Simmons takes the spotlight and SHIELD delivers a standout episode.
By Eric Goldman
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
This was excellent TV.
When “4,722 Hours” began with the flashback to the scene where Simmons got pulled into the Monolith and taken to the other planet, I wondered “Wait, is this episode going to only be about what happened to her?” And then the title came up – and it wasn’t the usual logo on the black screen, with the big sound effect. It just quietly appeared over the desolate, blue landscape Simmons was trapped in. And it was clear that yes, this was going to be a very different episode…
Obviously the concept of a character marooned by themselves is not a new one – and in fact, I had amusingly just (yeah, a few weeks after it opened) seen The Martian before watching this episode, so those parallels were fresh. Plus, series like Galactica and Star Trek have told stories of this sort, among others. But this is Agents of SHIELD, a big, Marvel/ABC network TV series with a specific, (Earthbound) vibe and feel to it. So for them to take this show in this direction, even for a week, was bold and exciting.
Their ace in the hole, of course, was Elizabeth Henstridge. During Season 1, even as the show struggled to find itself, Henstridge began to emerge as a big find, bringing a lot of pathos and innate likability to Simmons, as they began to give the character more to do. A couple of weeks ago I lauded Henstridge for her performance in “A Wanted Inhu(Man)”, showing the PTSD-afflicted Simmons struggling to fit in back on Earth, but she outdid herself here. For quite awhile, it was only her onscreen and she was excellent showing Simmons try and approach the situation with an optimistic, even scientifically curious perspective, before the true direness of what was happening set in. Watching sweet, wide-eyed Simmons go almost feral, killing and eating that creature, was a sight to behold and it was emotional seeing her leave her messages for Fitz as time went on and things got worse and worse (that phone lasting at all is also a miracle, but hey, SHIELD tech, right?!).
Agents of SHIELD: “4,722 Hours” Images
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
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Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: “4,722 Hours” Photos
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When Simmons stumbled upon Will (Nikita’s Dillon Casey), yeah, you could see where this was going – that she would bond with him and maybe even get romantic with him (as was indeed the case) – and he’d be the reason she needed to go back to the planet. But it’s a testament to how well this episode was constructed and how well the story was told that those predictable aspects didn’t hinder how involving this was. Hell, we knew for a fact that Simmons would safely make it home eventually, but it was still heartbreaking when she and Will tried to get Fitz a literal message in a bottle and failed, because we’d seen just how desperate they were and felt their pain in that moment.
As an aside, I assume it was likely a purposeful nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey having Will trapped on that planet since the year 2001 (given we already had a Monolith in play), though given Dillon Casey is 31, let’s just assume he was playing a few years older than his actual age – or else Will was the Doogie Howser of both the Air Force and NASA, considering his history.
Regardless, Henstridge and Casey did very good work conveying the huge bond between these two, which for them occurs over months, but for us was just a half hour or so of screen time. We felt them begin to rely on each other and begin to hope that together, the could find a way home. And yes, it felt dramatically appropriate and earned to have Simmons sleep with him (which she initiates) when they are at their lowest place, having just failed to get that message out and feeling like they were out of options and needed to accept that this was where they’d spend the rest of their life.
We want to hear it.
Because let’s face it, this is a giant wrench being thrown into the cog of any potential Fitz/Simmons romantic pairing. But it’s a pretty brilliant one. So many TV shows have to deal with the “will they or won’t they?” situation and if you should just get the two characters together (and risk losing a lot of what makes their dynamic compelling for viewers) or sometimes strain credibility to keep them apart. But “I was trapped on an alien planet with only one other person and it seemed like we would never get home” is pretty difficult to criticize as far as justifying Simmons sleeping with and falling for someone else.
Plus, I continue to be impressed, because back in Season 1, Fitz and Simmons both initially felt so one-note and bland and here I am, actively invested in both of them and this unfathomable situation. The final scene between them — the only one not on the alien planet — was terrific, as Fitz processed what she’d just told him and decided he would do everything he could to help her (because of course he would) and save Will. And Henstridge got one more terrific moment showing Simmons tear up as she realized what he was doing for her.
I don’t quite feel like what we saw here 100% tracks with Simmons’ behavior in “A Wanted Inhu(man)” where she seemed so easily startled and on edge that it really felt like she was being hunted constantly wherever she’d been – not to underplay that there was something very scary out there (which could seemingly take on other forms?), but she and Will had a lot of quiet time in that cave too. But in and of itself, wow did “4,722 Hours” succeed. My wife, like many, dropped Agents of SHIELD early in Season 1 and never came back, but happened to be in the room as I watched this episode and it completely grabbed her, despite zero investment going into it. It truly felt like a standalone movie for most of the running time, expertly telling the story of this bright young woman trapped on this horrible planet and how she survived.
Now what the hell is this planet? Is it from Marvel comics? Because now it’s more difficult than before to see a direct correlation. But then again, there are a lot of Marvel comics…
To see what Elizabeth Henstridge told me about the making of “4,722 Hours” and how things change for Fitz and Simmons in the aftermath, click here.
