Old Faces Return in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., “Rewind”

“Rewind” Plot Summary:

Hunter (Nick Blood) aids Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) in the search for his missing teammates.

You would think this episode’s big takeaway would be Fitz is back. After all, he spent much of last season as a villain and was separated from his friends at the beginning of this season. Instead, the character that’s at the forefront of everyone’s mind is Lance Hunter. While I had read Hunter would return, I didn’t expect him to show up so soon. Other fans probably didn’t expect so either.

To give you a slight refresher on Lance’s situation, he and Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki, now on The Orville) had to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. after a mission went wrong. Since then, Lance and Bobbi have taken up mercenary work. Even though we don’t see Bobbi, the two are still technically together, though their relationship has always been complicated. It would’ve been a betrayal on the writers’ part to say Lance and Bobbi had broken up, so it’s nice they found a more organic explanation for Bobbi’s absence.

Lance adds a degree of humor that’s been missing ever since he left. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has gotten noticeably gloomier in his time away, with oppressive computer and alien dictatorships. I’ve missed Hunter’s trademark sarcasm. He also has a funny moment that plays on his and Fitz’s British camaraderie.

Fitz has gone through a lot. While we see it condensed into one episode, he spends six months locked in a military base, without any contact with Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) or anyone else. Watching soccer isn’t going to fill that void. He also has to deal with the darkness he found inside himself while he was in the Framework. It’s struggles like these that make Fitz one of the show’s most compelling characters.

Fortunately for Fitz, he has other people to help him besides Hunter. You can’t know what this alien Enoch (Joel Stoffer) is up to, but one would assume that he can trust Robin (Lexy Kolker). You might remember that Daisy (Chloe Bennet) promised Robin’s father she would look after Robin. We’ve seen Robin a couple times now, but this is the first time she’s played a major part in the story, with her psychic powers being the key to saving the future. Thankfully, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t forget plot threads (except the gravitonium from the first season).

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t be back until January 5, but if the show continues to be this good, it’ll be well worth the wait.

Rating: 8 out of 10 (Great)