Original subtitles

Previously, on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I've been waiting a long time for a face-to-face.

There's a stretch of time in there

that's unaccounted for when no one was in contact.

- They switched people out. - The plan worked.

We have replaced the top operatives at S.H.I.E.L.D.

- How many? - All of them.

Studies show music increases dopamine levels by nine percent.

So, I picked a recording

that seemed to be one of your favourites.

I always imagined...

this would be good music to be born to...

not...

the other thing.

I didn't bring you here to die.

I'm going to save you.

I'm not afraid to go.

One of my prime directives is to protect the Framework.

- And I need you alive to do that. - No!

I don't want to live as a festering cripple.

And you better not be talking about messing with my brain.

I don't want to be a thing like you.

Don't worry.

You'll be many things.

- We have to get out of here. - No, Jemma, we have to be careful.

- They can't know that we know. - But we can only imagine

what the Russian and Radcliffe programmed them to do.

They could kill us, or they could... they...

Okay, okay, okay. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

If they wanted to, they would have already.

Unless they're waiting to separate us

from the general population, then kill us

- or switch us or... - Okay. Okay, okay.

Take a breath, take a breath. It's okay.

The one advantage we have over them is they don't know that we're on to them.

- Yeah. - But they're gonna be suspicious

- if we don't act normal. - Right. Yeah.

Maybe we could ask someone who wasn't on the op...

Agent Fitz.

Yes, Coulson, sir.

We haven't been able to locate the submarine on satellite.

In your best estimation,

do you think it has missile-launch capabilities?

Well, we couldn't know that for sure, but one could posit that, yeah.

Mm. Then we'll have to assume the worst.

That the Russian has people to enact his endgame.

And his goal in life was to kill all Inhumans.

That's why we're bringing them all here, to headquarters.

Of course. Makes perfect sense.

Uh. Well, once this storm has cleared up,

uh, and the Director has fully recovered, we can start

- to put a system together to... - I've recovered enough.

- My God, that was fast. - A little sore, but I'll manage.

I think Daisy here should contact the Inhumans personally

and oversee their transfer to HQ.

- I'll take care of it. - I'll help make calls.

- That's our top priority. - Along with finding Agent May, right?

Of course.

Well, perhaps Simmons and I should retire to my office

and, uh, discuss the logistics of the search.

Actually, we...

discovered an old USSR communication hardware device,

um, on the raid.

Maybe they used that for communicating.

But we should probably keep a brain trust together

until we can decipher the code.

Good idea.

Time's a-wasting. Let's get to it.

We need to scan and replace those last two immediately.

Carefully, undetected.

- We're still outnumbered here. - Not for long.

In the meantime, Daisy will contact the Inhumans,

inform them she's coming to collect them personally.

Yes... and execute them on sight.

Which reminds me...

the hardware we brought from the Russian's loading dock...

Still in the shipping container on Zephyr One.

I'll oversee it's off-loaded down into the basement now.

Yo-Yo's our most-valuable asset, so we want to get to her first.

Sounds like the right idea.

- Yo-Yo, we're coming to get you. - Is everything okay?

You're in danger.

I have so many memories of snow.

My first-time ice-skating on my neighbour's pond.

A month stationed near the French Alps.

But the truth is...

this is the first time I've seen it.

My phantom limb used to ache in cold weather.

But now...

I don't feel that pain.

I haven't felt this good in years.

What are you saying?

No. Oh, God, no.

- What did Radcliffe do? - May, it's okay.

This is why I'm locked up in here!

- Hey. - You're not afraid of what I'll do.

- You're afraid that they'll discover you! - It's okay.

We can help them, too. May, this is a good thing.

- This is a very good thing. - How can you possibly think that?

I get it.

My programming is different than yours.

You had to discover that your body had been replaced.

- You must've felt blindsided. - Like reality was crashing down.

Whereas I still have my mind but know exactly what I am.

And more importantly,

I understand a basic truth that you don't realise yet.

And what's that?

That our bodies don't matter.

Radcliffe built a world,

a world exactly like this one.

Every molecular detail the same, just...

with a little less hurt for each of us.

What do you mean, "hurt"?

Imagine if your greatest regret could be wiped away.

Do you know what that would be?

I do.

And you?

I sometimes wonder what it would've been like...

if I'd never signed up.

All the loss... the grief...

All of my regrets are piled up after that.

Could've lived like a civilian, you know?

The simple life.

Now we can have that.

Are you saying we'll eventually be able to be...

- together? - I'm saying that in the Framework,

we already are.

Radcliffe gassed them during the raid. That's why we lost time.

Quick scan of the brain, transfer that data to a body,

- which must have already been built? - Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing.

He could've had... Sorry.

...could've had digital scans of their features.

From the eyes of the May android. Complete physical geometry.

So, he could've replaced anybody.

What is...

Let me see.

Well, the... lab techs must've taken it upon themselves

to mount LMD detection devices randomly throughout the base.

I mean, there must be a calibration error. It's reading the equipment or something.

- Whoa! - Stay right there.

- Hey, Jemma... - Back away!

- Back away until we can... - All right!

- ...figure this out. - Figure what out?

You're pointing a gun at me. Why are you pointing a gun at me?

No.

Don't move.

It's you.

Shut up. Shut up!

You suggested that we come to the workshop...

alone. You brought me here.

No, you... you were... you were the one telling me to act normal, and...

- You knew how the LMDs were made. - you didn't want to leave the base,

- saying it was a calibration error! - You knew!

- There's no calibration error! - I'm not the one that's pointing the gun!

I bloody well know that I'm not an android!

You would lie and say that if you were! You'd be programmed to!

Oh, you don't... you don't know.

You don't even know, like May.

Stop it! The... the same goes for you.

Of course, this is happening. This always happens to you, to me, to us.

It's my worst fear coming true again.

- You don't even know. - I'm not a bloody LMD!

You're messing with me, messing with my head!

- It's not me, Jemma! - Well, it's one of us!

It's one of us, Fitz.

Well, regardless of who it is...

it's my fault.

It is.

It is.

I perfected the technology.

I started this whole nightmare.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Don't...

make me feel bad for you.

Don't hurt me.

I couldn't.

I'm not gonna fight you, Jemma. Even if you are a decoy.

I'm the bad guy, okay? No matter what.

So, I'll do whatever you say.

Okay? I'll do whatever you say.

Pick it up.

And do what, Jemma?

Cut your wrist.

If you're the LMD, I'll see your substructure and I'll know.

- And if not... - If not, then you're the android,

and you just convinced me to slit my wrist.

Do it!

Okay.

Oh!

- That's a lot of blood. - Did you cut the radial artery?

I was trying very hard to miss it. I...

Don't come near me!

Oh, God!

Fitz...

Ah!

- Welcome back, Doctor. - Oh, what the hell?

My orders were to bring me out after 24 hours.

- That's exactly what I did. - Really?

Oh, my God. I completely lost track of time.

Aida, there were...

- changes. - I had to restart the simulation

to accommodate the new residents.

In order to reduce their pain, to fix a regret for each of them,

I had to restart the Framework simulation from those moments in time.

Are you mad?

I am programmed to do just that.

You shouldn't have done that with me plugged in.

I could've lost my grip on reality!

To the human mind, there's no difference

between the perception of the Framework and the physical world.

It...

It's just so vast. This is all...

perfectly real.

I assure you,

one of my prime directives is keeping you safe.

- The other is to protect the Framework. - Protect the Framework, yes,

which is why we've given that Russki all that he wants,

so that he'll guarantee

the Framework has this palace to operate within.

The Russian, he's uh...

- he's in good spirits? - He's resting.

Four LMDs are in place at S.H.I.E.L.D.

And it's only a matter of time before they get brain scans

of the top remaining agents, Jemma, and of course, Daisy.

Are their commands working on a subconscious level

to avoid detection, as with Agent May?

There wasn't time for such subtleties.

They're much more objective-driven.

Aida, people could be killed in that scenario.

Only if they resist.

Okay. That's everyone.

Do you really think it's necessary for me to personally greet each of them?

You don't think that'll take too much time?

- It'll be more efficient than you think. - Okay. I'll suit up. Zephyr in ten?

I'll be ready.

I need you conscious to map your frontal lobe,

so you can't be too heavily sedated.

The rest you can sleep through.

You have Fitz's mind.

Why are you doing this?

I'm doing it for you.

For us. What we've always suspected I now know to be true

that consciousness is separate from the physical self.

Don't hurt yourself, Jemma.

There's no reason to be afraid. I was always trying to protect you,

pursuing technological solves to the problematic scenario

that you could be harmed or killed.

But Radcliffe's cured death. Once I map your brain,

we'll never have to fear losing each other again.

Don't fight, Jemma. You're too weak.

I'm securing our future.

So we can get married, grow old together.

That's the first time you've mentioned it...

getting married.

I mean... I've thought about it. But I was afraid to bring it up.

You know...

I thought I knew your answer, but no one's ever 100 percent.

I'll tell Fitz when I see him.

No. No!

No! No! No! Ah! Jemma, please!

Stop!

Jemma, Jemma, look at me. Look at me.

Stop. It's me.

It's me.

Prince, where's Agent Johnson?

Yeah, Daisy told me to tell you she wants to check the accommodations

for the incoming Inhumans before we head out.

- The containment rooms downstairs? - Yeah.

Damn it.

Code three, West sector. Repeat. Code three, West sector.

It's Agent Fitz, sir.

- We can see that. - Davis said Agent Simmons

was the only one in here with him.

Then it's what we feared.

We believe Agent Simmons has been compromised,

replaced with an LMD. We need to find her, scan her...

No, wait.

Look.

- My God. - Sir, we have to scan everyone.

Daisy knows and she got away.

Damn it.

This is not how it was supposed to go.

- We didn't want bloodshed. - It's too late for that.

Mack, see if you can patch up Fitz enough so that he can fix himself.

- We have to search the base. - And cut the security feeds.

Already gave the order.

- Get away from me! - Simmons.

What the literal hell?

What did I just see? What just happened to Fitz?

It wasn't him. It wasn't him.

- Did you kill him? - No, not him.

- It wasn't him. - Are you a robot?

Because I just saw a truckload of myself, and Mack is in on it.

And Coulson just bashed an agent's head in and...

They were all replaced. You, too. It's not you. It's not you!

Simmons...

it's me.

What about you?

Prove to me that you're not a frickin' robot.

Because it looks like you're malfunctioning.

No way to prove it. You won't know until they kill you.

There's no way to know until they kill you.

Give me...

Give me your hand. I'll quake you.

- Don't touch me! - Give me your hand!

I'll quake you, not to hurt you! Not to hurt you.

Just enough to feel your bones...

the... the real bones, and not made of metal.

I'm me.

I hope.

I'm not one of them.

I can prove to you that I'm not one, either.

An LMD wouldn't have Inhuman powers, right?

That way, we'll both know.

Don't touch me!

Oh, thank God.

There's a beauty to it.

This body you're building, the Russian won't approve.

He'll come around. I've observed his behaviour.

I've observed much human behaviour.

And the more I see, the harder it gets to find a logic to it.

Oh, you sweet girl,

there is no logic to love, anger, wonder, joy...

I understand the concepts, but I don't feel them myself.

And unfortunately...

they've created a paradox in my programming.

What do you mean? Explain.

My two main parameters are in opposition due to human emotions.

I was programmed to protect the Framework,

but also to preserve your life above all others.

Well, how is that a contradiction?

Because the greatest threat to the Framework, Doctor...

is you.

Well, that's simply not accurate.

A defining human trait seems to be regret, or so I've observed.

You even asked me to repair one regret for each person entering the Framework.

Yes.

Well, you Doctor, exhibit poor self-control,

and if you someday come to regret building the Framework,

you could change my parameters and have me dismantle it.

Why would you think I would ever do that? I'm saving these people.

I am giving them a replica of their life with less pain.

Yes.

But their physical bodies will eventually give out because of it.

Oh, Aida, that doesn't matter.

Reality is just perception.

They perceive it as real, which makes it real.

- They might not believe that. - Yeah, but I do. I know it.

I believe it to be true, wholeheartedly.

Thank you for clarifying.

That statement fixes the paradox.

I can now solve both problems at once.

Shh.

You'll live a long life, free of pain.

We know you're wondering why you're here.

You've received orders. Base is on a complete lockdown.

Agent Coulson will explain why.

Two of our best agents and friends, Daisy Johnson and Jemma Simmons,

have been kidnapped.

And worse than that,

they've been replaced.

- What do you mean, "hope"? - They'll say we're Life Model Decoys,

turn all of HQ against us, and have us killed.

Okay. Well...

maybe there's not a lot of hope

that we're gonna get out of here, but there is hope...

that our team is still alive.

Which means we have to try.

From what Fitz told you, it seems Radcliffe, in his twisted logic,

is keeping them alive in this Framework thing.

- Which means they can be rescued. - How?

The Framework's origin signal is untraceable.

They could be anywhere on the planet.

Which is why we have to go in.

You mean... go in?

- Hack in. - Hack in.

Plug ourselves into the Framework

so we can find our people, and we can wake them up

and figure out where their bodies are being kept. I don't know.

Really, what's our other option?

Shoot to maim... stomach, spine.

It's imperative we pull the data from their heads.

Don't let their faces cloud your judgment.

The best way to ensure that we can save them

is to find these machines pretending to be them...

and take them down.

Eyes and ears open, people. Let's move.

So, we fight our way through the trained military personnel,

then the ultra-powerful android doubles of our friends,

somehow make it to the Zephyr, which we can't fly, to escape the base

and try to plug our minds into an alternate reality.

Okay, well, don't say it out loud, because that made it sound way worse.

Let's just keep it one thing at a time, okay?

We have sleeping gas.

How many doses of that antidote are there?

I don't know.

I can't think without Fitz.

Simmons. Simmons, stay with me.

We can't fight them, Daisy. It's too much.

- It's all too much. - Hey, hey.

Don't worry about fighting them, okay?

- I will. I will take them on myself. - No, Daisy, don't do this.

You don't have your gauntlets

- to protect your arms. - It doesn't matter.

Look, I know you still feel like you have to atone for Lincoln's sacrifice,

but sacrificing yourself

- is not the answer. - That is not what this is about.

- I can't lose you, too! - Look at me.

Look at me. This is not a sacrifice play.

You know why?

Because I will beat them.

You hear me? I know it.

If for no other reason than this...

through all the insane crap we have gone through,

the one thing I've known...

without a doubt...

the whole time...

is you and Fitz belong together.

This is not how your story ends.

Okay?

So, I'm gonna beat the screws out of those junkers,

and the two of us are gonna get the hell out of Dodge.

- Deal? - Deal.

Agent Fitz is in critical condition.

He might survive, but it gives us an idea of what these two are...

...capable of.

They're gassing the agents.

- Smart. - We should kill the lights.

They can't see in the dark as well as we can.

And I'll get Agent May ready for the contingency plan.

Explosives? They trying to bring the roof down on us? Is that it?

No.

That's not it.

What's going on down there? Is everyone okay?

It's time for you to enter the fight. You're our last line of defence.

What do you want me to do?

You guys all right?

There's still gas everywhere. How are we awake?

Daisy and I aren't the LMDs.

I don't buy it.

I don't care.

Now get up.

Really? Not even winded?

We don't want to hurt you.

That's not what it feels like.

Ah!

Ah!

Daisy, this is for your own good.

We didn't want to hurt you, but we have no choice here.

Now let us download you before you bleed out.

Don't resist us.

You'll be fine.

We're in this together.

We're a team.

I would say I told you so, but... I don't have to now.

Okay, okay.

Anyone here know how to fly the Zephyr?

- I... I just started training. - Okay. Well, you're gonna try real hard.

You three can walk better than we can,

so drag any unconscious bodies out of this sector

before the fire spreads,

then open the hangar doors and meet us on the Zephyr.

Daisy and I will load in this hardware.

And remember, anyone you see who's awake...

Is a robot. Super. Come on.

I need medical.

Coulson, I have them.

May, think about what you're doing.

I am.

Or... processing, I should say.

Please. Do you want us to die?

Coulson says that doesn't matter.

That doesn't sound like Coulson.

Either way...

I won't have to regret this decision.

- This'll take a while. - Worry about Mack later.

Can you program the Daisy fleet downstairs with basic seek-and-destroy?

- Of course. - Do it. Be ready to release them.

I thought you said you had them.

May?

What did you do?

What I wanted to.

Okay.

Everything's under control.

- Let's just... - Whose control?

Why don't you and I have a glass of Scotch... or many,

and talk this out, like we always do?

"We"? We've never done that before.

Oh, Daisy!

You were right. Our programming is different.

Are you afraid to die?

'Cause I am.

I know I'm not real. I'm all phantom limbs.

- But that doesn't make the pain less real. - You don't have to feel pain.

You say you don't anymore.

But that pain... that regret...

that's what made you a person...

a person I love.

Start engine. Ignition on.

- Go, go, go! - Top right. Move it! Top right.

Come on, go, go, go, go, go!

My programming was to get the Darkhold.

That came from Radcliffe.

But my impulse, to keep Coulson safe and close...

that desire...

that came from me.

That's good.

And I'm sorry to say...

you're not him.

What we can decipher from the insane amount of code

flying around in there is that it's a duplicate of our world.

Populated with all the people in the world.

- How could they build... - The Darkhold.

We've managed to identify the duplicate avatars of myself

and Daisy that are running around in there.

So, you just plug yourself into these avatars?

Hook up with our people and find out where on Earth

- their bodies are being held. - And rescue them.

That sounds easy. Will it be easy?

- They have no idea. - And if they're in there too long,

their bodies will... give out.

Well, that's the hypothesis.

So, we have to go... now.

Meet at the rendezvous right away.

That's where I programmed the backdoor to get out.

And listen, living in there too long may kill you,

but dying in there will definitely kill you, so...

be careful.

You, too.

And remember, even if our vitals are going haywire, do not...

Do not pull you out or wake you up, I know.

It will cook your brains like huevos rotos.

Cause permanent damage to the cerebral cortex, yes.

Just promise me you'll get our guys back, okay?

I promise.

Lincoln?

See? Good as new.

- And stronger, it seems. - I know what you did.

You stole my mind and uploaded it to a filthy machine.

- I told you not to mess with my mind. - I assure you...

your mind is alive and well inside your head...

untouched.

This body is mechanical... yes.

What?

You're controlling it remotely.

Some reading, if you're interested.

I need you walking around...

able to continue protecting the Framework.

A perfect machine, controlled with a mind

endowed with the ability to feel love, anger, wonder...

joy.

Joy?

When?

When I am able to feel those things myself.