The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents lie unconscious, hooked up to the Framework. Aida tends to the injured Superior, and explains that she's going to save him. Superior says that he's not afraid to die, and Aida explains that she needs him alive to protect the Framework. He passes out, and Aida takes out a chain and says that he'll be many things as she starts cutting.
Fitz and Jemma watch the LMD simulations of their teammates moving through the base. Jemma wants to leave, and Fitz warns her that they can't let the LMDs know that they know what they are. He figures that their advantage is that the LMDs don't know that they're onto them. Coulson comes in and asks if Superior's submarine has missile launch capacities. Fitz posits that they may, and Coulson says that they're bring all the Inhumans there. Jemma agrees just as Jeffrey and daisy come in, and Jeffrey says that Daisy should contact the Inhumans and arrange for their transport. When Jemma reminds them about finding Melinda, Coulson agrees and Jeffrey suggests that Jemma and him discuss the logistics in his office. Fitz claims that they've discovered some old Russian communication hardware, and he and Jemma should work together to determine if Superior is using it.
Out in the hallway, Jeffrey tells Coulson that they should scan and replace Fitzsimmons. Coulson advises caution, warning that they're outnumbered, and Jeffrey says that Daisy will contact the humans and bring them to the HQ… and then they'll kill them. As for the hardware they brought from Russian base, Jeffrey will make sure that it's offloaded into Zephyr 1. Daisy arrives and says that they should get to Elena first. They contact her and Mack warns that she's in danger and they're coming to get her.
The Coulson LMD finds the Melinda LMD in her cell looking at the snow outside. She talks about "her" memories of skiing, but admits that it's the first time she's seen snow. Coulson says that he hasn't felt so good in years, and Melinda realizes that he's been replaced. He says that his programming is different from her, and still has his mind and understands the basic truth that their bodies don't matter. Coulson says that Holden built a world just like theirs but with a little less hurt. He asks if Melinda knows what her greatest hurt would be, and says that he wonders what it would be like if he never signed up with S.H.I.E.L.D. and lived like a civilian. Coulson says that now the two of them can have a simple life, and in the Framework they're already together.
Fitzsimmons take the equipment down the hallway and discuss what happened. They figure that Holden could have replaced anybody, and enter the lab just as their LMD detector goes off. Fitz claims that it's a calibration device, and Jemma draws a gun on him assuming that he's a LMD. He assumes that she's the LMD and doesn't know. Fitz figures that something always happens to separate them, and that it's his fault because he perfected the technology. He apologizes, and Jemma tells him not to make her feel bad for him. Fitz says that he's not going to fight her because he's the bad guy no matter what, and offers to do whatever she says.
Jemma tells him to pick up a knife and cut his wrist so that she can see if he has a metal substructure. Fitz does so and collapses, bleeding from the artery. He tells Jemma to stay away from him, but she comes over anyway. With that, he stabs her in the leg. Jemma's gun goes off, and Fitz knocks her unconscious.
Aida brings Holden out of the Framework after twenty-four hours, and he says that there are changes. She says that she restarted the simulation to deal with the new subjects' hurts. Holden tells her that he could have lost his grip on reality if he was in the simulation when she did it. Aida assures her that one of her prime directives is to keep Holden safe, and another is to protect the Framework. Holden asks about Superior, and Aida says that he's resting. She reports that there are four LMDs planted at S.H.I.E.L.D., and eventually they will get brain scans of Jemma and Daisy. Aida says that she didn't have the time to program them to forget what they are, and says that people will only be killed if they resist.
Daisy asks Mack if it's necessary for her to personally greet each Inhuman. He says that it's more important than she thinks and she goes to suit up.
The Fitz LMD hooks Jemma up and wakes her up enough to scan her brain. She asks why he's doing it when he has Fitz's mind. Fitz insists that he's doing it for the two of them. the sedated Jemma manages to break herself free and tries to crawl to a hammer. Fitz insists that he's securing their future so that they can get married, and Jemma points out that it's the first time that he's mentioned marriage. She picks up the hammer and then hits a support, dropping a piece of suspended equipment on the LMD. She then grabs a knife and stabs him repeatedly in the chest, and Fitz begs her to stop. He insists that it's him, and Jemma stabs him in the neck.
Daisy sends Agent prince to tell Mack that she's checking the accommodations for the incoming Inhumans before they leave. Mack goes after her to the containment rooms. Meanwhile, Daisy finishes checking the spells and comes to a squad of inanimate Daisy LMDs.
Mack arrives and sees daisy's suit on the floor. He realizes that one of the Daisy LMDs is the real thing and inspects them. He spots one with a loose shirt strap and prepares to shoot it, and the real Daisy seismically blasts him. she then grabs his weapon and her suit and leaves. She goes to a storage room and uses a tablet to tap into the surveillance cameras. Daisy brings up the camera to the lab, where Jeffrey, Coulson, and three agents have found the "dead" Fitz. Jeffrey tells the other agents that Jemma has been replaced with a LMD. When one agent, Fisher, notices the exposed circuitry in the LMD's neck, Coulson shoots the other two human agents and Jeffrey smashes Fisher when he tries to run.
Mack arrives at the lab and says that Daisy got way. Coulson tells him to patch up Fitz enough to fix himself, and Mack says that he's already given the order to cut the security feeds. Daisy loses the video sees a trail of blood on the floor. She follows it and finds Jemma hiding. Jemma says that it wasn't Fitz, and insists that she didn't kill the real Fitz. Daisy explains what she saw, and Jemma warns that there's no way to know if they're LMDs until the others kill them.
Someone pounds on the door, and Daisy asks for Jemma's hand. She'll quake her just enough to feel her bones, and it will prove she's a human because LMDs don't have Inhuman powers. Jemma reuses, and Daisy grabs her and uses her powers. They're both satisfied that the other is human.
Aida and Holden set a machine to build a robot body. Holden warns that Superior won't approve, but Aida figures that he'll come along. She says that she has been unable to find the logic in human behavior, and explains that her inability to understand has created a paradox. She was programmed to protect the Framework, but also to protect Holden. The LMD says that the greatest threat to the Framework is Holden, and suggests that he might experience regret and change her parameters to have her dismantle the framework. Holden laughs and says that he would never do that, and he's giving people a replica of their life with less pain. Aida points out that their physical bodies will eventually give out, but Holden says that it doesn't matter and he believes in the concept wholeheartedly. The LMD smiles and says that his statement fixes the paradox, and she can fix both problems. She cuts Holden's wrists and slams him into the Framework, and tells him that he'll live a long life free of pain.
Jeffrey summons the remaining agents and Coulson tells them that Jemma and Daisy have been kidnapped and replaced.
Jemma warns Daisy that the LMDs will tell the HQ that they are LMDs and turn everyone against them. Daisy figures that their team is still alive in the Framework and can be rescued, and they have to hack into the Framework to find their people, wake them up, and learn where their bodies are.
Jeffrey tells the agents to shoot to maim so that they can pull the data from their heads. The agents head out.
Daisy spots canisters of sleeping gas, and Jemma starts to pass out. She insists that they can't fight the LMDs, but Daisy says that she'll take them on even though she doesn't have her protective gauntlets. Jemma tells her that she can't sacrifice herself, and Daisy insists that she's always known that Jemma and Fitz belong together. She says that it's not how their story ends, and Jemma agrees to escape with her.
As Jeffrey and Coulson head down the base, the wheeled drone drives out into the hallway. It crashes near Jeffrey and Coulson, and a canister explodes releasing sleeping gas. It knocks out the human agents, and Jeffrey goes to take out the lights while Coulson gets Melinda to prepare the contingency plan.
Sleeping gas takes out the agents with Mack, and he sets explosives and walks off.
Coulson goes to the office and tells Melinda that it's time for her to enter the fight. She asks what he wants her to do.
After taking out the lights, Jeffrey heads down the hallway. Daisy opens fire on him, but he shrugs off the bullets and shoves her back. The two of them fight hand-to-hand, and Daisy finally uses her seismic blast on him.
Jemma finds the agents and gives them the antidote to the gas.
Jeffrey and Daisy continue fighting, and Jeffrey insists that they don't want to hurt them. Daisy smashes him over the head with a piece of equipment.
As the agents head down the hallway with Jemma and a cart of hardware, a suspicious Piper draws her knife.
Daisy finally jams a syringe into Jeffrey's back, shorting him out. Mack and Coulson come in and shoots her, and say that it's for her own good. They tell her to let them download her before she bleeds out, and daisy summons all her power and blasts them both back, destroying them. When the Mack LMD flies out the window, it lands in front of Jemma and the others just as Piper prepares to stab Jemma. Daisy staggers out and they send the agents to the hangar.
Jemma and Daisy take the hardware to the access tunnel, and find Melinda sitting on canisters of explosives. She calls Coulson and says that she has them, and says that Coulson said that it didn't matter if they die. Melinda ponders the trigger device in her hand and says that either way she won't have to regret her decision.
Once Coulson recovers, he finds the Fitz LMD and has him prepare to send the Daisy LMDs out with basic seek-and-destroy orders. He goes to the tunnel but there's no sign of Jemma and Daisy. Coulson asks Melinda what she did, and she said that she did what she wanted to.
Daisy and Jemma take the hardware to the Zephyr.
Coulson tells Melinda that everything's under control, and she asks whose control. He suggests that they have a glass of Scotch and talk it out like in the past, but Melinda says that they've never done it before. She asks if Coulson is afraid to die, and says that she is.
The other agents arrive and help Jemma and Daisy board the Zephyr.
Melinda says that the pain and regret that Coulson no longer feels made him the person that she loved.
The Zephyr starts to take off.
Melinda says that her programming to get the Darkhold came from Holden. However, her impulse to keep Coulson safe came from her. Melinda tells the Coulson LMD that it's not Coulson, and triggers the explosives. The Zephyr just manages to get clear of the blast, and Jemma takes Daisy's hand.
Later, Elena joins the team and Daisy explains that the Framework is a duplicate of the entire world. They're going to plug themselves into their avatars inside the Framework, hook up with their people, and find out where their bodies are being held. As they prepare to hack in, Jemma warns Daisy that dying in the Framework will result in their physical deaths in the real world. The two women lie down on couches and Jemma tells Elena not to pull them out no matter what because it will cause permanent damage to their cerebral cortexes. Elena activates the protocols, and...
Daisy finds herself in a bathtub full of water. Her phone rings, and discovers a text telling her to wake up her boyfriend because they're being called in. Daisy gets out of the tub and goes to find Grant in the bedroom, sleeping.
Coulson is teaching a class on Inhumans.
Mack is at home with his wife and daughter.
Fitz and his new girlfriend go to the cemetery where Jemma is buried.
Melinda is at a HYDRA office building.
Superior wakes up and discovers that he's uninjured. Aida comes in and Superior grabs him by the throat. He figures that she uploaded his mind into a machine, and Aida says that his mind is untouched. The LMD points out Superior's head inside a containment unit, and explains that he's controlling his android body remotely. She puts his dog tags around his neck and says that she needs him walking around, protecting the Framework. Superior's mind can feel human emotions, and with a perfect machine body is the perfect guardian. Aida says that he will feel joy... when she can feel them herself.
Written by Gadfly on Feb 22, 2017