Agents of SHIELD Recap – S03E04 Devils You Know

The action-packed fourth episode of Agents of SHIELD starts with…domestic bliss?  A happy Inhuman couple making dinner gets a knock at the door and it’s Alisha, the Inhuman who can make duplicates of herself.  She’s there to recruit them to Coulson’s team.  A big change from when she was on the side of Jiaying.  Unfortunately it turns into a bloodbath when Lash drops in to wreck them.  Daisy and Mack move in to assist, but they are too late to save the Inhuman couple, and Alisha has some mental trouble when her duplicate gets killed.  Coulson calls the ATCU for backup, leading to more Rosalind/Phil banter.

We get a brief interlude with Ward and his second-hand man Kebo, talking over the guns that Hunter brought as part of his recruitment.  Hunter and May argue as he’s not getting enough information, and she’s worried he’s taking too many risks and not thinking clearly because of what Ward did to Bobbi.  She’s right, or course.

Next up is Simmons, talking over her experiences with Dr. Garner.  Man, he’s a great addition to the cast.  Jemma mentions she gave up hope on the alien world at one point, and when Garner says her ordeal was over, she says it’s not.  More mystery!  Dr. Garner is also taking no shit from Coulson as he sees Alisha who he’s never spoken to, let alone cleared to go on missions.  But Agent May’s return leaves both men speechless.

This leads to Phil and Melinda having a moment, he offers to replace Dr. Garner if it gets her back – but she’s just there to get Hunter some backup.  Some good stuff for Philinda shippers.

Fitz and Bobbi are analyzing some samples from Lash when Fitz finds Simmons’s notes on the monolith.  Simmons freaks out a bit.  We also get a hint as to what happened between May and Garner.  Daisy goes back to her hacker roots and finds a guy that could be tracking the Inhumans.  She also skewers Phil on being sweet on Rosalind.

The ATCU combine forces with Daisy and Mack to find the guy…cowering in a closet.  Apparently proximity to other Inhumans kind of…burns him?  Strange.  The guy tries to run, and Coulson grabs him with the robot hand.  We get Lash named, and we get some backstory.  That Lash doesn’t like what he’s doing, but he WILL do it.  The ATCU takes the Inhuman, and Coulson sends Daisy and Mack along to see what their ‘containment’ facility is like.

Lash has other plans, busting through the roof of the truck carrying them and dragging the poor dude away…”I’m not merciful, I’m necessary.”  Daisy sees a big clue as Lash walks away – HE TRANSFORMS.  But into who?

Hunter is made by Ward immediately, and a huge gun battle breaks out.  May comes in for backup while Hunter and Ward trade barbs.  But…Ward has the trump card – Dr. Garner being taken down by the Strucker kid.  Hunter attacks putting Andrew in danger.  Ward and Kebo get away (but not with the guns Hunter brought) but the last thing we see is SOMEONE bleeding out on the floor of the market where Garner was cornered, little Strucker escaping and the place in flames.  Fake out?  Feels like a fake out.

Fitz confronts Simmons – he saw that she wants to rebuild the portal.  She tells him that she has to go back and needs his help.  Something happened to her there, she says…but what?  We find out next week!

• “Yes, mum”  Hunter, you are on thin ice man.
• The robot hand makes it hard to tie a tie.  A great little detail to include.
• Daisy uses her powers to open the door, but then switches to a gun?  Come on.
• LASER FINGER
• “Always in the bloody boot”  I love Hunter.
• The look Bobbi gives when she finds out she’s left behind on the mission to get Ward.  Ice cold.
• Remember when Ward was some boring dude?  Me neither.

I’m glad we won’t be waiting a year to find out what happened to Jemma.