Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Self Control (4x15)

UM. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD.

Cons:

Nope. No complaints. Literally not a single one. This was as close to flawless as any show can get.

Pros:

The plot can be stated fairly simply: everybody at the base is an LMD except for Simmons and Daisy. They team up and manage to escape with a few other random S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, partially thanks to LMD-May, who lets them go. Yo-Yo helps Daisy and Simmons to enter the Framework, where all our other characters are. The plan is to infiltrate and save the rest of the team. Meanwhile, it seems Aida is firmly in control of the Framework, as she forces Radcliffe to enter the Framework to avoid a conflict between her primary motivations of keeping the Framework safe, and protecting Radcliffe.

And I mean... that's all you need. This episode was just one giant, tense, amazing setup for our third section of episodes this season, which will take place in bizarre Framework land, where Simmons is apparently dead, Fitz has some other girlfriend, Coulson is a teacher explaining the evils of Inhumans, May works for Hydra, Mack has his family life, and... and... Daisy is with Ward. I just. The last two minutes of this episode packed in so many interesting twists and questions. I cannot wait for this show to come back after hiatus, because I need to know how this all shakes out.

But it was getting to this endpoint that made the episode so brilliant. I can't even count the number of moments that gave me goosebumps or made me gasp. Let's start with the real kicker:

Fitzsimmons. Only a few minutes into the episode, and we've got Simmons pointing a gun at Fitz, as the two of them realize that one of them is an LMD, thanks to a scanner picking up the presence of an android. So, we think it's Simmons. Simmons makes Fitz pick up a knife and slit his own wrist, but when this reveals only blood, Simmons comes forward to see if he's alright. And then... Fitz stabs Simmons and knocks her out with a bucket. This whole scene was just agonizing. Both of them are crying, and you really don't know what to believe. Either one of them could be the LMD. I was thinking it would be Simmons at first, because Fitz seemed like the obvious choice, but then as Fitz starts crying and saying that he's the bad guy, and he won't hurt Jemma even if she's an android, I realized that it had to be Fitz.

Stellar acting from both of these actors in that scene. Jemma stabs LMD-Fitz, even as Fitz looks at her, begging her to stop, saying "it's me." LMD-Fitz even kisses Jemma on the forehead and brings up the idea of getting married. The whole thing is just a goddamn tragedy and I'm still weepy about it as I sit here writing this.

And then while all of this is going on, Daisy is just walking around with a bunch of LMDs, and she has no idea. How does she find out that something's up? She walks into a containment room with about forty copies of herself all standing in a row, ready to be activated. She hides among them as Mack comes in, and manages to knock him out of the way and escape.

Another seriously heart-pounding highlight of the episode is when Simmons and Daisy find each other. We the audience have now heard it from Aida's lips that Daisy and Simmons are the only high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives that have not been replaced with LMDs, but just because we know this doesn't make the scene any less intense to watch. Daisy and Simmons are both near hysterics as they question each other. Simmons is seriously traumatized by what she's just done to an android that looked and sounded just like the love of her life. Daisy has an idea: she'll touch Simmons, and she'll use her Quake powers to feel real bones. That way, Daisy will know for sure about Simmons, and since an LMD shouldn't be able to have Inhuman powers, this will convince Simmons of Daisy's humanity as well. They hug each other in relief, crying, as we realize the full impact of what's going to happen next: it's them against the entire base.

I could talk on way too long about all the great action in this episode as well. The sequences where Daisy and Simmons are trying to escape are among the most exciting this show has ever done. They do manage to convince some of the other random agents that they aren't the LMDs, as Coulson had originally said, by basically blowing Mack to pieces and revealing his mechanical skeleton. That was an awesome image, and probably the coolest use of Daisy's Quake-powers we've yet seen.

The tragedy doesn't stop here, though... there's also the little matter of existential LMD-May, who is the only one of all these LMDs programmed to feel pain. She's not like the others, all of whom Aida made with a bit more of a single-minded purpose. May is a fully complex and realized human, in a sense, and she's not adjusting well to the thought of Coulson being replaced with a robot. Coulson asks her to guard the exit, in case Daisy and Simmons get past the rest of them. When they do, they come face-to-face with LMD-May, who... lets them go. She tells LMD-Coulson that she's doing want she wants to do. The part of her that wants to be close to Coulson and protect him is the one that's dominant. And LMD-Coulson... he's not the real deal.

May's crisis is so beautifully portrayed. It's such a meaty dilemma for this actress to portray. When she says that she's "all phantom limbs," it really cuts to the quick of the situation. She's in limbo. She feels and she thinks and she remembers Melinda May. But she knows she's not her. I loved every second of this painful plot thread.

Somehow, amid all the angst and fear, we got a few moments of great humor as well. I think my favorite is when Simmons lays out the plan to escape, and Daisy responds with "okay, well, don't say it out loud, because that made it sound way worse." It's not a superb or unique line or anything, but the way it was delivered was just perfect. Later, as they're telling the other agents the plan to get out, Daisy says "anyone you see who's awake..." and her sentence is completed by one of the agents: "is a robot. Super."

Also, I suppose I should bring up the fact that this episode was all about the girl power. It's Daisy and Jemma against the world, and May is the only LMD who is able to help them in some way. And then once they escape, they meet up with Yo-Yo, who is going to help Daisy and Simmons link in to the Framework. I love the scene at the end, as these three multi-ethnic awesome agent ladies make a plan to save the day. As Yo-Yo helps hook Simmons in, she says "promise me you'll get our guys back, okay?"

This is the kind of female empowerment we need more of on TV. There was no moment where all the girls came together to discuss their girl power. It was just that they, the women, were the last ones standing, and they kicked ass and they're going to save the day. I'm all about it.

And our primary villain, Aida, is a woman too. Or... sort of. Whatever. She seems to want to be human, as she says with sinister intent at the end of the episode. She wants to be able to feel joy, and she won't stop until she gets there. We all knew this day would come, but to see her attack Radcliffe like that was really chilling. We're not messing around anymore. Aida runs the show.

I think I'll hold off on discussing the little glimpses we see in the Framework until we get to see how this all manifests. I'm freaked out about Ward, though. Oh my God. I don't know if I'll be able to stomach seeing him all couple-y with Daisy. I wonder if he'll call her Skye? Probably! And... Simmons is dead? And Hydra? There's just so much going on here. I can't wait!!

10/10