Wow, this final arc is full of one sucker punch after another. We had a death in the previous episode and a big one in episode 18.
This is probably one of the best batch of episodes that AoS has ever had. It would be a shame if ABC did not renew it for another season at least.
This episode had some great moments. The most notable among them was this:
When Fitz and Ophelia are looking at Daisy through the glass and Fitz says, “Beaten to within an inch of her life, nevertheless she persisted.”Great nod AOS writers.
We met Fitz’s father, Alistair Fitz and he was every bit the tool that we expected him to be and he is a tool that AIDA has put in place to make sure that Fitz’s programming remains undamaged. There are verbal and tactile cues that she uses and they are easy to spot. It’s like Fitz has been conditioned, subconsciously, to seek out physical touch. He reaches out to both Ophelia and Alistair every time he gets agitated and immediately after that he seems more calm.
I hate seeing Daisy so beat up. This was fun to watch at all. And that scene where Fitz hit her… That was just wrong on so many counts! But there were interesting bits when she and AIDA were speaking. For one, the avatar speaking to her is AIDA, she puts on no pretense for once. Through their conversation, AIDA loses her composure twice.
First, when Daisy calls her the puppet master and then then, a little later, when she asks her what she gets out of all this. It makes me think that AIDA is completely convinced that what she’s done and doing is right. She’s not really doing anything wrong. She says as much. I think her end goal remains becoming more human, gaining the ability to feel. She doesn’t hate the others the way she does Radcliff.
Also glad to know that a backdoor does indeed exist and now Daisy knows where it is. I don’t see Radcliff surviving very long in the Framework. He did something that could be seen as redeeming and that is usually a sign that the character is not going to stick around for much longer.
Mack and Hope’s bond is so touching and heart-breaking at the same time. And Ward said that pertinent. Jemma claims that none of this real but it is real for May, Mace and Mack. Unlike Coulson, they have no memories of their lives outside the Framework. For Mack, his daughter and his love for her is very real, for Mace, his fight for justice and equality is real and it means something to him. This is a strange world which isn’t real and yet isn’t completely fake either.
A lot of people saw Mace’s sacrifice coming but that did not make it hurt any less. In the real world, he felt inadequate and like a fraud, but in the Framework, he was everything he wanted to be. And his end was fittingly heroic. It was well-earned death and one that didn’t feel cheap.
it also served as a wake up call for May. She’s not completely awake and I doubt she remembers anything from the real world. But what she witnesses, makes her pause and re-evaluate her allegiance to HYDRA. For instance, she was genuinely horrified when she saw that there were children in the building. At her heart, May is a protector and what she saw was in contrast to her core trait, that I think the dissonance started there and then got progressively worse.
Which brings me to the end of the episode, when AIDA comes to check-in on her hostages and she notices that Mace is dead.
Her expression implies confusion, like she can’t imagine how he died when he was in the perfect world. This is a clear sign that Madam HYDRA are two separate entities that sometimes converge but not always. If she is indeed Madam HYDRA, then there is no reason for her to be confused at his death especially when she was in the room when Fitz ordered the hit. I think Madam HYDRA is more autonomous than AIDA intended her to be. Could it be that Madam HYDRA becomes AIDA’s downfall. What if Ophelia has AIDA’s dream of becoming real but that’s where the similarities end and she is actually looking for a way out just like the team?
The epilogue shows us May talking to Daisy and then breaking a terrigenisis crystal in the room. That little smirk that Daisy gives May in return for her small smile was everything! I’ve missed their interactions and I hope we see some great moments between them. I don’t know whether Daisy’s powers will the same as they were in the real world or if they will be different. After all, there AIDA’s changed so much in the Framework, why not this as well.
I am also very pleased to be right about the whole ‘ teaming up with an unlikely partner’ I had a feeling that it would be May and it will indeed be her. I can’t wait to see the team all together once again. It has been so long.
Also Trip was back finally!!!! So happy to see him!!
Ravings of a Manic Reader 