If I had to sum up the Agents of HYDRA arc with one word it would be : Shocking. Shocking moments and shocking revelations have come at us non-stop in the Framework world. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is a the top of its game right now. A very good case can be made that it is now the best “comic-book” show on TV right now. “No Regrets” was another example of this as we said hello once again to another long-gone agent and farewell to a current agent. More on those two things in a bit but first lets begin with how Daisy and Simmons are doing.
REGRETS, I’VE HAD A FEW
Skye is still in her little prison cell after taking another beating. “Doctor” Fitz walks in. Skye again tells her about the real world but Fitz reveals that Madame Hydra has told him already. Aida’s brainwashing is too damn effective at this point. She twisted him like a little puppet and Aida makes one sinister puppet master. But what one regret of Fitz’s could have changed him this much??
We see this as later on we meet Fitz’s father and he is a cold-hearted bastard. I mean seriously, fuck you Mr. Fitz. Not only does the man reek of toxic masculinity when Fitz shows even a hint of remorse for what he did to Agnes, the guy just screams asshole.
Fuck this guy.
Real World Fitz’s life is a million times better without this dude in it. Just taking a moment to say thank you to Leo’s mom who did a hell of a job raisin Leo into a good person in the real world. And another fuck you to Fitz’s dad.
Fitz’s moment of regret is crushed and refocused with just a few manipulative words, Fitz is back on Team HYDRA. Doctor Fitz also is ready to give Agent May a little boost to fight The Patriot in the form of the serum that Jeffrey was taking to be Patriot in the real world. Clever nod and did I spot some Terrigen Crystals in that fridge as well?
Meanwhile, Skye is visited in her cell by Madame Hydra who tells Daisy once again that all this was their “choices”. All Aida says she did was take away a regret. Yeah, except did you ask them if they wanted that regret taken away,Aida? Some regrets should be left as that–regrets. Aida decides to tempt Skye with a life in the Frameworld with Lincoln, kids, marriage, etc. Daisy, like all of us would be, is tempted but refuses as she knows “what people want isn’t good for them.”
YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH
As for Simmons, she’s at SHIELD base still trying to wrap her head around what Fitz did. Ward and Mace are trying to figure their next move with Coulson and after a quick bus mission goes sort of well, they return back. Mace is very reluctant to believe Jemma and it reaches a breaking point of sorts when Simmons once again makes reference to the Framework world not being real. It can’t be real because the Fitz she knows isn’t a cold-blooded murderer.
To the people inside the Framework, this world is real to them. Mace has fought too long, seen people he cared for die to not have this world not mean anything. Same goes for Ward as well. He may not be the Grant Ward but this Ward is a good person trying to do good. Jemma and Mace are a lot alike here as they are both boosted by the strength of their beliefs.
Except slowly, Jemma’s is being worn down. Her conversation with Ward is a major highlight of this. Ward brings up some good points starting with that Jemma has been very cold to him since they first met. To Jemma, this Ward should be like the Ward she knew — cold, heartless , evil. However, this isn’t the Grant Ward that resides in the Framework world. This Ward is a hero, a man who cares deeply for Skye and trying to do the right thing. When told of the bad things he did ‘over there’ , he even apologizes for what that Ward did.
As they talk , they also get to see Mack with his daughter Hope. Simmons is seeing that these people are real in a way. Mack has a daughter that is adorable in every way. Can Simmons really keep telling them that they aren’t real? All these people altered by one regret or as Dr. Radcliffe says, “Just one sentence.” It changes you from villain to hero (Ward) or hero to villain (May). It will be interesting to see just how much this world affects Simmons going forward. After all,having the man you love kill in front of you is definitely something that just doesn’t leave your memory any time soon.
HELLO AND GOODBYE
Now on to the main event of the episode as Mace and Coulson sneak onto a Hydra Enlightenment Center (Brainwashing factory) to rescue a very important prisoner. Things go smoothly and Mace finds the person who he was looking for. At first , I thought this would just be some random person–maybe a scientist to help Jemma. My heart was saying “Wouldn’t it be great if it was either Bobbi or Hunter?” While that would have been wonderful, who it ended up being was just as fantastic as I could have hoped.
Ahhh it feels good to use this hashtag. Welcome back, @iambjbritt! #TripLives #AgentsofSHIELD pic.twitter.com/kp8rcaTgDI
— Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (@AgentsofSHIELD) April 19, 2017
TRIP LIVES!!!
I can safely say I was shocked as hell to see Trip in here. A much welcomed shock however as Trip was a much loved fan-favorite and B.J. Britt’s presence always enriches whatever show he is on. However long you are around in this world , It’s good to have you back Trip. We need you to bring the noise and the funk ASAP.
After the rescue, things are looking good for a change until Coulson spots the kid HYDRA pulled out of his class in “What If.” Coulson, no matter what world he is in, isn’t going to let a innocent kid be tortured so he goes back in to rescue him. And of course, in perfect TV timing, May shows up itching for a fight with The Patriot. May has the juice in her and she and Mace get it on!
Well for a bit until it’s revealed that, like Mace in the real world, the serum only works for a little bit of time. With that, Mace easily overpowers May and goes back to help Coulson, Trip and a recently arrived Simmons and Ward help rescue the kids in the building.
May contacts HYDRA and Fitz , being the cold bastard he is in this Frameworld, orders the building destroyed by a Hydra quinjet. Quinjet fires and the building is leveled. May goes into check to make sure the Patriot is dead but instead finds him and the team trying to rescue the kids out of the building.
Finally this snaps something inside of May as we all know her regret is what happened in Bahrain with her being unable to save the little inhuman girl. That changes has been one of the catalysts for making this framework world so awful. Here May sees what she considers a mortal enemy doing the right thing– helping innocent children. She is finally noticing that they are not the bad guys but the good guys.
(also Coulson’s “SNAP OUT OF IT” probably triggered a remembrance or two in Melinda’s subconscious as well I have to believe)
All this is no good to keeping the building falling down from the children except for The Patriot holding on to a beam. Except he can’t hold on for long without the building collapsing on him. After some arguing, Mace does the only thing he knows to do — sacrifice himself so that his team can live. As the team escapes to the bus with Trip and the valuable information in tact, the building collapses and that is the end of Jeffrey Mace in the Framework world. And also the real world as Aida sees his heart flat line (remember they die in there, they die out here too). Aida has a moment of almost humanity before deactivating Jeffrey’s heart monitor. A shocking moment to say the least as a team member has fallen in the framework world and now the real world.
So we say goodbye to Jeffrey Mace. Mace was someone I slowly learned to like as originally he was placed as the corporate yes man of S.H.I.E.L.D but ended up so much more. All Mace wanted to be was a true hero and he ended up going out like a hero. Mace’s look on his face as he sees that this is it for him said it all. To know you are going to die and still have the bravery to go out saving lives makes Jeffrey Mace, The Patriot not just a great man but a great hero as well. We’ll miss you Director Mace, and a thank you to Jason O’Mara for making me cry during that scene because I cared so much about the Patriot.
“A Team that trusts is a team that triumphs.”
So we go to Fitz, Daddy Fitz and Madame Hydra celebrating their victory over the Patriot with some bubbly. Man, I am really disliking these three. Like pure hatred for them. Not all is lost though as May goes to visit Skye in her cell. May, finally realizing that Hydra is Nazi trash, asks once more if Skye is inhuman. After a quick yes, May reveals that she has taken a Terrigen crystal from Doctor Fitz’s lab. May shatters the crystal in front of Skye and once again we see the familiar sight of a Inhuman transformation with the difference of a slight smile on the face of Daisy this time around.
So this once again shows us that not everyone is going to make it out of the Framework world alive. Will Daisy and Simmons ever be able to escape back to the real world? (Well yeah probably). How scarred is this world going to make people like Fitz, May or Simmons when they get out of it? Agents of HYDRA has fundamentally changed the team and the scars of this story arc will be with them for the rest of their lives.
QUICK THOUGHTS
- Coulson getting “Hives” whenever he sees Ward. Haha very clever.
- “Nevertheless, she persisted.”
- I’m super excited for Daisy to meet Trip again. Also a little nervous as Daisy still feels the pain of being there when Trip passed away when she got her inhuman powers.
- Once more for the people in the back, Fuck Fitz’s Dad.
- That Hydra brainwash facility had a “Clockwork Orange” feel to it. I mean the kids had their eyelids taped open!
- I really hope we get to see Bobbi and Hunter in this Framework world. PLEASE?????
- Hey….what if the crystal doesn’t work?
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.