Danny Hale reviews the sixteenth episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4…
It’s back, it’s finally back! With the incredible ending to the LMD arc that we witnessed in ‘Self Control’ followed by a six week hiatus the Agents of HYDRA pod had a very tough act to follow with ‘What if… ‘ Was it successful? Absolutely.
Picking up where we left off, this episode opened with Daisy (or should I say Skye) discovering Ward is her Framework boyfriend. What followed was an appropriately uncomfortable scene; Ward’s clear affection contrasting horribly with the sinister score and Daisy’s not very well hidden disgust. It isn’t long before we discover just how far HYDRA has spread its control in this alternate reality as Daisy and Ward arrive at the impressive yet foreboding Triskelion. It is inside that Daisy encounters her first team member, May. It’s apparent quite quickly that May is very much of this world and completely invested in this HYDRA powered mirage. Thankfully Daisy seems to catch on and keep her mouth shut; HYDRA May is a little scary. I could be clutching at straws but did anyone else think that during Vijay’s interrogation May almost snapped out of it when Daisy shouted “WAKE UP!” at her. It could very well have been genuine surprise at the outburst; let’s not forget how far Daisy has come since her Skye days but I like to think that it was a glimmer of realisation for May.
‘Self Control’ left us with a big question regarding Simmons’ whereabouts in the Framework. We were teased with her headstone but ‘What If . . .’ showed us Simmons clawing herself out of a mass grave seemingly filled with other S.H.I.E.L.D. employees. It was only halfway through Simmons’ subsequent conversation with the woman Julia before I realised that this person was not real and that just like our characters I was getting lured into the Framework by its sheer complexity. It is through this exchange with Julia that we quickly begin to see how strict and regimented this version of the United States is as Simmons is forced to go on the run, again. The highlight for me was Jemma’s plea to Coulson at the school where he now teaches; Elizabeth Henstridge once again slaying the material here. She managed to spew what should have sounded like utter nonsense with a deep conviction that you can see even brainwashed Coulson question, if only slightly. Coulson does call his encounter with Simmons in but the seed of doubt is already planted, allowing Daisy more success when she confronts him.
Once reunited Daisy and Simmons make the decision to leave the Framework and come back with a better plan. Although I never thought for a second that they would get out I am so grateful the characters intended to. They are way out of their depth in the Framework and are literally up against the entire world so both of them being stuck against their will raises the stakes considerably. I am happy to say what followed this was something I did not see coming and that was Ward’s involvement with the resistance. Once a double-crosser, always a double-crosser I guess! I’ll be interested to see how this plays out and I’m intrigued as to the motivations behind Ward’s actions and to see just how similar he is to the Ward we knew and loved/hated.
Most exciting is the reveal of our power-couple villain duo, Madame Hydra and the “Doctor”. I did immediately think of Fitz when they mentioned the “doctor” but it didn’t make his transformation any less shocking. Despite a slightly darker colour pallet in the wardrobe department this world’s Fitz seemed just as human as our own but angry and hateful. As far as I can tell he hasn’t suffered any failed experiments, there’s no creepy eye-patch or sinister cloak. This is still Fitz, just on a different path and it’s startling to see what he has become on the other side of the coin. I noted that when he was speaking to Madame Hydra she encouraged his ‘creativity’. Simmons always nurtured Fitz’s goodness in line with his genius. ‘Creativity,’ though not a negative, if left untethered can be catastrophic.
‘What If . . .’ has successfully set up our final six episodes and I believe they are going to be some of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s best; this season has had an amazing build and off the back of an incredible cliffhanger we haven’t been fed simple fan service, we’ve been presented with a genuinely well thought out alternate reality for our characters where the stakes are incredibly high. I honestly have no idea what things will be like come the end of the season, I truly think anything could happen. Now, if they could just confirm season 5…
Danny Hale
Originally published April 6, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
