Danny Hale reviews the fifteenth episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4…
After the excellent reveal that was the closing scene of ‘The Man Behind the Shield’ last week ‘Self Control’ had a lot of pressure to give us an appropriate payoff and oh my stars and garters did it deliver. Jed Whedon made his directorial debut with ‘Self Control’ and the entire episode from start to finish was handled with an incredible amount of integrity and resulted in one of the finest episodes Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever aired.
The reveal that Daisy was not in fact an LMD and that the fourth model was Fitz was a wonderfully delivered twist and resulted in an incredibly emotionally charged back and forth between Fitz and Simmons. I can’t stress this enough but both Iain De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge were on top form here from Fitz’s heart-breaking pleas for her to lower the gun to the uncertainty creeping into Simmons’ words as she accused her partner and best friend of his treachery. Although I was mainly aiming my suspicions at Fitz up until he stabbed Simmons in the leg it was very difficult to know who was the LMD and in fact if they were even aware of it themselves. Simmons’ subsequent ‘murder’ of Fitz was a great moment, seeing him pleading with her to stop and Jemma only briefly hesitating before jamming the blade into his neck. LMD or no, this was a traumatic moment for Simmons and fed into her ensuing encounter with Daisy.
Having Daisy not being compromised resulted in possibly one of my favourite moments in the show’s history; her encounter with Simmons. Both characters were unsure of the other’s allegiance and Daisy’s subsequent suggestion of mildly quaking Jemma to ensure they were both human/Inhuman and not an android was understandably met with resistance. Once Daisy pulled a shaking Simmons into her arms though and the realisation hit that they were not LMD’s and thus not alone I could feel the emotional release and also the inevitable strength that that certainty brought. Unlike last week, once Daisy finished her pre-fight speech her ensuing encounter with the Mace LMD carried the weight it promised and provided a great, visually pleasing finishing blow. This was soon followed by her quake orb attack against Mac and Coulson, literally tearing the Mac LMD apart and proving once more that Daisy is a badass Inhuman.
The May LMD payoff was wonderful. I am so glad she was kept around for such an important purpose. The May android was programmed to be Melinda May with the subliminal impulse to obtain the Darkhold, with that objective now completed the LMD is free to just be Melinda and in true May fashion, she saves the day. The May LMD was programmed to be more ‘human’ than Coulson was and this is what set her apart; she could see the imperfections (or lack thereof) and knew that this is not who Coulson was and not what Coulson would wish. Her final pitch was heart-felt and knowing she feared death made it all the more touching. She knew she wasn’t the real May and knew the LMD in front of her wasn’t an accurate portrayal of her friend. With this knowledge and before Coulson can put a bullet in her head May detonates the explosives around her possibly destroying the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, ensuring Simmons, Daisy and Agents Piper, Davis & Prince all narrowly escape on the Zephyr 1.
With the promise of jumping right into the framework when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns, thrusting our characters into a completely new world and the return of Grant Ward this six-week break is going to be agonizing. With a beautiful teaser of what’s to come we are left with a great deal of questions. Where is Simmons? Who is on Fitz’ arm? And why is May seemingly working for HYDRA? But most importantly, in this new world, what has become of S.H.I.E.L.D? This already consistently strong season shows no signs of letting up with the momentum set to an incredible high for the remaining seven episodes. I give up attempting to guess what will happen next; this season has been an unpredictable thrill and the writing team have more than earned my rapt attention and fascination with what’s to come.
Danny Hale
Originally published February 23, 2017. Updated November 14, 2019.
