Director Mace Is [SPOILER] Inside Agents of SHIELD's Framework

CBR

By Lauren Gallaway

Published Apr 4, 2017

Jason O'Mara shared how Director Mace will bring the fight to Hydra in the final episodes of Agents of SHIELD's fourth season.

When "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." aired its last episode before its current, soon-to-conclude break, Director Mace was replaced with a Life Model Decoy and placed inside Radcliffe's Framework. When the teaser for tonight's episode aired immediately following that episode, no evidence of Mace's life inside the Framework was featured, which left fans wondering what The Patriot's role would be in one nation, under Hydra.

Speaking with the press at WonderCon, actor Jason O'Mara confirmed that Director Mace will not be swapping one agency for another. Rather, he'll be fighting Hydra, and n a key role "I don’t know how much I can say, but I am allowed to say this, Mace is the leader of the Inhuman resistance."

Asked if Mace's Inhuman leadership meant that he'll be an Inhuman inside the Framework, O'Mara played it cagey. "I can’t confirm or deny. I think we ran into a brick wall with that one." We know from Mace's journey this season that he wants to be Inhuman; he was even drugging himself with a version of the Super Soldier serum in order to present himself to the world as an Inhuman ally. Was Mace's what if, "What if I could be an Inhuman?"

O'Mara is the newest character to join the series, having made his debut as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s newest Director in "Meet the New Boss" when Coulson handed the reigns of S.H.I.E.L.D. over to Mace after the White House disapproved Coulson's handling of the Inhumans in Season 3. Mace has always presented himself as a team player, an optimistic front man, and the face of the newly re-instated S.H.I.E.L.D. According to O'Mara, Framework Mace will also reflect those morals, "Taking the essence of the character, Mace has never had a problem with loyalty. He’s always been loyal to a fault. He's always paving the way with good intentions, even though he may have been misguided in the means."

His dark side turned out to be those misguided means of pretending to be an Inhuman when he really wasn't. When Coulson discovered that truth, he resumed operational control of S.H.I.E.L.D. All of that is irrelevant now that Mace is living his best (potentially Inhuman) life inside the Framework. "I think in this way, you’re seeing Mace in his purest form, which is that, inside, he’s a hero."

It sounds like Radcliffe built the Director the perfect dream world; Mace could be an Inhuman, he's leading the resistance, and he's the hero that he's always wanted to be.

Returning Tuesday, April 4 at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC, “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” stars Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson, Chloe Bennet as Daisy “Quake” Johnson, Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May, Iain De Caestecker as Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons, Henry Simmons as Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie and more.