The seventh and final season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is in full swing, but one half of FitzSimmons has been notably absent. Yes, Iain De Caestecker's Fitz has been nowhere to be to seen, and Elizabeth Henstridge's Simmons has been tight-lipped about how she left things with her husband when they had to part. Despite the FitzSimmons shortage and Simmons' solo adventures, however, De Caestecker shared why Fitz doesn't work without Simmons.
Of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. fans have already seen that the two geniuses function better together, with examples ranging from what they can achieve together to what becomes of them when they're apart. Case in point: Fitz becoming the Hydra villain Leopold in the Framework, where he'd never known Simmons and had fallen prey to the influences of Aida and his father. Iain De Caestecker addressed Fitz becoming Leopold as why Fitz continues to need Simmons, telling Syfy:
It's just another example of how much of an impact those two have on each other and how one doesn't work with the other. Without Simmons in his life, look at what Fitz became. There are some other external forces as well but it's just another example of how much they are one and they come as a package.
Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. ended the Framework story back in Season 4, the impact stuck with Fitz in particular, contributing to his brutal mental break in Season 5, and post-Framework Fitz has done some things that I for one can't imagine Season 1 Fitz even thinking of, let alone doing. According to Iain De Caestecker, Fitz and Simmons are better when they come as one package.
Considering how Fitz and Simmons have been known to falter without each other, I can't help but wonder what state they'll be in by the time they reunite in S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7, which will hopefully happen sooner rather than later. My original theory was that Fitz was off-screen to care for their secret child while Simmons came back to her friends to help save Earth.
But as the episodes have passed with Fitz barely even mentioned and Simmons not elaborating on what happened or how long she was gone, I'm wondering if FitzSimmons' story is going to get more tragic. Honestly, more tragedy wouldn't be surprising. These two haven't had a lot of moments of peace ever since Ward dropped them to the bottom of the Atlantic.
Even if they might have found happiness together while turning the Zephyr into a time machine and developing life-saving tech, could their separation ruin their shots at a happily-ever-after? Or am I being paranoid that FitzSimmons really are "cursed" because it's been so long since Fitz showed up?
My fingers are crossed that we'll get some answers about FitzSimmons' separation sooner rather than later, especially since there aren't that many episodes left in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 13-episode final season, in the grand scheme of things. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. is an ensemble series, and it won't become the FitzSimmons show just because Fitz shows up again.
The agents' jumps through time have been pretty significant, so it feels unlikely that the full final season will follow their time travel adventures. With two episodes in the '30s, two in the '50s, and seemingly at least one in the '70s, the show could conceivably catch up to 2020 several episodes before the series finale.
What that means for FitzSimmons and Co. remains to be seen, especially since the timeline is changing, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. version of the MCU may begin to look very different as they meddle in time more. Find out with new episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC in the 2020 summer TV lineup.
