Jemma has the blues in more ways than one in this week’s episode of +Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. called 4,722 Hours
Every now and then, a TV show will do an episode which is quite different from their regular narrative. This week, +Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. focused the entire episode on what happened to Jemma on the alien planet during those fateful 4,722 hours
So not only did they feature virtually no one other than Jemma but the episode starts with a repeat of the cliffhanger from S.O.S. Part 2 only this time we follow Jemma to the other side and we stay with her in her struggle to survive in a very barren world.
And yet the planet still seems to harbour some sort of plant life and drinkable water. I should probably start by saying that you need to suspend your disbelief quite a bit with some details and focus on Jemma’s predicament if you want to enjoy the episode to its fullest. Elizabeth Henstrige’s performance is what makes this a great episode, and yet it’s not so much the impossibly long life of her phone’s battery that made me twitch a little (this is a world of arc reactors and cloaking technology after all) but the fact that she apparently wasn’t able to eat or drink something for several earth days and still manage to be alert and ready to fight.
We still don’t know much about the planet itself but the way it was described made me think of Ego, the living planet, and the “plant life” was just versions of its hairs and pimples (I hope you’re not eating while reading this ;)). However this might be a little extreme, especially if you consider that a living planet would probably not have a regular orbital pattern and thus they would not have been able to track the spot where the wormhole would open up. They make several references to this place being “hell” but I don’t think this is a direct reference to Hel, as in one of the 9 realms. I think it’s more the biblical / dantesque reference you would expect.
There is something on the planet though, something that seems very much like an executioner, an entity that lives in the sandstorm and either kills people or drives them mad. We only see it at the end dressed like an astronaut with hoses sticking out of its suit not really doing anything. I’m not sure it was an illusion or if it’s its true form but I feel this will be addressed when they figure out a way to go rescue Will. Could this be what the Inhumans were so afraid of last season? Is it some entity that can track and kill Inhumans and if so will it either make its way on earth or perhaps will the planet be Lash’s final destination.
Speaking of Will, Daniels being his last name apparently, though I didn’t catch it in the episode, his presence on the planet raises a heck of a lot more questions. Questions such as how the monolith came to be in the possession of NASA and how it then got passed on to S.H.I.E.L.D. It also makes you wonder if those who set up the mission will make an appearance as Jemma and Fitz try to find a way to return to the planet.
And of course Will is the point where I have to say “called it” (see my previous post) on why Jemma has to go back. But this love triangle has got to hit you rather hard in the feels. And yet, and . yet . Fitz once again proves that he is more of a man than most men I know by siding with Jemma and letting her know he will do all he can to reopen the portal. There has been many obstacles coming between those two and astronaut pretty boy is just one of a long list but in the end if this relationship is to exist let alone survive, it will be all thanks to Fitz.
Don’t despair, #fitzsimmons has a future, a rocky base makes for strong foundations.
