I’ve never been shy of telling everyone that my two favorite characters on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D are Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. So of course, when I heard that “Inescapable” was going to be a FitzSimmons episode, I was very excited.
Happy to report that my excitement was not unfounded as we got a episode full of FitzSimmons and everything that makes them what they are – good and bad. One thing I love about FitzSimmons is that they aren’t the perfect couple, too much has happened over the years that can’t be just swept away and “Inescapable confronts all of that. There’s yelling, truths been unraveled and fears being confronted that lots of real couples go through. (As this is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, it also involves evil Hydra doctors or violent Ring-like looking creatures). But through it all, at the end FitzSimmons just ends up stronger in the end. So what all do Fitz and Simmons go through in this episode? Well let us go through the many trials and tribulations that our favorite ship go through:
- The Reunion – We finally get to see Fitz and Jemma back together after what has felt like a eternity apart. After a lovely embrace though and a “Deja Vu” proposal by Fitz to Jemma, we find out that the reunion isn’t happening out there in the real world but inside a “mind prison” created by the Chronicoms to get FitzSimmons to tell them how to time-travel.
- Two minds aren’t better than one – The problem with that is when two minds are sharing everything, you share everything. That includes all the bad stuff inside your head…and as we found out, there is some whacked up stuff inside of Fitz and Simmons’s heads. But before we get into those demons inside their heads, some things from the past finally pop back up.
- Fitz finds out about season 5 – Now, remember that this Fitz never went through everything that season 5 Fitz went through. Meaning he never went into the future, never went back to the past, never knew about Coulson’s illness and never knew about marrying Jemma. So, all of this comes as a shock to him when he finds out about through Jemma’s memories of the events. Fitz doesn’t take it well at all, but to be fair, I don’t think very many of us would either. Especially when he sees himself in the bodybag. The look on Fitz’s face is one I won’t soon forget.
- Young Jemma Simmons – And we haven’t even got to Jemma regressing back into her 7 year-old self and Fitz having to try to bring her back to her regular self by reading a bedtime story to her. This gives us a view of Fitz as a father, and while he is thankfully not as awful as his father was, he might still have work to do before he becomes a dad himself. Most of his efforts don’t work but the mention of AIDA is able to bring adult Jemma back. But the most important thing about this is we get a glimpse into Simmons’s psyche and the special music box where she keeps all her pain, anxieties and bad feelings. So of course,, this comes out in the form of….
- “DEMON SIMMONS” – So we find out that Jemma’s demons inside of her all come out in the form of a creature that makes it look like Simmons had escaped the well from the Ring movies. After a quick confrontation and a escape aided by a pillow, FitzSimmons find out that that isn’t the only thing haunting them inside of the mind prison.
- The return of The Doctor- Fitz’s evil counterpart from the Framework is also there torturing our heroes, and both get captured by their respective loved ones evil counterparts. It’s really painful to see Jemma be tortured by the evil version of Fitz as if we never saw that character again, it would be too soon. With a evil-looking Coulson around, it’s time to retire the Doctor persona for the time being. After realizing that they can have the versions of their friends in their minds help them escape (No coincidence that it’s Mack and Daisy – Fitz and Simmons’s two best friends besides each other that help them escape). This leads to Leo and Jemma being trapped in a containment pod, and finally let everything out that they have been holding in on each other.
- Release – Fitz and Simmons get into a big-time yelling argument inside of the containment pod and it’s honestly one of my favorite scenes in recent memory. Real couples, couples that love each other without reservation, get into heated arguments sometimes. That’s not because they don’t love each other. It’s BECAUSE they love each other so much. Fitz and Simmons are soulmates but you still can call out a soulmate for their flaws. Fitz and Jemma can talk about how they think the other’s ego is so huge. They can yell and scream but at the end of the day it’s still about how much they love each other. After all..
“ALL MY DAMAGE COMES FROM YOU!” – Fitz
“ALL MY PAIN COMES FROM YOU!” – Jemma
(A MINUTE LATER)
“A whole universe couldn’t keep me away from you.” – Fitz
“We were obviously made for each other.” – Simmons
- RESCUE- So after all that (And we’ll get into what Demon Simmons/The Doctor were doing during that emotional FitzSimmons moment in the Mission Briefings in a second.) we go back to the empty room the episode started in where Altarah tells them they are wasting her time…until she falls down inoperable. It seems Enoch is here to help rescue his friend and teleport them away to (relative) safety. As they are about to escape, Simmons drops a casual “Oh and you’re a grandfather” to Fitz, as they teleport away. The surprises never stop do they for Fitz?
So after that emotional FitzSimmons episode, I feel quenched as a fan of theirs. Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge showcased how much they are the backbone of this show with such great multi-layered performances here. There may be more popular ships in pop culture or ones that get multiple awards but for me there is few that stand up to this iconic duo. And now that they are reunited, heaven help those who try to ever separate them again.
MISSION BRIEFINGS
- The end credits scene is Mack telling Daisy about the Chronicoms and Daisy telling Mack what happened to FitzSimmons. Both take each other’s news considerably well to be perfectly honest. Daisy’s “Okay” was perfect.
- So I don’t know which was better : That “Demon Simmons” and “The Doctor” ended up making out (And more it sounds like) or Fitz and Simmons reaction to it. “Didn’t know you liked that.” “Didn’t know you do that.”
What. The… 🤣🤣 #AgentsofSHIELD @IdeCaestecker @Lil_Henstridge pic.twitter.com/SFsrpMELCn
— Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (@AgentsofSHIELD) June 22, 2019
- Fitz saying Jemma bottling up everything is very British is something that made me laugh. And if bottling up anger, anxiety and worry like that is a British thing, then slap a Union Jack on me.
- That the whole episode inside Leo and Jemma’s heads took only 5 and a half minutes in real-time was perfect.
- We get flashbacks to Fitz and Simmons first meeting and joining Coulson’s team. It’s really nice to see how these geniuses got comfortable with one another.
So what did you think of this very special FitzSimmons episode? Let us know in the comments section below!!!
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D airs Fridays at 8/7c on ABC.