Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – No Regrets Review

This week’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. helped the team come face-to-face with what is really means to have “No Regrets.” Everyone continued to be trapped in the Framework, but somehow they all managed to get a little closer together, even though they all had different ideas of what was fact and what was fiction. The episode picked up where things left off last week with Simmons, Coulson, Ward, Mace, and Mack at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. Simmons tries to convince Ward and Mace that this was a fake version of reality, but they didn’t seem too convinced, especially after Simmons couldn’t name any facts about Mace. That was sort of depressing and reminded me that his character was never fully formed. Even though they don’t 100 percent trust Simmons, they continue with their mission to sneak into the Hydra base to find a valuable prisoner, who turns out to be Triplett from the first season. I still don’t understand how the Framework has people that have died in it. How could Aida or Radcliffe possibly have known to add them? There are so many parts of the Framework that just don’t make sense to me. Eventually, after they were digging around the Hydra base for a while, an alarm sounds, alerting the people on the base of their presense. Madame Hydra, aka Aida, aka Ophelia, gives the order to shoot at the building they are in, which is the quarantine department that is full of kids who showed signs of being Inhuman. The kids were just sitting in a creepy classroom Clockwork Orange-style, but without the mechanics and it was pretty disturbing. The shots causes the building to collapse, so Mace uses his super strength to save one of the kids, who happened to be one of Coulson’s students in the Framework. The kid makes it out, but Mace isn’t so lucky. The Framework claims its first casualty. Even though Mace died, something good did come out of it: May finally saw that the Resistance might be the good guys after all. She had no idea that they were kidnapping and keeping kids on the Hydra base and she saw Mace sacrifice himself. Definitely not something a terrorist would do. I should point out that it was kind of annoying that he died this way, when he didn't have to risk himself at all. He could have just let the kid die, which sounds horrible, but the kid wasn't real. Mace basically sacrificed himself for  a hologram. This episode, we also find out that Fitz’s regret or one change in the Framework was something to do with his father, who is his now his BFF. That explains why he is so cruel in this world. He did show some remorse for killing Agnes, but his dad talked him out of it. Fitz being evil is so creepy, but also weirdly appealing. He was so meticulous with everything he did. I loved the little details, like when he slapped Daisy and then got out his handkerchief to wipe his hands. He’s very clean cut, precise, and just plan evil. Should I be worried about how much I like seeing this side of him? Daisy also got a surprising amount of screen time for someone who was just sitting in a cell. Fitz questioned her, Aida tried to bribe her, Radcliffe told her a possible way out of the Framework, and, at the very end, the new May gave her a Terrigen Crystal so she would get her Inhuman powers. She did all that and she just had to sit in a cell. Some might say that’s too convenient, but I’ll let it slide.

Final Thoughts:

- Overall it was another solid episode. A lot happened to move the plot forward and hopefully an escape from the Framework is imminent. As fun as this is, it will be nice to get back to normal. - I’m still worried about Mack and Hope. Now that Gemma has seen them together, it seemed like she wishes they could stay together too. - There were a few excellent lines that really caught my attention this episode. The first was Coulson talking about Ward. He asked Simmons if he and Ward got along in the real world, because whenever he sees him, he starts to itch like he has hives. Pretty clever line. The other good one was Fitz talking about Daisy when he said “Nevertheless, she persisted.” - Now that May is making her way to their side, they just need to convince Fitz and they can escape. Will they be able to do it? Tune in next week to find out!