New Inhuman Joey is in for a few surprises — as is the audience — in the exciting opening moments of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 premiere.
The premiere episode, titled “Laws of Nature,” follows the series’ pattern of crash-landing fans right in the middle of the action. In this case, the action in question is Joey (Juan Pablo Raba), a brand-new Inhuman who is having… yeah, let’s just assume this is the worst day of his life.
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As the clip from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 premiere makes clear, Joey is a survivor of the Terrigen-infused fish oil pills spilled out onto the unsuspecting market in the season 2 finale. The poor guy immediately starts wreaking public havoc with his new and totally weird powers — and soon, his ability to make things go wobbldy-gook is no longer the worst of Joey’s problems.
Because, you know. Scary guys with guns are after him.
…but not just scary guys with guns.
We interrupt this analysis to say Holy crap, it’s a Helicarrier. This is not a drill: S.H.I.E.L.D. has a Helicarrier!
Anyway.
The teamwork is strong is this cold open, as Daisy (we’re getting used to it), Mack, and Hunter extract Joey with minimal drama and no casualties. Though we loved seeing Daisy grow closer to Coulson and May in season 2, it’s equally exciting to see her leading S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with confidence and skill — and some shaky-shaky action.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 premiere clip also offers our formal introduction to the Advanced Threat Containment Unit, led by Constance Zimmer’s intimidating Rosalind Price. Already, it’s clear they mean business; Price’s lackey Banks (Andrew Howard) refers to Joey as an “alien threat,” and Price authorizes the use of lethal force on the clearly terrified young man.
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Ominously, Zimmer’s character is already aware that another faction is rescuing Inhumans from her grasp. She’s not yet canny enough to spy Coulson doing some low-tech recon from the crowd, but we don’t anticipate that S.H.I.E.L.D. will be able to fly under her radar for much longer — even with a freakin’ Helicarrier at their disposal.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 premiere synopsis focuses on the team’s efforts with Joey and the ATCU — though other mysteries get a place of honor as well.
“When Coulson and the team discover a new Inhuman, S.H.I.E.L.D. comes face to face with another organization searching for powered people,” ABC says. “And still reeling from Simmons’ dramatic disappearance, Fitz goes to extreme lengths to try to learn how to get her back.”
And as a recent promo hinted, the jam-packed premiere will also introduce Matthew Willig as the terrifying villain Lash. What this will mean for our heroes is still difficult to say — though we hope Rosalind Price and ATCU will be handling that particular “alien threat.”
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 premiere, “Laws of Nature,” airs on Sept. 29 at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.