#fitz's dad

David O’Hara’s Alistair is set up as Fitz’s father. However, it’s all a trick. 

It’s revealed that while Fitz’s mom and Alistair were together, Fitz’s mom was secretly seeing Holden Radcliffe on the side. The plot twist is that Radcliffe is Fitz’s biological father. That’s why Alistair left Fitz when he was young, he found out about the affair. That and he’s a completely abusive asshole who was ruining the marriage. 

Also, Radcliffe knows about this but is keeping it a secret because Fitz’s mom doesn’t want Fitz to know about it. However, he can’t help but say stuff like, “You were like a son to me!” and “My boy!”. Like he knows he can’t say it but he desperately wants to. 

and Fitz is like

y’know what

FRICK YES I DO

So S.H.I.E.L.D. is closing in on Radcliffe and the Watchdogs. As they do, the group starts taking a closer look into each villain they’ve faced in the past few weeks. Eli Morrow. The Superior. Holden Radcliffe. While they initially thought each one was a separate case, the group begins to realize that there’s a force connecting all of them.

The guy who is bankrolling the Watchdogs is the same guy who ran Momentum Labs and oversaw Eli Morrow’s work. The Superior fears this man while Radcliffe reveals he has been working for this mysterious man the whole time. That’s why Radcliffe’s been after the Darkhold, he was following orders. When asked what this shadowy figure wants with the book, Radcliffe simply responds, “To expand his understanding of the world”. 

(so unlike our previous Big Bads, season 4′s Big Bad doesn’t want to rule the world or destroy people, he just wants knowledge, even if it’s forbidden)

During a mission that goes bad, Fitz and Daisy get captured by a group of PMCs. It’s revealed that they’re working for Advanced Idea Mechanics, an organization that everyone thought was dismantled after Pepper Potts killed Aldrich Killian. Actually, A.I.M. has retreated to the shadows, becoming a ghost syndicate that secretly supports anyone who they deem will help them in their own goals. 

When Daisy demands to meet A.I.M.’s new leader, it’s revealed to be Andrew Forson, a brilliant scientist who earned the nickname “Scientist Supreme”. It’s also revealed that he went missing years ago. He means nothing to Daisy but when Fitz sees him, he can only say one thing.”

“...dad?”

In the next episode, it’s revealed in a flashback that Andrew Forson left Fitz and his wife in 1997 in order to work with Aldrich Killian in turning A.I.M. into a legitimate organization (remember, Killian really began forming A.I.M. in 1999 but brainstorming must’ve taken years). While he was still with his family, he mentally and emotionally abused Fitz, constantly criticizing what he perceived was a lack of intelligence. 

“These are your grades?! You’re a Forson, this is nowhere good enough!”

He said all this despite Fitz being at the top of his class and passing with honors. To Andrew, it’s never enough. Even though he dominated his whole class, he was still “nothing special”. Also, another big reveal in this flashback is that Fitz’s real name is “Leopold Forson” but he legally changed his last name to his mother’s for obvious reasons. 

Back in the present, Andrew, much to Fitz’s surprise, warmly greets him and Daisy into A.I.M.. Andrew reveals a lot about himself, such as that he hated Eli and always saw him as a loose end, does not care for the Watchdogs’ ideology and is really just using them as grunts to do his dirty work, and was close friends with Radcliffe. 

In fact, I’d put a parallel between young Andrew Forson and Holden Radcliffe with Fitz and Simmons. So...ForCliffe? RadSon? 

Anyways, Andrew then explains why he was so abusive to Fitz. He says that he was planning on passing control of A.I.M. to Fitz once he was old enough but was disappointed to see that his son was just “average”. That factored into why he left with Aldrich. He saw his son as a lost cause, someone unworthy to take control of his life’s work.

But now, things are different he says. Fitz has become “a man” and is now “worthy of following his father’s footsteps”. You can practically see Daisy roll her eyes and fake gag at this scene. When Fitz asks how things are different, Andrew starts listing the things that Fitz has done.

Earned a PhD, dominated his class at the academy, became S.H.I.E.L.D.’s go-to tech adviser, served a pivotal role against HYDRA and rogue Inhumans, figured out how to open the portal to Maveth, etc.. Andrew calls Fitz a “late bloomer” and that now, it’s his destiny to lead A.I.M.. 

Of course, Fitz rebukes him and goes on a rant about how his father was an abusive asshole and that all of his achievements are his own. Fitz shouts that he’s not a shadow of Andrew. Andrew just shakes this off and tells him, “Don’t dismiss this opportunity. Next few days, I’ll show you exactly what you’ll be in charge of in the coming years. I guarantee, you’ll see things my way.”

And in the next episode, we get Fitz “bonding” with Andrew Forson. Sorta similar to season two, where Jiaying and Cal bonded with Daisy, but in this scenario, it’s Andrew trying to sway Fitz into taking over A.I.M.. Obviously it’s bound to fail but it’d still be an interesting journey for Fitz.

What do y’all think?

And Jemma presses him for the next few weeks, asking why he thought he needed to impress her. She’s playful each time she asks and thinks Fitz is adorable for wanting to impress her. But one day, when she asks the same thing, that’s when Fitz’s face drops. Suddenly, there’s tension in the air and Jemma realizes she walked into a touchy subject.

In a more serious tone, Jemma then says, “Fitz...what is it? You got me worried now.”

That’s when Fitz tells her he was worried she’d reject him if he said something stupid. Jemma says she wouldn’t and asks why he thought she would reject him. 

That’s why Fitz’s dad left his family, he wanted to run away with his one true love. It also explains why Radcliffe was repulsed at the idea of being attracted to AIDA.