Three episodes in to Season 3 and there’s a lot to like about this season. It’s not perfect yet, but this episode reinforced that AOS is doing a much better job of balancing the spy, superhero and character moments that are making this a weekly standout.

Lincoln is still playing the poor man’s Inhuman Fugitive as he tries to avoid getting caught by Rosalind’s ATCU.  Last season, Lincoln was the calm, reassuring presence to help Daisy learn control of her powers. Now Lincoln is running scared and generally acting pretty dumb for someone who previously came across as so grounded.

Since the Inhumans apparently never watched movies or any TV shows, Lincoln has little clue as to how to actually avoid detection especially with his face plastered all over every form of media. For starters, a dye job and shaving that Don Johnson Miami Vice homage beard would do wonders. I get that Lincoln’s the show’s resident heartthrob, but it’s kinda silly that he’s not changing his look at all.

With Lincoln being America’s Most Dangerous Fugitive, Mack and Coulson want to bring him in via the tracker Mack placed on him during their last encounter. Daisy calls/warns him, further panicking Lincoln so he calls the last person he can trust his AA sponsor, John.

Beyond making Lincoln an island to himself, there seemed little point in him not telling John the whole deal about him being this subculture somewhat alien race.  Presumably they had a tight bond — tight enough that John was willing to sell Lincoln his car — so offering that news instead of John learning it on the news and rightfully freaking out wouldn’t have occurred.

Terrified of what Lincoln will do triggers a heart attack for poor John and not even Lincoln’s cool use of his powers to jump start his heart can resuscitate him. Remember kids, if movies/TV teaches you anything, helping others will get you killed. Before he died, John contacted the ATCU hotline and Rosalind’s goons are en route.

While Daisy and Mack try to beat the ATCU, Coulson meets with Rosalind on a pier. So far these scenes between Clark Gregg and Constance Zimmer have been episode highlights as their light verbal sparring comes so easily.

Coulson thinks Rosalind has a card she hasn’t played yet. Rosalind has hospital footage from the incident with Lincoln and the cameras also caught Daisy using her powers. Either Coulson lets the ATCU take Lincoln to show some major results or they bring in Daisy.

Daisy finds Lincoln first and pleads with him to come with her and SHIELD. He still doesn’t trust SHIELD, but will go with Daisy and they share a passionate kiss. Since Lincoln’s introduction this has been a foregone conclusion, but it felt way too soon.

And maybe I’m just concerned that tacking on a new romantic interest weakens Daisy’s character and once again makes her primary focus revolve around a guy. First her father, then Ward and now Lincoln.

Mack, who’d been listening to the convo to make sure Daisy was safe, walks in with the ATCU saying Coulson’s orders are to send Lincoln with them. Lincoln easily fights them off and flees and Mack and Daisy have a standoff with the ATCU until Coulson strikes another deal.

Coulson will now act as a consultant to help Rosalind out as needed. Coulson’s logic that he’s tired of fighting against one entity after another to prove they’re the good guys actually makes a lot of sense. Daisy thanks Mack for not telling Coulson about her romantic feelings toward Lincoln and they unwind playing some video games. As much as I loved the Skye/Tripp dynamic, I’m starting to really enjoy these scenes with Daisy and Mack.

In Massachusetts, Hunter and May are continuing their Hydra Hunt tracking down a possible lead with one of Hunter’s arm dealer contacts. Before they talk shop though, they’ve got to drink just as May complains deciphering their accents was hard enough when they’re sober. The drunk subtitles was pretty funny.

The gist is Hunter has to prove his worth in a fight. Sadly, no Tyler Durden sightings tonight. In a brief calm before the battle moment, Hunter makes small talk with May about her leaving Andrew when she corrects him and says Andrew left her. That’s not gonna do wonders for May’s overall cheery mood.

At Fight Club, Hunter ends up fighting his “friend,” who apparently has been waiting for a chance to punch Hunter’s smug face. He does a pretty good job of it until Hunter goes into his tights pants and pulls out some brass knuckles and wales away on his former friend until he kills him. That’s a way to get an introduction to Hydra.

By episode’s end, Hunter gets to meet Ward’s No. 1 man Kebo and just to reinforce he’s on the right track, the Hydra logo is helpfully painted on a wall. I’m still not clear on Hunter’s end game though. Clearly, Ward knows both him and May so it’s not like Hunter can casually get an introduction and kill him.

Back at Shield HQ, Fitz is trying to speed up Simmons’ recovery process despite her clearly freaking out over every small sound in the lab. You’d think after spending most of Season 2 a skittish mess, Fitz would be more understanding of her position.

The writers definitely seem fine giving Fitz/Simmons the Ross and Rachel treatment. When one’s ready, the other is nearly comatose. Not to worry though, he’s her lobster!

Opting for a less stressful environment, Fitz takes Simmons out to a fancy restaurant. I get that we’re supposed to think this is all so sweet, but Fitz is more annoying for not giving her some space to get acclimated before acting like everything is back to normal. Simmons gets so freaked out over this intimate moment that she has a meltdown. Later, Simmons tells Bobbi she needs to reassemble the monolith in order to return to the other world.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Anytime Coulson and Rosalind come face to face it’s proven to be episode gold and this was no exception. The manhunt was fun and Daisy and Mack as Coulson’s main strike force is providing some excellent character dynamics. The only aspect that held it back was Fitz immediately going into date mode with the clearly still shaken Simmons.