Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 3×3 Review: “A Wanted (InHu)man”

It’s never a good thing when the title is the most interesting thing about an episode. To be fair, it’s a pretty cool title, but it would have been nice to have an episode that backed it up. That’s probably a little harsh; there were parts of this episode that I really enjoyed, but most of it was just a little “meh” mainly because Lincoln continues to be one of the blandest characters on TV. Even after wasting time giving him an angsty backstory, he’s still just not worth the effort and that’s super disappointing.

This week on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the new anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. (aka the ATCU) starts hunting Lincoln in earnest. He gets to use his powers in cool ways but mainly he’s just annoyingly avoiding the only person that actually wants to help him – Daisy. Turns out that’s a good plan, because Coulson has a beach date with Rosalind Price and trades Daisy’s freedom for Lincoln’s, continuing on his path towards super villainy.

Meanwhile, Simmons is not adjusting well to her post-alien planet life. Everything is loud and distracting. Simmons is so in control; she lives on it, as Fitz reminds us when he talks about how he didn’t move anything on her desk because he knew she would hate it. But Simmons was forced into a situation where she had no control, and she doesn’t know how to deal with it. I’m not at all here for anything romantic between her and Fitz but they did share a lovely moment when she finally broke down in the restaurant, and they didn’t kiss, thank god. The twist at the end of the episode was that Simmons isn’t terrified of getting sucked back into the portal because she actually wants to go back.

Then there’s Hunter and May who are still on their quest to find Ward – who was noticeably absent in this episode (any episode without Ward is missing something). Due to the fact that Lincoln has taken the annoying white boy crown, Hunter is growing on me a little. I like him much better when he’s not stuck in that weird relationship with Bobbi Morse, and I think Hunter and May have a potentially interesting dynamic. And anything that leads to May beating up a trio of wannabe rapists is okay by me.

Anyway, the main problem with this episode is that while the Inhumans storyline is super intriguing, the characters involved are just incredibly boring. Even Daisy (Skye), who has always been one of my fave characters, is being wasted at the moment. All she seems to care about is finding and saving Lincoln. As I don’t really care what happens to Lincoln, I am generally bored with Daisy at the moment. Lincoln is just the worst; sure he’s cute, but there’s only so much a pretty face and a banging body can make up for.

Daisy did have a lovely moment with Simmons, reminding me that I can actually get invested in her relationships. Honestly, it was a beautiful moment, and I really hope they follow through on it, allowing Daisy to be the one to help Simmons through this terrible time. Because as much as I love Fitz, he’s too close to the situation, and Daisy could help in the same way that Mack helped him last season when Simmons couldn’t.

To be fair to the Inhuman storyline, though, I did REALLY love it when Mack stood up for Daisy at the end. I am loving their relationship; I just wish they would stop looking for Lincoln and start Secret Warriors now. Or we could just watch them hang out and play videogames some more. That would be amazing.  

Surprisingly the story I am most invested in at the moment is May and Hunter’s search for Ward, which I know will shock anyone that read my reviews last season. I’m not saying I’m going to start stanning Hunter on the regular, but I do enjoy a broken man and I have a very good feeling that this revenge quest is going to break him even further than it has already. And I just really love bloody shirtless men beating the crap out of each other. That is my jam. Also I’m quite enjoying the budding friendship between Hunter and May – May could use a friend and because of his Bobbi connection the relationship is not likely to get romantic, which is nice.

Finally this episode left us with another AWESOME cliffhanger. The idea that Simmons wants – no NEEDS – to go back to the alien planet she was trapped on is amazing! I have so many questions and we’re so early in the season that I am going to trust that they will answer at least some of them.

The Best Bits: 

• Lincoln’s powers were used in really cool ways throughout this episode. Too bad they couldn’t inject a spark into his personality.
• The fact that Daisy didn’t blame Mack for following Coulson’s orders by giving Lincoln up to the anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. (Just that friendship in general, really).
• Bobbi and Fitz hanging out and talking rehab together. That’s a combination I have not thought much about but I think I’d really like to see more.
• May beating the crap out of those three giant assholes and then using the tiny Asian woman line against them. She’s using their misogyny against them! It’s amazing.

Author: Undie Girl

Undie Girl (aka Von) has a BA (Hons) Major in Cultural Studies. The title of her honours thesis was “It’s just gay and porn”: Power, Identity and the Fangirl’s Gaze. She’s currently pursuing a Masters of Media Practice at University of Sydney. Von’s a former contributor The Backlot’s column The Shipping News and a current co-host of The Geekiary’s monthly webcast FEELINGS… with The Geekiary.

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