Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Season 3 Episode 3: “A Wanted (Inhu)Man”
Directed by Garry A. Brown
Written by Monica Owusu-Breen
Created by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen
Starring Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Nick Blood, Adrianne Palicki, Henry Simmons, Luke Mitchell
ABC
Air Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2015, 9pm

Last week on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Melinda May’s (Ming-Na Wen) father helped her through an existential crisis before she decided to team up with Lance Hunter (Nick Blood) and a whole lot of guns in a quest for revenge against Ward (Brett Dalton); Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), along with the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. crew, mounted a rescue mission to save Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and close the Monolith’s portal for good (yeah, right!); and Ward recruited Werner Von Strucker (Spencer Treat Clark), son of Baron Von Strucker, to help in reforming Hydra.

This week, it sure is not a good time to be an Inhuman. Spoilers ahead!

This episode focuses on society’s fear of the “alien threat” known as the Inhumans. News stations across the country reveal images of Lincoln’s (Luke Mitchell) face, calling him a dangerous fugitive (the poor guy only got live out his dream of working in a hospital for a couple of weeks). Lincoln is on the run “” literally, through forests, under bridges, out of buildings; he’s a wanted (Inhu)man, and he’s being chased by the government sanctioned ATCU (Advanced Threat Containment Unit) led by Rosalind (Constance Zimmer).

Lincoln, refusing Daisy’s help on multiple occasions, reaches out to his longtime friend, John. How does Lincoln know John? I have no clue! But they apparently have a solid relationship. John trusts Lincoln and doesn’t believe him to be a bad person, at least not until he sees Lincoln’s face on the news, with reporters telling citizens to be careful around him. John confronts Lincoln with a baseball bat, and a clearly distraught Lincoln zaps the bat out of John’s hands with his electrical abilities. Unfortunately, the stress gives John a heart attack, killing him, and causing Lincoln to actually reach out to Daisy (Chloe Bennet) for help; however, in order for Daisy to help, Coulson (Clark Gregg) will have to have to distract Rosalind, because her men are closing in on Lincoln.

Coulson and Rosalind have a meet up after he calls her pretending to be the president (he’s so crafty). As she exits her car, Coulson stares at”¦her car (we know how much he appreciates a beautiful vehicle), to which Rosalind jokingly responds, “Eyes up here.” Having only met once before, there is some serious bantering, particularly on Rosalind’s part (and a bit of odd sexual chemistry). Before getting down to business, Rosalind makes multiple quips about Coulson’s hand. “Last time we met, you disarmed me,” and “I’ve got to hand it to you. It makes me wonder what else you’ve got up your sleeve.” Personally, I’m loving these missing hand jokes.

But back to the main issue at hand (sorry, how could I not?). Coulson tries to convince Rosalind to let his team take Lincoln in so that no one gets hurt, but she’s not having it. They can’t come to an agreement. But Coulson is there for another reason anyway “” he wants to know what she’s hiding. Rosalind pulls up a picture of Daisy on her phone. “She’s one of them, isn’t she?” This makes Coulson very uncomfortable. More on these two in a bit.

Daisy finds Lincoln — with the help of Mack (Henry Simmons) scouting for trouble on the rooftops — and she tells him that she wants to help him because he helped her. Then it happens: the slow lean in, the dramatic music, and the passionate first kiss! It’s the moment we’ve all been”¦waiting for? Actually, it seems fairly premature to me. But the real question is, does he trust her now? Of course he does! He’s kissed by a beautiful woman claiming to want to help him “” he’s all in! But certainly not with S.H.I.E.L.D, and especially not after the next event that transpires, because just as Daisy and Lincoln come to an understanding (in more ways than one), Mack rolls in with none other than the ATCU “” on Coulson’s orders! Well this comes as a shock! Actually, it doesn’t, because the promo for the episode already explained that the Inhumans would be betrayed by the ones they trust “” Thanks ABC! Who likes to be surprised anyway?

Well, a vexed Daisy watches as Lincoln electrocutes all of the soldiers and runs away again. Once up and able, the men pull their guns on Daisy, but are quickly told to stand down by Rosalind via phone conversation. Coulson later reveals the reason to Daisy back at headquarters. He tells her that he’s offered his expertise to Rosalind, because he’s done fighting other organizations that have the potential to do good. But don’t worry, Coulson knows better than to trust those he doesn’t really know “” especially if they’re willing to constantly make fun of his lack of a hand.

Meanwhile, it’s clear that Simmons is experiencing some form of PTSD and Fitz is bummed because he doesn’t know how to help her. Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki) gives Fitz some advice, saying that he should focus on a new start, rather than having her get into the old routine again. This gives Fitz an idea! He takes Simmons out to a very fancy dinner at the same restaurant he was going to take her to before she disappeared. Apparently, the restaurant has been holding the reservation for months. “I can’t thank you enough, for finding me,” Simmons says, with a genuine thankful smile. “What else would I do?” He replies. When the wine is poured, she begins to cry out of fear. Fitz puts down his glass and moves across the table to sit with her, putting his arm around her as she cries (these two make me teary-eyed every time I watch them on screen together).

Later on, in the final scene, Bobbi is taking out her pent up aggression on a punching bag. When she’s finished her intense workout, she walks by the lab and sees Simmons working on something, which turns out to be the remnants of the Monolith. Bobbi tells Simmons she doesn’t need to worry about it anymore, that the portal won’t open again, to which Simmons replies, “It has to. I have to go back.” Why? Why, Simmons, why? Don’t leave me hanging!

In the final story of the night, May and Hunter continue their vendetta against Ward, but in order to do so, they need a special plan. This plan includes using one of Hunter’s old friends, Spud, to get to Ward. See, Spud apparently has some sort of connection to Ward and the newly budding Hydra. What is his connection? Why, an underground fight club, of course, where only one man walks away with his life.

Hunter and May enter the club and watch a man pound another man to death “” nice. His friend, Spud is at the club and Hunter wants to impress him for some reason. Hunter goes into the center to fight and Spud enters to fight him. It would seem that Spud does not like Hunter at all. They seemed perfectly cordial in an earlier scene, drunkenly talking about old times “” but, tis the life of a spy. While the fight ensues, two big men approach May and bring her to a back room for “a drink,” promising her a good time, (haha they have no idea). As she enters, three more men come onto the scene “” but we all know where this is going “” and May beats the crap out of all of them in about 10 seconds. “How about I do you a favor,” she says, standing over them with her jacket slung over her shoulder, “and not tell anyone that a tiny little Asian woman kicked your ass.”

Back in the main room, Hunter is losing, but he pulls out a pair of brass knuckles and knocks the guy out “” more like kills him (whoops “” I guess anything goes in the game of revenge). A beaten and bloodied Hunter is then brought into a room to see Ward’s right hand man, Kebo (Daz Crawford) “” the next step in integrating himself into the ranks of the Hydra.

This is a good episode. It moves the plot along nicely and showcases some interesting storylines; but the best moments, in my opinion, are with Simmons. Henstridge plays the role of someone with PTSD beautifully, and every time she’s on screen, I just want to see more. There is so much depth and anguish revealed through subtle facial expressions and body language that I can’t help but feel for Simmons, and constantly wonder what she might have had to endure.

S.H.I.E.L.D.ed Observations:

– The first scene when we meet Spud takes place in a bar — and it is hilarious. Hunter and Spud are so drunk, and their accents so thick, that subtitles are provided to understand the conversation.

– Is it just me, or does it seem like the showrunners have absolutely no idea what to do with Mack and Bobbi? In the past three episodes, they’ve basically been used as plot devices for other characters.

– Why couldn’t the show creators have allowed Nick Blood to use his real name on this series? It’s way cooler than Lance Hunter and would have been very apropos in terms of the end of this episode.

Videos

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3×03 Promo “A Wanted (Inhu)Man”

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sneak Peek