Fitz has arrived with his mysterious companion to try to save the rest of the gang. There’s just a few complications in the way first, such as the scheduled fights to the death for the enjoyment of Kasius and his guests.

After the brief breather of last episode, with Fitz and Hunter and banter and relatable, present day antics, Shield takes us straight back to the future dystopian nightmare. The gang is finally all together again, but there’s little cause for celebration in what is – even by the standards of this series – a dark instalment.

First off, there’s Fitz’s cover – as a vicious marauder with untold wealth and a reputation for viciousness and violence. Crafted by his companion in the years he’s been in hibernation, the persona is perfect to help Fitz blend in with the intergalactic scum and ne’er-do-wells attracted by Kasius’ gladiatorial display featuring the Destroyer of Worlds. Perhaps too perfect, as it clearly leaves Fitz a little conflicted – the odd look and pause conveying just how painfully close it is to the persona he adopted in the Framework, and how much it pains him to slip back so easily into that character, even if only as a ruse. De Caestecker deserves huge credit here for the subtlety he brings to a parallel that could so easily have been too on the nose – he nails it perfectly.

Meanwhile, the Kree have decided to take another ‘reaping’, selecting some of the young children on the station to undergo Terrigenesis. This includes one young boy who is a friend of Tess, and of course that means that various amounts of trouble ensue. It’s a bit of a clunkier outlier to the main plot, and seems as much as anything designed to serve one main conclusion which comes from nowhere, but it also gives some good dramatic opportunities and even one or two laughs among the horror. As Tess’ friend asserts, wide-eyed, that Mack must be an Inhuman, it’s difficult not to smile at Yo-Yo’s rejoinder that ‘No, he’s just really cool’ delivered with equal measures of reluctance and affection – I really hope these two get a break soon, it’s getting to FitzSimmons levels of ridiculousness now.

Speaking of, the reunion(ish) of the star-crossed science nerd lovers is every bit as joyous, awkward and frustrating as long terms fans might expect. There’s a fairly obvious subversion that takes place early on which the show thankfully decides to take in a constructive direction where it could have been another pointless annoyance, and there’s a lovely little scene between Daisy and Simmons chatting about Fitz’s return and how happy it makes them, regardless of their having no actual idea what his plan might be.

Unfortunately, a few additional complications occur on the way, leading to mortal peril for some as well as some nasty fates for others. It’s an episode that isn’t shy when it comes to body count, and even compared to the rest of the season so far, it feels a little grim and hopeless at points, meaning the moments of levity and positivity scattered throughout are all the more welcome. Regardless, the team are all more or less back together now, so we can only hope that things start going more their way soon.

Verdict: By equal turns gruesomely dark and reassuringly light, this is a solid episode let down slightly by an odd side plot with an unsatisfying payoff and a disappointing consequence. Still, with the gang reunited, hopefully things are on the up. 7/10

Greg D. Smith