S06.E06: Inescapable

[paigow]

Fitz and Simmons have fought through space, time and alternate realities to find each other, and now, closer than ever, only their own demons can stop their reunion.

Airdate: 6.21.19

[AimingforYoko]

I've said previously it's obvious why they dump the most drama on Fitz and Simmons: Because Ian and Elizabeth can handle the load. This stellar episode being the latest example. But they've earned a break, guys.

Leopold and RinguSimmons going at it was the hardest I've laughed in a while.

[janeta]

Now this was a good ep. 😄

[MisterGlass]

I was a little leary going in, but this worked out much better than I would have imagined.  I thought it was going to be Framework-y but it ended up Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind instead.

I liked that they remembered that Simmons has a dark side.  I completely bought the idea that she would bury her demons in a little mental box.

Glad Enoch recovers his good(ish) guy standing.

Great little moment when Daisy subverted Mack's dramatic reveal.

14 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

Leopold and RinguSimmons going at it was the hardest I've laughed in a while.

Same!

[Pepper the Cat]

That was one bizarre episode but I liked it. 

[UNOSEZ]

Well.... That. Was. Amazing.... Hilarious and touching... I even got over my early season annoyance with Simmons..this episode made it worth it... Leopold is still one of the scarier villains they've ever had... Mack got to be the black guy in the horror movie who saves his white friend then gets killed... I'm surprised they didn't have memory mack make note of it while it was happening... Only small complaint and may not be popular but I didn't like Enoch betraying the remaining chronicroms... Would preferred if for once a non major character didn't side with the heroes in a way that puts them at odds with their own ppl... If fitzsimmons had escaped on their own and he ran with them.. Ok.. Or if he could convinced the others to work with the humans more I would preferred that... That said I hope its not the last of altarah.. I liked her.. And our heroes have caused quite a bit of damage to other worlds and timelines in pursuit of savung earth.. and the chronicroms are just trying to save their home... So far not a total white hat/ black hat situation 

[kickingnames]

FitzSimmons definitely did not disappoint. I loved this episode. The reveal to Fitz of the major events he’d missed in the past year, seven-and-a-half-year-old Jemma, the extra glimpses into their shared history, the humor — it was all great. No surprise this was one of the best episodes.

[Samwise979]

So so so GOOD!!!

[Samwise979]

1 hour ago, AimingforYoko said:

Leopold and RinguSimmons going at it was the hardest I've laughed in a while.

I didn't know you liked that. 

I didn't know you'd do that. 

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, MisterGlass said:

I completely bought the idea that she would bury her demons in a little mental box.

"You are so English."

[Raja]

I will have to go back for quotes because I lost them when the Serenity homage of Enoch in the aftermath doing his River 

[tessaray]

Insane... but entertaining.

[swanpride]

This was the perfect mix of drama, humour and genuinely sad moments. And yeah, Leopold and the Ringu devouring each other was hilarious, but it also made sense, because if they represent Fitzsimmons base emotions, naturally the most basic of them is them lustig after each other.

So many call-backs, too. It was the kind of the episode you can only do if you build your show carefully.

Easily the best of the season so far. But then, so "very special" episodes are always the best.

[swanpride]

So, here is a completely random list of some of the call-backs I noticed: The monkey's on the wall in Fitz's room. The ManU flag. The gold paint on the face of the ringu. Simmons obsession with cuttlefish, and that she was collecting butterflies. That she likes dissections.

I also loved that Daisy is Simmons "backup".  

[mrspidey]

This was the absolute best FitzSimmons episode ever. A real Tour de Force by Ian and Elizabeth. You could tell they had a lot of fun with this one. 

[Lady Calypso]

This was such a great episode. Last season had a lot of angsty and sad moments. This episode was really strong, not just because of FitzSimmons being front and center, but because they had a balance of humour and sad and heartfelt moments that last season never hit, even with the wedding episode (because you knew that the happy moment wouldn't last long). Here, they incorporated everything about the couple for the last five seasons and really sold their soulmate relationship to me. I've never been a big fan of them as a romantic couple, but six seasons later, they finally sold it. 

I enjoyed Leopold and Demon Simmons. I like that they are the epitome of Fitz and Simmons' darkest selves. Plus, Demon Simmons was a hoot to watch and her keeping this side of her in a music box was hilarious.

I love that the two could only escape with the help of their friends. I loved them working out their problems. 

This episode was definitely a favourite of mine, and better than basically anything that happened last season (besides MAYBE The Doctor episode, which was abnormally great, even with how dark it was). 

[swanpride]

Well, I really enjoyed Rewind last season, but I agree, this one was even better. It is the closest they ever came to self-control, which is still the gold standard of TV episodes. Honestly, I am impressed that they ever came that close again, episodes like this aren't easy to pull off.

And you could just feel that everyone had a hoot with the episodes. The writers delved really deep in the characters, the costume and set designers added so many little details and Ian and Elizabeth acted the hell out of it.

[Lady Calypso]

I think the most thing I found impressive was how they were able to incorporate the fantasy mind-space aspect with literal flashbacks. I like that we were able to see the majority of conversations from scenes we've never seen before while also maintaining that this was actually FitzSimmons taking on their roles, whether they were in college, joining Coulson's team, or even Fitz's death scene and how Simmons was able to portay her past self while still being her present self. I actually found that scene, where Fitz was finding out everything he missed all at once (his death and how he actually reunited with Simmons, them getting married, Coulson's death) to be riveting and perhaps one of the best moments of TV this year. 

This show really bounced back from the darkness that was last season (and I actually liked a couple of episodes like Rewind and The Devil Complex). This season is definitely picking up a bit, but this episode was the equivalent to a season 4 episode for me (IMO, season 4 was their best season to date). 

[kickingnames]

“The Devil Complex”, “Rewind”, “Self-Control” — you all are reminding me that the best episodes of SHIELD really let Iain de Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge shine. This one is one of the best examples of that. I don’t even know how to gush about this episode without basically rehashing the whole thing.

I am not a fan of horror a la The Ring or anything like that, but Ringu Simmons was fascinating — you could see so much of Jemma’s past trauma just by looking at her. And the hookup with her and Leopold was disturbingly hilarious. Talk about soulmates.

[swanpride]

It was also very cleverly shot, with Jemma both providing the running narrative and being part of the scene. And yet you never got confused which was memory and which was their current feelings.

I really need to look up who wrote and directed this episode.

Honestly, I was crying about Fitz dying more than I did the first time around (I had figured out the two Fitz paradox, so I was kind of expecting it happening), and this time proto-Fitz was right there. But everyone was so broken up, it was "Parting Shots" all over again. How does this show manage to make me more emotional about character NOT dying than over most actual deaths?

[Enigma X]

This episode was brilliantly acted, written, and directed. By far in my top three Shield episodes.

[kickingnames]

17 minutes ago, swanpride said:

Honestly, I was crying about Fitz dying more than I did the first time around (I had figured out the two Fitz paradox, so I was kind of expecting it happening), and this time proto-Fitz was right there. But everyone was so broken up, it was "Parting Shots" all over again. How does this show manage to make me more emotional about character NOT dying than over most actual deaths?

I forgot about “Parting Shot”! Man, I am going to have to go through and do a series rewatch of all of these awesome episodes.

Watching the team in that moment was beautiful, and fleshed out even more the final scenes in “The End”. Plus, Fitz realizing that he “missed” his own wedding and had already died was one thing — he was shocked and upset, but it was still sort of okay. But him realizing that he missed Coulson’s last days (and would not be seeing him should they ever make it home) was on a different level — I felt so bad for him.

Edited June 22, 2019 by kickingnames

[swanpride]

Just looked it up...Jesse Bochco directed the episode (he did quite a few really great ones, they seem to like giving him the more experimental one), and DJ Doyle was the writer. So, they put some of the best of the best when it comes to more psychological story telling on this one.  

[Raja]

6 minutes ago, swanpride said:

Just looked it up...Jesse Bochco directed the episode (he did quite a few really great ones, they seem to like giving him the more experimental one), and DJ Doyle was the writer. So, they put some of the best of the best when it comes to more psychological story telling on this one.  

Which caused me to look up and young Mr. Bocho seems to be a chip off of his parent's block.

[swanpride]

You know, this seasons feels a little bit like a victory lap. And I completely approve.

[Raja]

2 minutes ago, swanpride said:

You know, this seasons feels a little bit like a victory lap. And I completely approve.

With last season's perfect series finale moment it definitely is. 

With Fitz again brainstorming the implications of time travel and a possibility of no more single MCU coming out of Spider-Man: Far From Home the entire MCU may be on its victory lap tour as the 10 year experiment in an interconnected story over different formats come to an end. 

[MisterGlass]

Another great moment was when little Simmons asked Fitz to read her a story, and handed him the book about her adventures in space, but with Daisy, Piper, and Davis as animals.  I could tell Daisy was a rabbit, it looked like Davis was a bear, and I'll have to look again for Piper.  And then the book turned into the Darkhold.

[bethy]

I can't wait to watch this one again. So much good stuff.

In the meantime, Simmons's music box full of pain made me think of one of my favorite scenes from Cheers. My brother and I have occasionally quoted Frasier to each other in light of our own family dynamics.
 

[BaggythePanther]

I really enjoyed this episode. I don’t usually rewatch AoS episodes but I might rewatch this one. There were so many great transitions from past to present. I know that Simmons told Fitz that the other Fitz had a psychotic break, but she left out the part about Fitz-as-Leopold torturing Daisy. I understand why, I’m just curious if that will ever come up.

21 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

Only small complaint and may not be popular but I didn't like Enoch betraying the remaining chronicroms... Would preferred if for once a non major character didn't side with the heroes in a way that puts them at odds with their own ppl... If fitzsimmons had escaped on their own and he ran with them.. Ok.. Or if he could convinced the others to work with the humans more I would preferred that... That said I hope its not the last of altarah.. I liked her.. And our heroes have caused quite a bit of damage to other worlds and timelines in pursuit of savung earth.. and the chronicroms are just trying to save their home... So far not a total white hat/ black hat situation 

I agree. And I’d like to see Altarah again, but that has more to do with the fact that I like the actress.

[VCRTracking]

1 hour ago, BaggythePanther said:

I really enjoyed this episode. I don’t usually rewatch AoS episodes but I might rewatch this one. There were so many great transitions from past to present. I know that Simmons told Fitz that the other Fitz had a psychotic break, but she left out the part about Fitz-as-Leopold torturing Daisy. I understand why, I’m just curious if that will ever come up.

I think it has to when they return Earth and see Daisy again.

This was a fantastic episode. As fitting a series finale as "The End" would have been, I'm so glad we got another season. Iain and Elizabeth were outstanding as usual. It'll always be amusing to me that they were hired as the cute and quirky "comic relief" based off their screentest together but  probably the episode "FZZT"  when they showed how great at heartwrenching emotional scenes  and the writers were probably like:

Loved seeing the immediate reaction of everyone at original timeline Fitz' death and Fitzsimmons in the academy and meeting Coulson for the first time. Iain back as the "The Doctor" was chilling but Jemma's music box demon was I didn't even think it was Elizabeth. We've seen Jemma show her dark side before in previous moments so it's not a complete surprise maaan! Also loved Jemma and Fitz' imagining Daisy and Mack rescuing them. Jemma and Fitz going at each other in the containment unit bringing up each other's past dalliance(the astronaut, Ada) was great. The best "couples therapy" scene ever!

Favorite line "You are so English."

Edited June 23, 2019 by VCRTracking

[CatWarmer]

I got home during the first commercial break and discovered my DVR, which was properly set to record, wasn't recording.  But it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on.  Really enjoyed the episode and so glad to see some humor back in the show.

So - what did happen before the first commercial break?

[bethy]

On rewatch:

--it was fun to watch the DemonSimmons scenes and try to figure out what she was made of. For instance, in addition to the gold on her face from their time in the future, she was also wearing her slave outfit. And over that she was wearing the remains of the shirt she had on when she was whisked off to Maveth.

--while the two of them were screaming at each other in the containment pod and they were yelling about what it meant that it was "so English" of her to have repressed so that things would be neat and orderly, Simmons said something like, "How Scottish of you to bring that up in an argument!" Hee. 

--I kind of loved how consistent it was to have annoyed-Fitz even with KidSimmons. And when she corrected him about being seven and a half, he was all "Shut it" with his close-your-mouth gesture. Of course he knew she wasn't really a little girl, but he was similarly impatient with Robin (and Deke). I was thinking about the fact that his daughter described him so lovingly to Deke given that Fitz clearly isn't a kid person. It seems very Fitz-like to me to have little interest in children until he had one (or more - come on, people) of his own. 

--Daisy stepping on Mack's moment was awesome. 

Edited June 23, 2019 by bethy

[ramble]

It’s been awhile since I’ve felt so completely all in with an episode of this show. Fits Simmons are far and away my favorite characters. I don’t have s lot of clever thoughts other then I loved it. Lots. It made me happy. 

[Raja]

1 hour ago, CatWarmer said:

I got home during the first commercial break and discovered my DVR, which was properly set to record, wasn't recording.  But it wasn't hard to figure out what was going on.  Really enjoyed the episode and so glad to see some humor back in the show.

So - what did happen before the first commercial break?

Fitzsimmons wake up in a white room after a short reunion Atarah shows up to give them their mission and leaves Fitz to propose. After a short time jump, probably a honeymoon, Fitz gets down to the time travel problem  and Simmons turns to the 7 1/2 little girl and we pull out to find the two in a Chronicom framework pod.

[swanpride]

DJ Doyle has an interesting twitter post regarding the design of Zombie Jemma:

I recognized the hints to Slave Jemma and Maveth Jemma, but there is still so much I missed there...ie, I had totally forgotten that Jemma had to dig herself out of her own mass grave, explaining the Zombie design.

[blueray]

14 hours ago, BaggythePanther said:

I really enjoyed this episode. I don’t usually rewatch AoS episodes but I might rewatch this one. There were so many great transitions from past to present. I know that Simmons told Fitz that the other Fitz had a psychotic break, but she left out the part about Fitz-as-Leopold torturing Daisy. I understand why, I’m just curious if that will ever come up.

I was thinking this too.  I'm kind of hoping that they don't mention it again and move on. I know a lot of people (including me) didn't like that part and it's best forgotten.

I really liked this episode. I've always enjoyed Fitz and Simmons. So it's nice to get a centric episode of them. It was cool that we got new flashback scenes but they were still them from the present. I liked how they had Fitz find out about his death and his marriage to Jemma. And of course Coulson's death :(. Hopefully now we are done with Leopold. I did like him and Jemma's monster hooking up.  I was glad that Enoc saved them finally and hopefully now they will return to earth.

The end with Daisy and Mack was good too. She knew what he was going to say. I did however think that Mack was going to say their leader looks like Coulson but I guess that's next episode.

[bethy]

I also loved that Fitz's proposal is the one - or most of the one, I think - that Jemma didn't actually hear the first time around.

Edited June 23, 2019 by bethy

[swanpride]

I am sure that Fitz gave it to her in a calm moment the last time around, too. But it was nice to actually see it.

I guess this is goodbye to Leopold, though. Now that Fitz dealt with his issue, I think we can put the danger of a psychotic break aside. Which is a good thing. I always enjoyed seeing Leopold but, well, I think this is a good moment to conclude this particular plot point.

[Mellowyellow]

So they were super mean with a bunch of FitzSimmons near misses to give us this episode. Well played show. 

Don't have much to say except it was awesome and the icing on the cake was Leopold hooking up with Zombie Jemma. Haha they really gave FitzSimmons fans everything in this ep😂

Loved that Daisy was the person to save Jemma and Mack was that person for Fitz. I love these friendships and it brought me back to when Fitz was brain damaged and only Mack really got him. 

Speaking of Mack I adore the man and hope he survives the series happily. However I couldn't help laughing at tiny feral zombie Simmons climbing on his shoulders. That was hilarious.

Edited June 24, 2019 by Mellowyellow

[thuganomics85]

Fitz and Simmons finally reunite, but in typical Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fashion, it is all happening in a mind prison, where they find themselves being chased by both of their worst halves.  But, hey, they also finally air out all of their grievances and addresses their own issues, so they're probably even stronger now.  Yay, mind prison therapy!

In seriousness, awesome episode.  As much as I love the entire cast, any time the show just lets Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker show off how freaking awesome they are, is a win in my book.  They were pitch-perfect throughout it all: the drama, the anger, and even the humor.  I loved that despite being a pretty crazy and dark episode, they still had the lighter moments with them as well, since the show admittedly does sometime make them get piled by so much angst and sadness.

And, of course, there was also the scary!  Leopard/Framework Fitz is always chilling and once this show finishes, I'll be quite happy to see Iain play a future Bond villain or someone to that nature.  But this episode has now made me realize that I equally want to see Elizabeth as some kind of unhinged, crazy possessed lady in a horror film.  That was way freakier than I expected!  And I should have known it was going to end with them hooking up.  Ha!

While I figured it was going to happen, I'm still quite happy that Enoch ended up turning on Altarah and the rest, and saved Fitz and Simmons.  BFFs for live!

The actress playing Child Simmons was really good.

Liked that they still had the rest of the cast in all of the flashbacks/mind prison stuff.  Especially seeing normal Coulson when he recruited them (even a Fitzsimmons reference!)

I wonder if this Fitz will end up being annoyed by his grandson as much as the other one was! 

[swanpride]

I hope he isn't, because I would love to see Deke's reaction to that.

[foxfreakinmulder]

On ‎6‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 6:00 PM, AimingforYoko said:

Leopold and RinguSimmons going at it was the hardest I've laughed in a while.

So funny. And Fitz and Simmons watching them go at it, priceless! It doesn't take much to confuse me when it comes to time travel and even though I'm enjoying this season I am a little lost with the timeline. I think I need to go back and watch the last couple of episodes from last season because with the long break we had in between I don't remember what happened or how/why Simmons, Daisy and co ended up in space looking for Fitz. This episode was great and my favorite so far this season. I could watch a show based on Fitz and Simmons alone without Shield, they are awesome together.

[swanpride]

We all are confused about the time-line at the moment, but I am sure that the writers will clear this up, soon.

[tennisgurl]

As sad as it is that poor Fitz and Jemma always have to suffer, I get why they have written them so much angst the last few seasons because Ian and Elizabeth and are so GOOD that they always crush it. I loved this episode, it was so great to see them back together and hashing out all of their shit, while also adding some good humor and ending on a positive note, with them coming back together, Enoch saving the day, and everyone escaping. This show is at its best when it balances the comedy and the drama, not the silly lightness of the early show, or the never ending darkness of the later seasons. 

Lots of great call backs to the whole series, everything from Fitz and Simmons meeting in college, to them meeting Coulson and joining the team (they were so young and adorable!) to Fitzs brain damage to Jemmas space boyfriend to Fitz dying, the whole thing. I also liked seeing some of Jemmas dark side, which she certainly does have, and the issues that she and Fitz have had since day one (Jemma wants to protect Fitz and his mental health issues, Fitz is always sacrificing himself for Jemma) being addressed, and them both them realizing that they both just love each other a lot and will always do anything for each other. And that while they will always have each other, they will also always have their friends. 

I am certainly interested in seeing how things go when Fitz and Simmons get back to everyone else, especially with Daisy. This Fitz has no idea what The Doctor or the Doctor/Fitz hybrid did to her, so will she still struggle being around him? I also hope we see the Chronicroms again. They went about it very much the wrong way, but they did lose their planet and I dont blame them for wanting to get it back, so I dont think this is the last we will see of them. 

I cant decide on the funniest part, either The Doctor and Ring Jemma going at it, or Fitzs frustrated "You are so English!" twice over! Or maybe "Oh, your also a grandpa." "What?!?"

Edited June 24, 2019 by tennisgurl

[ProudMary]

In the lead-up to the scene where young, Academy Fitz and Simmons ultimately met with Coulson for the first time and they were nervous about this meeting to which they had been summoned, I absolutely--and horrifyingly!--thought it was going to be Ward in the room. 😲 I was watching with my (adult) son and he got the same vibe. I was so relieved to see Coulson. 😅

[AKA...CJ86]

On 6/24/2019 at 10:37 AM, ProudMary said:

In the lead-up to the scene where young, Academy Fitz and Simmons ultimately met with Coulson for the first time and they were nervous about this meeting to which they had been summoned, I absolutely--and horrifyingly!--thought it was going to be Ward in the room. 😲 I was watching with my (adult) son and he got the same vibe. I was so relieved to see Coulson. 😅

 

And Ward... whether Good Ward... Bad Ward... Squid Ward... my favorite character, I would have totally been okay with it.

Hands down, favorite episode. Not feeling the overall story. I'll take the Chronicom's over Not Coulson, but is interesting the pieces are now woven closer together.

[swanpride]

The earth story doesn't really grab me yet either, but that is pretty normal for me at the start of a season. It's rarely the built-up which convinces me, it's the pay-off.

[bethy]

Another thing about this one that I loved was when Simmons yelled “Because I love you!” and Fitz yelled “I love you too!” you can see Iain go up on his toes with the force of it. To me that was such a great small moment that showed Fitz’s passion - and maybe competitiveness? - in his declaration.

[Sandman]

On ‎6‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 9:35 AM, mrspidey said:

A real Tour de Force by Ian and Elizabeth. You could tell they had a lot of fun with this one. 

I love to watch them work, especially working off of each other, but I really thought this episode was overkill. (Please don't hate me.)

On ‎6‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 1:22 PM, tennisgurl said:

As sad as it is that poor Fitz and Jemma always have to suffer, I get why they have written them so much angst the last few seasons because Ian and Elizabeth and are so GOOD that they always crush it. I loved this episode, it was so great to see them back together and hashing out all of their shit, while also adding some good humor and ending on a positive note, with them coming back together, Enoch saving the day, and everyone escaping. This show is at its best when it balances the comedy and the drama, not the silly lightness of the early show, or the never ending darkness of the later seasons. 

I don't disagree that the two of them can handle whatever hot mess the script throws at them. But I miss the days when Fitz and Simmons were, you know, functional adults. Not co-dependent whackjobs with complementary dysfunctions. (Way to infantilize the brilliant woman, writers!) And Of course Leopold and Nightmare Music Box Simmons were hot for each other! Of course they were. This show has some weird ideas about mental health, y'all.

I still say Nazi Leopold was the biggest mistake this show ever made. (The Framework was a stupid idea, clumsily executed, and the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. IN SPACE season last year was a sick joke.) 

I have only just started catching up on this season, and I'm burning through episodes quickly, because, fundamentally, I just don't care anymore -- but Henstridge and De Caestecker are almost enough to make me care. Almost. 

[swanpride]

Really? I am kind of surprised how much I am still caring. It is rare that I am still that invested in ANY show after season 5. Usually they peak in season two or three and then become a slog to sit through. Not so AoS. Still throwing new ideas at the audience. It's glorious!