Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: All the Madame's Men (4x19)

Oh man, I love this plot arc so much. So, so, much. I don't even know what to say. I almost don't want them to escape from the Framework, because the stuff going on is so interesting!

Cons:

We get brief glances into the real world, where Aida and that random Russian dude whose name I can't remember discuss how they're going to be real people soon, instead of androids, and how this will allow them to kill humans. All very important groundwork, definitely. It's frightening to see so many of our leads so very vulnerable just lying there. All that being said, it was a little too exposition-y, and it wasn't enough to hold my attention very well. Not bad, but not great.

Pros:

So much. Soooo much. I don't have time to write a long review, dangit!

May and Daisy are bad-asses. The scene where they bust their way out of Hydra's HQ was amazing. The best part of course is when Daisy just Quakes Aida right out of the building through a window. Her spine is damaged, but she lives. Super intense. Daisy got one of my favorite lines in the episode, when she and May are on the run and they see this white woman give them a strange look. May thinks she's recognized them, but Daisy says: "maybe she's just racist." That cracked me up. In general, seeing May's turn-around in this episode was delightful. She's reserved and confused about what's going on, but she's working to make up for all the bad she did when she was with Hydra.

Then there's the stuff with Simmons and Trip. This was a minor subplot, but it led to a big revelation - project Looking Glass, Simmons discovers, is actually being built in the real world. It can create living tissue, and Aida can become a real person. I like that Simmons puts this together, as it creates this sort of twisted reality wherein Fitz and Simmons are working on the same project at the same time, but for totally opposing reasons. Also, Trip's easy-going attitude is so refreshing. I love the fact that he just shrugs and accepts the whole "alternate reality" thing. It's sweet to see Simmons hanging out with Trip, but of course it's super bittersweet knowing that he won't be sticking around.

Aida points out one of the themes of this whole Framework plot when she says that everybody from the real world can't help but revert to their true selves, in some way shape or form. Fitz, for example, is a romantic. I had pointed this out in an earlier review, but it becomes more true the longer we spend with this twisted version of his character. This is a Fitz who was raised by a horrible father instead of a loving mother. This is a Fitz who fell in love with Ophelia, instead of Simmons. Those two things changed him greatly, but at his core he is still a man who will do anything for the woman he loves. He's devoted to a nearly frightening degree. Of course, when it's Simmons he'd do anything for, this manifests in self-sacrificing moments and daring rescues to desert planets. When it's Ophelia that he loves, he ends up creating evil scientific devices that could destroy everything. The power of love, ladies and gentlemen.

The stuff we're seeing with Fitz and his dad is fascinating, and the scene with Radcliffe is the best example of this. Radcliffe had become something of a father figure to Fitz in the real world, and so when Fitz's "real" father comes in to Radcliffe's holding cell, there's this strange dynamic between them. Radcliffe knows the real story, and he knows that Fitz's dad is nothing but a drunk who never appreciated his son. This version of the man, says Radcliffe, will end up disappointing his son eventually, too. This comment stings, especially since Fitz had just finished basically telling his dad that he won't tolerate failure, even from his own father. Intense.

Ward. Oh, Ward. He's such a puppy in this world. I like that we're not going for a romance angle for Daisy and Ward, here. She's not interested. However, she sees that in this world he is a good man. And just as Fitz was corruptible to such an intense degree, it stands to reason that Ward really could be a good person if his circumstances were different. Daisy throws him a bone, saying that knowing this version of Grant Ward really made her understand the original version a little better. There was good in there, somewhere. Or, there could have been, if his life had looked different. In this world, instead of Garrett being the man to save Ward from himself, it was Agent Hand. What a difference one person can make in shaping a person!

I think my favorite Ward moment in this one is after Daisy and May make their way back to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base. He's so relieved to see her, and you can tell he wants to greet her like a lover, but instead he's restrained. He ascertains from her that she too believes in the "real world," like Simmons does. He's disappointed, but gracious, and he calls her "Daisy" instead of "Skye." This is later made even more tragic when Ward, finally starting to believe in the idea of this alternate world, asks Daisy if he'll get his Skye back once the real people leave. Daisy has to tell him that she doesn't know, but she says she hopes his Skye will come back to him. This is actually super tragic.

Finally, we've got Coulson being an awesome bad-ass. Daisy has coordinates, given to her by Radcliffe, that will get them out of the Framework. But first, they need to try and help the people of this world, to distract Hydra long enough to be able to get there. How do they do this? They take over the news. Bakshi is the news anchor, but he's quickly subdued, and Coulson takes over, broadcasting live to hundreds of thousands of people. Using the footage that May got from her body cam during the Patriot's last mission, Coulson tells the world the truth about Hydra's evil. Ward is supposed to protect the building from Hydra, but when people start showing up, it's not Hydra to shut them down. It's citizens there to help. Coulson ends by saying that he's not just a history teacher. He's Phil Coulson, an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

This moment was certainly cathartic within the story, as Coulson finally feels like he's regained his footing, Ward is being self-sacrificing, and the people are finally starting to resist. But beyond that, it was cathartic in our current political climate. Coulson declares that he will not allow Hydra to continue feeding the people "alternative facts." That was an awesome moment.

There you have it. Things are so awesome in the Framework. I mean, they're awful, but they're awesome for how interesting they are. I, like many other fans, am getting desperate for the Fitzsimmons reunion, but one great thing about this story-arc is that it's prioritizing the Fitzsimmons narrative in a really interesting way. For the first time in this show's history, they're not the subplot. They're the main story. Fitz's loyalty to Hydra is the sticking point that's keeping all of them trapped in the Framework, and Simmons may be the only way to break through to him. I cannot wait to see it all go down!

8.5/10