Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV Series) Self Control (2017) User Reviews

The very best of the series and arguably one of the best single episodes ever, of anything!

[darkxpyder · 10/10 · 21 February 2017]

Sparse and great use of CGI, great action, insane drama and emotion, smart storytelling coupled with great uses of the past, the episode started great and it didn't falter or stumble anywhere in particular, this was great storytelling all around, it's everything that a show can be and maybe even more at some points, i'm constantly amazed at how much they can do with such a small budget, this is way better than other shows of the type that overuse CGI to the point where it looks horrible. If you're a fan you'll certainly enjoy this and if you aren't this episode might even change your mind.

One of the Best Things to Come Out of Marvel

[ahmedalmuhairi81 · 10/10 · 22 February 2017]

This episode of was not only the best of the series, but in the upper echelons of anything that Marvel has ever done including their movies. In fact, it ranks up there as one of my favorite episodes of anything EVER. Right along side my favorite episodes of Breaking Bad, and probably superior to Sherlock's peak, "The Reichenbach Fall."

The kind of episode you watch and then have to google to make sure you're not the only one who found it superb.

[salarxgm · 10/10 · 22 February 2017]

I've followed AOS very closely, and I can say this is the best episode of the series. Very well executed. The end of previous episode left me enough to imagine and make theories and get really hyped. So I hoped this to be a good one. And it did, doing better than my expectations. But still not clear who's gonna be the super villain this season, which makes it more interesting and leaves me in suspense.

Marvellous!

[haffelito · 10/10 · 22 February 2017]

One of the greatest episodes of TV and the best episode of one of the best series ever!

What an absolutely fantastic ride of an episode! Amazing performances by everyone!

The episode was emotional and full of tension, the action was exciting and the acting from everyone was amazing.

100/100

Best episode of the series so far

[goreprasad1989 · 10/10 · 21 February 2017]

overall, like I said before, this is the best episode of Agents of SHIELD that I've seen so far. The episode was emotional and full of tension, the action was exciting and the acting from everyone was amazing. It was a fitting end to the LMD arc and sets up what looks to be another exciting story arc within the framework

Arrow? Flash? Ah hell no.

[me_theuninvited · 10/10 · 23 February 2017]

I have been in the university since 10 AM today. Came back at 7 PM. Super tired. Plus everyone knows the traffic at the peak hours. My fingers are vibrating out of tiredness as I am writing this review but is it worth it? Oh to that I say, HELL YEAH! I have been a fan of AOS since beginning, yes all the way back. Of course, how many TV Shows have you seen which hooked you right from the beginning? The high-budgeted TV shows, sure. But risky TV shows like AOS, they find some time to get on its feet but boy oh boy, AOS not only stood up on its own when their movie parts fail to acknowledge their existence (Looking at you Marvel Cinematic Universe) but it also rose up against all the superhero TV shows. I am a guy but I am a huge feminist. I love when females get the same role as men, especially in superhero TV shows since all TV shows seem to have female characters for one role only. Crying. Example, Iris and Felicity. But in this episode, the way Quake and Jemma took over was exhilarating. The effects in this show were top notch. Like at the most top of the notch. SO many new exciting questions, so much action, drama, emotions in just one single episode! Take a bow AOS. You've won me over. For the umpteenth time!

Best episode of the entire series by far!

[PingpongTung · 10/10 · 25 February 2017]

I won't spoil it for those who have not seen it yet, but I just want to point it out that this was THE best episode of entire series. Truly amazing. The writing, direction, music, acting and suspense was top notch. Jed has been an amazing writer since the start but this episode showed that he is as good Director as well. Elizabeth and Ian have been the best actors on show since the very beginning but I was surprised by Chloe's acting in this episode. She has come a long way since season one and she has totally refined and improved her acting. Mingna was equally brilliant in her small scenes.

Going into the LMD arc, I feared it won't come close to the awesomeness of the previous Ghost Rider arc of Season 4 but to my surprise, I liked LMD arc more than the Ghost Rider one because of how personal the threat became for our Agents.

All in all, Amazing episode. Kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Good work AoS Team!

Warning!!! This episode will blow you away

[frankenstein2020 · 10/10 · 22 February 2017]

I won't spoil anything. I just want to let you know that this episode will blow you away. I didn't expect it to be this good. One of the best episode. I didn't like the LMD story line at first, but it just kept getting better and better. Especially this episode, it's better than you could imagine. It has drama, twist and action packed. It has everything I want to see. One of the best. Can't wait for the next episode.

Best episode of the series so far

[ChrisInMiami · 10/10 · 23 February 2017]

This is where the show proves it doesn't need the rest of the Marvel Universe to stand on. Now I want these characters to have roles in the movies, not the other way around. BRAVO to whoever came up with the season 4 storyline involving Ghostrider and the LMDs. I wrote a review on the main AoS page where I compared it to Star Trek Next Generation. Around Season 3 they proved they could stand apart from the original series. This is the episode that definitively proves AoS is its own man.

Best Episode Ever!

[guylaine_madden · 10/10 · 22 February 2017]

Holy cow, this was THE best episode of the series so far!! Well written, absolutely nail biting, I even cried, I mean it had everything! I really hope the show continues to improve like this, I am a huge fan, since day one, and after seeing this episode, I can't wait for what's to come!

Agents Of SHIELD's Ozymandias

[dom_winchester · 10/10 · 23 February 2017]

Wow this episode has more twists and turns than season 1's 'Turn, Turn, Turn'. Amidst all the tension, action and everything that is going on, we got to see a couple of emotional moments with Daisy/Jemma and hell, even LMD May! I never thought that after the Person of Interest Season 4 finale where The Machine directly communicated and apologised to Finch, there would be another AI scene that makes me emotional... Hands down the best comic book TV episode/ show ever! I thought the season would suck post-Ghost Rider, but it's actually getting better!! PS: BARRY ALLEN, STOP MESSING UP THE TIMELINE!

Re-watch thoughts

[noorea-85147 · 5 April 2019]

One of the best episodes I've seen in all of TV history, action packed, heartfelt, full of twists and turns, perfect acting, great visual effects and it leaves off on a banging cliffhanger..just perfect! When I first watched the episode I missed few key details, for example the episode starts and ends with the same song, the lyrics to this song btw are so fitting to the ending scene, and because of that it haunts my dreams! The episode has many intense scenes, 2 involving Fitzsimmons that is like a knife to the heart kind of painful which just goes to show those two are the heart of the show, for me at least, Another scene involving May and Coulson just twists the knife, LMD May is real MVP! there are also Daisy and Jemma scenes that are painful as well...the whole episode is emotionally draining. I was depressed for days after watching it. It ends on a very exciting note, which was interesting considering the show took a break for few weeks after and speculation was through the roof! Also the fight scenes in this episode where so cool and creative, the atmosphere of danger and dread was captured well, it was an excellent directorial debut by show-runner Jed Whedon, round of applause, he nailed every aspect of it.

The series' name should be changed to Marvel's How to Revive Ward

[hazartemizel · 7/10 · 4 March 2017]

I'm a huge fan of MCU, but the worst part of the franchise (including the TV series) is AOS. I have liked it in its first season, and the first half of the second season but since then, it has become a real boring show, so I'm just watching it to make sure I don't miss anything in MCU. This episode was a bit different though, I didn't get bored while watching it, there were lots of great things in the episode, so I thought I would give a great 9/10 rating in IMDb. But after that something happened. THEY BROUGHT BACK WARD FOR ANOTHER TIME. I have never been a fan of the character while there were so many fans of him, so I understand the writers tried to keep him in series, but please, all things should come to an end. He turned out to be a Hydra agent, became a puppet for an extra-terrestrial being AND HE HAS BEEN BLOWN UP IN THE SPACE! Still they have somehow revived the character. Really, that is getting really boring. Besides that, the episode was a cool one, clearly the best of the last two seasons and one of the bests overall. Hope they bring more episodes like this, so I can keep waiting for episodes themselves, rather than the winter and summer breaks between the seasons and mid-seasons (and the spring break for this season).

LMD arc is just lazy writing

[wcbagley-90802 · 3/10 · 5 June 2019]

I really do not understand the love for this episode. The logic of the characters makes no sense.

Fitz and Simmons walk through an LMD detector that says one of them is an LMD. Simmons makes Fitz cut his wrist to determine if he is the LMD. Why not have him walk through the LMD detector which is FIVE FEET AWAY?

Minutes later Daisy says she will use her powers to detect Simmons' bones because "it is the only way"!?

Then Coulson walks into the tube with Mae where we clearly see that the LMD detector has detected him. So these things are clearly working all along, yet not one character thought to use them?

This episode just made no logical sense at all to me.

I made an IMDb account just to rate this episode...

[relentlessbrett · 10/10 · 4 March 2017]

This episode was unbelievably made. This episode could've stood alone as a movie and still competed with the majority of marvels works. I was absolutely floored by the writing, action, twists, and most importantly the emotional depth... I do not come to tears easily when watching something, but besides the part in season three where fits was screaming at the monolith, this episode has the most emotion. Excellent work all around.

Now that was intense!

[ericstevenson · 10/10 · 22 February 2017]

Well, I'm going to have to go with what a lot of people are saying with how this is one of the best episodes in the whole show and dare I say, the best episode ever. It's simply incredible with how unbelievably intense this episode is. Fitz and Simmons are the last main characters who haven't been replaced by robot doubles...or have they? There's some horrifying scene where Fitz has to bleed to prove that he's not a robot...and then he reveals he was a robot designed with blood so he attacks Simmons. It's very intense as she attacks the Fitz duplicate while acknowledging her love for the real one.

This is another part where it's hard to tell what's real or not. The older agents haven't been killed but put into a stage of sleep. Aida is so great in this episode particularly with how she mentions the paradox of helping Dr. Radcliffe while preserving the project. She comprises by attacking him and placing him as part of it. It's just great to see everyone be so awesome and contribute to the plot. You rarely see Simmons and Daisy team up. It's just incredible with the scene where Daisy literally rips apart the Mac robot. The effects are so great in that shot. The previous episode knew it was setting up something big and the payoff was great! ****

My brain hurts and it is a good thing

[crimemastergogo-49632 · 10/10 · 22 February 2017]

Damn this episode was trippy af. They didn't hold back and man was it worth it. I thought the LMD storyline was sloppy at first specially coming from the Ghost Rider arc. But now it has picked up and man was it worth the drag. But of course they make us wait till April for the next one. I sorta have a love hate relationship with them.

Excellent episode; Not a mistake.

[koosvanwinden · 10/10 · 2 March 2017]

It's not my favorite episode. There were a few choices that disappoint me. As a Fitz fan I hoped that Fitzsimmons would face the enemy alone. Of course Daisy was cool. But the idea of the two not so ass-kicking agents having to fight is always fun to watch. But it was definitely the best, of the series, when it comes to story, executing, directing, editing, pacing and acting. The acting was really, really great. And the darker tone paid off.

jjkoz78. That wasn't a mistake. He was't Mack, but Agent Prince.

So good, I need to show it to even non-AOS watchers

[cloudymind · 10/10 · 9 March 2017]

This was not only the best episode of AOS, it is probably the best episode I've seen of any series since Battle of the Bastards from GOT. And even as good as that show was, this one was perfect... no flaws. I found myself engaged in the subject matter and drawn into the superb acting. 10/10 all the way.

Best Episode Yet!

[Lavval · 9/10 · 22 February 2017]

This is the high water mark for this series so far. A very intense and emotional episode for what I usually consider a somewhat corny, but ultimately enjoyable show. This is one of the few times that this show takes itself seriously and doesn't make you want to put your face into your palms. Great episode.

10/10 episode, definitely. Easily the best episode of the season...so far

[kitterka · 25 February 2017]

I used to love the ghost rider arc and was a bit bummed when the man with the flaming skull just disappeared into nothingness. This episode made me ask "who was the ghost rider again" because this episode was sooooo good. I felt like I was watching a movie because I was so immersed. The last time I was this immersed in any audio-visual media is when I was watching Interstellar.

The emotion stirred up by Fitz and Jemma was great ('why does this always happen to us?) and took me back to when Fitz wouldn't relent in saving Jema when she was on the alien planet. The survival horror was amazing, the poetic justice for Radcliffe, the expressionless menace of Aida...

10/10 episode, definitely.

Wow!

[tatyana-94206 · 10/10 · 4 March 2017]

This episode is on a whole other level. It felt like a big screen production of the best quality. So dark, and emotional, and twisted, and intense. So many incredible scenes. The scene with Fitz and Emma? Brilliant. The scene with Emma and Daisy? So intense and touching. I even took May seriously for the first time in the history of the show! The sensitivity of the character made her a better actress! The android May is more human than the real May. Never thought I'd get teary-eyed watching May! They really stepped it up. My BF and I were looking at each other like "wtf is going on?" in the best way possible. Did the production team get an upgrade? The writing, acting, camera-work, sound effects, fight scene choreography - everything's been taken up many notches.Did they hire/fire someone? Did they smoke something? Whatever it is, please keep this up! This formula works. Can't wait to see what happens next. This episode sets the bar high. Just wow.

BRILLIANT in just one word .

[manideep-62513 · 10/10 · 23 February 2017]

The Director of the episode(Jed Whedon) describes it all and after the character Robbie Reyes is gone and lately now came up with the best episode of the the seasons and almost its like a season finale.And coming to the further episodes that's an another reality and now the question is 'WHO RESCUES WHO'?.

And coming to the action part its one of the greatest addition for the episode not to be an LMD.

Again in one word MIND BLOWN.

The Lunacy of LMD

[rbr-41299 · 5/10 · 6 April 2017]

I have mixed feelings, well mostly negative feelings, about the entire LMD arc. My negative assessment is not about the acting, which continues to be superb. Rather, it's the story concept. The show-runners have essentially decided to throw out logic and the rules that govern the universe. The idea of intelligent robots (AI) have for decades been featured in science fiction and generally been entertaining (like Data on Star Trek). But, now in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. comes the ultimate AI called LMD and the one called Aida is equipped with god-like power. She's not obligated to follow her prime directive to do no harm, but instead manages an alternate "computer" universe called the Framework in which she keeps our heroes captive.

I have a visceral distaste for prisoner stories, because in that context evil is allowed to triumph. I don't find any entertainment value in that kind of story. Normally they are tolerable in a series because the hero is held captive for only one episode, or two at the most, and then is freed with the bad guys being punished or killed. Not in this series. Agent May has now been held captive for nine episodes. Four more members of the SHIELD team have been held captive for three episodes, with no end in sight. The problem with the Framework concept is that I can't invest in it. It doesn't represent the real world. It's not like Star Trek with its parallel universes, which were all real. This is the S.H.I.E.L.D. version of Tron, which I didn't like either. The philosophical message of this kind of story is that a person does not have a soul (which could not be reproduced in an LMD in any event), but is just a pattern of electrical impulses that react to external stimuli. So, with this view of anthropology of course a person could be put inside a computer and live out an entire life and believe it was real.

I only hope the LMD arc doesn't sink the series. For me the best outcome would be for Ghost Rider to come back and burn Aida and Holden to the ground, well maybe after some extended torture. Anyway, right now Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is just not as entertaining for me as it was in the first two seasons. Things are going on in the MCU universe that the TV series could connect to, but the Whedon brain trust has chosen to go its own way.

Re-watched it the third time and still love it

[jay-cgn · 10/10 · 31 January 2022]

It's n overall great episode, but I the scene of Fitz and Simmons in the shop is brilliant. Elizabeth Henstridge and Iain De Caestecker make that feel very intense. A superb completion of the LMD phase and the series on it's peak (although I never disliked anything.