S03.E05: 4,722 Hours

[VCRTracking]

I was more disappointed in we didn't get to see cool aliens or find out what that "thing" on the planet was. I felt bad for Fitz but I don't think Jemma owes him anything. His response to help her made me happy. So many people on like Tumblr were saying that Fitz wanted Emma back just to date her and that he expected her love in return for saving her and I think it shows how selfless he is.

[Lady Calypso]

Well, I liked it. I had no idea it would be an episode with just Jemma and her new boyfriend, with a touch of Fitz. I also thought I would hate the potential Planet Boyfriend cliche, and of course it bugs me to an extent. They could have had her companion a woman and it would have been infinitely more interesting. However, what they did with Jemma and Will was not as bad as I thought it would be, and I'll go as far as to say that I enjoyed it a lot.

 

First off, we got to see Jemma without Will for the first ten or fifteen minutes of the episode. We got to see her live in denial, figure out what to do, deciding to wait at the portal, and then taking off while leaving a sign for Fitz so she could look for water and food. Then we got to see her fight for food, crawl for water and use her phone to keep her sane and hopeful. It's only when her life is shown to be in more danger than just dehydration and complete insanity that we meet the companion, who happens to be a guy. I like how he captured Jemma and thought she wasn't real. He was more sane than I thought he could ever be, but that's television for you. Dillon Casey did a good job with his part, though. Even though I couldn't completely buy that he had been gone for 14 years (felt more like six or something), he did a good job in showing that he had been isolated for a long time. 

 

And the fact that him and Jemma weren't shown to have feelings for one another? I actually think Jemma and Will decided to be intimate (we don't know IF they're in love, or dating, or what) because of the lack of other people with them. They only have each other, they have known each other for a couple of months that have felt like probably years to them, and they had a lot of time to get to know each other so of course that type of relationship would start differently than most. But we don't know their official status; all we know is that Jemma feels a strong connection to Will and wants to get him back home, just like he helped her.

 

I love that it took the two of them together to find a way back home. Without each other, they'd probably be stuck on that planet until they died. I guess I was just rather impressed with how they went about this episode. It wasn't Agents of SHIELD, but it was pretty darn captivating. 

 

And I love Fitz for deciding to help his best friend. He's always been that kind of guy, and I think he knows that their friendship comes first, above any love triangles. 

 

And honestly? I didn't miss any of the other characters, not one bit. Maybe the Planet Terror with Jemma and Will is the type of show I wouldn't mind watching. 

[Watcher0363]

I'm tired of love triangles and will they won't they stuff but writers  just can't resist. And if I was Fitz I would just give up on Jemma and try to find happiness with someone else. It seems like he's always getting screwed. I'm annoyed for him.

I think Izombie covered this earlier this year. With

 

Lowell: Do you?

Liv: Need to get over it?

Lowell: Yeah.

Liv: Well, what's the alternative? Stay in love with a guy I can never be with?

Lowell: You know people do that all the time, right?

 

Someone will have to embrace the last line.

 

As for Andrew being dead. We all have pictures of Mr. Harris. So there is that, especially if you have the shirtless one.

[Statman]

That was the stupidest fucking episode ever. OF COURSE she has a space boyfriend. And OF COURSE she has to go back in order to rescue him. Utterly pathetic and cliche.

That's it - I gave them a chance to do something different, but they went the stupidest, most cliche route they could.

I stuck around during season 1, there "all Skye, all the time" season. I hung on through season 2 when Skye became Daisy and it was still all about her. I have stuck with this show through the cliches, through the crappy writing and through the implausible strategies Colson keeps employing. I even stuck with the show after they killed Tripp.

But this is the last straw. Not only do they make Simmons' trip the monolith all about a man, she has to go back for that man. Sigh.

I'm done with this idiotic show. I'm out.

You think Simmons wouldn't try to go back and rescue Will even if he was not her boyfriend?

I mean maybe is just me but I think spending over half of the year surviving with someone would lead me to be inclined to try to rescue that said someone even if I was not in a relationship with him. However your mileage may vary.

[VCRTracking]

I do like that Will and his fellow astronauts when through the portal in 2001, like the astronauts encountered the monolith on the moon in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[Jack Kerouac]

You think Simmons wouldn't try to go back and rescue Will even if he was not her boyfriend?

I mean maybe is just me but I think spending over half of the year surviving with someone would lead me to be inclined to try to rescue that said someone even if I was not in a relationship with him. However your mileage may vary.

I think the whole IDEA of Space Boyfriend is clichéd and idiotic. Marvel ruins another great female character by making her need a man. Because why not, right? Every woman needs a man to rescue her.

And as Strongly pointed out:

Where was the trauma that caused her to act like she had been a POW the whole time? What reason did she have to keep quiet about all that. She was with him until literally seconds before being rescued. She should have been talking about going back to get him the instant she could. Where the hell did the little stick come from when she woke up back in bed once she was home? She spent the whole time in a cozy cave and was about to watch a sunrise with her live-in shag; why was she armed? She was hopeful and cheerful less than two minutes before being rescued. I don't get it.

And regardless, I said I'm out, so I am out. Hopefully, I won't miss much as the ratings have been not so great.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Jack Kerouac

[Bats27]

-Elizabeth Henstridge was great in this episode.
-Dear lord, Fitz just cannot catch a break it seems.
-Speaking of Fitz, they guy cares enough about Simmons that he's going to risk his life AGAIN to go back and get the guy that she was sleeping with.
-They pulled a cliché "we're making him act a certain way just for a big reveal for the audience." Because, in-universe, there was no reason for him to initially storm off like he was ticked off, given what his actual plan turned out to be.

-And I agree with Statman that Simmons would have wanted to go back and save Astronaut guy even if they hadn't actually hooked up.  He helped her, and was the only person that she'd seen in months.  She'd have to be a sociopath to then just abandon him to die on that world, or live the rest of his life in that way.

-I'm still curious as to what "IT" is?  I hope that that gets clarified more when we go back to that planet.

[VCRTracking]

Interview with Elizabeth Henstridge:

 

So now that Fitz knows Simmons’ story, how do you think this effects their relationship going forward?

EH: Oh god, it’s such a tough one. I think they’re both now – she’s so beyond grateful that Fitz is going to help her with getting Will back. The trouble is that she doesn’t even know Will is alive at this point, because she hears the gunshot, and who knows what has happened to him. She’s so confused, and the love that Fitz is showing for her by helping her with this task, you know, it’s overwhelming. We’re definitely going to see that tension between the two of them. Right now, her feelings for Fitz, and his feelings for her, they’re just putting them aside to try and concentrate on this task, and that’s what they do best. They work very well together, but this is a huge obstacle, and a massive elephant in the room. At the moment, their relationship is in tatters, but Fitz has enough unconditional love for Simmons to help her with this. He’s a good guy, in the end of it, and he realizes that somebody needs help, and he’s willing to do that. But their relationship, we can’t see a path to them being good together again for a while. But for right now, they’re putting all that aside and just concentrating on doing the right thing, which is trying to get this man that saved Simmons’ life back home.

 

[Minneapple]

I liked that episode a lot. It wasn't SHIELD, but it was something different and good. It's nice when shows break out of their formula a bit.

Jemma Simmons kind of rules. As does Elizabeth Henstridge! I've loved Simmons ever since she stood between Ward and Skye and threatened Ward. My love grows with leaps and bounds.

I knew right away that Fitz wasn't mad because Jemma slept with Will. That would be the reaction of a douchey character and Fitz is anything but.

But oh, Fitz broke my heart. The look on his face at the end. He'll get Will back because he loves Jemma but more importantly because he's a decent human being. Just like Jemma.

[dwmarch]

-They pulled a cliché "we're making him act a certain way just for a big reveal for the audience." Because, in-universe, there was no reason for him to initially storm off like he was ticked off, given what his actual plan turned out to be.

 

I thought Fitz had reason enough to leave in a huff. He was on the verge of getting together with the woman he's had feelings for for a long time now. He overcame brain damage to become the person he had been before. He went to the ends of the Earth for her so that he could go to the ends of the universe for her. He put himself in constant danger chasing fruitless leads. He refused to mourn and when he had to mourn, started with anger and shotgunned his way into direct contact with the thing that took his love. When the opportunity came up to rescue her he jumped into the portal himself despite knowing that no one would ever be able to follow him if he got stuck. He rescues Jemma after all of this, takes her to the nice restaurant and acts as a gentleman's gentleman... and then finds out she has a fucking boyfriend. Not only that, a boyfriend he now has to rescue.

 

However, I don't think the boyfriend is long for this world or any other. In fact, I think he's already dead. Why did he check the gun at the end? He knew there was just one bullet in it. I think he's been replaced by the alien and that will be the thing that they drag back to Earth in the guise of Simmons new guy. If there is any justice in the universe, Fitz will kill the thing himself using the shotgun-axe he's helping create for Mack.

[VCRTracking]

Overall, I thought it was a standout episode with a fantastic performance from Elizabeth Henstridge.

 

Interesting to get the different reactions. Reddit and Tumblr are devastated. ONTD! is glad Jemma and I quote "got that astronaut d--k!" and SHIELD TV forums mostly thought  the episode was great.

Edited October 28, 2015 by VCRTracking

[kennyab]

I think the whole IDEA of Space Boyfriend is clichéd and idiotic. Marvel ruins another great female character by making her need a man. Because why not, right? Every woman needs a man to rescue her.

 

If you don't like the episode, that's fine, it's your prerogative. But I disagree with your reading quite a bit. The show went out of its way to show Jemma learning to survive on her own. She found water, learned to "fish" and make a fire to cook her prey. She didn't need Will for any of that stuff. Did he make it easier? Sure, but I don't see that the same as rescuing her -- she did that all on her own.

[DeepPoet117]

It appears like after Jemma met Will, they lived a decent enough life in their bunker. They had furniture, technology, companionship, food, everything you would need/want when you're stranded on a strange planet. This episode showed that the only thing they had to fear was the creepy sandstorm/monster thing, which they avoided by staying in their bunker and keeping away from No-Man's Land. So why does Jemma wake up with a shiv after first being rescued? I think there's something more to this than Jemma just happened to stumble across a stranded astronaut (who doesn't understand astronomy?) with all the supplies needed to survive.

[Chaos Theory]

I don't think Simmons is.in love with Will. She was on the planet for awhile. 196.75 days according to my calculations. She spent about half of that alone and the other half with Will. Through all that there was Fitz and her Firzphone. Simmons had her hope of getting back to Fitz through almost all of it. Even Will comments that Fitz was her favorite word and when she goes to destroy her Fitzphone he questions her on destroying her last link to Fitz but her hope of getting back to Fitz is what drives her.

Then it fails and she loses hope and she clings to what she had left; Will. Even at the end sitting waiting for the sun to rise she starts to comment how he reminds her of Fitz.

I am saying this badly but I don't think she loves Will. I think she clung to Will because she needed him. If they had been stuck there longer she might have loved him but there would have always been Fitz.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[shrewd.buddha]

  Also why didn't she just tell the team that she wasn't alone on the planet?

This backstory does not match up with the traumatized, near catatonic Simmons that was rescued. She appeared to be functioning pretty well, eating, sleeping, not needing a shiv on a regular basis .... right up to the point when the portal appeared. Was this written by people who did not know what happened in the earlier episodes?

(I would speculate that Simmon's version of events was not what actually happened. But when TPTB cut back to Will on the planet, dropping the gun and walking off, it pretty much confirmed the story as reality. That could not have been a memory from Simmons.)

 

And why is Simmon's space boyfriend her shameful secret? People love rescuing NASA astronauts from other planets!  Did they not see 'The Martian'? Why is Simmons skulking around tying to figure out how to get back? Why tell only Fitz? Why include the sex part? Just say "There is an American astronaut still trapped on that planet as a result of a NASA mission from 2001."  People would want to help. Really.

 

The episode did seem to be taken from 'The Martian' ... in the beginning. And I did like the change of pace : one story told from beginning to end  -- instead of four of five plots chopped into pieces and then cutting back and forth between them. 

 

As others have said, what's up the the idea of a 'not science-y' astronaut ? And for what reason did Will build a very large holding cell out of bamboo? (Did he whip that together just for Simmons? ) 

Edited October 28, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[DeLurker]

Although the story leads to many a question, the individual ep was very compelling and EH carried it very very well.  I like Will (although I did wonder why and how he kept his facial hair oh-so-neat-n-tidy when he's been there by himself for 14 years).

[tv echo]

I thought this episode was a nice change of pace for AoS.  Elizabeth Henstridge did an amazing acting job.  I liked her portrayal of Jemma's rollercoaster of emotions throughout the episode.  I liked the mystery of the identity of "it".  Despite initial reservations, I even liked Will.  Even though the episode focused on Jemma and no one else in the regular cast appeared (except for Fitz at the end), I didn't miss them in this episode.  The look and tone of the episode were different.  I wasn't bored during the hour.  I was invested in Jemma's survival and liked her ingenuity and determination when she was on her own. 

 

I just wonder if there's a twist coming and it turns out that Will killed those other astronauts.  Maybe "it" is one of the other astronauts.  Or maybe it was Will chasing Jemma with the gun when she was rescued and she lied because she has a secret agenda for going back.

 

If I had to nitpick, I'd say that Jemma - and Will, for that matter - didn't look thin enough for people who were surviving on alien fish.  NASA may have provided food for one year, but 14 years?  Also, what are the odds that Jemma gets sucked through a portal onto another planet, and the only other survivor is a hunky, age-appropriate, attractive guy?  (It reminded me of that Julia Roberts movie where an abused wife fakes her own death and hides in a small town, where she rents a house - and her neighbor just happens to be an attractive young single guy.)  However, upon second thought, it's not that far-fetched.  They made the character a NASA astronaut from 2001, so that increases the likelihood that it's going to be an American male, who's fit and athletic, and not too old.

 

Warning - the following interviews with EH are maybe spoilery about Jemma's feelings for Fitz and Will (assuming EH is on the same page as the writers)...

 

Don't Worry, That Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Twist Made Elizabeth Henstridge Scream Too
by BILLY NILLES Tue., Oct. 27, 2015 10:00 PM PDT
http://www.eonline.com/news/710731/don-t-worry-that-agents-of-s-h-i-e-l-d-twist-made-elizabeth-henstridge-scream-too

 

'Agents of SHIELD': Elizabeth Henstridge Dives Deep Into What Happened to Simmons
OCTOBER 27, 2015 10:00pm PT by Sydney Bucksbaum
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/agents-shield-elizabeth-henstridge-simmons-834912

 

"AGENTS OF SHIELD'S" HENSTRIDGE OPENS UP ON SIMMONS' EXTRATERRESTRIAL ADVENTURE
Posted: 21 hours ago
http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/agents-of-shields-henstridge-opens-up-on-simmons-extraterrestrial-adventure

 

And here's a tweet from Will himself:

Dillon Casey ‏@DillonCasey
Final #aos tweet of the night. As a #Canadian there's only one thing I can say to #FitzSimmons fans: sorry!
11:44 PM - 27 Oct 2015

https://twitter.com/DillonCasey/status/659259522653917184

Edited October 28, 2015 by tv echo

[ae2]

Damn it! The writer's didn't check their story against tvtropes.com to verify that they aren't violating one of the thousands of unacceptable tropes.

 

Fitz falls in love with his best friend. Trope!

 

Best friend doesn't like him back. Trope!

 

Best friend is whisked away as soon as she starts to show interest in him. Trope!

 

Only person on the planet happens to be a good looking guy. Crappy writing!

 

Woman grows an attachment to the only person she has contact with on an alien planet. Cliche!

 

Woman rescued by best friend, who happens to be male. Sexist!

 

Love triangle. Typical!

 

Woman wants to go back and rescue her wun twue wuv. Feminist!

 

Scorned best friend still wants to help her. Priceless!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I agree that Simmons would have wanted to go back to rescue Will even if they had never hooked up. She knows how hopeless it was to be there and she would not want to leave him there to suffer alone for years and years.

 

Similarly, whatever jealous or resentful feelings that Fitz may have about Will being with her, he is a good-hearted person who would not want to leave someone alone on a planet for the rest of his life if there was any possibility of helping him get home. Well, unless it was someone like Ward.

 

I think that perhaps she grew to love Will after they hooked up but that initially she was just turning to him for comfort in the face of their failure. Until that moment, she had spent all her time there believing that there was a way to get home so her energy was focused on figuring out how. But after they got so close and saw their opportunity close right before their eyes, she was devastated and she resigned herself to a lifetime of just Will and no sun and avoiding the mysterious It. She gave up hope of ever seeing Fitz again, so she turned to the only person available to her. And it's not like Will is a horrible person. Aside from initially locking her up, he has been kind to her and they had clearly become friends during their time together so she figured they might as well make the most of things. I think that once she believed they would be there forever, she gave up the idea of being with Fitz and opened herself to loving Will. I don't blame her for that at all.

[Raja]

This backstory does not match up with the traumatized, near catatonic Simmons that was rescued. She appeared to be functioning pretty well, eating, sleeping, not needing a shiv on a regular basis .... right up to the point when the portal appeared. Was this written by people who did not know what happened in the earlier episodes?

(I would speculate that Simmon's version of events was not what actually happened. But when TPTB cut back to Will on the planet, dropping the gun and walking off, it pretty much confirmed the story as reality. That could not have been a memory from Simmons.)

 

And why is Simmon's space boyfriend her shameful secret? People love rescuing NASA astronauts from other planets!  Did they not see 'The Martian'? Why is Simmons skulking around tying to figure out out to get back? Why tell only Fitz? Why include the sex part? Just say "There is an American astronaut still trapped on that planet as a result of a NASA mission from 2001."  People would want to help. Really.

 

The episode did seem to be taken from 'The Martian' ... in the beginning. And I did like the change of pace : one story told from beginning to end  -- instead of four of five plots chopped into pieces and then cutting back and forth between them. 

 

As others have said, what's up the the idea of a 'not science-y' astronaut ? And for what reason did Will build a very large holding cell out of bamboo? (Did he whip that together just for Simmons? ) 

It seemed like NASA's mission was secret like the other franchises Stargate Command. I think the episode was used as Agent Carter in the winter break to hold time during the off period, in this case the World Series opener. Just a large hour one shot with no story arc movement save the promo monkey at the end. And with The Martian still number one in the box office the plot device oasis did make it easy just for Will to sit in a hole and just wait for death with the last bullet suicide option. While our hero got to"science the shit" out of the problem

 

But I did catch Will asking was SHIELD really a thing. So people heard of it but didn't really think it existed. like a fake spy agency acronyms used for movies. It was the Stargate deep cover of an alien producing a TV show so that if security was broken folks would think people were talking about a science fiction TV show and not the actual program.

[benteen]

There's some speculation about what this planet might be and the main idea is a real trippy concept from Marvel in the 60s.

[Sakura12]

This is American TV, everyone is attractive no matter where you are. 

 

Jemma did survive on her own without a man for a month or so. While she doesn't need a man to save her, she did need a companion to keep on surviving. That's all that Will provided, someone to talk to, someone to help. Would it have made that much of a difference if was another woman? We only really have two choices when finding someone man or woman. I suppose she could've met a gender less alien. I don't think she's in love with Will, but he is her friend and they survived together of course she'd want to go back and rescue him. The poor guy has been there for 14 years. We also saw earlier that others have gone to that planet, so there was always a chance she wasn't alone. 

 

However after seeing what Sara went through on Arrow, from what we've seen, Jemma didn't have it that bad.  Being effected by light and loud noises I can see being on a dark and silent planet. But why was she sleeping with a shiv? We never saw the dust storm creature actually attacking them.

 

Why she didn't tell anyone about Will right away makes no sense. It would be interesting if she was lying and Will was really the bad guy that was chasing her and she wants to go back to destroy him. It would be easier to convince Fitz and Shield to help her if she told him he helped her rather than he was hurting her. 

[greekmom]

Bang on episode. Elizabeth Henstridge owned it and she delivered. 

Anyone and I mean anyone would have the inclination to go back and save Will.  It's human nature. She is stuck on an "island" (ok alien planet), first thoughts getting off. Next thoughts survival. After that acceptance of the situation and trying to make the best of it.  It's human nature to get closer to someone you are with when you are trying to survive. 

The fact that Will helped her stay sane is good enough. Regardless of any love triangle. Plus her feelings might change when Will comes back to Earth. People are different in different situations.

One thing that did bother me was that Will was sent back in 2001. Simmons referred to the computer stuff as ancient. Really?! Old maybe. Outdated for sure. But ancient?!?!

[Sakura12]

I'd consider 2001 stuff ancient tech wise. Tech moves so quickly that a cell phone from 5 years ago is old. So 14 years would be ancient. The first generation iPhone came out in 2007.

[Riful]

There goes my last shred of hope that they might make any character of note LGBT on this show damn it. I guess I should had figured it was a done deal after they introduced that one bit guest star at start of season, which was probably done to shut up the criticism the show received for being so super straight that it even degays characters.

 

I love Jemma but the episode had problems keeping my attention as it wore on. I think having her on different planet could had been done in a much more interesting way. Why chose to make it some boring ass desert planet**? Why not pick a planet that ties into the greater Marvel Universe? I feel like they could had made the planet much more interesting, with some form of civilization or something, instead of just desert and some generic gritty bearded dude ready to be a Love Interest for her. Best part for me was definitely the first 10-15 minutes where she was on her own, though all the "Fitz this Fitz that" bugged. I was happy when it seemed like the show was keeping them just friends, but now I am seeing the whole "he wins her as a prize for being the one holding out hope for finding her and eventually rescuing her, where in the end she will give in to this awesome super fantastic guy that has earned her" narrative playing out. Now with Will maybe that narrative won't happen or it will just be mixed in with a love triangle, which doesn't make it any better.

 

Elizabeth Henstridge was fantastic in this episode. I guess I just wish the show chose to be more creative with what they had instead of being so standard.

 

*Small edit: I realize we didn't see much of the planet so there could be a lot more going on than what we saw. But drab desert was still what they opted to show us thus far.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Riful

[DavidJSnyder]

According to Wikipedia, the youngest astronaut candidate in our universe has been 26 and the average candidate is around 34, so reasonably Will should be a guy at least in his forties.   But either alien planets are great at preserving or they come younger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[Chaos Theory]

If you keep playing count the tropes you might as well stop watching tv. I don't think there has ever been an episode of tv without a trope. It's about a story and if the story makes sense and is a good one and I actually liked this one. Would I have liked it if Simmons has found a girl instead of a guy...sure I would have. However romances work on tv. They just do. Do I think they are in love? No. Do I think Will saved Simmons yes. Do I think he stole her agency...hell no. She would have survived on her own perfectly fine him being there gave her something beside to hold on to when hope was no longer enough.

[paigow]

If you keep playing count the tropes you might as well stop watching tv.

Agreed. The writers could not have her channel James Franco because watching her trapped under a rock for 4000 hours is not compelling. So what choices are left?

Meet a hostile alien and then work through their differences to survive? Geordi & the Romulan did that. Imagine that her phone is a real person? Hi Wilson!

[Gregg247]

This was my favorite episode of this show.  I kept placing myself in Simmons' situation and asking how I would handle everything.  She stayed calm and managed to survive.  I'm glad they introduced another character, as her phone would have run out of juice MUCH sooner if her only companion was that photo of Fitz.  

 

Jemma and Will saved each other, as you would hope two people would do when trapped alone in a frightening situation.

 

I'm not sure why Jemma didn't alert everyone to Will's existence as soon as she returned, as saving a person trapped alone on a planet for 14 years should become SHIELD's (and NASA's and the US government's) highest priority.  I would assume that the Feds would be grateful that SHIELD was able to let them know about Will's survival.

 

Very good story, and fine acting.  This was very well made.

[Chaos Theory]

I was alway partial to the O'Brien story on DS9. Trapped on alien planet. She could have actually killed him and not know it. Or maybe he is a figment of her imagination. They are after all going back. I think it would be interesting she killed him or if never actually existed.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Julie23]

I too liked Jemma's survival episode, but wondered why she wouldn't immediately tell everyone there was another human on the planet. Maybe she found the astronaut stash and dreamed/hallucinated Will?

[Potanical Pardon]

Fitz is totally raging on the inside. There's no way that he's not, e.g., raging at that monolith, willing to die exhausting his last lead towards saving her. He's constantly putting forth the effort, though too embarrassed and scared when actually admitting his feelings to her in person. She leaves his side when he's mentally and emotionally in need even though she thinks that's what he needed. He recovers anyways, she makes him his sandwich and he gets to enjoy it. And she gets to address her guilt and project it onto Ward wanting to murder him, even if she thinks she's doing it for Fitz. Then it happens again: She gives up on him; he never gives up on her...and yes, I get that everything looked hopeless and the other dude's 14 years of almost total solitude alleviates most grrrrr towards him; I don't blame him at all. Were the tables turned, there's no way that Fitz would have given up even after the bottle launch failed. It's not in his character just as much as it's in his character to help Simmons now with saving Will. That's how awesome he is.

 

And that's why he's too good for Simmons.

 

She doesn't deserve him. He's going to continue to be awesome and show example after example why and she may even realize it, but I hope he realizes that it isn't a matter of missing his chance or window or whatever. She was never going to be into him as much as he was into her, so he needs to realize and admit it to himself and get past it. There may or may not be a someone who will appreciate him as much as he'll appreciate that person back, but it's cool if not and hopefully he/the writers will get to that place, because that's way better than the character ending up being an eternal rebound/second-choice. If it helps in an internal monologue selfish way, he'll get to consider himself a good one that got away sort-of thing.

 

Man, if they do find a match for him...that is going to be so hard to cast and write! Damn, that was a really good episode. Anywho, officially getting off the Fitz-Simmons train now. 

 

P.S. She didn't have to tell Fitz that she told Will that her dad would have liked him. Hahaha! That's really why he stormed off initially before saying anything about helping. Not the boning. Yeah, that hurts, but it's the dad line that twisted the knife.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Potanical Pardon

[3girlsforus]

Ok - lots of great conversation about the actual plot, relationships etc. But I can't be the only one who watched Jemma and Will start kissing and wondered if in all of those NASA supplies there really was a 14 year supply of toothpaste and Listerine. Eww..

[DeLurker]

 

Maybe she found the astronaut stash and dreamed/hallucinated Will?

 

Maybe intergalactic pot has an intergalactic THC level?

Edited October 28, 2015 by DeLurker

[Watcher0363]

An astronaut who can't science the shit out of a situation. Hmmmm I smell a ripoff of a Star Trek episode called metamorphosis.

Because it seemed as if something was trying to pull Simmons back when Fitz rescued her.

[Sakura12]

It really helps to not ship on shows. Because then I don't care about ship blocks or triangles. I can just watch a story unfold. Not saying it's always a good story or an original story but I enjoyed this episode with Jemma and Will. 

 

For me it's still Fitz was on Earth at his home with all the comforts and could leave whenever he wanted. Jemma was on an ALIEN PLANET and met a guy that's been trapped there for 14 YEARS. Giving up after she used the only battery in existence to try to find a portal that she couldn't reach is completely understandable. Interplanetary travel is also something Shield does not have access to or done before. Most people would've given up even Fitz if the odds kept going against him. He was ready to give up and believe she was gone until he found the sand.  

 

Jemma isn't some prize that Fitz deserves because he loves her so much. If Jemma doesn't feel the same she shouldn't have to be forced to love him just because he never gives up on her. They even had Jemma say that she didn't feel the same way, I still believe that's true. She loves Fitz but is not in love with him. The fact they were making her try to date him was I think taking away her agency. To me it seemed like she agreed to the date because he's so into her and she didn't want to lose him from her life. 

 

However Will was a there's no one else here type of relationship and a fellow survivor relationship. Those tend to run hot then run cold when everyone is settled back at home. But it does give them a bond that no one else has with them. That's why I didn't mind it. 

 

I figured people would happy that Will wasn't a fellow science nerd. That would have brought the he's just like Fitz. Why would she hook up with him and not Fitz. or he's a copycat Fitz complaints. I also think he wasn't an astronaut but a military protector for the actual astronauts. They didn't arrive on the planet with a space ship, they walked through a portal. 

Edited October 28, 2015 by Sakura12

[KirkB]

To begin I want to give many accolades to EH. It takes serious acting chops to carry an entire episode almost entirely by yourself. Not to mention the character has to be interesting enough to make you want to watch them in an episode on their own.

 

Now, to the space boyfriend trope. I knew it was coming. I hoped it wouldn't, but it did, and to be fair I don't think it was as bad as it could have been. Simmons didn't throw herself at the first warm body she found, it was more of a natural progression. Frankly, if I were stuck in a strange place for that many months with a sexually compatible for me person I would be inclined to hook with them, especially seeing as by then it wasn't starting to look like we were ever going to get home. I do agree that it could have easily been another woman however, with or without the sexual component. In circumstances like that you're most likely going to either end up in some sort of relationship, or enemies.

 

I'm also not clear on why Will wasn't the first or second thing out of Simmons' mouth after she was rescued. Even if I hated the guy someone I spent months with who had helped me survive and stay sane I think I would at least mentioned him immediately. I'd like to think there's something more to the story we just haven't seen yet but I have no reason to think these writers are that complex. I guess we'll see.

[Primetimer]

It's kind of like The Martian, but with a dash of Lost.

Read the story

[emma675]

I liked it, if I don't think about the details too hard.

 

I have never shipped Fitz and Simmons, so I'm fine with them never getting together, but I still felt for Fitz. It's hard to love someone that much and they moved on when you didn't. 

 

 

I was surprised by how much the space boyfriend cliche didn't bother me. I liked Will and thought he brought an interesting element ot the story.

Ditto. I hope they bring Will back from the planet and we also get a better look at what was stalking them. I'm more interested in this story line right now than the Inhuman one.

[Vodka]

Loved this episode. Been pretty much almost giving up on this show but past few eps got mostly undivided attention (this one totally did).

Jemma is an amazing character, she survived the hell out of that. Can't wait to see what happens, I hope they get Will back to Earth soon.

I love it when the story focuses on May and Bobbi and Simmons (and Fitz and Hunter).

I'm tired of Coulson and Skye (never liked her), they try so hard to make these characters seem cool.

[Sakura12]

This was such a great episode with a great performance by Elizabeth Henstridge and all people can talk about is the stupid shipping. That's why I hate shipping, everything always has to be about them and when they will get together. Shows should be about more than that and the writers shouldn't have to constantly worry about upsetting the ship. 

 

If the ship gets together, fine with me, if they don't get together, fine with me as well. 

Edited October 28, 2015 by Sakura12

[Jack Kerouac]

Jemma isn't some prize that Fitz deserves because he loves her so much. If Jemma doesn't feel the same she shouldn't have to be forced to love him just because he never gives up on her. They even had Jemma say that she didn't feel the same way, I still believe that's true. She loves Fitz but is not in love with him. The fact they were making her try to date him was I think taking away her agency. To me it seemed like she agreed to the date because he's so into her and she didn't want to lose him from her life. 

 

I don't think anyone is saying that someone is a prize for someone else. That's a dodge. I'm saying the whole plot was stupid, especially the space boyfriend thing. And Simmons is the one who told Fitz there was something else to their relationship. Fitz had already started to move on. My problems with the episode mostly rest on:

 

1. The only other person she meets on the planet is a 30-something hot dude. Did this guy become an astronaut when he was 16?

    

2. Said dude still looks awesome; he even has a shaved beard!

    

3. Simmons spends the first 15 minutes being badass and then falls into the arms of the dude (said astronaut) who saved her.

    

4. She comes back with space PTSD for NO REASON AT ALL. She was warm, comfortable, emotionally at peace and had shelter. Nothing (except 'it' was chasing her and she was in basically no danger at all.

    

5. A 'non-sciency' astronaut. That's got to be the stupidest thing of all. If it was NASA, he would be sciency, an Engineer at MINIMUM, probably with multiple degrees.

 

It seems that the only clichés they haven't hit with this one are:

 

1. Simmons is pregnant with Will's baby.

    

2. Will is actually evil and Simmons has to kill him!

 

But, after experiencing the quality of writing this season, I expect both of those clichés to come true.

 

And that's why he's too good for Simmons.

 

She doesn't deserve him. He's going to continue to be awesome and show example after example why and she may even realize it, but I hope he realizes that it isn't a matter of missing his chance or window or whatever. She was never going to be into him as much as he was into her, so he needs to realize and admit it to himself and get past it. There may or may not be a someone who will appreciate him as much as he'll appreciate that person back, but it's cool if not and hopefully he/the writers will get to that place, because that's way better than the character ending up being an eternal rebound/second-choice. If it helps in an internal monologue selfish way, he'll get to consider himself a good one that got away sort-of thing.

 

P.S. She didn't have to tell Fitz that she told Will that her dad would have liked him. Hahaha! That's really why he stormed off initially before saying anything about helping. Not the boning. Yeah, that hurts, but it's the dad line that twisted the knife.

 

This. Thank you. Simmons doesn't have the same love for Fitz that he has for her, so he should just move on. The way Fitz and Simmons have been written, Fitz should be telling her to hit the curb. When someone gives up on you, the realtionship is basically over. Fitz never gave up on Simmons, but Simmons did give up on Fitz.

 

Also, agree that maybe she might have told that story a little differently. Perhaps leaving out the sex and the part about her dad? Really, way to kick the guy when he's down!

 

To all the people who are saying they would be sexing up the astronaut if they were stuck there - I get that attitude. I just don't share it.

[VCRTracking]

I think the whole IDEA of Space Boyfriend is clichéd and idiotic. Marvel ruins another great female character by making her need a man. Because why not, right? Every woman needs a man to rescue her.

 

I don't agree with that. If it was a man suddenly marooned on another planet and surviving there for a while before meeting a woman stranded there it wouldn't suddenly be all about her. A lot of fans are making this episode centered around Jemma about a man, and that man is Fitz. He's was noble and selfless in the final scene but the main thing that should be taken away is what Jemma went through.

Edited October 28, 2015 by VCRTracking

[benteen]

I don't think anyone is saying that someone is a prize for someone else. That's a dodge. I'm saying the whole plot was stupid, especially the space boyfriend thing. And Simmons is the one who told Fitz there was something else to their relationship. Fitz had already started to move on. My problems with the episode mostly rest on:

 

1. The only other person she meets on the planet is a 30-something hot dude. Did this guy become an astronaut when he was 16?

    

2. Said dude still looks awesome; he even has a shaved beard!

    

3. Simmons spends the first 15 minutes being badass and then falls into the arms of the dude (said astronaut) who saved her.

    

4. She comes back with space PTSD for NO REASON AT ALL. She was warm, comfortable, emotionally at peace and had shelter. Nothing (except 'it' was chasing her and she was in basically no danger at all.

    

5. A 'non-sciency' astronaut. That's got to be the stupidest thing of all. If it was NASA, he would be sciency, an Engineer at MINIMUM, probably with multiple degrees.

 

It seems that the only clichés they haven't hit with this one are:

 

1. Simmons is pregnant with Will's baby.

    

2. Will is actually evil and Simmons has to kill him!

 

But, after experiencing the quality of writing this season, I expect both of those clichés to come true.

 

 

This. Thank you. Simmons doesn't have the same love for Fitz that he has for her, so he should just move on. The way Fitz and Simmons have been written, Fitz should be telling her to hit the curb. When someone gives up on you, the realtionship is basically over. Fitz never gave up on Simmons, but Simmons did give up on Fitz.

 

Also, agree that maybe she might have told that story a little differently. Perhaps leaving out the sex and the part about her dad? Really, way to kick the guy when he's down!

 

To all the people who are saying they would be sexing up the astronaut if they were stuck there - I get that attitude. I just don't share it.

 

I didn't see Simmons "falling into his arms."  I thought their relationship, as it was, came across as more of a natural progression.

 

I think it is time for Fitz to move on though in terms of thinking of Jemma as a romantic option.  I think Jemma was starting to become interested in that possibility but it would be good for Fitz to move on.  I agree that Simmons doesn't owe Fitz a romantic relationship.

Edited October 28, 2015 by benteen

[kitlee625]

I was alway partial to the O'Brien story on DS9. Trapped on alien planet. She could have actually killed him and not know it. Or maybe he is a figment of her imagination. They are after all going back. I think it would be interesting she killed him or if never actually existed.

It also reminded me of an "O'Brien must suffer" episode of DS9, and given how awesome they were, that's a compliment.

 

So on second thought, even though I liked this episode a lot, I think it works better as a standalone story than as a piece of the AOS puzzle. For starters, the episode was well-written, well acted, and actually showed character development so props writers. It also though highlights just how much those things are lacking from most other episodes, that rely too heavily on special effects and SHOCKING TWISTS. I'll echo people who point out that it just doesn't make sense though when you think about how Simmons reacted - sleeping with the shiv, not telling people about Will left behind - so I hope that these holes will be explained later and not just be left gaping. I also am not sure how this fits into the greater plot of the story. I'm sure it has nothing to do with Hydra, so that would leave it to link with the Inhumans, which brings up the question that I really care about: who was that monster?

 

My guess is that it's an Inhuman who was banished there centuries ago and has been receiving human sacrifices through the portal. They mention that the planet used to be a paradise, and my guess is that the Inhuman sucked all the life out of it and the sacrifices to keep it going all these years ago.

 

I frankly don't care that much about FitzSimmons romantically, so I hope this doesn't devolve into some kind of fight for Simmon's affections. Because that is just so overdone.

Edited October 28, 2015 by kitlee625

[mac123x]

Ditto. I hope they bring Will back from the planet and we also get a better look at what was stalking them. I'm more interested in this story line right now than the Inhuman one.

 

Those two plots used to be tied together.  Jaiying's group of Inhumans tried to steal the monolith because they believed it was a weapon against them.  Evidently it was a weapon against anyone, if you could get them to stand close to it when it was "randomly" opening. 

 

Which brings on another rant:  Simmons was able to determine when the portal would open again, and said it was based on the moons orbiting Planet Blue Filter.  Moons don't randomly orbit, therefore the portal opened in some sort of pattern.  It's beyond belief that NASA (then SHIELD) would have possession of this thing for years and wouldn't be measuring the time intervals between openings.  Especially NASA, since they already knew it was a portal to another planet and not just some randomly melting lava-lamp.  Simmons had the advantage of being able to see the moons, but even without them, it should be occurring in a recognizable pattern.

 

I know that's a nitpick, but it's right up there with carbon-dating sand.  If you're going to use real science (orbital mechanics in this case), get the basics right.

[paigow]

1. A 'non-sciency' astronaut. That's got to be the stupidest thing of all. If it was NASA, he would be sciency, an Engineer at MINIMUM, probably with multiple degrees.

1. Will is actually evil and Simmons has to kill him!

Will is Kurt Russell from original Stargate movie

Will is a grandson of Dr. Zola

[Jack Kerouac]

For starters, the episode was well-written, well acted, and actually showed character development so props writers. 

 

Disagree wholeheartedly about the well-written part. From the 'non-sciency' astronaut to the space boyfriend cliché to:

 

Which brings on another rant:  Simmons was able to determine when the portal would open again, and said it was based on the moons orbiting Planet Blue Filter.  Moons don't randomly orbit, therefore the portal opened in some sort of pattern.  It's beyond belief that NASA (then SHIELD) would have possession of this thing for years and wouldn't be measuring the time intervals between openings.  Especially NASA, since they already knew it was a portal to another planet and not just some randomly melting lava-lamp.  Simmons had the advantage of being able to see the moons, but even without them, it should be occurring in a recognizable pattern.

 

I know that's a nitpick, but it's right up there with carbon-dating sand.  If you're going to use real science (orbital mechanics in this case), get the basics right.

 

I think we can 'safely' say this episode was not well written. Now as for character development; it has that in spades. YMMV, of course.

[kitlee625]

Those two plots used to be tied together.  Jaiying's group of Inhumans tried to steal the monolith because they believed it was a weapon against them.  Evidently it was a weapon against anyone, if you could get them to stand close to it when it was "randomly" opening. 

 

Which brings on another rant:  Simmons was able to determine when the portal would open again, and said it was based on the moons orbiting Planet Blue Filter.  Moons don't randomly orbit, therefore the portal opened in some sort of pattern.  It's beyond belief that NASA (then SHIELD) would have possession of this thing for years and wouldn't be measuring the time intervals between openings.  Especially NASA, since they already knew it was a portal to another planet and not just some randomly melting lava-lamp.  Simmons had the advantage of being able to see the moons, but even without them, it should be occurring in a recognizable pattern.

 

I know that's a nitpick, but it's right up there with carbon-dating sand.  If you're going to use real science (orbital mechanics in this case), get the basics right.

The science on this show is laughably bad. I've just given up on any of it making sense.

 

I hope that they tie the Monolith plot to the Inhumans plot because as it stands now, I really don't think the Inhumans plot is interesting.

Edited October 28, 2015 by kitlee625

[VCRTracking]

The only time I've seen "non-sciencey" astronauts was on the Twilight Zone, especially that episode where they crashed on what they thought was an asteroid(with breathable air) but it turned out to be like 40 miles from Reno, Nevada!