Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD season 4 episode 20 recap: Farewell, Cruel World!
“Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD” finds its way to the exit of the Framework. But who makes it out alive and who gets left behind? Check out our recap.
This is the third-to-last episode of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD‘s fourth season, and the title makes it sound like we’re about to leave the Framework.
So … how do our SHIELD compatriots fare?
Not-So-Short Summary
Ten days ago, Daisy and Simmons went into the Framework. Elena and company patiently wait for their return as the quinjet runs out of power and fuel. Rather than touch down, they turn off the cloaking.
And company arrives. Russian company.
In the Framework, Daisy and Simmons try to figure out the best way to leave and how to grab everyone before Aida pulls the plug in the real world. But how do they get to Fitz?
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – “Farewell, Cruel World!” – The clock is ticking for Daisy and Simmons to get the team out of the Framework, but not everyone is ready and willing to leave, on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” TUESDAY, MAY 2 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/John Fleenor)
ELIZABETH HENSTRIDGE
That’s when Simmons shows up on Alastor Fitz’s doorstep with a gun cocked and ready. You know, she may have started out as a nerdy squint, but you have to love the audacity Agents of SHIELD has put into her over the seasons. There’s a tussle and a phone call to Fitz, and Simmons ends up killing Fitz’s father.
She returns to HQ, shaken up, and they head to the backdoor Radcliffe created (with Fitz on his way there, too!).
The gateway is in a pool of molten steel in a steel mill. Which isn’t what Radcliffe built at all. In fact, it’s a cloaking device and they are a little SOL.
May and Mack are not cool with the idea of the other world, but Coulson is still on board. Daisy has the idea to quake the pool of molten steel when Hydra shows up to deter them.
MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. – “All The Madame’s Men” – Daisy finds herself teamed up with an unlikely partner. Meanwhile, Aida prepares to put her ultimate end game into effect, on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” TUESDAY, APRIL 25 (10:00-11:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/Patrick Wymore)
BRETT DALTON, CHLOE BENNET
“The time for doubting’s over — we’re going back to our world,” Coulson says when Daisy uncovers the portal. He walks out to the edge only to get shot multiple times… and then remark how it feels familiar.
Coulson jumps in with May’s assistance and sends a shockwave of code through the room that shakes the rest of our compatriots. He wakes up in the real world with May seconds behind him. “Stinking robots,” he remarks upon seeing Aida.
It’s Simmons’ turn to jump when Fitz shows up. The scene hurts with Simmons at gunpoint crying and pleading with Fitz to wake up. He shoots her in the foot, and when he has his gun on her head, that’s when Radcliffe makes his move. He manages to throw Fitz into the backdoor and apologize for what he’s done.
Simmons jumps and wakes up as the quinjet gets shot.
Mack still has hesitations on jumping. He wants to stay, even though he knows it’s all fake. Hope is real to him. Daisy doesn’t want to leave him behind, but also understands his choice. She leaves without him. He returns to base to rejoin Hope and Tripp.
Madame Hydra gets a full body scan in the Framework while a body is built for her in the real world. Coulson stabs her with a knife, but not in time. Ophelia arrives, pleads with Fitz, and before May can take a shot, transports them away, kind of like the Inhuman Gordon.
Post-Credits Stinger
It’s an exclusive look at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2! There’s some Fleetwood Mac and some Kurt Russell.
Badass Moment of the Week
I don’t really have a clear-cut winner? Let’s go with Simmons killing Fitz’s dad, though it was a little lackluster for how perfectly creepy his dad was.
Best One-Liner
“I’m more of a … work in the shadows kind of guy,” Coulson tells May. Just call them SHIELD!
Runner up best one-liner goes to Tripp and Daisy’s conversation where Tripp wants to know who he’s dated in the real world.
Can I just say that Fitz’s reaction to his atrocities pulled in the Framework works so well. It’s a pitch-perfect response for Fitz’s character back in the real world. And opens up a lot of moral quandaries. Does what he did in the Framework mean he’s inherently a bad person?
Um, so does this version of Aida/Ophelia have Inhuman powers? I’m not sure how to feel about it. Or was she secretly an Inhuman the whole time she ran Hydra?
Next: Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD’s finale will bring back a familiar face
Next week’s Agents of SHIELD shows what the real world has become in the last few weeks since they went into the Framework. Will Mack come out? And is Mace really dead? We’ll find out!