#the devils complex

[agl03]

Hello! so about the article, do you think that we should be worried about Jemma on 5x14?

Hi Anon,

I think that Fitzsimmons are both going to be but through the emotional ringer in this episode.  And at some point there will be some physical danger as well because both Lil and Iain have their stunt doubles.  

However how that all plays out is really hard to saw because Jemma has been kept out of the promo materials.   All that is really known is her greatest fear is manifested and I do believe The Doctor will be/voice/visualize hers as well no matter how that all shakes out.  

Hypable didn’t give us much either.  

It’s a bitter brew, and it leaves an aftertaste unlike anything you may have expected. Fitz’s alter-ego from the Framework turns up in its aftermath, but that’s barely even the beginning of this trip. (What this all means for Simmons is, frankly, too complex to address in a spoiler-friendly fashion.)

This could hint at something heavy and emotional or it could lead to something like the Deke Reveal or Baby Bomb.   I also wouldn’t put it past The Doctor to use Jemma against Fitz at some point or vise versa.   

And while the episode is going to likely kill me on a level I haven’t had since Self Control I’m not worried about Fitzsimmons too much.  The might be a little battered after this but they have each other and will work through it.  

[agl03]

Bless you for all that you do for the fandom. I read your recap, so am I right in interpreting that may doesn’t treat him as a villain, but more so empathize with him that he had to make a terrible choice. Like Daisy should be angry as hell at him, but my heart will break if May treats him with anger and disdain too.

Hi @lapiccolina

Thank you!

You are correct, May doesn’t really treat him as a villain.  She reminds him she was Hydra in there too, that she did things she regrets.   She is empathetic.

To me, and I’m missing the context of the full episode still, it seemed that May was one of those characters that was in a bit of a hard place.  She doesn’t agree with how everything went down but at the same time Daisy needed her powers back to close the Rift.  She’s also supporting Daisy as she acts as leader with Coulson gone; offering words of comfort, support, and guidance.  I need to make it clear this was MY read on a short scene at the end of the episode so I really could be missing something that was said or done earlier that contradicts this.

May didn’t get after Fitz when he says he still thinks he did the right thing in giving Daisy her powers back (the HOW isn’t okay at all.  Daisy should have been told that her powers were the only way and her given the choice).  Fitz did what he did to protect everyone.  She remains silent before redirecting into trying to help track down Coulson and figure out what Hale is up too.  

[agl03]

Part 1) Do you think is fair that in the next ep May and Daisy want to use Fitz as "the supervillain that they have locked up". Don't they realize that that will only further his self hate? Is as if he were Ward in season 2, a mere asset, instead of the human they have seen face unbearable odds, pass though something as massive as brain damage without so much as a therapist (both Daisy and Jemma had one), and who is crumbling from the weight of everything. I understand that Daisy is traumatized

Anonymous said: Part 2) but seeing him as a villain is very narrow minded after all they have faced together, plus it vilifies mental illness once again.

HI Anon,

This is likely one of those responses that is going to get me in trouble.  To make it clear this is MY personal opinion and read on it with limited context.  It’s okay if you disagree with me but please respect that this is my take on the situation.  

This was the part of the clip that just really hurt for me.  Something I have to bear in mind going in here is this isn’t meant to be black and white, its meant to be painful and murky as the rift within the team builds and leaves them fractured for a few episodes.    

And to be frank no, I didn’t like how it came across at all.  That is my opinion and I’m not saying that Daisy doesn’t have a right to be upset, I’m not saying Fitz is completely innocent, but both suffered some serious trauma in 14 and they are going to be addressed and dealt with in very different ways.   Fitz needs help and support as well and Locking him away and using him as an asset for The Doctor won’t help.

In that scene I (again MY perception this could change once I have the rest of the episode and more context) thought she didn’t see him as Fitz her friend, she saw him as The Doctor of the Framework who needed to be locked up before he could betray them again.  It was also made clear it was Daisy’s decision that he stay locked up.  They wanted The Doctor’s help, IE what would he do in finding Coulson and what Hale was up too.  Much like FItz used him to pull one over on Kasius or Coulson his his history teacher knowledge to figure out where they were last season.  And based on the synopsis for 17, Fitz is right in deducing Hale seemed to be building a weapon of some sort.  However, while she is more than willing to use The Doctor in the search she refuses to let Fitz out so Fitz can do what he does best and work in the lab in order to help them track Coulson down.

Fitz points out that Daisy herself has betrayed the team when she was doing what she thought was right (siding with her mother in Season 2 and the Rising Tide in Season 1 and I”m guessing some of the her leaving in Season 4 goes to this too).  Especially when she sided with Jaiying, her friends got hurt, she attacked May.  No its not apples to apples and I’m not trying to diminish the icky factor of what happened to Daisy.  Piper who most recently betrayed the team and as a result of her betrayal Elena lost her arms in a horrific way and she is free after spending some time locked up as well. We have yet to see Elena and piper interact since or if Elena feels she should still be locked up.  

Also from the clip not everyone sees Fitz as a villain.  May empathized that she was Hydra in the Framework and did things she regrets.   Mack tells Jemma that even in the Framework part of Fitz was a good man.  And in the end Jemma goes to him to tell him she knows they will be okay with the “We are Invincible” line. Daisy has been hurt and needs her own time to process and heal as well.   

As I said above the writers wanted it to be messy and raw as things start to really ramp up going into the finale. 

[agl03]

Just want to say that while I know there are a lot of fans hurt/traumatized by 14. I LOVED IT and think everyone especially Iain/Lil killed it!!! You should by no means feel bad or feel like people are taking it out on you. You are awesome in all you do :) And many of us appreciate it all!!

Hi Anon,

Thanks.  I also enjoyed the episode.  Everyone killed it and I’m curious to see where the story goes from here.  I think I know what its setting up.  Do I like what happened, no, but I still liked the episode overall.  It’s very much up there with Self Control for me.  I don’t like what happened in it but overall appreciate the acting, action, and plot twists that came with it.  

[agl03]

1 Ok. So...I'm someone that profoundly disliked the Framework plot in regards to Fitz. He is literally my fave character in the MCU and I think that the way he was treated in there (no by Aida, etc) but by the writers was absolutely cruel. Every other character had the chance of redemption, but for him it was just pain and more trauma. With every other character you could see who they really were, but with Fitz not even a shadow. I literally had to take my eyes of the tv half the time because it

2 made me physically sick. For me the last scene with Fritz and Jemma was almost unbearable. I study screenwriting and a scene in which you take two characters so loved, with a relationship so important and you put them trough something that sick and don’t give them the chance of Catharsis is just not well written, they are reaping horrible consequences that they don’t deserve without nothing to be gained. I remember being really upset that not even the season finale gave us any sort of closure

3 not even a scene where FS sorta clear the air. When I knew that The Doctor was gonna be in 5x14 I was very nervous, but it occurred to me that maybe the writers would use that chance to give Fitz a win, to triumph over him in a way he was robbed of last season. But now reading the Hypable hints I’m getting really anxious. I feel like the writers are just gonna pile torture over torture and leave me, and many others fans, with a really ugly feeling. The “ uniquely intimate, uniquely painful…”

drawing of blood makes me recoil and if they give more reasons to make Fitz feel disgusted of himself and to put strain into FS and not resolve anything I don’t know what I will do. Sorry for any mistakes, English is not my first language. And sorry for the excess of emotions, is just that the Fritz thing really triggers me in ways that nothing fictional ever had. Thank you so much 

Hi Anon,

I have a love hate relationship with the Framework to this day.  I know very well how hard it was on some fans and for Fitzsimmons fans in particular.  My ask box got the brunt of it.  Had it gone down how I suspect it was originally planned it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad.   But, it is what it is.   I do think the writers realized too late AKA after they’d wrapped, that they did indeed go too far with Fitzsimmons in there and then ran out of the real estate they needed to wrap it up properly.

So first and foremost take care of yourself.  As much as I want people to watch live and boost ratings, if you are worried its going to be too hard to watch or upset you, then wait til after.  Have a trusted friend who has watched it warn you if you have too.   

Next, it’s been awhile since Hypable has done an article this ‘scary’ for lack of a better word.  And most of the time she’ll blow stuff up bigger than it really is and this is all influenced by her personal character preferences.  She is just like any other fan and has her favorites.  Also the more riled up the article makes fans the more clicks it gets, which is what its for.  So take the hype with a grain of salt.

My thought all along is that they would bring The Doctor back into play like this in order to help Fitz heal as well.   And I still think that will happen.  Its going to be painful at times but I do think that Fitz and Fitzsimmons will get the upper hand in the very end.  They’ll definitely be battered physically and emotionally but they will still be together.  They need to wrap up this arc in order to make room for the others that need to come.  IE Fitzsimmons/Deke and whyever the heck lead to Dove filming with them at the end of her run.  

There will be blood (and other stuff)

Blood is hardly an unusual sight on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — this is a show that has gleefully ripped out eyeballs and chopped off its main character’s hand on screen, after all. But what is unusual in “The Devil Complex” is who winds up drawing blood from whom, and why. The circumstances this week are uniquely intimate, uniquely painful… and designed to leave very memorable scars.

This bit might not even apply to Fitzsimmons.  If it does it could mean they discover Deke’s connection to them or the Baby Bomb is dropped as a result. For example if one of Fitzsimmons or even Deke is severely injured then they could donate blood to save the other.  However,  here are three characters in the mix that have something special about their blood that make much bigger targets for this in my eyes.  Daisy, Coulson (Gh), and Creel (they set that up back in season 3 and have yet to fully pay it off).  So I think Hale and/or Ruby will be doing the drawing.  If this is the case especially if its Daisy or Coulson, I don’t think the blood is given willingly..  And for the record me and needles…yeah not so much.  

I really hope this helps.

[agl03]

Hi, so i'm a bit confused. Will the Doctor in Fridays ep be like the framework? will he bring up Aida or will he be like the Fitz we know now who loves Jemma?

Hi Anon,

Yes and no.  I think he will act and talk like The Doctor of the Framework (scary, evil, cold, and calculated) but I don’t think he’s out for vengeance for Ophelia or have the same goals as The Doctor did kind of thing. Its going to prey of Fitzsimmons fears and guilt and use that against them.  The Doctor will be like Mike, acting to protect or get something for the rift.  He’s the firewall (Like the gibberish in Robocliffe in 4.12) because Fitzsimmons are now the biggest threat to it.  I feel like somehow this Rift knows what its doing, its either sentient or someone on the other side is and is trying to get out.  

Fitz hates that he has that ‘shadow’ in him, hates what happened to his friends in the Framework, and how he’s literally going to have to face it down.  

I think points the Doctor is going to go for include:

You are weak (as seen in the promo).

You could be so much more, you could have the power, you could get results.  That whole pain and its proper application thing.

You need “me” 

You can’t protect her (Jemma).

You will lose her 

You will hurt the people you care about.

You have no future (which bonus points if Deke jumps in an begs to differ as he is the literal embodiment of their future).

You can’t defeat/escape me (as seen in the promo).

Perhaps a detour into the betrayal and abandonment that came up last season too.

All while trying to stop Fitzsimmons from closing the rift or trying to trick them into doing something more.  

[agl03]

I'm usually not the type to break down over a TV show, even with how invested I get, but I honestly don't know what to do right now. This just really hurts, and I'm tired of pain. There's only so much I can take. I don't know if I'm prepared to watch the rest of the season now that THIS is what we're dealing with. I mean, I'm actually sitting here crying about this stupid episode after it's finished, and that just doesn't happen to me. Any advice?

Hi @drs-fitzsimmons

I apologize for the late reply.   I know 14 was heavy and I know it triggered a lot of fans.   This is the point in the season where things get really bad.  I think we are through what could be through the worst of it…next week will be more of the fallout…which is still going to suck but wont’ be as bad as this/last week.

The best advice I can give:

Control what you see after.

Stay out of the tags!  Its not pretty over there right now, seeing/reading the discourse won’t help matters at all.  

As much as I want people to watch live, if you have too wait until it airs and then talk to a trusted friend who knows you and what could trigger you to see if the next episode is safe to watch.  

[agl03]

Ugh I know the hypable hints are always a little dramatic but with the description of the Fitz plot I’m worried he does something really dark and drastic and that it’s basically character assassination. I know you’re super busy getting prepared for wondercon but do you have any thoughts?

Hi Anon,

I won’t lie, Iain is going to kill us, because I think this will be a really big episode for him.  Lots of emotion.  Fitz is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted and the solve for this is falling on him and Jemma.  But Jemma might not be able to help as much as she’d like due to needing to take care of Elena as well.  In rewatching 12 and 13 someone mentioned he needed to rest, and that is all coming to a head here.  

I have been looking forward to 14, I know its going to hurt, but my hope is still that this is how Fitz gets to some even footing with the Framework and The Doctor.  He is able to physically address him, talk to him and prove he’s not him once and for all.  There could be a pretty epic defining moment too.

But at the same time the seeds were sewn back in Rewind, that Shadow is there, it can never snuff out the light, but its there.  And as Hunter said its a matter of using it when he needs too.  This could be a time, closing the rift and protecting the team from it, that he does have to use it.   

The article also said that Fitz had no choice but to go along with this.  It’s not something he’s doing willingly or embracing, he’s doing what he has too to protect his family, and whatever other leverage The Doctor might have.

From a more logical standpoint they don’t have time to take Fitz down that road again.  He was one of the central Characters to the Framework and what AIDA did to him was a means to an end.   Now, Coulson is going to have that more central/driving role.   I feel like they are doing this in order to wrap up best they can and get Fitz into a decent place with it before they move on.