The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a franchise that has some clear peak moments: fans will never forget moments like Nick Fury first popping up in Iron Man‘s post-credits scene, that first shot of the Avengers standing together in the Battle of New York, or the now-legendary Endgame “On your left…” moment where Marvel’s greatest heroes assembled against Thanos for the final battle. Yet, the MCU has delivered many other truly great pieces of content that don’t tend to get as much nostalgic shine – especially when it comes to the television side of things. Longform content is always a tougher balance to maintain, as the quality can vary from episode to episode; however, when a Marvel TV show does manage to fire on all cylinders, the results are pretty fantastic.
Case in point: on this day ten years ago, October 27, 2015, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aired the episode “4,722” and a decade later it still stands as one of the most unique pieces of content that Marvel Studios has ever put out, not to mention one of the best sci-fi stories TV has delivered.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s “4,722 Hours” Episode Explained
Elizabeth Henstridge in “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”/Marvel Television/ABC
“4,722 Hours” was the fifth episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 3, a season that was focused on Marvel’s Inhumans and their presence on Earth. It was an episode that answered a key mystery from the Season 2 cliffhanger: what happened to S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) during a key chunk of missing time?
The Season 2 button scene showed Simmons get sucked into the portal inside a strange alien (Kree) monolith she was studying. Although Agent Phil Coulson’s (Clark Gregg) squad manages to get the portal open again and saves Simmons (via Inhuman agent Quake’s powers), there was clearly a bigger story behind what had happened to her, that was initially left untold. “4,722 Hours: was the episode that finally explained what Simmons had gone through, and to call it a surprise twist would be an understatement.
It turned out that Simmons had endured quite a sci-fi survivalist story while stranded on the planet Maveth. For about the first month, Simmons takes care of basic survival: she finds a food source (an alien plant) and water, and learns shelter from the planet’s violent sandstorms. Eventually, Simmons meets Will Daniels (Dillon Casey), an astronaut who was lost during a 2001 expedition and has been stranded for 14 years. Will tells Simmons that there is a sentient presence on the planet, which corrupts people and drives them insane. Simmons uses all of her scientific prowess to try and predict the natural patterns of the portal openings and find her way home. However, the planet’s entity thwarts her efforts, and eventually Simmons abandons the hope of going home and starts a life with Will. Of course, Simmons’ science-partner-turned-lover Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) never gave up hope, and gets to the planet to retrieve Simmons. The final twist in the episode (and seasonal storyline) is that Simmons now has deeply conflicted romantic feelings, and is resolute about getting back to the planet to save Will.
“4,722 Hours” Is The Kind of Sci-Fi Story The MCU Needs More Of
“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”/Marvel Television/ABC
Marvel Comics is distinct from DC in that many of its biggest heroes and stories were more heavily influenced by science fiction. And yet, as the MCU has become a worldwide phenomenon, the core sci-fi elements of Marvel storytelling feel like they have largely fallen by the wayside, to make way for a fantasy/adventure approach. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a creative lab where a lot more risks could be taken with episodic stories, and “4,722 Hours” was a very successful big swing.
The episode was an unabashed sci-fi parable, and the rare episode of the ensemble series to focus almost entirely on a single character. It was a long-overdue showcase for Simmons actress Elizabeth Henstridge, who had to spend much of the show as a support character and split her screen time with Fitz. As a piece of MCU content, it perfectly balanced the franchise’s penchant for hyping up mysteries and subsequent reveals, with the obligation to actually tell a substantive story that was more than just a bullet-point list of reveals and new teases. The “FitzSimmons” coupling was a major part of the show’s emotional core; “4,722 Hours” hinges on the idea of that love being an unbreakable bond, which ultimately falters when Simmons has to weigh a life of longing versus the one that’s still possible for her. Like the best sci-fi stories, it doesn’t preach to the audience or pass judgment on its protagonist: instead, it raises deeper and difficult questions of love, fidelity, and hope, set against an extremely fantastical and frightening environment.
Finally, this standalone episode did a perfect job of introducing pivotal new elements or revelations into the seasonal storyline, while not letting those larger franchise concerns overshadow the themes and developments of the episodic narrative. Fans got a first real sense of the threat of “Hive” (the seasonal villain), as well as key backstory clues about the monoliths and their long history of teasing a door between Earth and an ancient Kree evil. In short, it was MCU content that felt prestige-level and complete on its own, but still very much “mattered” in terms of steering the larger franchise storyline. These days, that’s an even rarer kind of gem to get from Marvel, on any front.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is streaming on Disney+, including the “4,722 Hours” episode. Have thoughts about it or AoS in general, leave a comment or start a discussion on our ComicBook Forum.