"Previously on "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."..." "I understood that, conceptually, we were building a world, but I-I didn't expect you would build our entire world." "You heard Radcliffe." "He said he had a subject in the framework, someone who was thriving." "He was talking about May." "She's alive." "I believe it is responsible for all of the alien problems on this planet." " What is it?" " A man." "He is always there in the shadows." "The Russians." "They're here for us." "We have the inhuman director of S.H.I.E.L.D." "Well, I'll be." "Ohh!" "That hurt." "Yeah, it hurts." "But the fact that I feel anything at all is what's blowing my mind." "Think that's the point." "All right, that's enough." "Well?" "Unbelievable." "It's like the real thing." "I could even smell the sweat." "But I-i felt strangely cold, though." "Well, I tried to make the simulation as real as possible, and since you always leave the air-con on in the base," "I exaggerated it." "Kind of like a silent protest." "That was so realistic." "I mean, you know, except for the whole stopping in midair thing." "I don't know." "I think it might play out a little differently in real life." "So, you can feel in there?" "Fitz:" "Yeah, well, it's the framework." "It's an immersive sensory experience." "It was designed as a training exercise..." "A way for agents to practice sparring or jungle insertions and the like." "Yeah, you can still feel pain while inside." "That's why I stopped the simulation before you hit the wall because..." "Painful." "Got it." "So, May's locked up somewhere but being held in a virtual reality like this?" "What, to keep her placid?" "Radcliffe said she was in the framework." "Yeah, but this is a contained prototype." "It's got limited simulations." "If Radcliffe said he built a world, he must have built a separate, more powerful version." "But if it's separate, how will we find it?" "Fitz:" "Run a search." "Try and locate traces of the source code." "I might be able to locate where Radcliffe is running his new version, and..." "And that's where we'll find May." "Sir, the GPS signal we're tracking on the director's suit?" "We've locked in on the location." "Where?" "Nome, Alaska." "♪♪" "Mack:" "Coulson." "What the hell is this?" "It's..." "You." "♪♪" "*MARVELS AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.* Season 04 Episode 14 "The Man Behind the Shield"" "♪♪" "Doctor." "Radcliffe." "Unless your intention is to shred the most advanced human mind of this or any century," "I suggest you think twice before forcefully removing him from the framework." "And unless you would like to lose your arm," "I suggest you let me go." "I need to speak with him." "Dr. Radcliffe has allowed me to communicate on his behalf." "I need to speak with him." "Now." "Aida, what have I told you about pulling me out of..." "Yeah." "You interrupted a rousing discourse on pre- "weekend" godard versus..." "you spend too much time as of late in your fantasyland, doctor." "I need you here." "Present." "Well, the marvelous benefit of an autonomous system is that things get done without the need for constant managing and meddling." "I do not meddle." "I perfect." "You're a results man." "I appreciate that." "But I've done my part here." "The hardware is in place." "Aida is on hand to ensure the transition goes smoothly." "I did not make an alliance with that." "Aida is my proxy." "View her as an extension of myself." "Now, you will get what you want most." "Please, leave me to what I want most." "Aida 2.0:" "I can assure you, everything will go according to plan." "For your sake, it had better." "This is why I don't have Facebook." "Not subtle." "This is a message." "He wants me to find something here." "But it's just a bad episode of "this is your life."" " Your life and his." " Huh?" "You see the mining facility in this picture?" "He owns it." "Purchased by Anton Ivanov this year." "It's the only thing here that ties back to him." "Does it tie back to you, too?" "Yeah." "If that guy doesn't have a cat, he'd be really confused." "May, what the hell are you doing here?" "I didn't request a specialist." "I go where I'm assigned." "Yeah, well, I got this handled." "I don't need you throwing off my game." "You have game?" "I have what some people refer to in certain parts of the world as game." "It's cute that you think that." "Car." "♪♪" "Daisy:" "Earth to coulson." "Do you know what this means?" "It means we're going to Russia." "♪♪" "The superior:" "It's good to see there's still some fight left in you." "But I should expect as much from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s inhuman director." "You're the one they take orders from." "Da." "Then I'm placing you under arrest in the name of S.H.I.E.L.D." "Oh." "With what power?" "Surely, you have used the last of yours." "You want to find out?" "Da." "I know you can do better than that." "Put him back in." "I like my video games as much as you, turbo, but this..." "This is too much." "Yeah, well, it's not a bloody oculus rift." "It's a training exercise." "Yeah, well, I doubt it's helping May run a triathlon." "Mack." "That's not how I meant it." "You built a "Matrix" prison, and now May's stuck in it like "Brainscan."" "The framework is a tool." "That's all that it is..." "A tool." "Mm." "Like aida was a tool?" "What are you trying to say?" "That all this is my fault?" "What I'm saying is, if you didn't build a killer robot or a virtual world, this year would've been much easier for us." "Now, whether you like it or not, that's the reality." "I'm trying to help people, mack." "I know you're not a bad person, Fitz, but this..." "Gear has been used for some really bad things." "You've got to think about the implications of what you create." "Electricity is used to execute criminals." "Does that mean we also shouldn't use it to power our hospitals?" "Not the same thing, and you know it." "There's always risks involved in science." "That doesn't mean that we don't pursue it anyway." "Okay, you know, the line between scientist and mad scientist is paper thin." "And right now, you're starting to sound an awful lot like..." "Don't." "Don't you even say his name." "We've cloaked and entered Russian airspace." "T-minus five minutes to the Drop Zone." "You're one of the smartest people I know." "I really hope you figure this one out." "♪♪" "What was the mission you were on here?" "May and I were sent to retrieve an 084." "Years and years ago." "With May?" "That can't be a coincidence." "So, your plan was to ask the guard to let you in?" "You know how persuasive I can be." "Can you even say, "please open the door for me," in Russian?" "Almost." "But I do know a few choice words I have for you right now." "You can't bluff, Phil." "You've got nine different tells..." "Eyes darting all over the place." "That's not true." "I maintain eye contact at all times." "You should try sunglasses." "Clear." "You did this." "You jinxed us." "You literally willed this into existence." "What?" "They don't cover safe-cracking at the communications academy?" "Don't worry." "I have got this 100% under..." "Shut up." "Don't worry." "I'm good with my hands." "Not how I remember it." "Okay, here it comes." "It's never long before you bring that up." "Well, I remember you fumbling quite a bit." "I didn't know you that well back then." "I didn't want to be presumptuous." "You were undercover as my husband." "Right, and I knew we were on camera, so I had to sell that we were, you know..." "Oh, yeah, you sold it." "Took over two minutes to unhook my bra." "That was an act for the camera." "You know, I was..." "I was being a gentleman." "What, they don't cover foreplay at the operations academy?" "They teach us to commit to the mission... all the way." "Well, I'm sorry you took it so personally." "Spy life can be confusing sometimes, I know." "Can I please have some light here?" "That's why I only date civilians." "You know, makes things simpler." "Agreed." "Till they start asking questions." "Agreed." "I seem to go through men like paper towels." "Agreed." "Or so I've heard." "We've got company." "Security?" "Looks like SVR Agents." "Four of them." "♪♪" "You do this?" "Not me." "May." "What do you think's in there?" "Well, we already have the suit." "Let's hope it's not the director's body this time." "My father worked an oil drill." "He was a son of a bitch, but he worked hard for not much, so I admire him." "The richest man in my town, on the other hand, inherited his money from his father who built airplanes." "He wore furs, was entitled." "When I saw my father with this man, complimenting him, licking his boots..." "My admiration for my father evaporated." "You see, there is something lower than scum." "That which strives to be it." "Like you." "You allow S.H.I.E.L.D. to fill your veins with poison and parade you around as an example." "Of what?" "S.H.I.E.L.D. claims to be a beacon for humanity." "What it really is is a safe haven for inhumanity." "They..." "Will come for me." "That is the plan." "Preparations here are nearly completed." "That is nearly a satisfying report." "If you're done playing with your food, there is still work to be done." "Metaphor." "Well done." "Do my methods disturb you?" "Do you feel sympathy for the thing you attempt to emulate?" "I was programmed to observe human behavior." "Yours is..." "Different than most I have experienced." "I have no opinion on you or your methods." "That is because you cannot have opinions." "You are..." "Fake." "Just like that man in there." "And when will you be done with the director?" "Once he serves his purpose." "Even filth has a purpose." "What the hell is this?" "The superior:" "Agent coulson, I presume." "Do you know who I am?" "The sick son of a bitch who kidnapped my people and seems to have more than a few skeletons in his closet?" "Do you not recognize these men?" "Should I?" "Yes, you should." "Because you had them killed." "♪♪" "Four guys at once." "Should be fun." "What?" "No." "No guns-blazing tactics, Rambo." "We're spies, not soldiers." "We're agents." "We do what has to be done." "The mission comes before the man." "What are your orders, anyway?" "You here to back me up or to retrieve the 084?" "My orders don't include telling you." "What's your clearance level now, anyway?" "Three." "Why, what level are you?" "Mine's classified." "Tell you what." "I'll stall Stalin and the gang." "You stay here, get the 084." "You sure?" "What are you gonna say to them, anyway?" "There's a..." "Biohazard contamination." "Bio always works." "Not inspiring confidence." "Hey." "Hi!" "Oh, boy." "Please tell me one of you speaks English." "Da." "Well, that's not really..." "Whatever." "I'm with the u.N. Taskforce here." "Some biohazardous materials were unearthed on this site." "Really dangerous stuff." "You have paper?" "I do, indeed, yes." "Come on, May." "I didn't kill these men." "The superior:" "They were interrogated, tortured, and executed, all to cover up for you." "They were my comrades." "They were my brothers." "I had to dig up their bodies just to pay my respects." "Never forget the fallen." "Where are my people?" "Your people will suffer the exact same fate as my unit." "Only this time, there will be no one left to find their bodies." "You see?" "Yours is not the only life" "Agent Coulson has so easily tossed aside or hidden behind." "This is what he does." "Everything is his S.H.I.E.L.D." "The government, behind you, director, behind Nick fury, stark, all of it, stands agent coulson, quietly pursuing his alien agenda." "Conspiracy theories..." "From the man who literally mounted a conspiracy to have men in masks kill inhumans." "I'm closing the door he opened..." "Allowing alien races to infect our world and convincing men like you to protect them." "And I will make you admit, to me and yourself, that this is true." "You have a match?" "I'm searching fragments of code across all lines of communication." "Now, it was going slow at first, but once I found the right fragment..." "Ah, there it is." "We're going to find them." "Let's not run before we can walk." "But all I need to do is trace the source, and..." "Server farm in China." "China?" "Makes perfect sense." "Hold on a minute." "No." "That's not right." "What's going on?" "It appears to be pinging from multiple sources." "Cellphones in Atlanta, a military base in Norfolk..." "Does this mean...?" "Fitz." "♪♪" "Coulson:" "What the hell is this?" "It's the framework code, and it's worse than I feared." "We traced where the data is being processed." "It's everywhere." "What do you mean "everywhere"?" "The code is piggybacking on the processors of devices from all over the world." "It's like SETI, only you don't opt in." "Daisy:" "My god." "If Radcliffe is using this much processing power, the framework reality could be..." "Massive." "So you can't track its origin?" "Not yet." "Doesn't stay on any one device long enough." "How is all this even possible?" "'Cause Radcliffe has the darkhold." "Anything's possible." "Well, find it." "Find something." "We don't leave our people behind." "We all good here, fellas?" "What else do you need?" "Birth certificate?" "I think I got a membership card to gold's gym." "You have backup?" "I think that's the only copy I have on me, but there might be another one in the Van." "Do you have partner?" "Oh!" "Eh." "She's not really a partner." "More of a friend..." "A co-worker, really." "Though, to be honest," "I'm starting to feel some tension, sexual and otherwise, so I was actually thinking about taking a shot, but I'm afraid it could go south." "You Americans, you talk too much." "It's our greatest flaw." "Our unit has been made aware that an item was found on the premises." "We have been sent to retrieve it." "Okay." "At any cost." "♪♪" "Looks like your partner was asked to retrieve the item at any cost, as well." "And the cost was you." "Okay, so we think we found the next clue in this fun, little game." "Ivanov mentioned his svr unit being tortured and executed and that he was gonna do the exact same thing to us." "So I looked up svr detention centers connected to the unit number found on the dead agents' uniforms." "And this one right here was a front during the cold war for a submarine base." "And since we know Ivanov has a submarine, like all good bond villains..." "We're already en route to the base in krasnoyarsk krai." "Let's assume the enemy knows we're coming." "They've been baiting us this whole time." "We May face strong opposition..." "Trap doors, sharks with lasers... who knows?" "It doesn't matter." "What matters is getting our people back, so let's get ready." "♪♪" "We found where they're keeping the director and May." "Already en route to the location." "We're going to save them." "What if we can't?" "What if May suffers from permanent cognitive dysfunction or cerebral atrophy?" "Or she dies?" "Fitz." "We don't know the adverse effects this could have on her brain." "I did it to her." "Aida, the framework..." "My fingerprints are all over these murder weapons." "Mack was right." "Mack was right." "You do need to think about the implications of the things you create." "But just because someone uses your ideas for evil does not make it your fault for creating it in the first place." "You make things from the genius of your mind and the goodness of your heart to help people." "Don't let Radcliffe's actions corrupt that." "You are not responsible for the twisted things he's done." "Wrongs have been committed." "Now we make them right..." "Together." "You know, if Radcliffe is operating out of this facility, there May be some framework hardware there." "If I could tap into that directly, then..." "Maybe I could find the key to shutting it down for good." "There he is." "Let's get to it already." "The superior:" "This is it." "This is your last chance, director, to denounce S.H.I.E.L.D. and all that it has done." "Now I ask you..." "One last time." "Do you have any regrets?" "I believe in agent coulson." "I believe in S.H.I.E.L.D." "Because for all its imperfections, it strives to do the right thing... to protect people." "You claim to fight for others, for humanity." "I think you lost yours a long time ago." "And to answer your question, I do have one regret." "That I don't have any superpowers of my own that I could use to kick your ass." "I can respect a man who stands behind his true beliefs... misguided though they May be." "You know... it is a shame we find ourselves on opposite sides of the board in this game." "But you are a pawn." "The pawn can only move forward." "Personally, I can overlook your sins." "But my comrades..." "Well, let's just say they are less forgiving than I am." "♪♪" "♪♪" "Communications room at sub-basement..." "Fitz-Simmons." "On it." "Davis, you're with them." "The rest of us will fan out, search this place top to bottom for director mace and agent May." "Stay on comms." "Be sharp." "Morales, you're with me." "♪♪" "Special agent Phillip j." "Coulson." "I have waited a long time for a face-to-face." "You know, most people would've brought something nice." "Flowers." "Ah, humor is the last line of defense you have left." "There is no one to stand behind, no one left to protect you." "I don't know." "I'm pretty capable of protecting myself." "You have enhanced yourself, I'm sure." "I'd be a fool to expect anything else." "Enhanced humans, aliens and their technology..." "The deeper I dug," "I found there was one man at the center of it all." "You." "I thought the mission came before the man." "Did you really think I was gonna leave your defenseless ass behind?" "Yes." "Yes, I 100% did." "I let you sweat a little." "But..." "I didn't want to make you wait around forever." " Let's get the hell out of here." " Yeah." "You were one of the svr agents at the mining facility." "That was your unit." "Da." "And they were killed for not retrieving the object stolen from our soil." "When I looked for who did, I found S.H.I.E.L.D." "And after years of looking behind S.H.I.E.L.D.," "I found you." "That..." "Face." "The man there at the very beginning." "What a coincidence." "I'm sorry." "I don't really have time for all this conspiracy-theorist crap." "I'm done playing games." "Where are May and mace?" "But play my games you will." "Did you really think I would let you have what it is you seek at the end?" "They're not even here, are they?" "Well, your pretend inhuman director is in the compound, but..." "He May be dead by the time you find him." "All of these things you've done, all of the energy spent, the hatred." "And you know what the funny thing about it is?" "I have no idea who the hell you are." "I've been on hundreds of missions in my time." "This one you're so upset about," "I was sent to retrieve an object." "If I'm being honest," "I don't even remember what it was." "As far as I'm concerned, you're just another red shirt like so many others who tried unsuccessfully to stop me from saving the world." "'Cause that's what I do." "So, cool origin story, bro, but this means nothing to me." "She, on the other hand..." "The top watchdog himself." "I've been waiting a long time for a face-to-face." "♪♪" "I chased the watchdogs, the funding, the weapons, the EMP, the senator..." "It all leads back to you." "Always nice to meet an admirer." "This isn't about admiration or forgiveness." "The butcher does not seek forgiveness from the animals he slaughters." "Have you ever read "animal farm"?" "Enough talk." "Not a fair fight, but..." "I will fight it, regardless." "♪♪" "♪♪" "This can't be Radcliffe's framework setup." "It's too low-tech." "Maybe we can still find something useful anyway." "I'll copy any data I find in the system." "We should take some of this equipment back to the base for further examination, as well." "Anything could be the key we're searching for." "Agent on comms:" "We have an aida sighting on the lower levels of the base." "Aida's here?" "You do this." "I'll find aida." "What, you're gonna go take on a killer android?" "I'll take Davis." "Concern only slightly lessened." "Thanks." "We can't let her escape." "She could be the lead we're looking for." "All right." "Just..." "Be careful." "Davis, with me." "You all right?" "Yeah." "But I don't know about him." "He's breathing, but barely." "Jeffrey, where's May?" "Where are they keeping her?" "Come on." "We got to get him out of here." "The superior:" "I've been looking forward to facing one of you, readying myself." "I strive for perfection." "You are a genetic cheater." "I'm not a cheater." "You're just playing by the old rules." "The game has changed." "Ivanov's down." "Where is everybody?" "Anything?" "No luck." "We've been running all over this place." "It's a bloody labyrinth." "Pray we don't run into the goblin king." "Can anyone hear me?" "Has anyone spotted aida?" "Still no response." "Oh, no, no, no." "The submarine." "She's escaping." "We're too late." "Well, I gathered what I could from the communications room." "Who knows what the others have found." "Have you heard anything from them?" "I've been trying to reach them." "Yeah, me too." "Comms have been wonky, going in and out." "Jemma." "Director Mace!" "We've been trying to reach you." "He needs medical attention." "We have to get him out of here." "Finally." "I've been looking for you guys everywhere." "Where's May?" "She's not here." "They must have had her on the submarine." "Well, then we have to keep searching." "We..." "We're pulling out." "But, sir." "We'll tend to our injured, live to fight another day." "♪♪" "Storm front coming in." "You and I can just hunker down, pull all this apart until we find something that can help us get agent May back, yeah?" "Jemma?" "How long were we in that base?" "Pardon?" "The timetable of this mission is bothering me." "Coulson says he came straight down to the submarine dock after rescuing the director." "And we heard the blast from Daisy's battle with Ivanov long before she met up with us again." "What are you saying?" "I'm saying something doesn't feel right." "There's a stretch of time in there that's unaccounted for when no one was in contact." "Now you mention it... it was pitch-dark when we left." "It's the blast-door scanner system." "LMD detection?" "Yeah." "What about it?" "It was disabled." "Disabled?" "Recently?" "And the system report was deleted from the record." "Why would someone do that?" "By who?" "Not sure." "Luckily, my level on the spectrum of security means a copy of each report is sent directly to my inbox." "The system was accessed by..." "Coulson." "Coulson?" "What would he want to keep from us?" "Fitz." "This has to be a mistake." "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." "Look, you said it yourself..." "We were in there for a while." "We were separated from them the whole time." "Aida was seen at the base, and..." "Tanks of gas." "What kind of gas?" "They left a trail of clues." "They wanted to find coulson." "And while we were downstairs..." "They switched people out." "How many?" "All of them." "Aida 2.0:" "Scans indicate low levels of life function." "Good." "The plan worked." "We have replaced the top operatives at S.H.I.E.L.D." "Now the next phase begins." "And you will be integral to that." "You have not yet served your purpose." "Even filth has a purpose." "♪♪" "Say it." "No." "Say it." "I already did." "Yeah, but I'm not tired of hearing it yet." "Thank you for saving my ass back there." "You're welcome." "All in all, I guess I could've asked for a worse assignment." "Wait." "Asked?" "So you asked for this mission, huh?" "Busted." "Didn't want the weekend free for quality time with random civilian number 14?" "Ugh." ""Ugh"?" "Wow." "You must really like this guy." "Maybe I'm tired of dating civilians." "Well..." "Maybe if it doesn't work out with this one, you and I can talk about that..." "Over a drink." "Chances are high." "This guy is really not my type." "Already start asking questions?" "Oh, yeah." "He's a shrink." "Yeesh." "Well, let me know if it goes horribly." "Here's hoping." "Keep your eyes on the road." "♪♪" "Phil?" "We've waited around forever." "I think that's long enough."