As Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. goes full throttle toward its season finale, the show is continuing the upswing of this season with one of the most compelling storylines the series has ever produced. The majority of the characters are trapped in a virtual reality with no memory of their real lives, playing out "What If" versions of themselves. In some cases, the changes are harmless -- like Coulson as a teacher -- but others didn't get off so lucky. Fitz is stuck as one heartless bastard, who, after last week's episode, might be beyond redemption.
The doctor doesn't see his actions as being out of line. This version of Fitz is clearly capable of horrendous acts, but it is unclear whether not he's capable of remorse.
If you haven't been following along with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., this might be confusing, so let's take a moment to spell out what exactly is going on. The Framework is a virtual reality that was tampered with by AIDA, who in simplest terms is a robot. The Framework takes away the user's biggest regret in life, creating an alternate reality where familiar characters lead entirely different lives, and Hydra runs the world. Several of the main cast has been trapped in this world, with no memory of their real lives. Daisy (Chloe Bennet) and Jemma (Elizabeth Henstridge) have entered the Framework to save their friends, a task easier said than done.
In this new reality, Fitz is The Doctor, a cold, calculating second-in-command of Hydra with a penchant for torture. He's seriously messed up big time. Entertainment Weekly spoke with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. showrunners Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen about the latest "pod" of the season, where the two discussed whether this Fitz was even capable of redemption. Last week, he seemed on the verge of uncovering the truth about his digital lie of a life, only to go ahead and kill a woman in cold blood -- all in front of a horrified Jemma.
This leads to the obstacle of getting this Fitz to realize the error of is ways in order to escape the Framework. As the showrunners said above, it's unclear if this Fitz is capable of feeling remorse, so it'll be up to Jemma to find a way to snap him back into reality. Of course, the big problem afterward will be how the real Fitz will be able to live with his actions inside the Framework. Even though it's a digital reality, it was still him that did those things.
We'll be able to see how all of this plays out when Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs new episodes on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on ABC. Until then, stick with CinemaBlend for all your TV updates.
