He forced that issue by using the Patriot serum, and it’s indeed his powerful alter ego that takes down May and allows for everyone to escape safely by the end of “No Regrets.”
And while he brought some decent changes with him in terms of security procedures, Mace wasn’t so interested in the bureaucratic side, and aimed to be more of a superhero like those that S.H.I.E.L.D. has worked with in the past.
Well, everyone but himself.
It wasn’t the longest of authoritative tenures in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s history — legitimate or public front — as Jason O’Mara’s Jeffrey Mace just joined the ensemble cast at the beginning of Season 4, when it was revealed he would be the new acting director of the organization in its reactivation.