Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.- S3E5- 4,722 Hours

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Previously on AoS, ‘Devils You Know’

Six months ago, gobbled up by the monolith, Simmons finds herself on a barren planet in a different solar system. Her cell phone works enough for her to begin keeping a log of what she sees, take a picture of the landscape, and take comfort in an image of Fitz.

Although a sun doesn’t rise on the planet, Simmons is able to keep track of time, thanks to Fitz and the incredible battery life of her phone. After 79 hours, she sets off in search of water; leaving her necklace on a rock formation arrow at the “drop site”, in case Fitz shows up to save her. At 99 hours and near severe dehydration, as she crests a dune, a sandstorm sweeps her up and erases her bread crumb trail.

Finding a water and food source in the same spot is a huge stroke of luck, though weeks later she falls into a trap and meets Will, an astronaut that has been trapped on the planet for 14 years.

Surviorwoman

It’s all fun and games to take a dip in opaque waters on another planet, until an alien plant monster decides it’s feeding time. Simmons escapes and uses a rock to chop off part of what grabbed her. A couple hours later, starving, she reluctantly eats that piece. It looked more appetizing than raw tortoise. Not by much. Several hundred hours later (what was she waiting on?), knowing she’ll die if she doesn’t eat, she dives back in and comes back out with a good portion of plant monster deliciousness.

AGENT Jemma Simmons

Clearly, Simmons’ training at S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy included more than scholarly pursuits. She fashioned a knapsack out of her clothes, made an ax out of a stick, a sharpened rock, and cord, started a fire with no matches, and stitched up her own wound. Okay, maybe she was a hell of a Girl Scout.

Best line

“You’re dinner, biatch!”

If it ain’t broke…

Simmons made camp at that watering hole for weeks. She hears a little bit of clanking and just has to investigate. For why?? It wasn’t the best set up, but it wasn’t the bottom of a pit or a plant monster’s belly.

Bad ass moments

Held captive, Simmons goes all Rambo and starts doing pullups on the top of the cage.

It’s easy to forget she was a double agent at one point—until she fakes being sick from the food she’s fed, mollywhops her captor, and takes the fuck off.

She stitches her own wound, with no alcohol or numbing agent. Like a boss.

This is why well thought out plans are the way to go

NASA sent the team through the portal with solar powered equipment, without knowing how often the sun shined. Maybe they should have sent a robot first.

All about Will

In 2001, NASA sent Will and three scientists through the monolith, as an alternative way to explore space. His job: protect the scientists and keep things from going south. How did NASA know that was a possibility? The planet, moody as it is, made the scientists lose it; two of them killed themselves and the other destroyed their equipment then tried to kill Will. All three things happened near what Will calls the No Fly Zone, where “it” lives.

Some people are so touchy

Jemma asks Will how he’s been able to survive. He tells her he managed to avoid it, outsmart it, and a whole lotta luck. Yeah, that’s not sketch at all. Not believing in “it”, she explains the isolation could have made the others go mad. Will snaps and says maybe he’s the crazy one. He’s not wrong.

You’re not the boss of me

With no plans to stop trying to find a way off the planet, Simmons announces that wants to go to the No Fly Zone, but Will says no, she’s not going. Simmons all but stomps her feet and slams the trap door as she leaves to scavenge for food. While searching, finds a few things buried in sand, namely a bottle of wine and a sextant; their key to getting home.

Oh, so that’s “it”?

Blown into a graveyard during a sandstorm, Simmons sees a figure in the distance. From the flowing robes, it looks like the Emporer or the Ghost of Christmas Future. She did not stick around to find out who it was, hightailing it back basecamp.

She blinded me with science

Simmons drops a few science bars about moons affecting portals, tracking stars, and using her phone’s battery to boot up the NASA equipment. All her hard work pays off: in 18 days the portal will open—in the No Fly Zone…which is 80 hours away and has a 30 meter canyon they’ll need to cross. Pfft, that’s light work.

Time is [not] on their side

The portal won’t be open for long, so Simmons puts a message in a bottle for Fitz, telling him how to open the portal and keep it open to save them. As they hit the canyon, they see time has been a real bitch—it’s not 30 meters wide, but 100. Or the planet has; Will remarks that “it” doesn’t want them to leave. Maybe it’s lonely. The portal begins its ebb and flow, so Will ties the bottle to rope and shoots it across…the bottle lands just as the portal closes. Oh, the humanity.

Hope may be lost, but Will is there

The portal is gone, the equipment is dead, the bottle is smashed, and Simmons has had it. That table never saw it coming. She cries for the life she’s lost, but Will and his kisses make it a wee bit better. They get cozy and who can blame them?

Can’t stop, won’t stop

Simmons head out to see the sun rise, which won’t happen again for another 18 years. They celebrate the occasion on an outcropping with graveyard wine. While sharing a special moment where she says her dad would have liked him, Simmons sees a fireball and realizes Fitz is coming to get her. They take off towards the debris, Will running slow as hell, when the sandstorm starts. Will pushes her to leave him, but she says refuses. They get separated and she sees “it” in front of her, dressed like an astronaut. Will tells her to not trust “it”. He catches up to her and tells her to run, as he pulls out his gun. Running away, she hears gunshot, then Fitz yelling for her. Slowly making her way to Fitz’s voice, she urges Will to show up. She grabs Fitz’s hand…

Not bitter, but semi-sweet

Simmons tells Fitz she doesn’t know what happened to Will, but she knows she wouldn’t have survived without him. Fitz looks slightly upset and whole lot heartbroken. He abruptly walks away, but Simmons follows, asking him to understand. He does understand; he turns on the computer and shows her that he rebuilt the monolith. They’re going to go back to get Will.

All by himself…again

The sun rises on the other planet, Will throws his gun, and walks off.