AGENTS OF
S.H.I.E.L.D. S3

AFTER THE TERRIGEN MIST

HOW SEASON 3 OPENED, AND HOW MANY CAME BACK

The third season began on 29 September 2015 with “Laws of Nature,” written by Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen and directed by Vincent Misiano. Simmons’ rescue from an alien planet is one of the season’s threads, along with the arrival of new Inhumans such as Joey Gutierrez and Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez and an escalating conflict with the villain Hive.

The premiere drew 4.90 million viewers and a 1.7 rating among adults 18 to 49. That was below the 5.98 million and 2.1 of the Season 2 premiere, though it outperformed the second half of that season. The episode of 20 October 2015 drew 3.9 million viewers and a 1.5 rating, a rebound that ticked up on both counts after several weeks of declines, helped by a Charlie Brown and Toy Story lead-in.

THE MIDSEASON TWIST

WARD DIES ON MAVETH, AND HIVE TAKES HIS PLACE

The first half ended with “Maveth” on 8 December 2015, written by Jeffrey Bell and directed by Vincent Misiano. The episode drew 3.85 million viewers, and it ends with Ward’s body taken over by Hive, an Inhuman entity. Brett Dalton stayed on as the season’s villain, now playing Hive, and he was frank before the second half about how much had changed.

“But the character that we fell in love with is no longer.”

Brett Dalton, 7 March 2016

The show then went on a winter break of thirteen weeks. ABC filled the Tuesday slot with the second season of Agent Carter, which ran for ten episodes from 19 January to 1 March 2016. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned on 8 March with “Bouncing Back,” which drew 3.52 million viewers.

WHO THE SEASON WAS ABOUT

DAISY’S SECRET WARRIORS, AND AN EPISODE THAT ANSWERED CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

Season 2 had turned Skye into the Inhuman Daisy Johnson, and Season 3 built a team around her. Luke Mitchell’s Lincoln Campbell and Henry Simmons’s Mack were promoted to series regulars, while Raba’s Joey and Natalia Cordova-Buckley’s Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez joined as recurring cast. Jed Whedon said the writers felt a duty to the Cinematic Universe not to hyper-accelerate how many people have powers.

In March 2016 the showrunners answered criticism that the new Inhuman-focused squad was overshadowing the original team. Tancharoen said the group works as part of the larger ensemble, and Jed Whedon said Daisy’s motivation reflected her desire to bring people like her together.

“It feels like it’s just an extension of the team that we have”

Maurissa Tancharoen, March 2016

The season also answered a film. “Emancipation” aired on 10 May 2016, four days after Captain America: Civil War opened, and has Glenn Talbot visit Coulson about the Sokovia Accords, which require the registration of enhanced individuals. ScreenRant’s review called it perhaps one of the best MCU tie-in episodes.

A SPINOFF ABC PASSED ON

BOBBI MORSE AND LANCE HUNTER LEAVE FOR MARVEL’S MOST WANTED

Adrianne Palicki and Nick Blood played Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter, and ABC ordered a pilot for a spinoff around them in August 2015 under the title Marvel’s Most Wanted. Their characters were written out of the parent series in “Parting Shot,” which aired on 22 March 2016 and drew 2.88 million viewers.

ABC passed on the pilot in May 2016. Its cast included Delroy Lindo as Dominic Fortune. The decision followed the cancellation of Agent Carter and left Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as ABC’s only Marvel series heading into the fall, and it was unclear why ABC passed.

THE REWATCH

A LOW FINALE AUDIENCE, AN EARLY RENEWAL AND A 100% SEASON SCORE

The two-part finale, “Absolution” and “Ascension,” aired on 17 May 2016, and each part drew 3.03 million viewers. Lincoln sacrifices himself to save Daisy, and the finale then jumps six months ahead to Radcliffe secretly building a Life Model Decoy. ScreenRant’s reviewer called the jump an awkward transition but found the episode well-paced, well-acted and well-directed.

That season was already assured. ABC had renewed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for a fourth season by 3 March 2016, in a round of 15 renewals that left Agent Carter off the list.

Critics rated the season far higher than its audience figures suggest. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 100% critics’ score from 22 reviews and a 92% audience score, and its consensus says the show “further hits its stride with a blend of thrills, humor, and heart.” For the Marvel Marathon it sits in the Marvel TV shows in order guide between WHIH Newsfront Season 1 and Jessica Jones Season 1. It is classed as Marvel Television rather than MCU, so it is not in the MCU release-order, series or timeline guides.