A less exciting episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. nonetheless ends with exciting developments.
This week, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns to the plot threads of the pilot. One of these is that of Lincoln, who S.H.I.E.L.D. had tracked after their previous encounter. Lincoln is now wanted by the ATCU after causing a fair amount of property damage, though he alleges that he hasn't killed anyone. He rips out his tracker and seeks help from a friend, who then freaks out once he sees the news stories about Lincoln. Of the three plot threads juggled by "A Wanted (In)human," it's perhaps the least compelling, consisting mainly of some fairly standard tension that eventually builds into a not entirely convincing romantic subplot between him and Daisy, and ultimately not amounting to much at all, as Lincoln escapes.
At the very least, the subplot with Lincoln connects back to Coulson's dealings with the ATCU, which involve a number of tough decisions, taken primarily in order to protect Daisy. Eventually, Coulson decides to start working with the more public organization, which Daisy objects to for obvious reasons. The backdoor dealings are the most intriguing aspect of this subplot, and the twist of Coulson working with the group initially set up as a rival team is promising.
More entertaining is what Hunter and May are doing in their quest to kill Grant Ward. The gist of it is that Hunter wants to prove himself to Hydra by beating up an old associate, Spud, who is involved with the organization. This provides a funny scene where Hunter and Spud's drunken slurs are given subtitles. Behind the scenes of the fight, we get an enjoyable fight scene where May defeats a group of Hydra guys after one of them tries to "get her a drink." Meanwhile, Hunter brings out a brass knuckle to win, and the tone goes dark as he accidentally kills Spud in the process. The scene where he, still covered in blood and bruises, stands in the Hydra office is one of the season's more striking images.
The final storyline follows Simmons, still recovering after her experience on an alien world. She and Fitz have finally begun the relationship that the show has been building towards all along, which culminates in a scene near the end where they go out to a fancy restaurant. Unfortunately, Simmons' recent experience causes a simple offer of wine to end badly. It's interesting that Fitz and Simmons only really get together after they've both endured some psychological damage. While Fitz has been improving since his revival, Simmons' wounds are still fresh. Ultimately, Simmons decides that she has to go back, for reasons to be revealed next time.
The ending cliffhangers are, ultimately, the highlight of a relatively unexciting episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., following an episode that forgoes fun action for relatively standard drama. A number of the developments are interesting, to be sure, but the important plot developments don't come until the end, and the rest feels largely transitional. A lot of these plot threads are still getting started, though, so it makes sense that they lull early. But until the season is ready to binge, we'll have to wait until next week for the action to pick up again.
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