Fitz and the team enlist the aid of an Asgardian to unlock the secrets of the ancient monolith that swallowed Simmons, and Agent May is at a crossroads in her personal and professional life.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. splits its second episode of the third season following three different storylines, and a lot of improvement from the season debut.

The one I’ll give the least amount of time is Grant’s attempt to rebuild Hydra. He recruits a very interesting character who could be a long term player, hopefully he is. Where that goes might work out, but what’s solid is actor Brett Dalton‘s willingness to chew the scenery as Grant and just be a solid bad guy.

The second part of the story is what happened to Melinda May, there’s a plan to go after Grant, and it involves her. It’s nice to see Melinda given a bit more to do other than help Coulson and kick ass. She’s given some more character depth, which is good to see.

The third story is the search for Simmons… and I don’t want to spoil that at all.

What’s really great is the episode bounces back from the cheese of the first episode. The special fx are improved, the acting is better, the action is solid, even when using powers, things don’t look bad visually. I think part of that is due to the fact in that they’re trying to do less here, focusing on the characters, which probably helps the budget some.

This episode is a perfect example that less can be more.

Overall Score: 7.75