Life is never easy for the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Last week, in order to save the Russian Prime Minister from being assassinated by an evil Inhuman and to protect the secret existence of S.H.I.E.L.D., Bobbi and Hunter had to take a fall. They both became disavowed, and the team had to say goodbye. The agents won't get too much time to deal with their friends' absence as a new anti-Inhuman group has elevated their presence.

Warning: Spoilers for season 3, episode 14 of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., "Watchdogs," will be discussed below.

Mack's Backstory

With some of the characters, we don't know too much about their time before or outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. Mack takes some time to visit his younger brother, who is trying to maintain their parents' house.

An attack on an ACTU headquarter by a group calling themselves the Watchdogs pulls Mack away from time with Ruben, due to the close proximity of the attack. Mack's brother has no idea Mack is in S.H.I.E.L.D. and believes he works in insurance. Ruben was originally against the idea of Inhumans, but witnessing Daisy in action and discovering Mack's secret starts to change his outlook.

Simmons and May

Simmons is training to be better with a gun. May sees her and gives some advice. Simmons doesn't want to be dependent on others. She's feeling guilty for letting Andrew/Lash out of the containment unit (which lead to him killing several Inhumans) and Fitz risking his life (which lead to Will's death). This is the start of May working more with Simmons to make her a stronger agent. The two will also work together to track down Andrew.

The Return of a Former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent

Felix Blake was a Level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. While assisting Coulson and his team before the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. (in season 1), he was seriously injured by Deathlok. His fate was unknown due to the revelation of HYDRA's infiltration. Blake makes his return as being responsible for the Watchdog's attack against the ACTU and Inhumans. Knowing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s tactics and secrets makes him a dangerous foe.

Coulson's Assessment of Lincoln

Lincoln is still waiting to hear what his assessment is from Coulson. To make things more awkward, Coulson takes Lincoln with him in their hunt for Blake without giving him any hints. When they confront him, Coulson eventually orders Lincoln to kill Blake. Even though he's dealing with anger issues and is quick to attack, he's reluctant to follow through with Coulson's order. When he finally shoots at him, he discovers Blake wasn't there. He was just a hologram. Coulson figured this out before issuing the order. This was part of a test to see how Lincoln would react. Because Lincoln wasn't recruited by him, this was Coulson's way to get a better idea of his character. Seeing the struggle despite being given a direct order, along with following through with it, scores Lincoln some points.

Damage Control is Mentioned

Mack and Ruben had to fight some Watchdog members that attacked them at their parents' home. After their defeat and Mack is taken to get medical treatment after being shot, Daisy mentions Damage Control will be along to do repairs on the house.

Damage Control is basically a clean up crew that repairs destruction in the Marvel Universe after a superhero battle. It's been announced that ABC has ordered a pilot for a half-hour comedy series. This is the first time they're mentioned in the Cinematic Universe.

Thoughts

It was great seeing some backstory on a character like Mack. We never really see what these characters do in their downtime. We don't know what their lives were like before. The idea that Mack had to lie to his brother about what he does drives home the impact of the commitment S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have to make. Having his brother played by Gaius Charles made it even better.

The subplot of May taking Simmons under her wing will strengthen both of them. For too long, May has tried to keep herself distant from the others. Simmons (and Fitz) may be brilliant, but they can be a liability if they're not properly prepared for whatever comes their way. For as often as they've been out in the field, this is something that should've taken place during the first season.

Gallery

It felt like the action was toned down a tiny bit this episode. The quieter moments were important to show us more of the potential in the different characters. Hopefully now that Ruben knows the truth about Mack and S.H.I.E.L.D., perhaps he'll be brought in since the team is a couple members short.

Development 6: Mack improvised a shotgun-axe out of hatchet and a shotgun.

@stahlflamme: that was actually gonna be the 'Bonus' development. Did you watch my interview with Henry Simmons? That was one of the first things I brought up.

Perhaps I missed something but when the captured Watchdog member was talking to Daisy, he mentioned he was surprised to see her as an Inhuman because she wasn't the one they were after in the first place.

Was he talking about Lash? Someone else?

A bit slower episode yes but I still enjoyed it overall. Having a former Level 7 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent as an enemy ups the ante but of course, it appears his plans may not turn out how he wants.

I love how Coulson is still able to be the boss man and have super-powered agents defer to him.

Just to add, it may not have been great but I don't get why Mack didn't shoot the Watchdogs who were waiting outside; I know he may not like doing it but it would have been safer than having to resort to the shotgun-axe in close quarters. Although that was kind of cool. :)

Really great episode, loved the Mac character development. Was scared at first because I thought "Mini Mac" would feel forced but their dynamic was believable as brothers and his responses felt justified in the wake of what has happened in the MCU.

Watchdogs was also a lot better than I thought, feared they could have come off really cheesy but for the most part they felt like threatening and with a former SHIELD Agent running them the threat is real they aren't just a bunch of extremists with no training or with limited resources.

But yeah great episode and better than last weeks which I felt was a bit average (aside from the ending).

Titus Welliver! Man, Bosch is one AMAZING series! It's on Amazon, guys. PLEASE watch it!

Earlier in the episode she used her powers from cover but the watchdogs saw Mack and assumed he was the one that was Inhuman. That is why they track him to his house later in the episode.

@decept_o: Mack was trying to come up with a plan when he got shot by the other Watchdog in the house. The two outside heard and the shotgunaxe fight ensued.

Pretty solid episode. I like how they referenced Daredevil season 2 in the newswire at the beginning of the episode.

Nice episode. In the preview for next week's episode......Grant in the trench coat......jus a pair of sunglasses away from The Matrix.....Neo anyone.....lol lol

@kingks: True. Its actually not that different from Hives outfit in the comics, though. Of course Hives outfit isn't exactly the memorable thing about his look in the comic.

@stahlflamme: lol lol....true true

So you stopped covering Flash with reviews but every AoS release gets an article

There are the same type of article for flash episodes.

@XtremeGuardian: Thank You. I appreciate you taking time to explain. I must have really not been paying attention.

@child_of_the_past: Yup. After I typed that I realized that part. D'Oh! Thanks!

@space_coyote: yeah I spotted that too! Very cool to see it acknowledged.

I sometimes can't believe how much better this show has gotten since season 1... I love this show so much and all the characters... I hope there's at least 10 seasons haha