Thoughts: Yes! We finally have an episode about Fitz and Simmons that develops their characters and provides backstory!
*Spoilers Ahead*
The recent episode, "F.Z.Z.T.", brings a surprisingly serious and emotional core to the show, with some classic Whedon character development and interactions. The show is starting to remind me a lot of Firefly, which is great because Firefly is one of the best shows ever made. While the first thirty minutes of the episode setup a quick mystery, which was soon solved, it was mostly setup for the character development later in the episode. Fitz and Simmons and Coulson were all given great character development in the episode. First let's start with Fitz and Simmons. Elizabeth Henstridge as Jemma Simmons really stepped up her acting big time for this episode. She nailed the sad and emotional scenes perfectly. At a few points I almost thought there was a incredibly slim chance that she would not make through the episode, albeit very slim. I have been asking ever since the second episode that we need more development for Fitz and Simmons and we got it in spades. Both of them talking about their past and how they signed up for the job provided the much needed backstory to the characters. We know their motivation and I look forward to even more episodes about those two because it is obvious that they will be a couple at some point, which brings up another question about Coulson and May. Okay, there is some romantic tension between Coulson and Agent May in the episode, particularly in one scene, and while I like them together, the plane may turn into the "love boat" since every character has a potential romantic interest, which will become odd. However, that brings up the question: what happened to Coulson's girlfriend mentioned in the Avengers, the cellist? I have been wondering if they have decided to forget about those references or that is a hint at something larger since the Scarlet Witch is a cellist, and the only notable one from the Marvel Universe. The scene where Coulson was talking to the guy who was able to die was great and the series continues to show that not everyone can be saved, which something that I did not expect. Coulson wondering why he feels different is becoming even more intriguing, although it would appear that May has put that theory to rest for Coulson for the moment. My guess is that he is either cybernetically enhanced or he was revived by magic, specifically the Scarlet Witch or Doctor Strange, both of whom will be appearing in Marvel movies soon. Alternatively, his revival has something to do with Asgardian magic since The Dark World will be tying into an upcoming episode.
For the first time Agent Grant and Skye were not a central part of an episode, and while I like those character immensely, seeing more of the other characters was a great change of pace.
If you watched the Marvel One-Shot, Item 47, that came with the Avengers Blu-Ray, you will recognize Titus Welliver returning to reprise his role as Agent Blake.
Action: For the first time, the show did not have much action, however that is not a bad thing since it focused on character development.
Acting: Henstridge and De Caestecker gave noticeably stronger performances with an episode more focused on their characters. The rest of the cast were strong as usual.
Production Value/Special Effects: The skydive scene at the end of the episode was not that great. While I can forgive the shiow for having to work with a low budget, they could have found a way to make that effect better.
Comedy: Probably the least humorous episode of the series thus far, however that is not necessarily a bad thing either. The lack of humor made the serious scenes more impactful.
Overall: 9.5/10- While I cannot safely say that "F.Z.Z.T." is the best episode Agents of SHIELD has had yet, it is certainly an incredibly strong character development episode, which is exactly what I wanted to see.
Additionally, I will be going to see Thor: The Dark World tonight!
