S06.E06: Inescapable

[Sandman]

2 hours ago, swanpride said:

Not so AoS. Still throwing new ideas at the audience. It's glorious!

That's just it: to me it feels like they're recycling old ideas (Phil's Special Specialness, FitzSimmons' apparently inexhaustible capacity for suffering), not throwing out new ones. But I can grant that this is a mileage issue.

Edited July 8, 2019 by Sandman

[swanpride]

Well, having agents on a drug binge is new, the current enemy is very different from what they have faced so far, and while the arcs of the characters are largely familiar, they are still progressing. They are also telling stories you can only tell with a long history to back you up. Inseparable is a great example for that.

Granted a lot about the current season feels like a victory lap, but I don't mind that at all. And there are still some dangling story threats from the past I hope AoS will now revisit (there is still an inhuman in a cocoon under the sea).

[Guest]

On 7/8/2019 at 6:45 AM, Sandman said:

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.)

I’m glad to know I’m not alone in feeling this way. When RinguSimmons appeared it felt things were just getting thrown in to stretch the story out and in many ways it reminded me too much of  The Devil Complex. 

It also bothers me that Fitz and Simmons were saved by Enoch in the end. One of the great thing about these FitzSimmons moments in the past was that they always find a way to save the day and I wanted that to happen here. 

It would bother me less if the whole season didn’t have the same problems. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by Guest

[Jack Shaftoe]

I knew there was a reason Fitz went dark. He is a Manchester United fan from Scotland.  In other words, a gloryhunter. Can't trust people like that. 🙂

We finally got FitzSimmons flashbacks. I can't say they were too interesting, alas. Jemma saying that she put Fitz in the friend zone only put emphasis on how implausible is that they suddenly fell in love after what, ten years, as friends.

Oh, look, more torture. At least it was not real this time but seriously, what's with the love of torture? Even the good guys are doing it lately.

I am really not a fan of the show basically saying Jenna's dark side is just as bad as Fitz's. And Fitz still whining about Will, really?

On 7/8/2019 at 4:45 PM, Sandman said:

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. 

Well said. The acting was great, the idea of the episode wasn't bad but I have long reached my limit of caring for contrived FitzSimmons drama. And the characters having literal dark sides who end up making out was just too sitcomish for my taste. If the show actually wanted to deal with "Dr. Leopold" the time for that was season 5. But Fitz suffered zero repercussions for his many acts of betrayal of trust, ditto for Jemma (though she didn't go as far as he did). She says she is wary of Fitz in this episode but she has never acted that way since his infamous surgery on the unwilling Daisy, so why should I believe it? Daisy and Mack don't seem apprehensive in the slightest about the possibility of Dr. Leopold taking over again either.

The writers want to have their cake and eat it too - the narrative insists that Fitz and Simmons have dangerous dark sides but they are also adorable and totally deserving of their friends and colleagues' trust. I admire the actors because they almost managed to sell this nonsense. Almost. Honestly, the highlight of the episode was Daisy and Mack coming to the rescue but then again I much more invested in the friendships in this show than in the really poorly written romantic relationships.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Jack Shaftoe

[Sandman]

23 hours ago, Jack Shaftoe said:

... And the characters having literal dark sides who end up making out was just too sitcomish for my taste.

Yes -- that's it exactly.

Quote

The writers want to have their cake and eat it too - the narrative insists that Fitz and Simmons have dangerous dark sides but they are also adorable and totally deserving of their friends and colleagues' trust. I admire the actors because they almost managed to sell this nonsense. Almost. Honestly, the highlight of the episode was Daisy and Mack coming to the rescue but then again I much more invested in the friendships in this show than in the really poorly written romantic relationships.

Again, I agree wholeheartedly. The show does quite well with the friendships, but the romantic entanglements frustrate me; probably because the friendships don't have to be burdened with weird, angst-generating obstacles. 

[AAEBoiler]

I absolutely loved this episode and adore FitzSimmons! I would say this was my favorite episode ever but it's been so long since I've seen previous seasons that I'm sure I'm forgetting some good ones.

[swanpride]

I love their dark sides making out with each other..especially since it made so much sense. Naturally they are drawn to each other on a very basic level.

Still one of my top five episodes of the show - maybe even top three if I take out season finales.