Episode no. Season 4
Episode 3 Written by Craig Titley Editing by Kelly Stuyvesant | Directed by Magnus Martens Cinematography by Feliks Parnell | |
Produced by Jed Whedon
Maurissa Tancharoen
Jeffrey Bell | ||
"Uprising" is the third 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 face worldwide attacks on Inhumans. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The episode was written by Craig Titley, and directed by Magnus Martens.
Contents
Clark Gregg reprises his role as Coulson from the film series, and is joined by series regulars Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Henry Simmons, and John Hannah. The episode explores the increasing threat of the Watchdogs terrorist group, and introduces recurring guest star Parminder Nagra as Ellen Nadeer, a senator who secretly backs the Watchdogs. The episode also sees S.H.I.E.L.D. officially announced as a government organization, after working in secret since the end of the first season.
"Uprising" originally aired on ABC on October 11, 2016, and according to Nielsen Media Research, was watched by 4.89 million viewers within a week of its release.
Plot
Several cities across the world, including Miami, are attacked with a series of electromagnetic pulses, disabling all electronic devices, and a mysterious group claiming to be 'the Inhuman resistance' take responsibility through a video message. Aware that all the stricken cities are locations to which SHIELD has relocated Inhumans, Mace sends Coulson, Fitz and Mack to Miami in search of those responsible, but their devices (including Coulson's robotic hand) fail within the city limits. Elena, who is in Miami for a friend's hen party, is taken captive along with the other partygoers by Watchdogs hunting for Inhumans. She reveals her powers to protect a magician accused of being an Inhuman, and Coulson, Fitz and Mack arrive in time to help her subdue the Watchdogs, deducing they are responsible for the EMP attacks, posing as Inhumans to increase hatred of them. They also discover that the Watchdogs have access to a list of Inhumans registered with the Sokovia Accords, provided by an unknown benefactor.
Meanwhile Robbie tells Daisy that his uncle, Eli Morrow, was a Momentum engineer who was imprisoned for attempted manslaughter, but has always insisted his victim was the true criminal. However he and Daisy are forced to postpone their trip to Pasadena when LA is also hit by an EMP, and they rescue a stranded Gabe from looters, though in the process Daisy reveals her powers to Gabe, who realises she is Quake. Robbie warns Daisy not to reveal to Gabe that he is the Ghost Rider, while Gabe threatens to turn Daisy in unless she stays away from Robbie, and she leaves.
When the CDC fail to cure May of Lucy's mystical poison, and the similarly-afflicted Chinese Watchdogs die, Simmons takes May to Radcliffe, enlisting his help. Deducing the mystical energies are causing waking nightmares that are overloading May's adrenal system, literally scaring her to death, Radcliffe suggests they stop her heart and then revive her, in order to reboot her brain. Another EMP interferes with their plan, but Radcliffe uses AIDA's self-sustaining battery to power the defibrillators, allowing Simmons to save May, who awakens cured.
Coulson, Fitz, Mack and Elena locate the Watchdogs' base using rudimentary compasses and launch an attack, apprehending the terrorists and disabling the EMP device, restoring power to all affected locations worldwide. The following day Mace attempts to assuage public fears of Inhumans, revealing that the Watchdogs caused the EMP attacks and announcing the return of SHIELD. Mack confronts Elena over her secret assistance of Daisy, but she defends her actions.
In an end tag Senator Ellen Nadeer, the Watchdogs' benefactor, visits her brother Vijay, who has been encased in a Terrigen cocoon for months.
Development
In September 2016, Marvel revealed that the third episode of the season would be titled "Uprising". The episode is written by Craig Titley, with Magnus Martens directing. Martens previously directed for the Marvel Netflix series Luke Cage.
Writing
On S.H.I.E.L.D. announcing itself as a legitimate organization again, executive producer Jed Whedon said, "I think there will be mixed feelings in the world. There are people who, as we see with the senator, are outspoken against Inhumans and will be against any form of protection for them. There are also people who are afraid. The idea of bringing S.H.I.E.L.D. back into the light is to ease their fears. So it’s going to be mixed." Elaborating on this fear of Inhumans, Whedon said, "the fun part about a genre TV show is you can speak in metaphor. There is a lot of fear of the other in our world right now. We get to do that with humans and Inhumans. We get to tackle those issues head-on without ever really talking about them."
Discussing May's death and revival at the hands of Dr. Radcliffe in the episode, Whedon said, "she’s May, so she’s kind of like, ‘Oh, that happened,’ But she now has common ground with Coulson, as if they didn’t have enough common ground as it is." Executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen added that May's dying "will impact her life in ways that you may not expect at this point in time." Additionally, Whedon called Gabe asking Johnson to leave Robbie "another blow to Daisy and her emotional makeup" as she "has been trying to operate alone, because she doesn’t want to be a danger to anyone else. Now ... Gabe voices her very fear".
Casting
In August 2016, Parminder Nagra was cast in the recurring role of an anti-Inhuman politician. The next month, her character was revealed to be Senator Rota Nadeer, to first appear in "Uprising", alongside 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, Henry Simmons as Alphonso "Mack" MacKenzie, and John Hannah as Holden Radcliffe. Nadeer's first name was later revealed to actually be Ellen. The episode introduces backstory concerning her brother, and her reasoning for being anti-Inhumans, to be explored in later episodes.
In addition to Nagra, guest stars for the episode include Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, Jason O'Mara as the Director, Gabriel Luna as Robbie Reyes, Mallory Jansen as Aida, Alexander Wraith as Agent Anderson, Lorenzo James Henrie as Gabe Reyes, Patrick Cavanaugh as Burrows, Ricky Saenz as pistol punk, Devon Libran as slugger punk, Valery Ortiz as Maria, Derek Hughes as The Amazing Mertz, Preston Flagg as Darryl, Stephanie Maura Sanchez as bridesmaid #1, Jen Kuo Sung as Chen, Dale Pavinski as Briggs, Michael Cory Davis as agitator, Aaron Gaffrey as mystery figure and Adriana Diaz as hostage. Cordova-Buckley, O'Mara, Luna, Jansen, Wraith, Henrie, and Sung reprise their roles from earlier in the series. The Amazing Mertz is a magician, with Hughes himself having reached the finals of America's Got Talent in 2015 with a magic act.
Release
"Uprising" was first screened at New York Comic Con on October 7, 2016, where Gregg, Bennet and Luna promoted the series. The episode later aired in the United States on ABC on October 11.
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 2.68 million viewers. Within a week of its release, "Uprising" had been watched by 4.89 million U.S. viewers.