Inescapable

Before I continue with tales of our thrilling adventures in Napa, let me pause for a digression about the thrilling adventures of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. -- the episode that aired a week ago. It was an episode centered on Fitz and Simmons, and as has often been the case when the series focuses on these two, it was an excellent installment.

Imprisoned by the Chronicoms in a machine that links their minds together, Fitz and Simmons are being forced to crack the secrets of time travel. But as the machine was designed for emotionless beings, there are unanticipated side effects. Before the two can even think about approaching the problem, they must dig into the darker side of their own relationship, and the secrets Simmons had hoped to not yet share with Fitz.

This a very cleverly constructed script that accomplishes a lot in a very short amount of time. Foremost, it takes the job of filling in Fitz on everything he missed during the previous season in a way that transcends boring exposition. Instead of receiving the information in conversation, he gets to step inside a memory and see it. What's more, the memories are ones we the audience weren't shown before. Together, it all takes a necessary story element that could have been very passive and turns it into something quite active.

Also smart is how the full cast was utilized in this episode. It's a story all in the minds of Fitz and Simmons, but many of the other characters are incorporated in natural ways. We got meaningful moments for Daisy and Mack, and not one but two scenes with Phil Coulson (the genuine article). Seeing Coulson again isn't just emotional for the characters, but it affects the audience too. The character is really gone now, even if actor Clark Gregg isn't, and so it means something extra when we see him again (as we did in May's memories a week earlier).

Perhaps most clever of all, the script acknowledged the dark undercurrents within the FitzSimmons relationship. Indeed, it was all about that. We'd seen the darker side of Fitz before; that's what came out in the Framework, and that's what returned now. But it was equally compelling to see what sorts of negative emotions Simmons is boxing up to present the mostly bubbling personality we normally get -- and it made sense.

Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker took the great material on the page and brought it to life with great performances. The acting challenges were numerous and varied. They had to live the emotional arc of another huge test in their relationship, going from a marriage proposal to a full-bore fight to an ultimate reconciliation all in the course of an hour. They each had to play younger versions of their characters, and slip back in forth between living in a memory and conversing in the present, honoring the emotional truth of both parts of the scene. Then they had to play their dark mirror personalities, the psychopathic Leopold and the new creepy-as-The-Ring dark version of Simmons. Each aspect of the performance was excellent work by both, separately and together.

It was, by far, the strongest episode of this season. It took a breath from strategically withholding plot from us and told a strong story about the characters that made an impact. I give the episode an A-. It's great to know the series still has this capability, and gives me encouragement for the rest of the season.