Violet recaps Season 3 Episode 11 of Agents of SHIELD, titled Bouncing Back, where some of the team investigates a new Inhuman in Colombia, while Coulson breaks out the TAHITI machine! Following the recap, both Violet and Josh share their thoughts about the episode.
Don’t need the Agents of SHIELD episode recap for Bouncing Back? Click here to jump directly to Violet’s thoughts on the episode!
To see Josh’s thoughts on this week’s Agents of SHIELD episode, Bouncing Back, click here to get directly there!
Episode Recap of Agents of SHIELD, Season 3 Episode 11: Bouncing Back
The episode begins with a flash forward to three months from now. A small spaceship is in orbit around Earth, but it seems its occupant, wearing SHIELD jacket, is bleeding quite a bit.
In present day Bogota, Colombia, a police chase results in an Inhuman taking all the police’s weapons. Daisy and Joey go to Bogota to investigate the Inhuman incident. Joey is easily able to speak to the locals in Spanish. They explain the Inhuman situation to Colonel Ramon, while Mack, Hunter, and Bobbi investigate the scene of the incident in Bogota.
Meanwhile, Coulson and May meet up with the President at Rosalind’s house. The President asks Coulson to privately keep doing what he’s doing, while publicly the ATCU will be the face of his administration’s response to the Inhuman threat. He will appoint a new head who understands they answer to Coulson. However, the President is unable to do anything about Gideon Malick, who apparently has too much international influence.
Bobbi reports to Hunter and Mack that the police say the assailant was invisible. The three split up and have a look around. Mack encounters the Inhuman, who steals his gun. She then is able to rush forward and push him into the back of a truck, knocking him unconscious. When Mack wakes up, he’s taped to a bathroom sink.
Later, Bobbi, Hunter, and Daisy look at the footage of what happened to Mack. Simmons looks at the footage and sees how fast the Inhuman can move — very. Simmons reconfigures the containment module remotely. Simmons makes a comment about Inhuman powers being random, but Lincoln explains that powers are given to create equilibrium within the species.
Coulson stops by the lab and demands for Fitz to come with him, and asks what he thinks of Lincoln. Fitz comments that he’s been good for Jemma, keeping her busy, and getting her to focus on something else. Fitz feels guilty about what he did to Will, but Coulson says that he did what he had to do, and sometimes there’s no choice but the hard choice. Coulson then asks Fitz to set up the TAHITI machine.
In Bogota, the Inhuman begins to question Mack, but he has undone his restrains and tries to fight her. He figures out that her powers cause her to snap back to the same spot, like a yo-yo. She closes the door, and points a gun at him.
At HQ, the team prepares to put Von Strucker into the machine.
Malick and Mr. Giyera visit the monster who has taken over Ward’s body (we’ll call him “not-Ward” from now on), who says he’s hungry.
The Inhuman woman ties Mack to a chair. She and Mack communicate as much as they can, with her only speaking Spanish and him speaking only English. Daisy, Hunter, and Bobbi show up just then, and are able to knock the Inhuman out by making her run into an invisible barrier.
The SHIELD team starts up the Tahiti machine. Coulson tells von Strucker to concentrate on Gideon Malick. However, von Strucker gets stuck in a memory, and keeps repeating, “Just kill me!”
On the plane, Daisy tells Joey he’ll run point when the Inhuman wakes up in the containment module. Bobbi and Hunter leave to track down the Inhuman’s cousin and find out where they were taking the weapons they stole. The woman wakes up, and Joey speaks to her in Spanish. She seems very angry.
Not-Ward works on a feast of meat, as he watches several TVs with footage of human history. Not-Ward promises Mr. Giyera that when he’s stronger, he’ll believe he’s what they say he is.
Coulson has Lincoln to use his powers as electroshock on von Strucker. Lincoln is reluctant, but it works, and snaps von Strucker out of it. He then recounts how he reached Gideon Malick.
While Joey talks to the Inhuman, Daisy and Mack use a tablet that translates their conversation to English. Joey asks her about the weapons, but she says they weren’t going to use them. Meanwhile, Bobbi and Hunter catch up to her cousin on a bridge, and he throws a crate of weapons into the water below.
The Inhuman woman explains that they’re making sure no one uses the weapons, that the police there are “thieves in uniform.” She wants to take their power away so that she can use her powers to protect her friends.
Back on the bridge, the police show up. One of the officers turns out to be an Inhuman, and uses his powers, which come from his eyes, to cause the others to become pale and collapse. Then he shoots Elena’s cousin in the head.
SHIELD retrieves the body of Elena’s cousin. They let her out to see him.
At the police station, Bobbi and Hunter wake up on the floor, and slowly begin to be able to move. However, the two police officers come in just then, and the Inhuman knocks Hunter out again. Colonel Ramon demands to know why they’re really here.
Mack talks to Elena, having Joey translate. She agrees to help, and explains that her powers are connected to her pulse. Her radius is as far as she can go in one heartbeat.
Hunter, Daisy, Mack, and Elena park near the police station. Elena swipes a police ID, and they’re able to sneak into the station. Joey uses his powers to warp the guns in the armory, while Elena and Daisy work together against officers that stand in their way. Elena takes the other officers’ weapons, and ties them up. She then tries to disable the Inhuman, but she gets knocked out by his powers at the last second, just after Mack finds Bobbi and tries to warn the others that the Inhuman’s power is in his eyes. Daisy uses her powers to knock the Inhuman out.
Coulson goes to the place where von Strucker went to reach Gideon Malick, and uses the special code phrase to enter the back room. There, he finds a phone, and puts a trace device on it before picking it up. Gideon Malick answers the phone, thinking that it’s Werner von Strucker, but Coulson is quick to correct him. He also advises him that they’re tracking the line everywhere it connects. Malick says that it’ll cost him millions, and will have to shut down a few offices, but assures him that his influence reaches farther than that.
A HYDRA jet arrives in Bogota, burrowing through the roof, extending a netted claw to take the Inhuman, then flies away.
Joey tries to convince Elena that she has to come with them. However, she wants no part of joining the team. Daisy and Mack discuss the situation, considering letting Elena stay in Colombia. Apparently Coulson approves, and Mack gives Elena a SHIELD watch to keep in touch, in case either need backup. Elena apologizes to Mack for kidnapping him, and Mack gives her the nickname of “Yo-yo.” Daisy suggests to Joey that maybe he doesn’t have to miss his family dinner this Sunday.
At the SHIELD lab, Simmons confesses to Fitz that she misses him. She doesn’t like that there’s a chasm between them, and understands that Fitz killed a thing, not Will. Simmons wants to start over. They introduce themselves to each other as if they’re meeting for the first time.
Daisy returns to HQ and tells Lincoln that he can go back to his old life like Joey is. But Lincoln says it’s interesting here, and he and Daisy kiss.
Coulson and May have a drink in his office. May checks out the new hand that Fitz made for Coulson, which looks real. May understands what happened to Coulson on the alien planet: he joined the Cavalry. Coulson wonders what Malick has on his side.
Not-Ward senses that Malick wants to believe but doesn’t know if he can. Malick comments that Coulson survived, so maybe he’s not what he thought he was. Not-Ward says Malick will believe, once he makes a believer out of Mr. Giyera. Then Not-Ward begins to disintegrate, presumably forming some sort of attack on Mr. Giyera.
Later, the President reports to Coulson that he’s appointed a new head of the ATCU: General Talbot, and reminds Coulson that Talbot will be taking orders from him.
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 3 Episode 11 of Agents of SHIELD: Bouncing Back
I like that they’re being diverse and going international with the Inhumans that they investigate. It was a good thing that they recruited Joey somewhat recently, so that he was able to communicate with the locals and Elena in Spanish. Though apparently it wasn’t entirely necessary, since they have their nifty translator device. But it is probably much more effective to have someone speak directly with a subject rather than rely on a device that you have to read. But what is going to happen with Elena and Joey from here on out? It seems like Elena is just waiting in the wings in Colombia, kind of “on call” so to speak, and appears that Joey is doing the same thing. So it’s like as soon as they gain and utilize Hispanic actors, they are already getting rid of them, while Lincoln has decided to stay. I could be wrong though. Joey and Elena might actually end up being a bigger part of the storyline than I’m anticipating at the moment, but we’ll see.
We also saw the return of the TAHITI machine this episode, which Coulson was able to use to get some valuable info that led to him getting in contact with Gideon Malick. It is rather unfortunate that Coulson and the others are in the dark about the Ward Monster, as his threats to Malick rang empty. I wonder how long it will take before they figure out, and how they will find out. For now, it seems that the Ward Monster is still regaining his strength, and once he does, I have no idea what he is going to do. I must say, that this new Not-Ward is very creepy!
At the end of the episode, we learn that Talbot has been appointed the new head of the ATCU, and is supposed to be taking orders from Coulson. However, I’m guessing that Talbot is not going to take this very well, and guessing that he may give Coulson some problems whenever they end up having to work together.
On a happy note, it looks like Fitz and Simmons may be getting back to how we used to know them. I miss FitzSimmons, and hope they can grow back together again.
Josh’s Thoughts: Agents of SHIELD, Season 3 Episode 11: Bouncing Back
This episode is named aptly–Bouncing Back. It certainly seems like SHIELD is now “bouncing back” after it had its encounter in the other realm. This new mid-season premiere feels like the start of a new season really. We have a few new recruits to the team that were previously brought in when the Inhuman outbreak started which is interesting to see. The show still seems to be dealing with the debate as to the danger of Inhumans. Dangerous of course or extremely dangerous at times, but what does that mean for the good people? It seems like a theme that will reoccur going forward given there are now more than just heroes will abilities now–now we have a whole “race” of people with powers.
I thought it was interesting when Bobbi admits to taking some of the fish oil to see if she would get powers. I wondered if that would cause her to die though–I thought “incompatible” people would die from exposure to the chemical. Perhaps it was a low enough dose that that doesn’t happen?
Ward seems to be possessed now, and it is pretty creepy. I have a feeling he is only going to get creepier, as this alien inside him gets more powerful. I am wondering what this means for Ward’s consciousness though. Is it gone forever, or is it just temporary?
Overall, I enjoyed the premiere. It was an interesting story where Inhumans are being judged as the bad guys before all of the facts are looked at. It certainly makes you think and step back about our society, wondering about the injustice for certain groups of people because assumptions are made before facts are analyzed.
Enough real world plights though, let’s hope the rest of the season is as entertaining as the first episode!
Scenes from Agents of SHIELD, Season 3 Episode 12: The Inside Man
Here are scenes from the next episode of Agents of SHIELD, titled The Inside Man:
