‘Agents of SHIELD’ Season 4, Episode 9 Spoilers: "Broken Promises" – Coulson Unaware of May’s Dark Secret; Aida Continues Search for Darkhold

‘Agents of SHIELD’ season 4’s episode 9, titled "Broken Promises," will set the stage for the series’ shifting focus on the Life-Model Decoys, otherwise known as LMDs. Coulson and May continue getting closer but he remains unaware of her dark secret. Meanwhile, Aida continues her search for the Darkhold, a mysterious book that corrupts human minds.

The synopsis for “Broken Promises” posted on Spoiler TV reads, “Though Coulson (Clark Gregg) and May (Ming-Na Wen) are growing closer, Coulson remains unaware of the dark secret May is hiding beneath the surface. Meanwhile, Aida (Mallory Jansen) is unrelenting in her search for the Darkhold.”

The series’ incoming mid-season premiere is set to kick off the LMD story arc. It would be interesting to see how the former SHIELD director would react when he finds out his friend is actually an LMD. The Life-Model Decoy was a dismissed project but was retrieved by former GT Agrochemical researcher Doctor Holden Radcliff.

Holden created Aida, the body for the artificial intelligence that served as his assistant. Aida was based on an old SHIELD program and was programmed as a decoy target for SHIELD agents. Aida then created an LMD of the real-life Melinda May, which took her place.

Meanwhile, co-showrunner Jed Whedon noted that Ghost Rider (Gabriel Luna) wasn’t necessarily dead saying, “He is trapped in another place, which usually means that he’s not dead.” Robbie Reyes a.k.a. Ghost Rider was introduced in season 4 but was sent back to hell in the midseason finale.

According to TV Line, executive producer Jeffrey Bell said, “[Ghost Rider is] a lot for 22 [episodes], especially with everything else that we like and care about on the show… It would feel like one flavor over a long period of time, but we’ve certainly left it open.”

It turns out that Ghost Rider’s departure from the series as a main player was due to practical concerns. The producer admitted that the overwhelming cost it took to maintain the character on the small screen was one of the reasons to let go of the character.

‘Agents of SHIELD’ season 4’s episode 9, titled "Broken Promises," is set to air on ABC on January 10, 2017. It was directed by Garry A. Brown and written by Brent Fletcher. It will be followed by episode 10, titled "The Patriot," set to be released on January 17.