Jemma Simmons has faced much worse circumstances than the normal scientist, which is no surprise working for S.H.I.E.L.D. But over the last year on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," she has survived attacks on an alien planet, escaped a heavily-guarded Hydra outpost and let free the Inhuman killer, Lash.
Next time trouble comes, Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) plans to be prepared and will start training to better her combat skills. She will enlist the help of Agent May (Ming-Na Wen), who will teach the inexperienced S.H.I.E.L.D. agent how to defend and look out for herself.
In the coming episodes, May's "bonds with some of the less skilled but really smart character on the show will change," Wen said. "She has a maternal role in wanting to protect them, because as things get more dangerous and heightened, she feels they need to learn some new skills."
Simmons also no longer wants to depend on her male colleagues and friends to always have to save her from dangerous situations. Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) sacrificed his life to save her when Ward (Brett Dalton) threw them into the pod that landed at the bottom of the ocean. She also wouldn't have made it back from the alien planet if not for Will (Dillon Casey).
"It's a recurring theme for her that she needs a man to save her. On the planet, she only got back because Will sacrificed himself for her," Henstridge said. "She let [Lash] out because she wanted to save herself, and she didn't know how she was going to do it. She knows she doesn't have the combat skills to be able to take on all those Hydra soldiers. Selfishly, in hindsight, she sacrificed all of those Inhuman lives to save her own. She's just done with not being able to look after herself in that way."
While Simmons beefs up her fighting skills, she and Fitz are taking a step back in their relationship. The couple decided to start over again after a rough two years and take things slow. They will explore whether to stay friends or pursue a more romantic relationship.
"The further down the road we get, the more they are too suited for each other and way unsuited to anybody else they're ever going to meet having been through so much together. They owe it to themselves to at least explore that," Henstridge said. "This is 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' - who knows how long a good, functional relationship lasts? I think they had to at least try. When they finally had their first kiss, some of that was just to get it out of the way so they could see what was on the other side of that. It could be that they just stay friends, but they've tried every other option at this point, so I understand why they're at least exploring the more romantic options."
"Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." airs on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.
