Fitz keeps Simmons company while she's in quarantine.
When floating bodies (and "floating bodies" doesn't mean they're floating in water, it means they're hovering in midair) turn up, Coulson and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. must hunt down an elusive killer. No one is safe — not even the team.
The sixth episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..
Tropes:
- Anger Born of Worry:
- Fitz and Simmons have an uncharacteristically vicious argument when she's in quarantine and they're struggling to find a cure, during the course of which it becomes increasingly clear that they're both just terrified of her dying.
- Coulson comes down hard on Simmons for trying to sacrifice herself.
- Back from the Dead: From his description and his conversation with the firefighter who's about to die, it's clear Coulson's convinced he was seriously dead, not just a "for eight seconds" deal. His physical report came back perfectly normal, but maybe a little heavy on the iron.
- Berserk Button: This is the second time Coulson shows anger towards someone - specifically, Ward and Simmons for their stunt in the cargo bay - but the first time he raises his voice in the entire series. See Anger Born of Worry above.
- Big Damn Heroes: Ward, leaping after Simmons with only a parachute - one that isn't even properly strapped on yet, at that.
- Bizarre Alien Biology: An alien virus that ramps up the body's electrical generation until it shoots out of their brain at twice the intensity of a lightning bolt. For extra weirdness, it's transmitted from person to person through an electrical discharge.
- Break the Cutie: Simmons goes from an enthusiastic scientist, while researching how the infection spreads, to a broken woman who realizes she herself has been infected. She tries to find a way to cure herself, however.
- Came Back Wrong: Coulson starts to realize this about himself, but May convinces him that it's just trauma from dying temporarily.
- The Cameo: Titus Welliver, reprising his role as Agent Blake from Item 47.
- Chekhov's Gun: As the team is assigned the task of transporting the Chitauri helmet to The Sandbox, it gets loaded on The Bus. Guess where the basis for the vaccine... anti-serum... comes from?
- The Dividual: The connection between Fitz and Simmons comes up again, with Skye noting that they act like they have a telepathic link. Just to underline the point, at the beginning of the episode Fitz is mocking Ward... and then Simmons comes in and mocks him in the exact same way.
- Easily Forgiven: Played with. FitzSimmons have gotten over Skye's betrayal in the last episode, as has Coulson. Ward's still bitter over it, and Melinda's opinion hasn't changed since Skye first joined The Team.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: To the next episode, of all things, which firmly establishes Simmons as a Bad Liar. Here, though it's revealed that Ward saw through it, Simmons is actually rather smooth when claiming that the requested adjustment had been made to the Night-Night Gun. She's much less smooth the rest of the season.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Fitz and Simmons are arguing about why the anti-serum doesn't work, and Simmons insists it's because the antibodies they got from the victims aren't strong enough - obviously not, or they would have survived. No-one has survived the virus... except the Chitauri soldier who had it in the first place.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: After Simmons has figured out how the virus is transmitted and is explaining it to Coulson, he sees a metal tool floating behind her.
- Face Death with Dignity: The second and third victims make sure that they're alone before the virus kills them.
- Fake Static: Coulson makes realistic static when he claims not to have heard Blake's last order... but only after Blake has said it. Blake himself lampshades how poor an excuse it was.
- The Glomp: Skye does this to Simmons after Simmons is rescued (though Simmons doesn't really mind so much).
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: We finally get to see Coulson's, and hoo boy, is it nasty. May implies she has some of her own.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Simmons jumps out of the plane when it seems like the latest anti-serum has failed, since staying would take out the entire plane.
- Hope Spot: Double Subverted. First, Fitz-Simmons work together to make the anti-serum and give it to a lab rat. Then the rat apparently dies but it turns out the rat was only unconscious, but by then Simmons has jumped out of the plane to save the crew.
- Insistent Terminology: It is an anti-serum, not a vaccine, no matter what Fitz says. Which, it should be noted, is completely accurate. A vaccine is given to someone to prevent them from getting the disease in the first place, and has no effect on someone already showing symptoms.
- I Shall Taunt You: Veeeery subtle. You get the hint that Blake and Coulson don't like each other and then you notice Blake run his hand across Lola on his way down the ramp. He. Touched. Lola.
- Jumped at the Call: In the Back Story, Simmons was eager to join Coulson's team, dragging along the more reluctant Fitz.
- Just in Time: You don't get much more in time than skydiving after a terminal patient and administering the anti-serum on the way down.
- Lightning Can Do Anything: The electrical charge in the bodies is powerful enough to render the victims weightless.
- Little "No":
- Simmons gives a tiny "Oh no" when she sees the floating instrument indicating she's infected.
- Fitz's reaction when he thinks that the anti-serum doesn't work and Simmons is therefore doomed.
- Mindlink Mates: Invoked by Skye, who says that Fitz-Simmons are so close it seems like they're "psychically linked". Since he and Simmons aren't together, Fitz insists that they're not... and then Simmons comes in and imitates Ward in the exact same manner Fitz did a few minutes ago.
- Mood Whiplash: Coulson mentions that May is holding an interrogation. When the camera shifts to her, she's staring down one of the campers from the opening, and he swallows and looks down nervously. She pushes a plate toward him. "Have a cookie."
- Mr. Fanservice: While Coulson can't help but look good in his suits, it's more apparent he's no slouch in the muscles department while in workout clothes in the beginning of the episode.
- No Biochemical Barriers: Simmons is infected with a Chitauri virus. The alien DNA seems to only work against her efforts to cure it, and has no trouble infecting her or anyone else.
- Noodle Incident: Coulson mentions that dealing with "the Moroccan office" is a pain during his Anger Born of Worry rant.
- Not So Stoic: Ward lets his guard down briefly in front of Skye when he admits how helpless he feels because he can't do anything to help Simmons. One cannot punch out a disease.Ward: I wanted it to be something I could hurt.
- Offscreen Afterlife: When discussing his near(?)-death experience, all Coulson can say of the other side is that "It's beautiful."
- One-Word Title
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure:Skye: (talking to Coulson and Ward about a victim of the Chitauri virus) Phys-Ed teacher at the local high school and varsity baseball coach and troop leader and volunteer firefighter. This guy makes Captain America look like "The Dude". (blank stares from everyone) The Big Lebowski? (more blank stares) Seriously?
- Say My Name: Fitz comes to his senses just in time to see Simmons in the process of jumping out of the plane. He lets out a terrified scream of "JEMMA!!!"
- Ripped from the Headlines: The sci-fi version of the 9/11 responders getting cancer from all the crap in the air after the towers went down.
- Ship Tease:
- Fitz is trying (and failing, badly) to flirt with Skye at the beginning of the episode.
- Another small hint of a past ship between Coulson and May.
- A brief moment alone between Fitz and Simmons, post-cure. It's pretty obvious Fitz was displeased with just the peck on the cheek he received. Depending on your perspective on just how far their whole Platonic Life-Partners thing goes, the whole episode could contain a lot of FitzSimmons ship tease.
- Shoot the Dog: Discussed in regards to Simmons, since allowing her to succumb to the virus on the plane would crash the plane. Coulson is dead-set against it, and Simmons ultimately decides to (figuratively) shoot herself when it seems like she can't be cured. Fortunately, they manage to save her just in time.
- Shout-Out: While they refer the "Typhoid Mary" from real-life person
, it's also indirect reference for Marvel's supervillainess from Daredevil.- Skye says that one of the victims makes Captain America look like "the Dude" from The Big Lebowski. In front of Coulson no less.
- Survival Mantra: While trying to put on the parachute, Fitz keeps muttering, "It'll be fine, Jemma", to clearly keep himself calm.
- Tap on the Head: Simmons hits Fitz in the back of the head with a fire extinguisher so he won't be able to stop her attempt at a Heroic Sacrifice. It doesn't actually knock Fitz out - it just stuns him for a minute or so until he gets back up off the floor.
- When Things Spin, Science Happens: The anti-serum is made in some kind of centrifuge.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious:
- Both Coulson and Fitz call Simmons by her first name, Jemma, for the first time.
- May calls Coulson Phil.
