The Good Samaritan (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
"The Good Samaritan" | |
---|---|
Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider, was met with praise and much speculation | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 6 |
Directed by | Billy Gierhart |
Written by | Jeffrey Bell |
Produced by |
|
Cinematography by | Allan Westbrook |
Editing by | Kelly Stuyvesant |
Original air date | November 1, 2016 |
Running time | 42 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Good Samaritan" is the sixth episode of the
"The Good Samaritan" originally aired on ABC on November 1, 2016, and was watched by 4.57 million viewers within a week of its release. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the handling of the Ghost Rider origin story and the reveal that Morrow is a villain. Many reviewers highlighted the introduction of Johnny Blaze, and the potential ramifications of his appearance for the MCU.
Plot
"Back in the day", scientists Joseph and
In the present, Lucy is in a ghostly state after an experiment on the Darkhold went wrong, and has now kidnapped Morrow to use him to make herself human again.
Mace discovers the fugitives and refuses to let them go or help find Morrow. The Ghost Rider attacks and defeats Mace, only sparing his life because of Gabe's pleading. Coulson convinces Mace that Robbie can be prosecuted later, and that they need to stop Lucy now. When they find Lucy, Robbie destroys her, but not before she reveals that Morrow wanted the Darkhold's power for himself and had intentionally turned her into this ghostly state. Coulson finds Morrow, to see him attempt an experiment on himself. An energy blast from the experiment makes Coulson, Robbie, and agent Leo Fitz disappear, and Morrow successfully displays the ability to create matter.
Production
Development
At the 2016
Writing
Gabriel Luna, who portrays Reyes, explained at the end of October 2016 that the confrontation between his character and the last member of the Fifth Street Locos gang in the episode "Lockup" revealed to Reyes that the accident that caused him to become Ghost Rider "wasn't just random, it was a hit, somebody ordered that, these guys were just the guys who carried it out—there's a whole batch of new questions that Robbie has after that. In episode 6, we're going to find out exactly how it happened, and we may find out why later." Luna said that the series' take on Reyes' origin story would mix elements from Felipe Smith's original comic with "this new angle that we're approaching from, but that new angle still draws from the source material." He also felt the episode's approach to revealing the story, by having Reyes tell it to his brother Gabe for the first time, was "really interesting and powerful" and the most surprising aspect of the script for him.[6]
Ahead of the episode, Luna had also hinted at the continued conflict between
Discussing the thought process behind changing Reyes' origin for the series, Bell said that the writers first wanted to ground the character in the more realistic world of the series and the wider MCU, and so though Reyes believes he is possessed by the devil in the series, they decided to instead tie the Ghost Rider figure to another dimension. Bell noted that the MCU film
The episode also explores the idea that Reyes made a deal that involved becoming the Ghost Rider, and now he has "this thing in" him that wants to murder people which Reyes is "ambivalent" about. Bell said that this is the main aspect of their version that grounds him in "a sadness ... and a weight", particularly when interacting with his brother Gabe. In terms of the season's overarching plot, Bell said it was important to tell Reyes' origin story in the episode, rather than earlier or later, because it also reveals the "truth about Eli, and they're very connected." He also drew comparison to Marvel's Netflix television series which often wait to tell the origin story of their heroes later in the season, using flashbacks, saying, "It kind of helps to know more about the character, and be emotionally invested in the character, before you then go back and show what turned them into this person. And so part of it was that if you just began with a guy and showed the origin right away, I don't know if it would have been as compelling, I don't know if it would have been as emotional as I think it is. Bell noted that the series always shows Reyes' transformations into Ghost Rider as painful, but when that is shown happening for the first time in this episode "he screams in pain like a lunatic".[7]
The episode ends with Morrow's villainous intentions revealed and several of the main cast apparently disappearing. Bell said that this was planned out as part of the season's storyline, and was something that the writers thought was a "fairly compelling" cliffhanger that would hopefully give audiences a reason to return to the series, which was scheduled to have three weeks off after this episode to avoid the 2016 United States presidential election and the Thanksgiving holiday.[7]
Casting
In October 2016, Marvel confirmed that main cast members
The writers felt that it would be more interesting if Reyes was given the Ghost Rider mantle physically rather than by making a deal "with some disembodied spirit", and decided to tie in with an older idea associated with the comic character in which the mantle is passed from one version of the Ghost Rider to another. They decided to show another Ghost Rider arrive on a motorcycle and "hand off" the mantle to Robbie, which Bell said "promised more story to come possibly, whether now or later. It also plugged into the larger universe."[7] The other Ghost Rider is only referred to as a "Good Samaritan" by Gabe in the episode,[11] but the producers hinted with the character's design and an Easter egg in the previous episode that this was the Johnny Blaze version.[12] This was later confirmed by others involved with the episode,[13][14] with Luna later attributing the lack of onscreen clarification to legal issues.[15] Blaze was originally intended to be the Ghost Rider of the series, and would have been teased in the season three finale, "Ascension", but this was changed to a tease of the Life Model Decoys once Marvel rescinded the series' ability to use the Blaze version of the character.[16] The producers did not intend to explore Blaze beyond his brief appearance in the episode, but Bell did state that he was no longer the Ghost Rider after passing on the Spirit of Vengeance to Reyes, saying that "there is a tradition within the comics that there's been many Ghost Riders and our take on that was they're not simultaneously a tribe of Ghost Riders but that it's passed ... That's as far as we're going to take that part."[12] The character was portrayed, uncredited, by Tom McComas during filming.[17][11]
Filming and effects
Luna said that the episode was the most challenging of the show for him to make, with the production involving "nightshoots, stunts, driving, blood and squibs".[18] To create the car crash that leads to Reyes becoming Ghost Rider, FuseFX created a CG double of the car to flip, with a lookalike car also used to drag along the ground. A digital double of Luna was created to show him come flying out of the car, which was merged with footage of Luna hanging from wires.[19][20] FuseFX also created Reyes' transformations into and from Ghost Rider,[21] CoSAFX handled the energy blasts in the episode, and Pixomondo created the visual of carbon ore materializing.[22]
Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins
In March 2016, executive producer Maurissa Tancharoen had stated that there was a possibility the season could continue the story of the MCU series Agent Carter in some way,[23] given it was not renewed for the 2016–17 season.[24] This episode reveals that the Momentum Energy Labs group introduced in the season and tied to Eli Morrow is actually a successor to the Isodyne Energy company from the second season of Agent Carter.[25] Additionally, with the appearance of Johnny Blaze, the episode introduces that character to the MCU.[11][12] The character had previously been adapted into the Sony films Ghost Rider and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, starring Nicolas Cage as Blaze,[15] which the series had otherwise been trying to distance itself from.[26]
Release
"The Good Samaritan" was first aired in the United States on ABC on November 1, 2016.[5] It began streaming on Netflix, along with the rest of the fourth season, on June 15, 2017.[27]
Reception
Ratings
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 2.43 million viewers.[28] Within a week of its release, "The Good Samaritan" had been watched by 4.57 million U.S. viewers,[29] just above the season average of 4.22 million.[30]
Critical response
Marc Buxton of
Writing for Nerdist, Joseph McCabe called the origin story a "satisfyingly tragic transformation" and "by far the most interesting part of", wishing that it had been shown unbroken by present-day scenes or even the sole focus of the episode, but felt that "at least the ongoing storyline has momentum". McCabe also lamented the death of Lucy Bauer "just when she's starting to become interesting".[33] IGN's Terri Schwartz scored the episode 8.8 out of 10, indicating a "great" episode, and praised the "fantastic" origin story sequence, saying "it had a slow burn as Robbie and Gabe talked through the ill-fated car ride, but the payoff was worth it". She also noted the Ghost Rider and Mace fight and the Agent Carter reference, and said that the Morrow reveal was "not much of a surprise" but still "a nice twist" given the season "has been lacking a bad guy".[34] Alex McCown-Levy of The A.V. Club graded the episode a "B", feeling that its use of both expositon and flashbacks "doesn't quite land" and that the origin story was predictable, though "delivered with a deft touch". He felt the second half of the episode was more successful, and said that Lucy being "just a prelude to Eli is acceptable".[35]
Scott Meslow for
Regarding Johnny Blaze, Schwartz said that "Marvel TV is introducing the idea of multiple Ghost Riders into its mythology, which sets the stage for Robbie Reyes not being the only one possessed by the Spirit of Vengeance in this world. That's more than we could have hoped for Agents of SHIELD's take on the iconic Marvel hero." She speculated that a spin-off featuring Blaze and/or Reyes was now a realistic possibility.[11] Buxton said that "Marvel just established a much bigger Ghost Rider mythos that can be explored on TV, in movies, or Netflix and that is really damn exciting."[31] Valentine felt the appearance was a "pretty amazing development", and stated, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. almost seemed hamstrung by its connections to the Marvel Universe, seemingly unable to make a move without first consulting what precisely was happening in the movie universe. [But here] we're shown what Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could have been all along: a sister piece that plays to the outer elements of the MCU that the movies haven't been able to touch."[32]
References
- ^ Abrams, Natalie (July 22, 2016). "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. adds Gabriel Luna as Ghost Rider". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 24, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
- ^ Abrams, Natalie (December 7, 2016). "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: What's happened to Agent May?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ^ Abrams, Natalie (October 12, 2016). "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: S.H.I.E.L.D. steps back into the light". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
- ^ a b c d "(#406) "The Good Samaritan"". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- ^ a b Abrams, Natalie (October 31, 2016). "Agents of SHIELD reveals Ghost Rider origin story". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e "This Week in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Explores Ghost Rider's Origins" (Podcast). Marvel Entertainment. November 4, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2017 – via SoundCloud.
- ^ "(#401) "The Ghost"". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on September 7, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
- ^ "(#402) "Meet the New Boss"". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- ^ "(#405) "Lockup"". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Schwartz, Terri (November 2, 2016). "Does Agents of SHIELD'S Ghost Rider Reveal Mean Johnny Blaze is in the MCU?". IGN. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- ^ a b c Yehl, Joshua (January 17, 2017). "Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider Not Likely to Return in Agents of SHIELD". IGN. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
- ^ Luna, Gabriel [@IamGabrielLuna] (November 2, 2016). "@Marvel's @agentsofshield #GhostRider origins. #sourcematerial @felipesmithart @traddmoore #johnnyblaze #RobbieReyes" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016 – via Twitter.
- ^ Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (November 2, 2016). "Nothing like getting to create a Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016 – via Twitter.
- ^ ComicBook.com. Archivedfrom the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
- ComicBook.com. Archivedfrom the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-302-90451-7.
- ^ Luna, Gabriel [@IamGabrielLuna] (November 2, 2016). "It was the most challenging (nightshoots, stunts, driving, blood and squibs), and definitely the most FUN" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017 – via Twitter.
- ^ Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (November 2, 2016). "The Charger flipping is all CG. Done by the talented artist at @FuseFX" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017 – via Twitter.
- ^ Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (November 2, 2016). "The car flipping went CG for the flipping and a lookalike for dragging. @IamGabrielLuna on fires for his high down angle. Dig double on exit" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017 – via Twitter.
- ^ Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (November 2, 2016). "The transformations by @FuseFX artists and the amazing talents of @FUCHIPATAS comping it all together" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017 – via Twitter.
- ^ Kolpack, Mark [@MarkKolpack] (November 2, 2016). "Some great work tonight from team @CoSAVFX @dmellitz for the energy blasts & @Pixomondo for their carbon ore materializing" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 6, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017 – via Twitter.
- ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (March 8, 2016). "'Agents of SHIELD' Bosses Address Flash-Forward Mystery, 'Agent Carter' Integration". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 12, 2016). "'Agent Carter' Canceled at ABC". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- The Mary Sue. Archivedfrom the original on November 4, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ^ Radish, Christina (December 7, 2016). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' EPs on That Eventful Midseason Finale and What Comes Next". Collider. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
- ComingSoon.net. May 23, 2017. Archivedfrom the original on May 28, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
- ^ Porter, Rick (November 2, 2016). "'The Flash,' 'Chicago Fire,' 'The Voice,' 'Fresh Off the Boat' adjust up: Tuesday final ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- ^ Porter, Rick (November 17, 2016). "13 shows double, 'This Is Us' & 'Big Bang' lead broadcast Live +7 ratings for Oct. 31-Nov. 6". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (May 26, 2017). "Final 2016–17 TV Rankings: 'Sunday Night Football' Winning Streak Continues". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- ^ a b Buxton, Marc (November 2, 2016). "Agents of SHIELD Season 4 Episode 6: The Good Samaritan Review". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Valentine, Evan (November 1, 2016). "'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Recap: "The Good Samaritan" – Ghost Rider Origins". Collider. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ McCabe, Joseph (November 1, 2016). "The New Ghost Rider's Origin Story is Revealed on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD". Nerdist. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ Schwartz, Terri (November 1, 2016). "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: "The Good Samaritan" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on November 3, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ McCown-Levy, Alex (November 1, 2016). "Ghost Rider's origin is revealed as a new villain threatens Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D." The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ Meslow, Scott (November 1, 2016). "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Recap: Origin Stories". Vulture. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ScreenCrush. Archivedfrom the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
External links
- "The Good Samaritan" at ABC[dead link]
- "The Good Samaritan" at IMDb