‘Agents of SHIELD’ season 2, episode 5 reaction: Elizabeth Henstridge on Fitz / Simmons aftermath

If there was one clear word to describe Tuesday night’s new episode of Marvel’s “Agents of SHIELD,” it would be “emotional.” You had a chance to dive completely into the story of Jemma Simmons, from what happened to her on the alien world to the man that she grew close to in Will. We know that Fitz will do anything for her, and that is what makes the upcoming mission all the more difficult. She is determined to save Will after he helped her survive, but it hard to ask Fitz to devote all of his time and effort to something that could also stand in the way of him getting what he wants in the long run. This, though, is just the sort of guy Fitz is.

Speaking about this episode extensively to IGN, the fantastic Elizabeth Henstridge teased that moving forward, Fitz and Simmons’ continued effort to return to this world could complicate a lot of other things that are going on, including their ability to help in the Inhuman hunt and other SHIELD missions:

“I think that there are definite distractions. There’s a lot going on with the ATCU, but I think the major distraction is that they’re both focused on this mission but there’s so much conflict between them. It’s so complicated that I think that is going to be their main distraction. They’re trying to complete this task together, but Simmons is holding a lot of guilt for leaving Will behind. She doesn’t even know that he’s alive and the fact that she’s asking Fitz to do something that is so difficult for him… So this is going to be the main focus, but I think the road to them trying to achieve it is kind of paved with distress and emotional minefields.”

We do not expect this to be a story that is wrapped up in a short amount of time. As a matter of fact, it may take weeks or even months to resolve. For those of you who do ‘ship Fitz / Simmons, not all hope is lost. You can interpret her romance with Will as a product of circumstance and proximity, powerful as it was to watch play out.

If you missed it, head over here to get our review of this episode! Also, you can sign up now to get some other TV news and further exclusive teasers via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)