Agents of SHIELD Review: Self Control (Season 4 Episode 15)

Part thriller, part horror movie, and part emotional drama, Agents of SHIELD Season 4 Episode 13, “Self Control,” combines all those elements flawlessly while leading us into an exciting final arc of the season.

It’s hard to pick where to start, so let’s start with relationship stuff — with our favorite pair of nerdy scientists.

One of my favorite things on the show has always been the relationship between Fitz and Simmons. FitzSimmons fans get a lot of emotional drama in “Self Control,” and Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge deliver here beautifully.

Revealing that of one of them is a Life Model Decoy and their standoff over it is almost as heartbreaking for us to witness as it is for Jemma with the tears rolling down her face. The raw emotions of these two highlight not only their chemistry, but also the highstakes situation they’re in.

Enough can’t be said about the performance of Elizabeth Henstridge, who has to play scared, determined, frightened, panicked, and tough all in just one scene.

The love they have for one another is in full effect even after Fitz reveals himself to be a LMD in the scariest possible way.

Marriage is brought up by LMD Fitz, and it shows that as the LMD retains the thoughts and possibly the feelings of their originals, the real Fitz is thinking of taking the plunge with Jemma in holy matrimony.

That is a major step in any relationship when you hear that sort of thing from the person you love, and one I hope is brought back up in the future.

So it makes it a little hard to watch when Jemma violently stabs and kills the LMD Fitz in the neck. This might be something to come back to haunt Jemma in the future. Stabbing a loved one, even if it’s only a robot masquerading as your boyfriend, is something that stays with you a while.

This leads to Simmons reuniting with Daisy as it reveals that she is the only other main team member that is not a LMD. Seeing Simmons and Daisy working together is fantastic and highlights what’s always been a strength of Agents of SHIELD — its ability to have mix and match pairing of team members that always works.

Also, isn’t it always the case that the men screw things up and the women always end up having to save them?

After some action scenes and a cool effects moment where Daisy destroys LMD Mack, Daisy and Simmons are about to escape when they run into LMD May waiting for them.

The only not-surprising moment of “Self Control” happens here as May lets them go. Instead, she stops LMD Coulson from going after them by blowing up SHIELD HQ and all the LMDs there.

Ming-Na Wen is my MVP of the “LMD” arc as she gives yet another underrated performance her in her final chat with LMD Phil about awakening, love, and finding all those things inside herself.

One of the hardest things an actor can do is play multiple versions of a character, and Ming-Na once again showcases her talent as she makes us care about the death of a robot. This isn’t the real Melinda May blowing up, but our hearts are still broken by it. That’s the sign of good acting and good writing.

So, Daisy and Simmons connect with Yo-Yo on the Quinjet and decide on their plan : Go into the Framework where the rest of the team is and hopefully pull them out of there. Not the best plan honestly but desperate times and all that. So they punch it up and….

Daisy wakes up in a tub and finds a picture of her with her boyfriend. None other than former agent turned traitor Grant Ward! The look of shock on Daisy’s face is basically how most of us feel at seeing Ward’s return.

We get to see what the rest of the team is up to as Fitz’s a suave playboy, Mack is once again a father again and Simmons dead?

The Simmons grave feels like a fake-out, and it wouldn’t shock me at all if Jemma is hiding out somewhere plotting her next movie in the Frameworld — a Frameworld that is controlled by a Melinda May-lead Hydra.

This now leads to so many questions what comes next? How is HYDRA in control of everything? Will this finally be Ward’s redemption arc? Who is Fitz’s new squeeze in this world? Where’s Jemma? and the last and most important one — “How the heck do they get out of this world??”

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• AIDA is a busy woman/robot as well. From forcing Dr.Radcliffe into the Frameworld and permanently to gifting The Superior a brand-new LMD body, AIDA shows that she will be one of the toughest villains in the team’s history.
• Daisy helping Simmons through a panic attack is the perfect showcase for showing that these are still vulnerable people fighting out there. Their sisterly bond has been a constant pleasure of Agents of SHIELD through the years.
• Seeing all the Daisy LMDs underground led to a clever scene where Daisy tricks LMD Mack by putting herself as one of them to knock him out. Also, the more Chloe Bennet’s, the better!
• “The one thing I know through all this insane crap Jemma is that you and Fitz belong together.”

What did you think of this episode of Agents of SHIELD ? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Agents of SHIELD airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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