Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. finally returns this week for the third distinct arc of the season. It’s a bold move on ABC’s part to help heighten interest in the show, and it really has allowed for some very tight storytelling in the first two arcs – “Ghost Rider” and “LMD.” The third arc is quite appropriately titled “Third Pod.” But before we get to that, I thought it would be a really good idea to refresh our memories about the final episode in “LMD” – “Self Control” which was written and directed by showrunner Jed Whedon.
The episode begins in Aida’s (Mallory Jansen) lair. We see Coulson (Clark Gregg), May (Ming-Na Wen) and Mace (Jason O’Mara) hooked up and asleep, clearly in the framework. Cut to Aida – about to cut up Ivanov (Zach McGowan). He tells her he doesn’t want to live as a cripple or like her. She tells him her prime directive is to protect the framework. And to do that, she needs him to “be many things…” Ominous, right?
Back at the base, Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge is freaking out, and Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) tries to calm her down. He reminds her that the advantage they have is that the LMDs don’t know that they are on to them. They’re interrupted by the Coulson-bot and Mack-bot (Henry Simmons) as they try to make plans. Coulson-bot wants an assessment of the sub that got away – does it have missile launch capabilities? Fitz looks nervous as he answers, and it’s a really nice touch that when Mack-bot moves closer to Simmons, Fitz subtly moves closer and slightly between the two.
Coulson announces that they’re bringing all the Inhumans to headquarters to protect them. Daisy (Chloe Bennet) will spearhead bringing them in. Mace-bot has made a speedy recovery and is back at work. I loved Fitz and Simmons backing away from Coulson-bot and Mack-bot only to be stopped by Daisy and Mace-bot – honestly, it reminded me of the part of
The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and the others are being chased through the Wicked Witch’s castle!
Mack-bot says that bringing in the Inhumans is their top priority, and Simmons adds along with finding Agent May. Coulson-bot somewhat reluctantly says ‘of course.’ Mace tries to separate Simmons by bringing her to his office to coordinate the search. Fitz comes to her rescue, saying they need to keep the “brain trust” together to decipher the code.
I loved how the episode keeps its secrets. We get a nice walk and talk between Mace-bot and Coulson-bot as they discuss the necessity of scanning and replacing the “final two.” Coulson-bot reminds him they’re still outnumbered and need to act carefully. Mace-bot is going to oversee offloading the tech they took from the Russian base.
Daisy tells Coulson that they’re getting Yo-Yo (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) first because she’s their most valuable asset. Mack-bot tells her they’re coming for her, and of course, she asks if everything’s ok. Mack-bot, completely dispassionately, tells her that she’s in danger.
May-bot is in Coulson’s office watching the snow fall. She tells Coulson-bot that she has many memories of snow, but the reality is that this is the first time she’s really seen it. This reminded me so much of the replicants and their implanted memories in Blade Runner! Coulson-bot tells her that he used to have phantom pain in his limb, but he doesn’t anymore – he hasn’t felt this good in years. And that’s when May-bot freaks out! She’s in love with the real Coulson after all. She realizes that she’s locked up, not to protect her but to protect his secret.
Coulson-bot tells her that his programming is different from hers. He knows exactly what he is and he knows about the Framework. He tells her about a world with no pain – but exactly like the one they’re in. A world with no regrets. Coulson-bot wonders what it would have been like if he’d never signed up for S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place. He wants to have a simple life. May-bot wants to know if eventually they could be together, and Coulson-bot tells her that in the framework, they already are together. We want to pay attention to the hints of what the world of the Framework is going to look like.
As Fitz and Simmons move to a more isolated lab, the LMD system starts going off, and we see on the monitors that one of them is an LMD!! But of course, we don’t know which one! And this sets us up for a couple of the best scenes in the series. Henstridge and De Caestecker are both fantastic. Simmons is the first to see the LMD warning and backs away from Fitz. Fitz seems utterly surprised that LMD detectors have been placed throughout the base.
Simmons pulls a gun on Fitz, and the two freak out. Fitz says that they don’t even know if they are one – they’ve been programmed like May-bot – but we know that’s not the case. Fitz hits all the buttons, declaring this is what always happens to them – they’re driven apart. Fitz says he’s the bad guy – it’s all his fault for helping to perfect the technology. He agrees to do whatever she asks. She asks him to slit his wrist with a knife – she’ll see his substructure if he’s an android.
It looks like it’s a lot of blood, and Simmons starts to worry that he’s cut an artery, she gets close enough to hand him a cloth, and Fitz – with some truly lovely knife work! – flips the knife and drives it into Simmons’ leg – yep. It’s Fitz-bot! He knocks Simmons out.
Back in the submarine, Aida wakes Radcliffe (John Hannah). Radcliffe isn’t happy that he detected changes in the Framework. Aida tells him that she had to “re-start” it to accommodate the new residents – and we see Mace, May, Coulson, and Fitz plugged in this time. She has fixed a regret for each of them. Aida is not happy when Radcliffe goes off on her. She shouldn’t have re-set the Framework with him in it – he could have lost his grip on reality! She assures him that one of her prime directives is keeping him safe, while the other is protecting the Framework.
Aida doesn’t tell Radcliffe the truth about Ivanov – just that he’s “resting.” We finally see that Mack is also hooked into the framework and learn that Daisy is still Daisy! Daisy and Simmons are the two Agents left! Which sets us up for a fantastic Daisy/Simmons partnership. Radcliffe also objects to Aida programming the new bots more objective-driven – people could be killed in that scenario.
Mack is separating Daisy by maintaining that she needs to personally greet all the Inhumans. Meanwhile, Fitz has lightly sedated Simmons to map her brain. It’s utterly creepy to see Fitz-bot trying to reassure Simmons. He brings up them getting married, and Simmons remarks that that’s the first time he’s ever brought it up. He tells her that he’s thought about it, but no one is ever 100% sure of the answer they’ll get. Simmons almost seems to weaken…
And then she tells Fitz-bot that she’ll tell Fitz when she sees him – presumably her answer! Then she brings the hammer down – not on Fitz-bot but on the chain holding a motor up that then falls on Fitz-bot trapping him. Simmons grabs the knife and starts stabbing Fitz-bot over and over. At first he screams in pain and tries to appeal to her as Fitz, but then goes completely dispassionate and grabs her by the throat. She finally hits some circuitry in his neck that shuts him up. It’s horrific – and a great performance by De Caestecker.
Mack-bot is waiting for Daisy at the Zephyr when he finds out she’s checking the accommodations out for the in-coming Inhumans – and we finally get to see what was in that container that Mace-bot was squaring away. Daisy comes face to face with a room full of Daisy-bots.
Mack-bot comes in and discovers Daisy’s clothes on the floor. She’s hiding in plain sight! She quakes him and takes off and hides. She has a tablet to see the surveillance camera feed and sees what she thinks is a dead Fitz on the floor. Mace-bot tells the other Agents that it’s what they feared – Agent Simmons has been replaced by an LMD! When Agent Fisher (Cantrell Harris) and two other Agents discover that Fitz-bot is the LMD, Mace-bot and Coulson-bot don’t hesitate to kill them.
Mack-bot arrives and tells them that Daisy knows. Coulson-bot tells Mack-bot to fix Fitz-bot up enough to fix himself – hilarious! – and Mace-bot orders the security feed cut, leaving Daisy in the dark. She’s already seen a blood trail, however.
We get a stand off of Daisy with Mack’s Ax-gun and Simmons with her knife. Daisy suggests quaking Simmons – she’ll feel Simmons’ bones and an LMD wouldn’t have Inhuman powers. I loved Daisy rushing Simmons and engulfing her in a hug to quake her which turns into a real hug of comfort as they both realize that they are still real.
Back on the submarine, it seems that Aida is building Ivanov a new body. She’s clearly filled Radcliffe in, but he doesn’t think the Russian will approve. She tells him that Ivanov will come around. She’s observed his behavior. In fact, she’s observed a lot of human behavior, and it lacks logic. She understands the concepts of emotion, but she doesn’t feel them herself. And now, human emotions have created a paradox in her prime directives. The greatest threat to the Framework is Radcliffe!
Humans are full of regret. Aida tells him that he exhibits poor self-control, and she thinks that one day he’ll come to regret his decision and have her dismantle the framework. He tells her that he would never turn his back on the Framework – reality is just perception, so perceiving the Framework as reality makes it real. Physical bodies don’t matter. Aida tells him that she’s fixed the paradox based on his statements – she can fix the paradox – she kills him, so that he can live a long life, free of pain, within the Framework.
Mace-bot, Coulson-bot, and Mack-bot brief the base and tell them that Daisy and Simmons have been kidnapped and replaced with LMDs. Davis (Maximilian Osinski) and Piper (Briana Venskus) exchange concerned looks. The base is on lockdown. And Simmons has already anticipated that this is what they’ll do. Mace-bot horrifically tells the assembled troops to shoot to maim!
Simmons seems ready to give up. Daisy insists there’s hope. Fitz-bot seemed to indicate that Radcliffe is keeping the team alive in the Framework, so they can be rescued. Simmons reminds Daisy that the signal is untraceable. Daisy falls back on her hacker-roots. They have to hack in and wake them up so that they can discover where their bodies are being kept.
I loved the scene between Bennet and Henstridge – both are simply fantastic. Simmons gets increasingly distraught, believing there is now way out for them. She believes that Daisy is simply still trying to atone for Lincoln’s death – that she’s willing to die. But Daisy assures her that that’s not what this is about. She tries to tell Simmons that she’ll do all the fighting, Simmons won’t have to fight, but Simmons points out she doesn’t even have her gauntlets. But Daisy knows that she will beat them because “through all the insane things that they’ve been through, the one thing she’s known all along is that” Simmons and Fitz belong together – this isn’t how their story ends!
Daisy uses the sleeping gas to take out the human Agents. Mace-bot suggests killing the lights – the humans can’t see in the dark as well as they can. Coulson-bot gets May-bot for the “contingency” plan – she’s their last line of defense.
We get a fabulous fight sequence between Daisy and Mace-bot – who fights way better than the actual Mace! She quake punches him and then quakes him. Mace insists that he doesn’t want to hurt her, but Mack-bot and Coulson-bot both shoot her after she takes out Mace-bot. She makes a quake ball that shreds Mack-bot – so cool! Great effects! – and knocks out Coulson-bot.
Simmons meanwhile gives the gas antidote to Piper and Davis and a few others. They’re still convinced she’s the LMD – but she doesn’t care. And just as Piper is about to stab her, ex-Mack-bot comes sailing through the door. Simmons doesn’t have to say ‘I told you so.’ Luckily, Davis is training as a pilot for the Zephyr. They send the Agents to get the unconscious Agents to safety, warning that anyone who is conscious is a robot. Daisy and Simmons struggle to get the equipment they need onto the Zephyr.
The two find May-bot sitting on a pile of explosives, guarding the door to the hanger. May-bot tells them that Coulson says dying doesn’t matter – and Daisy points out that that doesn’t sound like Coulson. May-bot looks confused for a minute but shrugs it off, saying either way, she doesn’t have to regret this decision.
Coulson-bot has recovered and is joined by a fixed Fitz-bot. He comments completely dispassionately that fixing the shredded Mack-bot will take some time, but Coulson-bot tasks him with programming the “Daisy-fleet” with basic seek and destroy.
Coulson-bot comes upon May-bot and she’s let Daisy and Simmons into the hanger. Coulson-bot tries to get her to talk and have a drink. She asks him if he’s afraid to die – she is. She tells him that their programming really is different. He tells her that she doesn’t have to feel pain or regret anymore, but she points out that it’s that pain and regret that’s what made him a person – the person she loved. Her programming was to get the Darkhold – that came from Radcliffe. But the impulse to keep Coulson safe and close, that desire came from her – from May. But May tells him, “You’re not him” as she blows the explosives.
There’s a great shot of the hanger door opening for the Zephyr and snow falling in in slow motion. Daisy, Simmons, Davis, Piper, and Agent Prince (Ricardo Walker) scramble to get in the air, and make it just as May-bot blows the explosives. There’s a great shot of Simmons reaching for Daisy.
In the next scene, Daisy and Simmons have made progress on what the Framework is and how to get in. They’ve also picked up Yo-Yo. The danger is that if they wait, the others’ physical bodies will eventually give out. Simmons has programmed a backdoor for them to get out. She tells Daisy to get to the rendezvous as quickly as possible. She also warns that staying in too long will kill them, but if they are killed in the framework, they will definitely die.
Yo-Yo is cautioned not to just pull them out – that will cook their brains – no matter what their vital signs might be showing. Yo-Yo makes Simmons promise to get their guys back – Fitz and Mack, of course.
There’s a nice transition of code running across Daisy’s face to her being in a bathtub, getting a text, telling her “Wake up your boyfriend. We’re being called in.” Daisy immediately thinks it’s Lincoln. Her one true regret, right? And I’m sure that I wasn’t alone in thinking that this was the one thing that might keep Daisy from trying to leave, but as she approaches the bed, she passes – and doesn’t see – a framed picture on the dresser. It’s not Lincoln she’s with, but Ward (Brett Dalton)!!! I love that they’ve brought him back!
As soon as Daisy steps out of the bath, we get a nice musical montage of what everyone is up to in the Framework. Coulson is teaching. Mack is a family man – his daughter is alive. Fitz is clearly rich and is with someone who isn’t Simmons because she’s dead! And May is working for HYDRA!!! And of course, HYDRA is running everything because Coulson never joined S.H.I.E.L.D.!!!
The final scene reveals what really happened to Ivanov. He wakes in his new body. Aida tells him that he’s good as new – and stronger! Aida tells him that his mind is alive and well inside his head – untouched. The body is mechanical but he’s controlling the body remotely!! And his head is in a jar!!!! It’s just like
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962) or the Governor’s collection on
The Walking Dead! OMG! She needs him alive and well to be able to continue protecting the Framework.
Aida is clearly pleased with her machine controlled with a mind endowed with the ability to feel love, anger, wonder, and joy. Ivanov says, “Joy? When?” and Aida’s chilling reply is when she is able to feel those things herself!
This was a terrific episode. Bennet, De Caestecker, and Henstridge deliver exceptional performances. Wen also deserves a nod for her on-going portrayal of May-bot. I loved the Blade Runner feel to her – the regrets of not being fully human of the discovery of self-awareness. She provides an interesting contrast to what’s missing from Aida. I can’t wait to see life unfold in the Framework! Are you excited for the next arc? What did you think of this episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
