Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Fun & Games (5x06)

My heart!!!! Let's get started.

Cons:

Tess is dead, and Ben is dead. I almost put this under the "pros" section because I was genuinely shocked by these plot twists, but at the end of the day it feels like a wasted opportunity. All of the new characters in this future world haven't had time to fully develop. Daisy was devastated when Ben was killed, but I found myself more curious than upset. I wanted to know more about this guy! And Tess... I understand the logic of killing her off, as she represented a safety net for our leads that they needed to lose. But why spend time developing her only to get rid of her so quickly? Maybe this is just a pacing problem.

I'm still not convinced that Enoch is a necessary character. He acts in this episode as a guide for Fitz, leading him through the social etiquette in his new role as a high-end yet still disreputable bidder for Kasius' prized Inhumans. But Fitz does such an amazing job of playing the part, and Enoch barely helps him out, so... I guess we'll still have to wait and see how this character is utilized moving forward.

Pros:

I'm saving the main story for last because I'm afraid I'll ramble about it for far too long. Coulson, Elena, and Mack are still back with the general human population. They help out a young teenage boy who goes through terrigenesis and gets telekinetic powers. He is going to be sold to Kasius like the others, but Yo-Yo uses her powers to get him out of there before that can happen. This was a very basic story that allowed us some times with new and old characters, showed the compassion of our leads, while still emphasizing the trickiness of their current dilemma. Some good action, some good worrying as these three are still separated from Jemma, Daisy, and May... I don't have much else to say about it other than the fact that it really worked for me. Even Tess' death, which does seem like a waste, was well done within this episode. When they saw her hanging there as a warning... man. I was not expecting that at ALL.

Let's talk about Fitz, shall we? He was such a bad-ass. We see here how his Framework personality actually helped him out, as he was able to be convincing enough that Kasius never suspected him of being anything other than what he said he was. He was cruel, and rude, and managed to cover up his pain and fear so very well. Excellent acting, as always. There were so many little moments where he and Jemma are able to share a glance, but not talk to one another... it just killed me. Especially when he first sees her and his breath catches in his throat. Too good.

The fight choreography was incredible too. We got to see May fighting Ben, and then Daisy fighting Kasius' girlfriend... we got to see a bad-ass escape from Fitz, Simmons, and Daisy, intercut with adorable banter... this is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at its finest.

I know I'm not going in to a lot of depth on some of these elements, but that's because I want to focus on the fact that FITZSIMMONS ARE ENGAGED! And the way this plays out is simply too precious for words. First, we've got Fitz coming up to Simmons and telling her to play it cool and pretend not to know him. He then proceeds to give her a beautiful speech and propose to her. The only thing is... her hearing was turned off the whole time. She had no idea Fitz was right behind her. He touches her on the arm, and she turns around to see him just as Kasius walks up, and Fitz realizes that she hasn't heard a word of what he's just said. Ugh this is just too dramatic and I love it. Later, in the heat of their daring escape, Fitz tells Jemma he's never letting her go again, pulls her into a dramatic kiss, and Jemma does the proposing: "then marry me, Fitz!" "Absolutely." As the two of them help a concussed Daisy out of the arena, Fitz points out that he actually did propose first.

See, this is my jam. We get both the heartfelt speech proposal, and the science babies bickering proposal. It's exactly what I wanted. I could not be happier about that proposal. Of course, now it just remains to be seen if they can actually escape and make it to the happy ending they both deserve.

It seems pretty clear where the story is heading from this point forward: down to the surface of the completely destroyed planet Earth. We've got Deke's father down there, and now apparently May is there as well. We also still need to get to the bottom of this whole "Destroyer of Worlds" business, and find out exactly what Daisy did or didn't do to put things in this state. And... we need to figure out if there's a way to fix it. The fact is, Fitz didn't find a way to travel through time and solve the problem. He waited over seven decades to reunite with Simmons and the others, and that means he is every bit as stuck as the rest of them. Is Enoch their only hope? How do I feel about that?

This show, man. It does some weird stuff, but I'm always willing to go along for the ride. Especially now that FITZSIMMONS ARE ENGAGED!!!

9/10