What I’m Watching: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Season 4, Episode 18 “No Regrets” (B+)

I wasn’t sure how long all this within-the-framework story would go on, but I’m glad that it’s taken center stage now since I think it’s far superior to what was happening beforehand with Radcliffe and Aida slowly replacing every single member of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team except for Simmons and Daisy with android stand-ins. Mac showing up to help the framework version of S.H.I.E.L.D. was an important trigger for the question of what people are capable of, with just one regret taken away capable of transforming them into an entirely different kind of person. And we saw some cracks in the two toughest framework characters we’ve met, with Fitz starting to doubt whether he should have coldly killed Agnes and May trying to decide whether she’s really on the right side. I really liked the portrayal of Mace as the Patriot here, and the notion that, as it appears, he died doing something truly heroic that in this universe he could actually do because of his inhuman abilities, is really fitting and a fond farewell to a great character. I also like that Ward is still portrayed as a good person here, and that he posed the question that everyone should be thinking, about how Simmons is so sure that what she knows to be reality is in fact what is real and the framework is the fabrication. I’m not sure what happens next, but I’m very intrigued to see how the next four episodes play out and how things are when everyone who survives is returned to their natural habitats.