Coulson has renewed resolve to end Hydra following his trip to Maveth. Elsewhere: Daisy and Mack form a team of secret warriors to protect powered people and continue to search for Inhumans amidst growing public worry and a new enemy surfaces.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. kicks off the second half of its third season with a bit of renewed vigor and a much improved episode that has the team split across the world pursuing some interesting directions.

Coulson’s pursuit of Hydra is actually the most boring of the episode, as well as the return of “Ward.” It just is very over and at this point I actually want a new enemy for them to deal with. This part feels been there and done that.

What’s actually solid is Daisy and Mack’s part of the episode which has them pursuing a possible new Inhuman and it’s a familiar one for fans of the comic series, with some slight changes. The special fx are actually really good and the action solid. It’s a big improvement from previous episodes where the special fx have just been really bad. Unlike the other half, this actually has me wanting to see more of what they can do.

The episode is much better than what’s come before and it has me looking forward to seeing what’s coming for the rest of the season.

Overall Score: 7.9

S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra go head-to-head in a battle that will change Coulson’s world forever.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. finishes the first half of its third season with those agents on Earth assaulting Hydra’s base and Coulson and Fitz dealing with being on an alien planet.

The team on Earth is doing what they can to capture the Hydra base so they can open the portal, and also free some of the Inhumans within. But it’s that focus of keeping the portal open that’s their main goal, which leads us to those on the other planet.

Coulson is pursing Ward who has Fitz, and it’s an act of revenge along with a rescue. That leads to some solid parts including a Coulson/Ward confrontation as well as a reveal about the character left on the planet.

The episode has a definitive ending in many ways. I expected there to be some big reveal about the Inhuman they’re trying to bring back to Earth, but none of that really happens, unless I missed a cool clue for comic fans.

The episode is one of the better this season with some good action, real tension, and some emotion. It’s focus on that, and moving away from fancy powers is a plus, as I think the series does best when it does so.

The ending reveal is a bit meh, but could be interesting to see where things go from here.

Overall Score: 7.8

Ward’s vendetta and plan for revenge against S.H.I.E.L.D. brings the team to their knees, and Coulson proves he will be willing to do anything to settle the conflict.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. does its best Stargate impersonation as the battle between Coulson and Ward heats up.

Ward takes revenge against Coulson which has Ward retaliate and then sends Coulson in a revenge focused rampage as he hunts down Ward. While all that’s happening, Hydra is working on opening up the stones…. and the show has become Marvel’s version of Stargate complete with a military unit in desert fatigues going through the portal.

But beyond the Stargate issue, the whole plot of the story contradicts Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In that film Arnim Zola says:

HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom.

Well, that’s contradicted here. Continuity people!

The episode isn’t bad, it’s just a lot of action and little on logic. The episode, and the plot as a whole, could be so much more, but unfortunately it just doesn’t quite hold up, especially compared to its Netflix sister series. The series continues to be less than it should, while entertaining at times, it always finds bumps to get in its way.

Overall Score: 7.1

Dangerous facts about the ATCU are discovered by the team; Ward’s plans to take down S.H.I.E.L.D. do not go as expected.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. puts a lot of its cards on the table as dots are connected and we learn the truth about ATCU and Hydra.

Thankfully Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is forging its own path away from the comics a bit tying in Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D., ATCU, and even the Inhumans in a story that takes a little from the comics, but a lot is new. It’s all pretty solid in that aspect, and actually had some exciting original ideas in this episode.

It’d be nice to see the series get past Hydra, and you have to wonder about the vetting process in many ways, but the series is keeping the fight against Ward, and it feels like they’re really building towards something with him.

The episode is a solid one in a season that’s been very uneven. In a way, it gets back to basics, and in doing so finds its footing. Hopefully, we get more of this in the future.

Overall Score: 7.6

As Daisy and the team fight to protect Inhumans, S.H.I.E.L.D. discovers the shocking truth about one of their biggest foes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reveals a hell of a lot tonight as we learn about the origin of Lash and some of the logic of Garner keeping it a secret. The episode though moves the story along a hell of a lot.

We get the origin, the motivation, and we also get a showdown between Coulson, his team, and Lash. It’s a lot to pack in to one episode. Interestingly the fight goes on and on and feels like it’s building up a bunch, only to feel a bit anticlimactic. It’s a bit of a weird ending and I’m sure we’ll see more of it all, but still, for such a build up of a threat, the end is very meh.

Then there’s the storyline of the portal and trying to get back to it. A revelation is made that seems… idiotic.

For all of the interesting things in this weeks episodes and all of the good spots, the blah parts are about equal, creating a very uneven episode that just doesn’t feel like it has paid off much at all. The series was building Lash to be this big bad, and it just doesn’t feel like he was much of one at all.

Other than the portal, it should be interesting to see where the rest of the season goes, but looks like to be more secret organizations to deal with.

At least the episode ended well. There was that.

Overall Score: 6.8

The stakes get higher as May and Hunter pursue Ward and Hydra; Coulson thinks the ATCU could be keeping a big secret.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. splits its time between two stories. There’s Melinda gathering a team to seek some revenge for the attack two episodes ago, going after Strucker in hopes of finding Ward. Really the episode should be entitled when Bobbi and Melinda got their groove back.

The rest of the episode revolves around Coulson finding out a lot more about the ATCU. It lifts the veil a bunch about the organization.

There’s a huge reveal as to who Lash really is, and I want to spoil it, but holy crap is it silly. Just really, really silly. This organization really needs to do better background checks. And Lash looks horrible in make-up.

Oh well.

The episode had some good, it had some bad. But mostly back to the so-so entertainment of this season.

Overall Score: 7.5

After her dramatic rescue from another planet, Simmons is still reeling from her ordeal and reveals how she had to fight for her life in a harsh new world.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. shifts its focus as we get to see what Jemma experienced during her time on another planet. It’s a fascinating episode in its style and storytelling.

First for about a quarter of the episode we get Jemma just by herself as she attempts to survive, but also deals with the fact she’s on an alien planet by herself. Not only does actress Elizabeth Henstridge‘s acting kick up quite a few notches, but it also fleshes out Simmons as a character. She goes from a generally interesting, but not used background character, to having a hell of a lot more depth. It’s kind of sad it takes trauma such as this to get her to this point, but at least she’s there.

The last episode ended with her statement that she had to go back to see what happened, and we find out why in what is an interesting solo episode for the most part. She goes from follower to stronger leader, and the ending of the episode sets up an interesting direction for the show, which is great since direction is something I’ve had issues with.

The look of the episode is particularly interesting in its look, relying on blues to color everything. Stylistically it makes what’s probably just normal desert to feel alien. Solid choice.

Overall, easily the best episode of the season and one of the best of the series.

Overall Score: 9

Having reluctantly agreed to share information with Rosalind and the ATCU, Coulson and the team search for the Inhuman who is killing other Inhumans; May feels that Hunter’s mission to take down Ward is getting too personal.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has a new a new big bad in the form of Lash who is a major focus of this episode. The mysterious Inhuman is hunting other Inhumans, and we don’t quite know exactly why. This episode doesn’t really answer that part at all.

Part of my criticism about when we first saw the character was the fact that he looked ridiculous and created a serious cheesiness factor about the show. This episode has that exact same problem, and adding in some really flat dialogue reading and the episode is a bit of a step back.

The series has been finding good footing though when it comes to Hunter’s pursuit of Grant and this episode sees him and May get really close to achieving the goal of killing Grant. Yes, it’s more SHIELD vs Hydra, but that’s where the story works best, and has in the comics.

And *SPOILER* what the fuck is it with them killing off the black character!? (highlight to find out). No, we don’t see a body, but do you have hope considering the history so far of comic shows in general?

A very uneven episode, continuing a so far very uneven season.

Overall Score: 6.7

Mack, Daisy, and Coulson race against time to keep Lincoln safe; Hunter will do whatever it takes to get revenge.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. third episode is an interesting one. You might as well call it The Fugitive done Marvel style with the new anti-Inhuman agency on a mission to bring Lincoln in who’s on the run as his picture is posted across the news in relation to the attack of the hospital.

The debate is what should be done with Lincoln, who should capture him, and why. This creates a clash of agencies, with one whose job it is to show results and that means taking in an Inhuman, any Inhuman. This creates deals and new deals and double crosses, that all seems to be a bit dramatic.

Really, the best part of the episode is their dealing with Simmons and what she went through on the alien planet. Her reaction is the most down to earth thing out there.

The end of the episode is an interesting one that creates a status-quo and new direction in many ways. And maybe we’ll finally get to those Secret Warriors because of it….

Not the best episode, but one that moves along the plot nicely.

Overall Score: 7