Throughout the episode, we see May and LMD!May struggle against what they start to perceive as their false realities. LMD!May is struggling with what to do after finding out she’s made of electronics. Meanwhile, we see how May was captured, and the Groundhog’s day like spa simulation she was subjected to. In what was a pretty obvious plot twist, May’s entire escape plot was also a simulation created to keep her happy. LMD!May confronts Radcliffe. Radcliffe, the giant creep, is delighted to be able to prove his control over LMD!May. He also apparently knows that May has feelings for Coulson- feelings which never appeared to exist until a third of the way through this season.
Yo-Yo also has a bigger part in this episode than she usually does. She and Mack have a cute moment in bed before Mack disappears to take “personal time.” Yo-Yo still goes on a mission with Coulson to plant surveillance equipment in Senator Nadeer’s office. She multitasks by teasing Coulson about his feelings for May- feelings which never appeared to exist until a third of the way through this season.
Anyway, Yo-Yo and Coulson are caught by Nadeer’s men but freed as a result of a deal to let Nadeer conduct a full investigation into SHIELD. But, that shows the SHIELD agents that there is a leak which, with the help of Fitz, leads them to investigate Radcliffe. Unfortunately, LMD!May still isn’t able to tell them that she’s not real because of Radcliffe’s programming.
Yo-Yo and Mack reunite, and Mack tells Yo-Yo he visited his ex. In a beautiful scene, Yo-Yo declares that she’s not a cliché, and she won’t date a cliché either. However, Mack explains about his tragic past and they make up.
In his only major scene this episode, Fitz confronts Radcliffe who is being held by SHIELD, then shoots Radcliffe in the head to prove that he’s actually an LMD. While I love Fitz’s story arc and how he’s grown, shooting Radcliffe in the head when you only think that he’s an LMD, might not be the best choice this character has made. Luckily Fitz was right, and they exposed that Radcliffe was actually working for Nadeer after he failed to get the Darkhold.
At the end of the episode, we discover the latest simulation Radcliffe and AIDA marc 2 have put May under. In it, she goes back to Bahrain, in which she became known as the cavalry after taking down over 30 people under mind control. However, as we discovered in season 2, it turns out it’s a little girl who is doing this, and May ends up having to kill her. In this simulation, May can save the little girl allowing her to win a fight she felt she had lost. It’s a heartbreaking realization, and honestly, the writers better kill off Radcliffe just for doing this to Melinda May.
Most of this episode was somewhat slow and mainly built around foreseeable plot twists. However, AOS tends to use their slower episodes to set up great ones. Here’s hoping that May and LMD!May get to team up to kick Radcliffe’s ass.