The Agents of SHIELD are so close to finding Agent May and Director Mace, but at what cost?  Dr. Radcliffe’s virtual world is becoming more and more real.

1

Agent Daisy Johnson (Chloe Bennett) and Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) are sparring in the Framework, a virtual reality training program.   Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) explain that this system is the original Framework. Dr. Holden Radcliffe (John Hannah) used SHIELD’s design and is now building his own using the Darkhold.  Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) is in Radcliffe’s Framework.  The two Frameworks are not connected, but Fitz may have an idea about how to change that.  

Meanwhile, Dr. Radcliffe is sublimely happy in his own Framework.  Anton Ivanov (Zach McGowan), The Superior interrupts him to let him know they need him.  Radcliffe refers him to Aida (Mallory Jansen), his proxy.  Ivanov is very uneasy about anyone and anything that is not 100% human.  He doesn’t want to work with Aida. He wants to work with Radcliffe.  

2

The brainstorming session is interrupted with news that the director’s GPS signal has been located in Nome, Alaska.  They find Mace’s suit, but no Director Mace (Jason O’Mara).  Coulson discovers that someone has been tracking him for a long time. There are newspaper clippings and pictures pinned to the wall.  “This is why I don’t use Facebook.” Daisy finds the connection between Ivanov and Coulson.  An old Russian mining base.

FLASHBACK!

Some time ago…

Coulson was on assignment, but had some trouble getting into the base.  Agent May shows up and assists Coulson on his secret mission.  May and Coulson’s relationship goes back pretty far.  May used to have a much lighter attitude.  They are there to retrieve something and are clearly flirting.

3

Director Mace wakes up,  chained in a cell. He manages to break free and leaves his cell.  Ivanov catches him and challenges the director.  Ivanov is able to beat Mace. He instructs his men to put Mace back into his cell.

Mack (Henry Simmons) takes his turn in the Framework, but he clearly doesn’t like it as much as the others.  Mack is not a fan of robots, virtual reality, or anything having to do with artificial life.  This stuff excites Fitz, who had a hand in creating the Framework and Aida.  He points out to Fitz that he needs to consider the implication of his creations.  

Ivanov confronts Mace about Mace’s fake super powers.  He doesn’t agree with men who want to be scum.  Mace says that SHIELD will come for him. That is exactly what Ivanov wants.  Aida is observing Ivanov and Mace the entire time.  Ivanov asks if Aida approves of how he treats Mace. She has no opinion. He reminds her that she is a machine.  

4

Daisy, Mack and Coulson arrive at the Russian base and find a set of skeletons.  Ivanov calls Coulson to remind him of who those men were. They were his former comrades.  He says the men were interrogated, tortured and killed because of Coulson.  Ivanov has vowed to closed the doors to aliens and mutants that Coulson has opened.

FLASHBACK…

Coulson and May are standing in front of a safe when three men show up. Coulson tries to distract them.  May cracks open the safe and escapes with the object they were sent to retrieve.   The guards mention that they were after the same object and knock out Coulson.  They throw him into the back of the van.  It doesn’t take long for May to catch up and save Coulson.  As they drive away,

Daisy investigates Ivanov and finds that he was a part of the SVR.  she looks up a old SVR prisons that leads her to the submarine.  

5

Meanwhile, Fitz is bothered by the things Mack said to him earlier.  Simmons consoles him by saying that Fitz was trying to do good.  Radcliffe is to blame for their inventions being used as weapons. Somehow this triggers Fitz to realize that he can crack the Framework by retrieving the source code from the base.

Ivanov continues to beat up on Mace and asks if he has any regrets. Mace says he has faith in Coulson and SHIELD. Mace says Ivanov is losing his humanity. Ivanov cuts Mace’s bonds. He tells Mace that he is a pawn and lets his henchmen take care of Mace.

Team SHIELD bust into the base with an explosion. Fitz and Simmons find the computer lab.  Coulson, Mack, and Daisy look for Mace.  

Coulson comes face to face with the Superior. He laughs at all of Ivanov’s efforts that he spent trying to find him. He calls Ivanov “just another redshirt who tried, unsuccessfully, to stop” Coulson from saving the world.  

Daisy comes in and blast him with her power.  While Daisy occupies Ivanov, Coulson and Mack track down Mace and Simmons tries to find Aida.  She thinks Aida can lead them to May.  

Aida is able to avoid SHIELD.  When they regroup, they decide to get Mace to safety first, then find May.  

6

The team gets back to HQ.  Simmons is uneasy about how quickly Daisy, Mack and Coulson were able to retrieve Mace and regroup with her and Fitz.  Fitz discovers that the LMD detector in the base was tampered with.  They come to the conclusion that Mace, Mack, Daisy and Coulson have all been replaced with LMD models.  

Aida talks to an injured Ivanov, saying that they have replaced the top operatives at SHIELD.  She says that Ivanov is important to the next phase.  Even filth has a purpose.

LMD Coulson reactivates LMD May.

Thoughts

Wow…what! This has become one of Mack’s Sci-Fi Robopocalypse movies.  The Androids have taken over and now FitzSimmons are our only hope to save humanity.  I love that the brains have to save the world and not the muscle.  This is going to be interesting.

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