Although the whole original S.H.I.E.L.D. cast of characters has gone through some drastic changes, Fitz and Simmons are all but recognizable from who they were in the beginning. The sweet little scientists who couldn't even pass their field tests can now hold their own in the thick of the action, and they've gone through too much to be as lighthearted as they once were. Times have gotten so dark that Fitz even opined that their grand love story is actually cursed.
Well, every time it seems like the dark days are done, something even worse happens to poor FitzSimmons. Now, Elizabeth Henstridge has shared that the upcoming big FitzSimmons episode will reveal a darker side to Jemma Simmons. When asked about the range of emotions fans will go through during the episode, Henstridge told TVLine this:
Oh, God, every emotion! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll need to call your Mom…. As much as we know these characters and as long as they have been around, I think you learn something new about them. We get to see how they met, where they were both at and what they were thinking…. We also get to experience a darker side of Simmons we haven’t seen before, which was cool.
Fans have always known that FitzSimmons met and became best friends during their time together at the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy, but there are still a lot of blanks in their backstory. The promo for the big episode, called "Inescapable," indicates that fans will get some flashbacks to their days before joining Coulson's cause. It also indicates that they'll face some of their own demons in new and terrifying ways, and that will apparently open the door for a darker side of Simmons.
Simmons has gotten pretty dark over the years, so for me, the idea of a darker Simmons is both intriguing and a little scary. Fitz is the one who has gotten truly scary thanks to his time as the Doctor and then what he did to Daisy in Season 5. What is going to push Simmons farther than ever?
Well, Fitz and Simmons have a tendency to put each other above just about everything else, so I can imagine she'll cross all kinds of lines if it means saving him. She already crossed a line early in the season when she stopped Daisy and Co. from returning the ship to Earth!
Considering the misery that has been heaped upon Fitz and Simmons over the years since they stepped out of the lab, I have to hope -- perhaps more optimistically than I should -- that they'll catch a break one of these seasons. There aren't too many seasons left, judging by what Clark Gregg has said! At least all signs point toward them having a daughter who grows up to become a mom in her own right, based on Deke's very existence.
There's also the possibility that this dark version of Simmons won't be the real Simmons. She and Fitz are facing their demons in "Inescapable," so perhaps this dark Simmons will be one of the demons. Elizabeth Henstridge did tease getting to play multiple versions of herself in the episode:
It’s a very ambitious episode. Reading it, I loved it, but it was definitely a mountain to climb. But with Jesse Bochco as director, I knew we were in good hands. And we did it. We made something that we can be really proud of. As an actor, it’s a dream to play a few different versions of yourself, to discover things about [Jemma], especially after six years. I don’t know how the writers do it, but they do, and I love it.
If Elizabeth Henstridge was learning new things about Simmons in the episode, how much will viewers learn about Simmons? We'll have to wait and see, but a FitzSimmons arc with Fitz and Simmons actually near each other is long overdue in my book. I'm not sure if it'll end happily, but I'm ready for them to get some focus while Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker are actually in the same room. Stop splitting Fitzsimmons!
Find out what drives Simmons darker than ever when the "Inescapable" episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs Friday, June 21 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. S.H.I.E.L.D. is only one of many shows that scored summer premieres this year, and there's still plenty of goodness to come. Stay tuned!
