AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.: F.Z.Z.T. Round Table

Welcome to this week’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. round table for the episode that’s name the way it sounds, “F.Z.Z.T.”

1. What did you think of the Chitauri from The Avengers as “the villain” this week?

Louise: As someone who loved The Avengers, and knows that the show wants to rely on in-world building between the show and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’m totally okay with it. It’s complicated, and otherworldly, which the show hasn’t dealt with much to this point. I wonder how easy it was for someone who hadn’t seen the movie, though.

Frea: I enjoy that Skye pronounces it “Shit-tauri” because you know aliens that came and killed thousands are going to need good publicists. Also I like this tie-in better than the Extremis tie-ins. It’s better for the budget and does well to ground the show into a world where aliens very publicly invaded and now we’re dealing with the fall-out.

Mel: Excellent tie-in and, as Frea noted, a way to deal with the fall-out from the events in New York on a limited budget. I think it’s safe to say that anyone still watching S.H.I.E.L.D. at this point has seen The Avengers, but even if they haven’t, all the relevant information for this specific “villain” was in the show.

2. Was Simmons the most appropriate person on the team to contract the virus? If not, who would you have rather been infected?

Louise: Honestly, I know she was the right person from the perspective of roles and responsibilities in the team, and that until this point we hadn’t heard too much about her backstory, but I spent far too long once she was infected worrying that she was going to die. (Can we start hoping that Jed and Maurissa are not quite as trigger happy as Joss is?) I’d rather not lose half the Science team when they are a vital part of most missions. But it was nice to see that Fitz and Ward came to her aid. Good on you boys.

Frea: Yes. She’s biochem. She’s most likely to get infected by anything that isn’t a werecreature. Plus the actress is very poised and I admire her character so much more after that trial by fire. So many times she broke my heart and this episode really fleshed out both her and Fitz.

Mel: Yes. She was the one working in close proximity with the infected bodies, so it makes sense. Having Simmons be the one in danger also gave us a chance to emotionally connect with her, which I appreciate because so far I’m not all that invested in anyone.

3. Do you think that Simmons and Coulson will bond in the wake of their now shared experience? What about Coulson and May?

Louise: I can only hope that they will, but I doubt Coulson’s going to share his story about New York with Ward, Skye or Fitz and Simmons. Melinda’s probably going to be the only one who knows and they had their little heart to heart tonight.

Frea: God I hope so. The little dressing down he have her at the end of the episode was so endearing. I mean, c’mon. He’s more annoyed that he had to work with the Morocco Branch than anything. I love that Skye and Jemma are just like “And here is my new father figure” but interestingly enough we learned of the first family anybody on this show has, apart from Grant’s brother, when Jemma mentioned both her mother and her father.

4. Most Valuable Player in this episode?

Louise: Even though this was all about Simmons, Fitz comes around to save the day in the end. Runner up is Ward, for actually taking the jump.

Frea: Melinda May. Have a cookie. I had to pause the episode and laugh for a good ten minutes. Melinda May, MVP for life.

Mel: Simmons was amazing – she figured out how the other people died, developed the anti-serum even while infected, then tried to save her teammates. Fitz and Ward came through in the end, but Simmons was solid throughout. (Is anyone else worried about Fitz? The look on his face after Simmons called him a hero and left seems foreboding.)

5. Favorite scene in this episode?

Louise: Phil’s conversation with the last fireman and that small reveal about what happened in New York. He knows he’s not 100%, even if everything tells him he is.

Frea: See #4. Though I did enjoy Coulson’s bits with the firefighter, with Melinda, with Jemma and with Agent Blake, who I was kind of hoping was going to be Donald Blake, ex-boyfriend of Dr. Jane Foster.

Mel: I really liked the scene with FitzSimmons and Skye when they were making fun of Ward. It finally feels like Skye is starting to integrate, and of course it would be with the youngest members of the team first. Also, Ward was asking for it. Simmons actually jumping out of the cargo bay, to save her teammates from certain death, was pretty amazing even if the CGI was a little rough.