I don't know what happened to him. If he's alive or dead. But I never would have survived without him. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., halfway through its third season, still hasn't cracked being 'must-watch' TV. Certainly it has come a long way since those dark days that were the first half of Season 1, and it had some great moments towards the end of its first season, and achieved a degree of consistency in its second. But while it's generally entertaining, and on occasion very good, it's rarely great, which is what we've come to expect from Marvel. The exception is 4,722 Hours, the fifth episode of the third season. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been a couple of different shows in its time, a spy procedural and a 'monster of the week' type of series. In 4,722 Hours it becomes something else again: a lonesome space opera; S.H.I.E.L.D. does The Martian, only with a bit less humour and way more blue light. Focusing almost solely on Jemma Simmons, it's the best episode the series has produced; at times thrilling and scary, but also full of heart, it couldn't be like this all the time (where would the other characters fit?) but, as a single episode, it's pretty stunning, working so well on its own but helped by how well we know and care about the relationship between Fitz and Simmons.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
