Marvel's Agents of SHIELD Season 4 Episode 16 Recap and Review: What If...

Daisy struggles to adapt to the Framework.

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD has tackled a lot of famous Marvel storylines and this week the show tried something very bold. Marvel Comic's “What If?” series takes famous stories and characters and asks the question of “What if instead of this happening, this happens?”. Marvel has tackled famous questions like, “What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four?” or “What if Captain America hadn’t vanished during World War 2?”. Now, Agents of SHIELD asks, “What if the world was taken over by Hydra?” The answer results in a thrilling episode and a fresh take on some of our favorite characters.

In the previous episode, Daisy and Simmons enter the Framework, a computer programmed world, with a job to find their friends and meet at the extraction point to escape the virtual reality. We learned Daisy is in a relationship with Ward, Coulson is a high school teacher, Mack is enjoying a quiet life and has a child, Fitz is successful and in a relationship, Simmons is dead, and May is an agent of Hydra in Hydra infested Triskelion

The episode starts off with Daisy finding Ward in her home and discovering she no longer has her powers. She doesn’t remember anything about this programmed life but knows she and Ward are dating, her name is Skye again, and they both have been called into work. She discovers that Ward and her work for Hydra Homeland Strategic Defense and track down Inhumans. In the Framework, Inhumans are extremely feared and viewed as terrorists. Daisy and Ward arrive at the Triskelion and on the way and they both walk past a group of agents beating up an Inhuman, but no one seems to care. Daisy uses Hydra computers to discover Simmons is dead and Lincoln died during Inhuman testing. Simmons was killed by a toxic bio that was accidentally released, killing 200 SHIELD Academy members.

It was awesome finally seeing the Triskelion again. After Captain America: The Winter Solider, I didn’t think we would ever see SHIELD’s headquarters. Even though it was infested with Hydra agents, it was still fun being back in that famous setting. I also loved being able to see Ward again. Ward was a great and loveable character (pre-Hydra), and seeing his character like that again was very refreshing.  

Meanwhile, Simmons burrows her way out from underground where she was previously lying with skeletons. The bullet holes in her shirt suggested she was murdered. Simmons tries to find help and finds an old SHIELD Academy of Science and Technology sign and realizes SHIELD has fallen. She flags down a car and gets a ride to D.C. While talking to the women, Simmons is fascinated by how real this world is and how each person has their own personality and dreams coded into them. During the car ride, they come across an Inhuman checking point. While looking for her ID, Simmons finds her old SHIELD I.D. in her pocket.  The women she is with starts to freak out and rushes Simmons out of the car in fear of being arrested. The woman drives off as Simmons runs for cover in the woods.

After Simmons’ adventure, we can begin to piece together that Hydra wiped out SHIELD and now SHIELD strikes fear into citizen’s hearts. We also know Inhumans are extremely feared and Hydra keeps a close eye on everyone. It was interesting how Simmons’ voice was raspy and her hair and clothes were extremely dirty as if she had actually died. At times I forgot they aren’t actually in the real world, but in the Framework. 

May finds Skye and Skye realizes May has no memory of her past life. Daisy heads to a debriefing session about Jason Rajan, a man who is suspected of smuggling terrigen crystals. However, the man on the screen is Vijay Nadeer. In the real world, Nadeer was an Inhuman with superhuman strength and reflexes who was murdered by his sister, Ellen Nadeer. Daisy and Ward are assigned to interrogate and we learn Nadeer runs an import business and is inhuman. May watches the interrogation and is no impressed so Daisy confronts the man about his fake name. She tells him his real name is Vijay Nadeer and he has a fake ID, which means there is a mole inside of Hydra. Ward then punches Nadeer and breaks his jaw, which knocks him out.

Simmons runs away from the Inhuman checking point. She enters a restaurant and reads the Hydra Observer, the only newspaper in this world. The article on the cover and anti-Inhuman propaganda in the background shows how hated Inhumans are. Jemma steals car keys and a jacket but is confronted by two police officers. They realize she doesn’t have an I.D. so they take her to their car where she steals their gun and tasers them both. Seeing Simmons fight is a rare occasion, but it is always extremely satisfying. 

Coulson teaches his class about how Hydra saved the world from Inhumans.

Meanwhile, Coulson is teaching a high school class about how dangerous Inhumans are. He mentions how SHIELD let a refugee inhuman come to the states and as a result, the Cambridge Incident occurred. Coulson explains how Hydra saved the United States from Inhumans and SHIELD and brought law and order. When a student questioned Hydra, Coulson becomes very hostile towards him. Two suited Hydra men come into the classroom and ask for a student and they take him away because they suspect he is an Inhuman.

Simmons goes to the spot where she and Daisy are supposed to meet and unburies a device from the ground that will allow them to leave the Framework. She decides to search for Coulson and finds him. However, he doesn’t remember her and she can’t convince him he is living in a virtual world. Coulson asks her to leave and calls Hydra to report a SHIELD member. 

It was heartbreaking to watch Simmons try to convince Coulson he was living in a fake world. She brought up touching memories and talked about how much they have been through together, but nothing seemed to get through to him. If this doesn’t work, I can only imagine how hard it will be to convince everyone else they are living in a fantasy world. 

Back at the Triskelion, Vijay is being taken upstairs to Fitz. While Daisy is walking him upstairs, she learns that in this world May didn’t kill the little girl in Bahrain. Instead, she was brought back to the United States and killed many people in the Cambridge Incident. Vijay is brought to Fitz and tortured with machines. May walks in and reads a report about a man who reported a SHIELD agent and Daisy realizes the two people are Coulson and Simmons. Daisy goes to meet Simons at the extraction point and they talk about how all their friends are now Hydra. Ward then finds the two and aims a gun at them as Hydra agents start to come to capture them. However, Ward shoots a Hydra agent and tells them he joined the resistance to protect Daisy when he found out she was in Inhuman and he is the mole inside of Hydra. The three get in a car and run from Hydra. They escape the Hydra agents and Ward tells Simmons and Daisy to get to safety while he disposes of the car.

Chloe Bennet shines as Daisy in this episode and adds so much emotion to her character. You can tell Daisy is constantly holding back and is in a lot of pain having to watch how awful everyone treats Inhumans. Even though they are in a fake world, the pain still seems real. Elizabeth Henstridge was also amazing in this episode. Simmons’ reactions to Ward were hilarious and on point. The chemistry between Bennet, Henstridge, and Brett Dalton as Ward is still alive and as strong as ever. I loved seeing the three of them back in action and Simmons cracked me up every time she made comments like “Why is he always a double agent?” and “Oh, this isn’t the Framework, this is hell”. Although I absolutely love the Ward as a Hydra Agent twist, but I miss the good old days where Coulson, Skye, Ward, Fitz, Simmons, and May all kicked ass together. 

Meet Aida, A.K.A. Madame Hydra.

Simmons and Daisy decide they need to come back with a backup plan, but they discover the device no longer works because someone re-coded their exit route. Back at Hydra headquarters, it is revealed that Aida is Madame Hydra and has eliminated their loophole for escape. Aida tells Fitz they will kill the mole and find Daisy and Simmons and then the two share a passionate kiss. Coulson leaves the high school for the day and Daisy confronts him. She talks about how he is the closest thing he has to a family and how she really needs him right now. Suddenly Coulson remembers who she is and the episode ends. 

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD is stronger than ever as it finds new ways to keep the show fresh. The idea of using mini-arcs throughout the season is working extremely well and I prefer it to a stretched out arc of 22 episodes. If the show is renewed for a fifth season I really hope that they keep this technique up because it is working fantasticly. Hopefully, the show is renewed for a fifth season because this past season is proof that the writers can keep the audiences engaged with new stories. The Ghostrider arc was a fresh tone on the show as we got darker episodes every week. I loved the LMD arc and how no one could be trusted. Season 4 Episode 15 was fantastic and reminded me of John Carpenter's The Thing. I can't wait to see what we have in store for us the rest of the reason and hopefully the rest of the series.

The best part about "What If..." was how the episode was completely character driven. We got a strong look at every character and how their lives would have turned out if they didn't have the circumstance they had in the real world. A perfect example is Fitz and how he is an evil doctor because he didn't have Simmons in his life.

I was really hesitant about this episode upon its release. I wasn’t completely sold on the idea of going inside the Framework, especially since it seemed like a plot point that would last longer than one episode. However, I was completely wrong. Inside the Framework was compelling and I wasn’t bored once. It had just enough action and drama and it was so refreshing seeing familiar characters in a completely new setting. Things aren’t looking too good for SHIELD right now and I have no idea how Daisy and Simmons will get out of the Framework.  Now that the main characters are inside the Framework, I am extremely excited to see secondary characters shine like Yo-Yo and other shield agents. Agents of Shield came back from their short break with a bang and I can’t wait for the rest of the season. Every season of Agents of Shield seems to be better than the last and this season is no exception. Hopefully next episode we get to see more of Mack, Mace, and maybe other characters that we have said goodbye to over the seasons.

9/10

What do you think will happen next episode? Let me know in the comments below!