Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Farewell, Cruel World! (4x20)

Oh God. Yikes yikes yikes. Let's just... wow.

Cons:

I really don't have too much to complain about, other than an absence of Ward in this one. Are we to take it that he defended Coulson and the others during their broadcast last week, and then just went about his business? Is he in hiding? It felt a bit disappointing not to see him at all, even if last week was a pretty good sendoff. I don't want to be done with him!

Also, last week Coulson incited a rebellion, but this week we don't really see the ramifications of this. Aida/Ophelia sends somebody after Simmons and the gang, but we don't see citizens causing trouble for Hydra, or any other signs of unrest. We get a hint of it, as Trip decides that maybe he'll take on the mantle of the Patriot and lead the resistance. But if this is the end of the Framework for most of our main characters, it would have been nice to see more of how that rebellion would play out.

Pros:

Where to even begin? Most of our main crew makes it out of the Framework this week through the back entrance, thanks to Daisy quaking through to the opening. But the journey to get there is mighty bumpy...

Daisy says that they've got to leave without Fitz, at least for the time being, and Simmons sneaks off to try and force Fitz to come with them. How? She goes to Fitz's father, and makes him call Fitz to ask him to come to his house. Simmons hopes that if she gets a chance to talk to Fitz, he'll wake up and remember. Instead, during a scuffle, Simmons shoots Alastair and kills him. She then flees back to S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Fitz, of course, now wants revenge for his father's murder.

Radcliffe agrees to lead Fitz to the backdoor out of the Framework so that he can catch and kill Simmons, in exchange for the chance for a new body and a second chance at life. Except... nope. Turns out, Radcliffe just wanted to get Fitz to the backdoor to give him a chance to get back to himself. When they get there, Fitz holds a gun on Simmons and tells her she means nothing to him, and shoots her in the leg, so... that's intense. But he does get pushed through to the other side, and is awake now in the real world.

I just... this alone would be intense enough to carry a whole episode. All of the Fitzsimmons angst is giving me such life. I really hope this show gets renewed (it seems pretty likely at this point) because I want to explore the fallout from all of this. Fitz, awake now, seems to still have residual aspects of his Framework self. He's horrified by the people he's killed and all of that, but when Ophelia shows up, in a real human body, Fitz seems dazed and confused, like maybe he's still taken in by her. And of course Simmons and Daisy are away on a Quinjet, so Fitz and Simmons are going to have to wait to reunite. Especially since newly human Ophelia seems to have the power to teleport Fitz to who knows where!

This is just the best sendoff for Radcliffe's character. I don't know if we'll be spending more time in the Framework or not, but either way, I just wanted to say that I really appreciate Radcliffe. He's been greedy enough in the past that for a moment you have to wonder if he's really taking Fitz up on his offer, but then of course not. He's already dead. He's willing to sacrifice what's left of his existence for the chance to do right by Fitz as best as he can. I'm emotional about it.

Also I'm obviously emotional about Simmons. Like. The poor thing. Seriously. It's so heartbreaking to me that she's telling Fitz she loves him, and begging him to remember her, even as he's standing there with a gun pointed at her. That's true love. And as much as I like seeing Fitzsimmons happy, I admit that I'm disturbingly excited to see all of the angst from this situation as it progresses. How is Fitz ever going to forgive himself for what he's done? Mace is dead because of him. He shot Simmons. Give me the angst!

On a... happier note, I guess, we see that Coulson and May both make it out of the Framework. Neither of them have total memories of their old life, but Coulson has snippets, and May has faith in Coulson. Even through all of the alterations in this world, May is willing to follow Coulson anywhere. The moment when they both wake up, and Coulson lifts May into his arms... just... my HEART. I cannot.

Tragically, Mack decides to stay in the Framework. I'm not exactly surprised, but it was still a real punch to the gut. He sees that his world is a computer program, but to him, his daughter is real. When Daisy tells him that Hope isn't alive in the real world, that seals the deal for him. Daisy's goodbye was really touching. She doesn't want to lose him. Mack is her best friend. Then of course there's Yo-Yo, who spends this episode with the other remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. members on the quinjet, increasingly anxious as they are being tracked by the bad guys. When Daisy has to tell Elena that Mack isn't coming back... just... ouch. Again, I'm not surprised he decided to stay in the Framework. But I am very sad about it. If this show comes back next season, I'm not sure I'll be cool without Mack being a part of the story. Is there going to be another way to get him out of there?

Lastly, I want to say how much I've enjoyed seeing Trip again. Daisy's moments with him were some of the emotional highlights of the episode. It's so cute that he was taking care of Hope while the rest of the gang went on their mission to the backdoor. Do you think he would have watched over her if Mack hadn't returned? Either way, I'm down for Trip and Mack to co-parent little Hope.

I have a feeling that this review is one of my less coherent ones, but I can't help it. I'm just so jazzed by this whole Framework arc, and all of the delicious conflict it's brought about, both between our various characters, and within our various characters. The fallout from this is going to be intense...

9/10