 49, meaning that it was seen by 0.8 percent of all households, and 3 percent of all of those watching television at the time of the broadcast. It was watched by 2.41 million viewers.[6] Within a week of its release, "Deals with Our Devils" had been watched by 4.63 million U.S. viewers,[7] above the season average of 4.22 million.[8]
The episode was nominated forBest Sound Editing – Short Form Dialogue and ADR in Television at the64th Golden Reel Awards but lost to thePenny Dreadful episode "Ebb Tide".[9]
