As opposed to The Flash this week, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. remains on form with an emotionally powerful episode with action, drama and emotional investment.

In the fallout of escaping the Framework, we see most of the cast in some form of emotional turmoil or another. Except Coulson and May, who are half-flirting, half-catching up on events while fighting Robo-Russians. Because Iain De Caestecker and Mallory Jansen can carry the traumatic emotions no problem. We also see Yo-Yo’s reaction to Mack staying in the Framework and she’s PISSED. So much so that the fiery latina fucks herself by diving into the Framework and awaking strapped to a gurney in a fiery room. Good job!

But yeah, the main focus of the episode is with Fitz and Ophelia/AIDA because they’re both fucked up! Fitz is struggling with dealing with all the bad stuff he did in the Framework as well as Ophelia being a super-creeper who can’t control her emotions and it’s just not his day when Simmons nails him with an Icer. Poor sod can’t catch a break but you feel for him every step of the way and that’s a testament to good writing and a good actor.

Ophelia/AIDA is also killing it; figuratively and literally. From playing an emotionless Life Model Decoy for most of the season, we get to see Mallory Jansen practically explode with emotion, running from delightfully happy, frightened beyond logic, a pretty cool Big-Damn-Hero moment and then seething with rage. It’s a fantastic showcase for her acting ability and for the freshly Inhuman Ophelia. She showcases teleportation, lightning generation and healing so I have to wonder what other tricks she has up her sleeves heading into next week’s finale.

With an enemy that powerful, as well as a possible army of Robo-Russians, the Team is on the backfoot with little to no back-up but miracles come from the most unexpected places and, within the demolished SHIELD base, the Darkhold portal ignites and Ghost Rider returns. Fuck. Yes.

Come back next week for what promises to be an explosive finale as magic, technology and superpowers collide in World’s End!

Seriously, after having gone through the threat establishment of the LMD’s we finally see how dangerous they can be as SHIELD is manipulated into hunting two of their own in an intense and gripping bottle episode.

For those that don’t know, bottle episodes are mainly set in one central location (SHIELD base), starring as few non-regular as they can get away with (most of the characters onscreen are regular cast) and using mostly dialogue. That part is up for debate because there is a ton of action and dialogue and both are incredibly strong!

The episode follows the same formula of paranoia, distrust and dread as John Carpenter’s The Thing but accelerates the timeline as the LMD’s go on the offensive and it’s up to Daisy and Simmons to undermine and ultimately triumph. Oh? Did I say Daisy isn’t an LMD? Well you know what that means!

Someone pick up that phone because I FUCKING CALLED IT! Fitz is revealed to be an LMD in one of the most powerful, emotionally-charged scenes of the episode, if not the season, because Iain De Caestecker is an acting demigod. His performance during the tense standoff between him and Simmons further highlights this guy’s acting chops. Elizabeth Henstridge also delivers a strong perfermance but she isn’t switching from terror, anger, love, and affectlessness on the fly like Iain. It’s brilliant.

Daisy gets to show more of her combat chops by going up against the Mace-LMD and doing a pretty effective job though just taking one out is enough to knacker her out and resort to quaking Mac to pieces. It’s a fun running fist fight through the lab with some great camera work.

AIDA also continues her descent into full-on villain by turning The Superior into a Frankestein’s Monster of an LMD and killing Radcliffe before stuffing him into the framework. She’s like Ultron but actually threatening.

Ming-Na Wen has a pretty badass display of character for the May LMD this episode too! She has more May in her than Radcliffe probably intended, selflessly stalling the other LMDs from hurting her team with a pile of explosive barrels! She might not be human, but she’s still May. Right ’til the end.

We end the episode with Daisy and Jemma sneaking into the Framework to free their friends and we get a glimpse of what that perfect world looks like and boy is it bleak. Coulson is a racist teacher, Simmons is dead, May works for HYDRA and, most chilling of all…

SON OF A BITCH! I know good villains don’t die but jaysus, lads… Still, it’ll be good to see Brett Dalton back to being an openly evil bastard because he and Daisy have to be working for HYDRA too, right?

Self Control is my favourite episode of the season so far but that may soon change as when we come back to Agents of SHIELD in April, we’ll be dipping our toes into the alternate universe of the Framework and asking What If…

Making Friends and Influencing People sees the return of Jemma Simmons and shows what she’s been up to since last we saw her. WORKING FOR HYDRA. While Immortal Nazi, Daniel Whitehall is upstairs brain-washing people likes it’s Clockwork Orange, Jemma is in the belly of the beast performing science-y stuff. Hydra, meanwhile, is hunting Donnie Gill (AKA Blizzard) and SHIELD is a couple steps behind.
I’ll take this opportunity to mention Melinda May, because even though she’s not doing much, she is being a driving force for the team. Whether supporting Coulson, training Skye or busting Hunter’s balls, Ming-Na Wen is doing a fantastic job. I wanted to mention her really because it’s rare to see her smile and she’s bloody adorable. Roll on next week when she’ll be in a dress and kicking ass!

Simmons is serving as a double agent for Hydra which is actually a little disappointing. I can understand WHY she wouldn’t join Hydra but imagine IF. If she was just as broken as Fitz and her declaration that she’s solely loyal to science ringing true? That could present a fairly interesting angle but now that we’ve established brain-washing, it’s inevitable for her heel-turn. It’s like Skye Chekov’s Gun-ing herself by saying she’s never killed anyone but does it by the end of the episode.

Fitz is slowly improving, especially thanks to Mack. I said it last week and I’ll say it again, this BROTP has a great dynamic and I look forward to seeing more of it. Fitz becomes paranoid, believing the team is hiding things from him and he’s right. He’s so convinced that he even dismisses HeadSimmons when she tries to convince him otherwise. He tells her that she’s not there and, in a moment of clarity, she disappears and he goes to confront what he suspects; that Ward is Skye’s “asset”. The following scene is easily the strongest performance Iain De Caestecker and Brett Dalton have delivered together. Fitz immediately begins panicking and Ward tries to calm him and even justify his actions and Fitz… well, he goes DARK. He can’t explain what Ward did to him, so he’ll show him. By removing the oxygen from Ward’s cell. DAMN! Ward earns a reprieve by giving up info on Blizzard. Fitz rushes to Mack for help and the team is warned.

Blizzard shows a significant power boost since last we saw him, going full Sub-Zero all the time. He has also been brainwashed and is keen not to go back to that. Skye shoots him and he falls overboard, cocooning himself in ice as he sinks into the water, setting up an inevitable return but it’s great that we’re seeing more named, powered villains rather than just business men and other agents.

Another strong episode but next week looks like a departure into a light-hearted spy-romp with ‘Face My Enemy‘.