The Agents of SHIELD aren’t afraid of much. With the fear dimension open, they are forced to face their greatest fears. Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) was able to put a band aid on the rift, but the anomalies are increasing and getting stronger. He has the gravitonium he needs to build a permanent solution.
Daisy (Chloe Bennet) has been doing fine without her powers. The power inhibitor in her head is still holding strong despite the fact that they have returned to the past. Daisy believes they can change the future as long as she never gets her powers back.
Deke (Jeff Ward) made a shocking discovery about FitzSimmons…well, shocking for him. Deke saw Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) with a piece of the monolith that his mother once had. And Simmons’ wise words that his mother always told him. FitzSimmons are his grandparents. Now he’s acting weird…well, weirder than usual.
In the “Devil Complex,” the agents come face to face with old foes.
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The fear dimension has brought out Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) fear of dying, Mack’s (Henry Simmons) fear of an AI attack, Daisy’s fear of Kree warriors, May’s (Ming-Na Wen) fear of Lash, and Deke’s fear of…well…Earth. It hasn’t attacked Fitz or Simmons until now. The astronaut from Maveth attacks Simmons while she is discussing her wishes with Fitz. Simmons admits that’s not her greatest fear though.
Mack is working with YoYo’s arms, but the feedback from the robot arms is hurting her nerves. He tells her to stop for now and rest. YoYo doesn’t want to rest. She wants to start punching people. Mack says he wants her to get her arms back but she has to fully heal first.
Fitz has been working really hard on trying to find a way to compress the gravitonium that they got from the Principia. He asks for Deke’s help, but Deke is still freaked out about FitzSimmons being his grandparents. Fitz asks Daisy to look up research by Franklin Hall. While Daisy searches for the data, she gets a hit on General Hale’s (Catherine Dent) cell phone signal.
Who’s In Charge Here?
Hale is having an intense phone conversation when the driver hits something and ends up in the cargo bay of a quinjet. The agents use gas to knock out Hale. They take her to an interrogation room where Coulson asks her why she’s after his team. Hale says she is following her orders to bring in S.H.I.E.L.D. for justice. They go back and forth about what S.H.I.E.L.D. has done, but ultimately Hale says she is trying to save humanity. Hale asks Coulson to go with her, but he declines. She tells Coulson that she knew they hacked her phone. Her capture was actually planned.
In the control room, Piper (Briana Venskus) reports to May that they can’t remove the driver from Hale’s car. He’s too heavy. May goes to the cargo by, gun in hand and orders Carl Creel (Brian Patrick Wade) to get out. He exits the car and tells May to listen to Hale. He lifts up his shirt to reveal that he has a bomb wrapped around his waist.
Anton Ivanov, the Superior (Zach McGowan) arrives on the Zephyr. He tells Coulson that he’s accepted his new strength and immortality, but still fights for humanity. He demands they release Hale to him. Coulson agrees to release Hale and Creel. Hale asks Coulson to go with them again. She wants to show him what they are up against. Coulson says okay, but May protests. She doesn’t like that he’s willing to go on a suicide mission. Coulson says he has nothing to lose and it’s been a pretty cool trap. He leaves with Hale and her team.
On their way, Ivanov tries to hood and cuff Coulson, but he sees past it. Coulson says Ivanov is not in charge. He also knows they don’t have the ability to make faces for their Blue Raven soldiers. Hale reveals the real Ivanov is just a head in a jar.
Later General Hale reports to a member of the Confederacy. She says she had a minor setback, but is back on track. She says she has the missing piece to the puzzle. Her superior gives her a vial of odium and tells her to drink if she thinks she will fail. He dismisses her with a confident, “Hail Hydra.”
The Doctor is In
Deke tells Fitz the good news about General Hales capture. He offers to help Fitz compress the gravitonium. Fitz knocks him out and removes the wielding suit. It’s not our Fitz though. It’s Dr. Leopold Fitz, from the Framework!
Daisy tells Fitz that she can’t find any of the research he asked for. Fitz is acting erratic. He is worried that the fear dimension is getting stronger. Two of the security cameras go out so Daisy leaves to fix them.
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Simmons checks in on YoYo and Mack. She tells them the anomalies are appearing more often. They decide to move YoYo for her safety, but she doesn’t want to go. A Blue Raven soldier enters the room and pulls a gun on them.
Fitz thinks real hard on how to compress the gravitonium. Dr. Leopold walks in and says he’s there to finish what Fitz started. Fitz thinks Leopold is an anomaly, but doesn’t try to kill him. Leopold tells Fitz that he’s not. They are the same person. Fitz hears a gunshot and Simmons calls for him.
The Blue Raven soldier shot Mack in the leg. That means it is real. Fitz gets really nervous and tells them that Leopold is there and he sent the soldier after them. Simmons tries to calm him down so he can think. They remember that Leopold was doing experiments on Inhumans. That’s why the soldier went after YoYo. And Daisy is in danger as well. Fitz leaves to find Daisy.
Daisy is working on the security cameras, but nothing is wrong with it. A Blue Raven soldier grabs her, knocking her out and carries Daisy away. When she wakes up, she sees Fitz, but he corrects her saying she knows how to address a Hydra superior.
Daisy is tied to a bed. Leopold tells her to get comfortable because he doesn’t have any painkillers for her. She asks what he wants, Leopold says he’s there to help her get her powers back. Despite her protests, Leopold makes an incision where the inhibitor was placed. Fitz runs in and stops Leopold from extracting the inhibitor.
Mack stands at the door to YoYo’s room. She tells him to sit down because his leg is hurt. He’s determined to keep her safe. YoYo tells him that nothing will happen to her. They know she lives because she was alive in the future. Mack tells her the future can change and she could die. YoYo says if that happens, that means they broke the time loop. Simmons comes in and scolds Mack for not resting. She realizes something and runs to find Fitz.
Leopold tells Fitz that Daisy’s powers are the key to compressing the gravitonium. It’s the only way to seal the rift. Simmons finds Fitz and reveals that there’s been only one Fitz the entire time. He reactivated the Blue Raven soldiers and turned off the security cameras to isolate Daisy. Fitz realizes what he did, but continues anyway. A soldier comes into the room with Deke and pulls a gun on Simmons. Fitz says he wouldn’t have done any of those things if he didn’t believe it was the right thing to do. Daisy begs Fitz to stop, but he removes the inhibitor anyway.
After the procedure is done, Daisy says she will never forgive Fitz. He knows the others won’t forgive him either. He gives her an adrenaline shot and tells her how to compress the gravitonium. Fitz gives himself up and they put him in a holding cell. Daisy finishes the device and seals the rift.
Revelation
Simmons asks Fitz how long Leopold has been there. Fitz says he’s always been there, but he just now started seeing him. Simmons thinks this episode is similar to when he used to see her during Maveth. Fitz says it’s not the same because Leopold is part of him.
Fitz he doesn’t deserve anyone’s forgiveness, like he doesn’t deserve Jemma. He believes it was the right thing to do. And he’s not sure about them and where they go from here.
Simmons sits outside the cell and Deke finds her. She says she feels like she’s losing Fitz. Deke says she won’t because she knows him better than he knows himself. Deke tells her details about Fitz and their relationships that have never been revealed to him. She asks how he knows these things about them. He tells her that his mom told him these things about his grandparents. His mom always said her father was the best man she knew. Deke says he knows they will be okay. He says her key phrase, “the steps you take don’t need to be big, they just need to take you in the right direction.” Jemma knows that Deke is her grandson. She throws up at the revelation.
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Thoughts
I honestly forgot about Ivanov. He wasn’t dealt with in the same way as AIDA and there were multiple copies of Ivanov made. I’m glad the writers are able to clear up that loose end. Plus, it’s always nice to see Zach McGowan on screen.
I was not expecting Fitz to do a 180. We should have known that Leopold would have emerged eventually. Fitz showed a lot of aggression with the Kree in the future. Jemma saw it then, but didn’t say anything. She probably thought once they got back to the past that they would be okay. Keep in mind though, there are two Fitzs in this timeline. The one who came back from the future and the one in cryosleep waiting for the future to get there. If something were to happen to Fitz or Simmons, would that mean Deke would cease to exist?
OH Hydra…this just reminds me that we should never think that Hydra is gone for good. They are the ultimate villain for all of S.H.I.E.L.D.
News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
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