Welcome to the Legion!

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Legion contributor Christina Janke is recapping and reviewing Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for us this season. Follow her on Twitter @IntrotoGeek!

Throughout the season, I get the distinct feeling that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be juggling at least three different (major) storylines at a time: the hunt for Inhumans, the hunt for Ward, and what the hell happened to Simmons in the Marvel “Phantom Zone.” This week the baby steps getting a little longer in stride, and each one becomes all the more important.

The least interesting plot line so far is still the hunt for Inhumans, particularly Lincoln. The ATCU put out an APB for the electrifying alien-human hybrid with nice facial hair. Things are getting desperate. The ATCU uses a straight-forward, “Let’s tell everyone he’s an alien threat” approach, laying the seeds of panic and paranoia within the public — something Coulson failed to get ahead of when the Inhumans first started appearing. As for Daisy, she just wants her beau back.

The most critical moment for Lincoln happens when he turns to an old friend, a sponsor from his AA days and the last person he can trust. Even that doesn’t pan out well. The friend finds out that Lincoln is an Inhuman and panics, going so far as to notifying the ATCU while Lincoln was asleep. Lincoln uses to his powers and accidentally causes his friend to have a fatal heart attack. He has no choice now but to seek Daisy’s help, but again, that doesn’t go well either…

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In an attempt to learn the ATCU’s game, Coulson meets up with Rosalind. She reveals that she’s desperate to get results in order to head off whatever special task force the President has planned, and that means bringing in Lincoln no matter what. But if she can’t have Lincoln, she’ll turn her sights onto Daisy next — she has her picture from the surveillance cameras at Lincoln’s hospital. Obviously Coulson doesn’t want to give up Daisy, so he lets Rosalind’s team apprehend Lincoln.

Lincoln isn’t having any of that and uses his powers to escape. The team lets him go and turn their guns toward Daisy. Coulson goes for a third option: lend himself (S.H.I.E.L.D.’s resources) to the ATCU as an Inhuman specialist/consultant. With this, he’ll eliminating a war front (for now) as well as prevent further panic among the general public against the Inhumans.

Elsewhere, Hunter and May are meeting up with a former mate named “Spud” to talk about acquiring guns, an obvious ruse since they are already fully armed back at their hideout. He’s just a key in getting them closer to Ward. Before getting down to business, Spud and Hunter have a few round of drinks, leading to the most comedic scene in the entire episode. They get so drunk that their already hard to understand accents become so slurred that you need subtitles, which the show happily provides. To get an audience with a particular person, Hunter needs to prove himself in a brawl. Only then will he and May have an audience.

At the “Hooligan Fight Club,” Hunter discovers that he has to fight Spud, who actually has been harboring a major grudge against his former pal for years. We don’t know the reason and neither does the shocked Hunter. Hunter takes a beating while May gets ushered into an empty room with three huge guys. There’s no particular reason why they get May alone, but I can imagine their intent is quite unsavory. We’ll never know because May, a “little Asian woman,” kicked the crap out of them in three seconds.

Back at the main event, Hunter is tired of taking a beating and pulls out a set of brass knuckles. In an instant, Hunter’s storyline takes a dark turn. He unintentionally kills his former friend in three to four blows. He has absolutely no time to process the gravity of this event because he is immediately taken to see their leader…whom we’ve seen hanging out with Ward in last week’s episode. Oh look, there’s a Hydra symbol spray painted on the wall. Super….

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Lastly, Simmons is still coping being back. The trauma she experienced on the alien planet has made her hypersensitive to noises as small as a vibrating phone. Elizabeth Henstridge did a terrific job portraying the nuances of trauma Simmons struggling with on her own. Daisy and Bobbi lend their much needed support where they can, but it’s Fitz who wins all the points this week as the most attentive person in her life. He reserves an entire restaurant so they can have a peaceful yet fancy dinner that won’t overwhelm her. This act of kindness struck a chord somewhere inside Simmons and she breaks down crying.

Later, Bobbi finds Simmons alone in the lab. She’s working on what’s left of the Monolith. Almost desperately, she tells Bobbi that she needs to reopen the portal so she can return to the alien planet. This was a nice curveball to Simmons’ story, which I was afraid would fade away soon as some sort of cop-out. Details of her time on the other planet are trickling in at a snail’s pace, revealing themselves as side notes or passing comments within a much bigger conversation — earlier in the episode Simmons revealed that she was at first fascinated by the planet’s environment until someone began hunting her. If she was being hunted, why does she want to go back? Does she feels so out of place now on Earth that she has no other choice but to go back? Is there something or someone back on the planet that she has to go back for?

FINAL THOUGHTS:

  • Rosalind seems a little too much like Coulson when she pulls up in her own classic car. She even hints that she’s given “him” a name.
  • “Eyes up here,” says Rosalind when she catches Coulson staring at the car and not her.
  • Bobbi better have the most badass comeback this season. She’s a great support for the different relationships going on between other characters, but I’m ready to see her back in action.
  • I’m more convinced that there’s something going on between Mack and Daisy than there is with Daisy and Lincoln. Although, I’m pretty sure the vibe they’re going for is older brother protecting his younger sister. But if the writers decide to change that up later, I won’t be against it. I’m always going to be on Team Mack.

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Christina E. Janke

Christina is the co-host of “Intro to Geek” on Shauncastic and Editor-in-Chief at Agents of Geek. Her love of all things Mass Effect knows no bounds. She also carries an obsession with comic books, video games, and quirky television shows. Her heroes are Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Gail Simone. She hopes to be just like them when she grows up.