Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – What If. . . Review

After a few weeks away, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned with its first (and probably not last) episode in the Framework. The hour asked the question, “What If. . .”. We got to see a world where everything was a little bit upside down and backward. First, I have to start off by saying I was painfully wrong in my last review. It turned out Daisy (back to going by Skye in the Framework) woke up to Ward being alive, not Lincoln. In this twisted world, Daisy and Ward are Hydra agents and are back in a relationship. As Daisy was getting accustomed to the world around her, so were we. This was a rare instance where we didn’t have any information that she didn’t have, which is always an interesting storytelling technique. As the world was unveiled, Daisy got hit with shock after shock. Once she made it to the Hydra base, she learned that May also works there, Simmons is dead and Lincoln is, well, still dead. Next, she discovered that Hydra is torturing Inhumans, no big surprise there, but it was horrifying to find out that Hydra had control of pretty much everything: the schools, the government, and the police force. They even set up Inhuman checkpoints. After we got a look at Daisy’s life in the Framework, things turned over to Simmons, who had to crawl out of her own grave. That’s not going to be mentally scarring at all. She got out and began to explore, with her first goal of finding Coulson. She found out Coulson is high school teacher and supporter of Hydra. Simmons tried to get him to remember her by saying, “Tahiti is a magical place,” but instead he called the authorities on her. She made a run for it and eventually got reunited with Daisy, but Hydra was close on their heels. Ward also followed and flipped the table again by announcing that he is actually part of the resistance in this world. Even in the Framework he is a double agent. I liked that little detail. He also told Daisy that she is Inhuman, which he expected to be shocking information, but of course wasn’t. The three of them were on the run for a hot minute, which was pretty entertaining. I really liked Ward as a character and I’m glad they found a way to bring him back. I wish he would have somehow stayed on the show. Simmons and Daisy ran for cover while Ward covered their tracks. Then we got to see what Framework Fitz had been up to. It turned out he is pretty high in the ranks at Hydra, he even bossed May around, which was fun to see. Even though he is pretty evil right now, he looked really polished in that suit and I could see he definitely has villain potential. He went to the director of Hydra to report that a subversive (Simmons) is on the loose and the director was none other than Aida. I really should have expected it, but I didn’t and when she turned around I audibly gasped. I had forgotten all about her, but it makes total sense that she would make herself the director. Oh, and that her and Fitz would share a kiss. Creepy robot fantasy right there. In the end, Daisy and Simmons attempted to use their emergency button to get out of the Framework and come back with backup, but course it didn’t work, so they are trapped as well now. Daisy decided to make one last effort to get Coulson to remember her and it might have worked, but we will just have to wait until next week to find out for sure.

Final Thoughts:

- This was a really fun episode. It was interesting to see this alternate universe. My favorite part, by far, was evil Fitz. He just pulled that off so well. - I’m confused about how this Framework storyline was created. If Aida designed it, how did she know all of these details? - I’m also curious about how Jemma and Daisy remembered who they were and no one else did. Jemma made the point that everyone else had been in their longer so maybe if they stay too long will they also lose their grip on reality? - Also, will everyone remember this once they are out? - And how do they even get out?!