Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review: 4,722 Hours (Season 3 Episode 5)

This episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is out of this world, literally.

In “4,722 Hours” we spend the majority of the episode in flashbacks, finding out what Jemma experienced over the last six months stranded on the alien planet that the monolith deposited her on.

Even though we know Jemma makes it home, and that she’s safe and sound retelling these events to Fitz, the episode is still an emotional rollercoaster. Throughout the episode we see Jemma go through various stages of denial, grief, anger, hope, and immeasurable bravery. At first she keeps herself going by thinking of Fitz and keeping updates on her condition and the planet on her phone (with an incredible battery life can be attributed to Fitz, can he hook us all up with phones like that?).

Jemma: I know you won’t give up, so I won’t either.

Jemma proves herself not only brilliant, but incredibly resourceful. She keeps herself alive for a month, living off mysterious pond water and tackling the strange snake-like fish that inhabit the pond for food, all the while still trying to figure out how to get home. Jemma finds out she isn’t alone on this planet when she’s taken hostage by Will Daniels, an astronaut who has been stranded on the planet since 2001.

Their relationship is off to a rocky start when he keeps her in a cage for the first several days of their acquaintance. When Jemma tries to escape he brings her back in, the two of them barely escaping a sand storm that Will claims contains an unknown creature referred to as “it” that only brings death. He tells her how he came to the planet on a mission from NASA, how “it” got to his fellow astronauts and made them go mad and end their own lives.

We see the two of them grow closer and come to depend on each other. Jemma remains a constant source of hope while Will keeps them grounded as the voice of reason. They aren’t FitzSimmons but they certainly balance each other out well. It looks like her brilliance will be their saving grace when Jemma figures out exactly how the portal works and how they can find it and get back through it. When their only known chance to make it back is thwarted we see the moment Jemma gives up hope, the moment she mentioned to Andrew in her therapy.

Jemma: This isn’t our home, this is hell. You were right, there’s no hope on this planet.
Will: That’s what I used to think, then you showed up.

Then Jemma kisses Will. While many die-hard FitzSimmons are up in arms over Jemma’s choice here, personally, I find her  relationship with Will endearing. I’m even rooting for them, to be completely honest. If this is what Jemma needs to do to be okay, then it is more than alright for her to take comfort from the person she’s come to care about and depend on for the last five months. It doesn’t cheapen or diminish her relationship with Fitz if she has relationships with other people. Furthermore, it doesn’t lessen Jemma as a character; she can want a romantic relationship and still be an incredibly intelligent and capable scientist. Jemma Simmons is not one-dimensional.

Will and Jemma conveniently trek to one of the planet’s poles to watch it’s very brief sunrise on the day that Fitz finally manages to open the portal from the other side. They’re stopped by “it” on their way and Will tells Jemma to run, essentially sacrificing himself so that she can make it home. Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. where Jemma is telling all of this to Fitz she explains that that’s why she has to go back. Without Will she couldn’t have survived and if he’s still alive she cannot leave him behind.

Fitz’s emotions are unreadable at first as he leaves the room, choosing not to react at all initially. However, when Jemma follows him to the lab, he pulls up all of the information on the monolith and promises to help Jemma bring Will back. His friendship with Jemma is unshakable and he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she’s okay. The relationship between Jemma and Fitz is the most solid relationship on the show and it’s continually entertaining to see them overcome every obstacle in their path.

Other thoughts:

• I need to know more about NASA and what they were doing with the monolith.
• Will is still alive, but will Jemma and Fitz actually be able to bring him home?
• Does the planet that Jemma and Will were on play a bigger part in the MCU or was this all a ploy to give Jemma a new love interest?
• Next week’s promo claims Andrew is dead and I still don’t believe them, but if it brings Melinda and Bobbi back into the field I’m okay with them believing it, for now.

Reviewer Rating: 

User Rating:

What did you think of this week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on ABC.

Samantha Coley

Samantha (she/her) is a social media specialist by day and a sci-fi junkie by night. As a freelance writer and podcaster, she also enjoys live-tweeting, blogging, good music, and better television. Her current favorite television shows include Star Trek (yes, all of them), Riverdale, and Stranger Things and there will always be a place in her heart for Battlestar Galactica, Leverage, and The West Wing.