The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ready to take flight for another year.
(credit: CTV.ca)
After a summer break – that you might’ve occupied with the adventures of a pint-sized superhero or dinosaurs running amok once again – we’re back for more Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and if the season premiere is any indication, we’re in for yet another fun ride.
The Two-Sentence Recap
Inhumans are everywhere. Where’s Simmons?
Full Recap (SPOILERS AHEAD)
When Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. started off in 2013, it was passed off as a spy show that happens to be set in a world of superheroes. Now in its third season, that simple assertion has almost been thrown out of the window, with the show fully embracing its “super” side, thanks to the advent of Inhumans (and the most hilarious phlebotinum in the form of fish oil tablets). It’s to the point that the tagline used to promote the season is a simple question: “Are You Inhuman?” That being said, Tuesday’s season premiere is a strong, super-powered start to what’s shaping up to be yet another great year of S.H.I.E.L.D. action.
Right as “Laws of Nature” opens, we’re introduced to Joey, one of these new Inhumans with the ability to (unwillingly) melt objects around him, as he’s being hunted down by black ops agents that want him dead. Then the action heats up (pun intended) once Daisy Johnson – the former Skye and soon-to-be Quake – arrives to extract the new Inhuman safely. Seeing a fully-evolved Daisy as a confident action heroine is definitely a far cry from the hacktivist taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. from Season 1 and is indicator of how much this show has grown over the past three seasons.
Complicating matters is the arrival of a monstrous new foe, Lash (former football player-turned actor Matthew Willig). Looking like a cross between a roided-up Sonic the Hedgehog and Ghost Rider foe Blackheart, this new enemy makes his presence known to Daisy, Mack, and Lincoln by menacing the three at a hospital. By the looks of things, Lash appears to be one of the big bads for the season, and it would most certainly be a welcome development. His visual appearance is nothing like we’ve seen on the show thus far, where the villains have looked relatively human with some having special abilities. That being said, I cannot wait to see more of Lash and the threat he poses to our heroes.
Remember those black ops guys from the beginning of the episode? Turns out that they’re the Advanced Threat Containment Unit (not exactly acronym-friendly as “S.H.I.E.L.D.”, but I digress), and they’ve been authorized by the American President (yes, it’s the same guy from Iron Man 3, in a neat bit of continuity) to handle the Inhuman “threat” however they see fit. Their head, Rosalind Price (Constance Zimmer), provides a natural foil for Coulson (their back-and-forth aboard a Metro train is one of the many highlights of the episode), and the complicated relationship between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the A.T.C.U. will surely become even more complex as the season goes on. The POTUS’ appearance also feasibly serves as a possible buildup towards Captain America: Civil War, especially as the public of the MCU and their fears over these Inhumans cropping up like woodwork intensifies.
While we’re on the subject of “intensify”, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention one Leopold Fitz, whose arc in this episode goes thru a range of emotions. It’s been months since beloved Simmons was unexpectedly gobbled up by the ever-mysterious Monolith (more on her in a moment), and Fitz has not taken it well, it seems. When we first see him, he’s in Morocco on a personal spy mission to find anything – and I do mean anything – that will help him rescue his best friend. Naturally, things don’t end well by the time the S.H.I.E.L.D. symbol appears on screen to signify the end of the main story, and Fitz does not take the news from Coulson that Simmons is pretty much dead well. At all. Those closing moments of Fitz showing a mix of desperation and anger as he loudly demands for the monolith to do anything is probably some of the finest acting work that Iain de Caestecker has done on the show. The turns in character we see from the formerly-timid scientist again is yet again a sign of the bio-morphic change (to borrow a term from Daisy) S.H.I.E.L.D. has undergone.
“Laws of Nature” is the best possible premiere that the show could’ve gotten, as it neatly sets up the new world ahead for the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (and quite possibly, the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, at least as far as its version of Earth is concerned) while delivering the unique brand of storytelling that has made the show a must-watch.
Miscellanea
- Surprisingly, we didn’t start off with a “previously on” segment recapping the events of last season, which likely would’ve been beneficial for people just jumping into the action right now.
- So, yeah, Simmons is not dead. Just on some mysterious world with two moons. And is very blue.
- Somewhat conspicuous by their absence are Ward (likely still forming his version of Hydra) and May (still on vacation after the events of the S2 finale).
- Speaking of Ward, looks like Lance is about to live up to his surname and is vowing to hunt down the man.
- “How’s it like to join the paparazzi, Phil?” “I think I missed my calling.”
- Looks like some fans aren’t the only one having a hard time with referring to Daisy by that name, as we see Coulson having trouble remembering that fact.
- Making its debut in this episode is Team Coulson’s new aerial transport, Zephyr-One, an impressive piece of work that makes the Bus look like yesterday’s news.
- I do see Coulson as the kind of guy that keeps things like the axe that Mack used to chop his arm off around in his office as a memento of sorts, as well as the aforementioned arm – now a dismembered piece of stone – in the labs.
- And while we’re talking about Mack and axes, he’s certainly not the only one that wishes a shotgun-axe combo weapon was a thing.
- Incidentally, it turns out Joey is the first revealed LGBT character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I also think we haven’t seen the last of him.
Next Week
More on just where the hell Simmons ended up at, plus Ward begins forming his Hydra faction. Maybe an update on The Cavalry, too? In any case, come back next week, because like Zephyr-One, we’re about to take flight.
Marc Quill just happens to cover shows aired on Tuesdays at 9/8 on ABC that are also based on Marvel Comics. He’s also very Canadian. You can reach him on Twitter @MarcQuill.