WOW.
SHIELD’s had a few seriously great episodes in its run, hasn’t it? Sure, there hasn’t been a “bad” episode since the first season. but at least once a season there’s one diamond: “Turn, Turn Turn”, “Scars” and “The Team” are my picks from the first three seasons. So it makes me extremely happy to say that “Self Control” isn’t just the likely diamond of Season 4, but of the entire series too.
Things get going right where we left them, with Fitz and Simmons panicking over the discovery that Coulson, Daisy, Mace and Mack have been replaced with LMDs. From that point onward, it’s emotional scene after emotional scene and twist after twist, and they never once feel gimmicky.
Fitz and Simmons’ standoff early in the proceedings was insanely well-done, thanks in part to the performances. My mind was racing to figure out who was the LMD, and boy, that was a tough nut to crack. Turns out, it’s Fitz, and then Simmons has to kill the LMD version of her boyfriend by stabbing him repeatedly. SHIELD really isn’t afraid to get dark these days, huh?
Daisy and Simmons’ reunion and team-up was another high-point. I’ve talked about how much I enjoy the Daisy/Simmons pairing, and I was spoiled, oh so spoiled, in that regard this week. I got emotional during their quake-hug, and adored watching them take on the LMDs. Daisy coming out of nowhere and shooting Mace with the freaking shotgun-axe was amazing!
But while this episode of “Daisy Johnson and Jemma Simmons vs. the World” was happening, LMD May was re-activated by LMD Coulson and went through what I can only assume is a robotic existential crisis, all of it leading up to that scene in the corridor and her decision to help Daisy and Simmons rather than hinder them. It was a tense and satisfying turning of the tables, making LMD May a fascinating character in her own right.
So then we get to episode’s end, and the set-up for the season’s (or maybe the series’?) last batch of episodes, as Daisy and Simmons venture into the Framework. Exploring an alternate “timeline” not just for SHIELD’s characters, but possibly the entire MCU, has so much potential, and from the teaser we got, they’re not wasting it. Daisy’s dating Ward, Coulson’s an anti-Inhuman teacher, Mack is a family man, Fitz is riding in limos, Simmons is dead, and May’s working for a world-dominating HYDRA. I think it’s safe to say SHIELD will do so much more with the idea of the Framework than The Flash and Flashpoint. Just saying.
Other Thoughts:
- LMD May’s monologue about the snow gave me some “tears in rain” vibes, if you know what I mean…
- My money’s on Simmons waking up in her coffin and digging her way outta that grave. She just keeps getting put through the wringer, doesn’t she?
- So, in reality, Radcliffe is dead, but his mind is alive in the Framework just like Agnes? I have a feeling he’ll end up helping the gang escape the Framework in the end.
Rating: 9.9/10 Quake-blasts
SHIELD is back on another hiatus until April, so I’ll have to find another show to do regular reviews of until then. Maybe Legion?
Noah
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