Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: A Wanted (Inhu)man (3x03)

Really solid episode. Gosh, this season has me so pumped! I guess I'll start with a few things that didn't work so well for me, but for the most part I'm happy. And intrigued!

Cons:

Lincoln and Daisy kiss. I'm totally fine with the two of them having a romance, but when they started locking lips I rolled my eyes. It's not really the time for that, is it? And it seemed to come out of nowhere - the kiss would have felt more convincing if it weren't for the fact that they haven't actually spent any real time together in months. The situation is pretty serious - members of ATCU and S.H.I.E.L.D. are vying for Lincoln, and Daisy thinks a smooch is the way to win her case? Bad timing, girl.

I'll talk more in a minute about Hunter and May's plot thread. I liked it for the most part, but there was this one little detour where May was pulled out of the room by three rape-y dudes, and May (predictably) kicked their asses. It's always cool to see May pull the bad-ass fighter routine, but this little fight seemed to have nothing to do with Hunter's struggles to infiltrate Hydra. Why include it at all?

Ultimately, each individual plot thread in this episode was pretty strong - but there might be too much going on all at once. I'm so interested in May and Hunter's search for Ward, and in Daisy's attempt to form a team of Inhumans, and in Coulson's quest to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D., and in Simmons recovering from her excursion on an alien planet. But when you try and focus on all of these things in one episode, it becomes hard to dig deep enough.

Pros:

The main plot thread follows Daisy as she tries to find a way to bring Lincoln safely back in to S.H.I.E.L.D. Mack wants to go with less gentle methods, but Daisy convinces him that they need to talk Lincoln in. Lincoln is being chased by ATCU, and there's an APB out on him. The whole country is trying to find him. Lincoln finds an old friend, but this friend gets scared when he hears what people are saying about Lincoln, and he calls ATCU to come get him. Lincoln, his own strength getting away from him for a second, accidentally kills his friend. He then calls Daisy to help him.

I like the hints we're getting of Lincoln's past. Apparently he's an alcoholic. Interesting! It breaks my heart that he was betrayed by his one friend, and it breaks my heart even more that Daisy couldn't follow through for him either.

Coulson meanwhile is meeting with ATCU's leader, Rosalind Price. Coulson says that S.H.I.E.L.D. should take Lincoln, but the Price reveals that she has a picture of Daisy. Basically, it's Lincoln or Daisy. Coulson agrees to turn Lincoln over to ATCU. This doesn't go over well, and Lincoln uses his powers to escape before he can be taken in. ATCU then goes after Daisy, but Coulson stops this by offering Price something better - they should work together to find the Inhumans.

This is so fascinating - Coulson has grown tired of the fighting between splintering factions of what was once S.H.I.E.L.D. Despite Daisy's understandable concerns, I ultimately think Coulson made the right choice. He saved Daisy, but more than that he opened up a chance for these disparate groups to work together, and maybe stop wasting their resources on fighting each other off. I can't wait to see what a partnership between S.H.I.E.L.D. and ATCU looks like. Also, Coulson and Price are amazing together. I loved Price's puns about Coulson's missing hand, and how Coulson was impressed with Price's car.

Mack and Daisy's friendship continues to delight - I want more and more of these two together. The tension between Daisy's identity as an Inhuman and the goals of S.H.I.E.L.D. and ATCU are really rich and interesting. Daisy has her powers under control, but so many of the scared new Inhumans out there aren't stable enough to be helpful. I can't wait to see where this goes!

Hunter and May are trying to get to Ward by infiltrating Hydra. The way to get to the big boss is by fighting your way in. Hunter has to beat up a guy in a fighting ring, while May watches by the sidelines. May could have won the fight more easily, but Hunter points out that May is a tiny Asian woman, and rumors about her are bound to get out. If Ward finds out that they're coming, they'll never succeed in taking him out. I loved the fight between Hunter and his contact. Props to the makeup department, because he looked totally wrecked. It was scary, how real the blood looked. I could pretty much feel Hunter's pain. Kudos to Nick Blood's personal trainer as well, because... damn.

Finally, there's Simmons. She's understandably shaken by everything she's been through. I liked the effects they used to show her disorientation. Lights are a little too bright, and noises are a little too loud. She's adjusting in mind and body to being back on Earth. Daisy comes to say hi to her. I loved their conversation, because it reinforces one of the most important friendships in this show. Daisy has a lot of other stuff going on, but Simmons' return is obviously very significant to her.

Fitz is having a hard time watching Simmons struggle. Oddly, he seems to draw strength from Bobbi through this struggle. Their relationship isn't one I've given a lot of thought, but I'm enjoying the hints of it we've been seeing. Bobbi reminds Fitz that he has to be patient with Simmons' recovery, the same way Fitz told Bobbi to be patient with her own recovery.

And then of course there is the gloriousness that is Fitzsimmons. Every time they're on screen together, they're holding hands. Fitz is being so gentle and calming, and he's trying so hard to make Simmons comfortable. He takes her to a restaurant, where we learn that he's been holding a reservation for months, waiting for Simmons to be there so they could finally go on the date they'd planned before Simmons disappeared. That is unbelievably touching. When Simmons gets overwhelmed with everything, Fitz just holds her while she cries. These two are going to be the end of me.

And then there's the episode tag - Bobbi tries to reassure Simmons that the residue from the Monolith is totally inactive. Bobbi tells her that she's safe - but then Simmons shocks us all: she says she needs to go back! What?! Last week I expressed a bit of annoyance with how quickly Simmons came back, but with this twist, I'm getting excited again. At least now we know that Simmons' little detour has a bearing on the larger plot. I can't wait to find out more!

Every individual part of this episode really grabbed my interest. While I worry about overcrowding, mostly I'm just excited for more! Also, p.s., cool title.

8/10