Danny Hale reviews Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3 Episode 5 – ‘4,722 Hours’…
This week we finally got to see what happened to Simmons when she was dragged through the monolith and what an episode it was. This episode was everything I was hoping for while also bringing some unexpected moments to the screen. We open with our closing scene from last season where Fitz finally and adorably asks Simmons out to dinner. Seeing Simmons pulled into the monolith and with a simple cut seeing her thrown out the other side allowed us to easily hitch a ride on Simmons’ journey. We quickly get a glimpse of her first 72 hours where she discovers she is on another planet, in another solar system. At first Jemma talks to herself, always practical and tries to recall as much as she can remember about surviving in the field and protocol for retrieving missing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. It isn’t long before she discovers that no sun is coming and as hope starts to leave she cries, ‘I want to go home.’ The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. title then slowly fades up on the desolate planet setting an entirely different tone for the episode. I was gripped from the first moments; I know I have mentioned it in past weeks but Elizabeth Henstridge once again knocked it out of the park. I feel this episode was a great way to explore Simmons’ character as so far this season Simmons has been reserved to only short scenes albeit powerful ones.
The first act of the episode is Simmons alone. Watching her remember her friends and discussing openly for the first time her feeling towards Fitz was powerful and sad. We have always gotten our fair look at how Fitz feels about Jemma but now we finally got to see her side of it. The sad part being that she was completely alone and there was no one to her her. I also really enjoyed seeing Simmons being a practical bad ass. I was with her when she went hunting for an unknown, alien, tentacle creature and I cheered when she started her first fire. On a side note the fire looked absolutely stunning and out of place on the harsh blue planet.
In the following moments though after her brief win, Simmons stumbles across a trap and falls through a hatch and onto a stone floor. She awakens in a wooden cage and we quickly discover she is not quite as alone as we thought and what’s more, her captor is a human. Once the mystery man discovers that Simmons is in fact real and not a figment of his imagination we learn that his name is Will and that he was sent on a mission through the monolith by N.A.S.A. back in 2001. He is the last surviving member of the team. I thus spent the rest of the episode doubting this guy especially as he begins to talk about the planet and how there is an ‘evil’ out there. He implies that something made his teammates crazy but as Simmons points out there are psychological reasons that could have resulted in his teammate’s adverse behaviour. Despite my suspicions, as the episode progressed I really started to feel their bond grow as their once scrappy dynamic quickly over the days became a bond of mutual need.
Against Will wishes the ever woman-of-science Simmons ventures to what is known as the ‘no-fly-zone’ where bad things happen apparently. Simmons manages to find a sword, wine and a sextant. A sand storm quickly whips up around her and we briefly glimpse a cloaked figure at its centre. I love this stuff; I much prefer the idea of some supernatural being roaming the planet than Simmons’ scientific explanations. Jemma barely makes it back and although Will is furious that she went to the no-fly-zone Simmons has a plan and although I got lost in the details I trust Simmons enough to go with it. The portal itself is not moving, the planet is moving beneath the portal so using the last of her phone battery (No more Fitz and friends!) she uses the N.A.S.A. equipment from 2001 to chart the stars movements in order to ascertain when and where the next portal would open. Once they have a location and time they set out on a 40 mile hike to try and get home. I found this particularly hard to watch as we obviously know it doesn’t pan out. It’s a testament to the episode and to the actors that I felt so badly when they just missed getting their message in a bottle to Fitz. I knew it wasn’t going to happen but I knew that their failure would crush Simmons and it did. We see her finally give in and let the hopelessness of their situation wash over her. It was hard to watch but made the following moment perfectly believable and in a way kind of good? I never thought seeing Simmons kiss anybody but Fitz would feel right with me but if there was ever a justifiable time, it was then.
What follows is the few bits of happiness that we see in the episode; Simmons and Will have found solace in each other and they seem to have formed some sort of life in this world. They venture out to watch one of the rare sunrises that this blue planet sees and that’s when they see Fitz’s flare. It was horrific knowing that only Simmons would make it back and that the following events would leave her traumatised. Of course en route the sand picks up again and Will orders Simmons to go. Getting lost in the din we see a wounded astronaut, presumably the shadow figure from before advancing towards Simmons. I’m not sure what exactly it was implying just yet but I’m very intrigued to see more. Will’s shouts slowly become Fitz’s voice and we come full circle to where we left off last week.
The final brief scene where we see Simmons in tears and Fitz trying to process everything he’s just learned was incredible. He leaves the room clearly under duress and Simmons follows him, pleading with him to speak to her. He then turns and says ‘We’re going to get him back.’ Fitz, ever the sweetheart. Elizabeth Henstridge then breaks down and reminds us why Simmons is such an endearing character and how she just carried one of the best episodes this series has seen.
Next week looks like we’re back to normal but I’m so happy Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. took this episode to clarify Simmons’ experience and in a very believable way they have thrown a spanner in the works for Fitz and Simmons getting together. Roll on next week.
Danny Hale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=Yo85WjqklYY
Originally published October 30, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
