Farewell, Framework.
Full spoilers for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD continue below.
With two episodes to go in Season 4, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD is ramping things up after a stellar third pod in the Framework. Though this episode might have ended with (most) people home safe and relatively sound, the most successful part of this storytelling device is that way its impact is already being felt for what's ahead.
But let's start first with life outside Aida and Radcliffe's alternate reality. Picking up "Farewell, Cruel World!" with a catch up with Yo-Yo and the rest of the SHIELD team was the smartest way to open this episode. It's been quite a while since we checked in with them, and though we haven't missed much except a lot of cold times aboard the Zephyr One, it served as a good transition back to the real world.
In fitting with its title, "Farewell, Cruel World!" ushered most of our main characters out of the Framework and into their respective locations in the real world. The pod structure of Season 4 meant that all of these story arcs were relatively small, but I did leave this episode wishing we could spend more time in the Framework.
Alternately, the escape from the Framework felt a bit too easy and simple to get everyone to the right place at the right time. Part of this is frustration is just the structure of an episodic TV show where all this action is relegated to one 42-minute three-act story, but for all that the team was trapped in the Framework for five episodes, this escape was pretty straightforward -- except for two main characters.
First, Fitz. Iain De Caestecker is the secret acting weapon of Agents of SHIELD -- which probably is why the writers keep throwing so many terrible, traumatizing events at Fitz. From Season 2 when he had to spend most of the season with brain damage through the emotionally challenging material he had in this week's episode, his strong performance helps ground the show. In particular, his acting when seeing his father lying dead on the floor was smart and subtle, and his shock upon returning to the real world and being crushed under the weight of everything he did in the Framework was powerful.
The cliffhanger of Aida snatching him and zapping off to goodness knows where was a good tease of what's to come, and the question is just how much of Fitz's Framework personality traveled back with him into the real world. The interesting aspect of this storytelling device is the promise that it taps into SHIELD's main characters true selves, even if just in a "What if?" scenario. So does some of that residual affection for Ophelia transfer over? And what about that hypothetical close-ish relationship with his father? Finding out how Fitz responds to his kidnapping makes for some intriguing story.
Then there's the Mack conundrum. SHIELD has been telegraphing all season that Mack's heartbreak over the loss of his daughter is a weight he carries with him always. That's why it wasn't much of a surprise when he decided to stay in the Framework with Hope (and means we hopefully haven't seen the end of it quite yet, since it hasn't officially been destroyed).
While my guess is that there still will be some way that Mack ends up being yanked back to the real world at the last moment, the ballsier move here would be for the show to let him make this tragic choice; not that Henry Simmons isn't a great actor and contribution to the series, but because it shows how much guilt and grief can affect someone, and further pushes into the idea that "reality" is how you perceive the world, regardless of whether it's real or not.
The Verdict
As Agents of SHIELD brings its Framework arc to a close, this blend of real world and alternative reality storylines made for a great transition back to reality. While we hopefully haven't seen the end of the Framework quite yet, the impact it's had on Fitz and Mack already make it one of the most effective SHIELD story arcs in a while. Now that Aida has her human form (and Fitz), here's hoping Agents of SHIELD can close out Season 4 with two more great episodes.
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