Agents of Shield Season 3 "Bouncing Back" review

As the series returns, Shield has definitely bounced back with a thrill ride of new characters, powers and dynamics.

Immediately, the action is thrust upon the team as Mack is kidnapped by a new Inhuman who can move at incredible speed. With Hunter still providing the humour, it was a really strong opening.

I think Coulson's side mission was made very important to the future of Shield when he met with the President who didn't seem keen to let the public know that Shield is still active.

Also, I thoroughly enjoyed the capture of Slingshot and to learn about her life, but in particular I admired her faith and how she has chosen to use her powers. She is quite an extraordinary character. I am looking forward to seeing more of her.

It was exhilarating to see all of these Inhumans being a part of a team and using their own unique powers. More so, it was very interesting to discover that the Inhuman powers are not random but specific powers are given to certain people, "equilibrium" as Lincoln puts it.

Another aspect I enjoyed about this episode was the hidden Inhuman working within the police with his paralytic eyes. They were quite frightening and very effective.

Additionally, the reveal of Hive was very disturbing with the image of a skeleton like Ward eating raw meat and then seemingly melting his own body to absorb another.

As a conclusion, I found the character threads converge very neatly with Lincoln & Daisy's relationship becoming more interesting, Fitz and Simmons restarting their relationship and Coulson having to contend with General Talbot being the new head of the ATCU.

I liked seeing May be the support for Coulson as I've missed seeing them together. However, I do hope that the team do remain grounded and the show doesn't  become too revolved around the Inhumans and their powers because that is what is so original and brilliant about the show, it's the agents that are the heroes and as a team are able to defeat any force that comes up against them, and none of them ever had any powers before.

I think there should be a balance between the Inhumans and the Shield agents because they need to counteract each other. That's where the drama and strength comes from. Overall, a tense, fast-paced episode with a beautiful moral compass,  a disturbing introduction to Hive and warm moments between the characters.