Highs and lows
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. took a week off, and in that time, I had to resist the urge to read the commentary written by bloggers about the ways the show could fix itself. I don’t want other writers to influence my approach to the show, especially since I was already feeling kind of down on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I was almost dreading having to watch the new episode when the show came back this week.
But this episode had some of the biggest highs and lows of the series. It was the funniest and also the most touching of the series so far. From May’s interrogation cookies to an exploration of the relationship between Fitz and Simmons, the scientific Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, this episode really did an amazing job across the board.
The episode, eloquently titled “FZZT,” starts with Simmons and Fitz being basically the same character, but they had a chance to display their own talents — and personalities — separately: Simmons gave Coulson a physical and Fitz let Ward try out some new guns. Fitz is adorably interested in Skye and slightly jealous of her relationship with Miles from the previous episode.
After examining the floating scout leader, the team investigates a surge of energy that resulted in another levitating body in a barn. The levitating men, victims of what appears to be an electrostatic alien virus, were both formerly members of the same volunteer fire company. Turns out the fire company went to help the clean up efforts following the “New York Event,” the Chitauri alien invasion in The Avengers. The fire company has one of the Chitauri helmets in its possession, and one of the firefighters, Diaz, admits that the helmet was taken out to be cleaned. The infected men caught the disease from the helmet, and Diaz, who was already feeling ill, had very little time left.
Coulson coaching Diaz through death was one of the deeper moments of the entire show so far. His brutal honesty and Diaz’s acceptance was jarring — the scene almost didn’t fit in with the rest of the series. However, it gave sorely needed emotional depth to the show, which gets very trite at points.
While investigating the virus and transporting the helmet to an overseas S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, Simmons catches the disease. This is the first real wedge ever put between Fitz and Simmons; the two are in almost all of the same shots together. It’s rare that they are separated, but Simmons is quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease.
Coulson has to field his superiors to protect Simmons, who would be forced off the plane if they found out. Ward’s finally feeling helpless because the problem cannot be punched in the face. It’s a good dynamic.
When her antiserum doesn’t work, Simmons blames Fitz’s device for not being calibrated properly, and a fight breaks out. Fitz blamed Simmons for dragging him into the field. Insults are thrown. Simmons calls Fitz “pasty.” Finally, the little lab puppies are showing their teeth, and it’s oddly entrancing to watch.
The fight quickly dissipates when Fitz reminds Simmons how close they are and lets on that he couldn’t lose her. This dimension to their relationship has been a long time coming; after a long time of just seeing adorable scientific bobble heads, we’re finally shown a couple of realistic friends and partners who have differences but still care about each other.
Where has this been hiding all season?
When she calms down, Simmons realizes that the Chitauri owner of the helmet was an immune carrier of the virus, so Chitauri cells would help her antiserum. Fitz grabs the helmet from storage and dashes into the quarantined lab with it, declaring that the two of them are going to cure the disease together. If Fitz’s Indiana Jones moment doesn’t just make the episode for you, nothing else in this show matters.
The rest of the team’s powerlessness really created some delightful tension beyond the usual action sequences that usually appear this late into the episode. When the serum fails, the team disperses, and a distraught Simmons knocks out Fitz in order to jump off the plane to save her teammates.
Though Fitz tries to jump after her with a parachute, good ol’ Ward beats him to it; though it was nice not to have a Ward/Skye-centric episode, it’s just not an episode without a visit from Action Hero Ward.
Finally, the show addressed Coulson’s death…sort of. We got to see the wound from where he was stabbed, and May tells him that he is changed from his experience, regardless if the length of time he died. The show still doesn’t address the resurrection, but this is the closest we’ve gotten to cutting through the mysticism and addressing the issue head-on.
The last scene is Fitz and Simmons recapping what happened. Simmons thanks Fitz for being her strength when she’d lost all hope of getting through it. She gives him a kiss on the cheek, and though I have been immune to the two of them all season, Fitz fussing with a pillow thoughtfully after Simmons leave made me squeal a little bit.
Despite the importance of Skye’s lie in the last episode, she got her ends neatly tied up in order to send her to the background for this episode. Overlooking her betrayal and demonstrating her punishment as little more than a slap on the wrist is the biggest disappointment of this episode. Though they finally got some more characterization, continuity is still apparently not this show’s strong suit.
