From amazing Inhumans to relationship revision and a horrifying host for Hive — here’s what to expect in the incredible Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season premiere!

The first 40 seconds will make you flip

It’s no secret that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. knows how to pull off “WTF” moments, but the major surprises are usually saved for the end of the episode. Not so in “Bouncing Back,” which opens with what may be the 40 craziest seconds of the show’s history. It is impossible (literally) to project exactly what this means, but one thing is for sure: This potent prologue is going to have to a major impact on the events to come.

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Coulson gets a new mandate… and something else

The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season premiere lets Coulson take full advantage of “Maveth’s” leftover carnage. With the ATCU in shambles and Gideon Malick on the loose, the Director is able to get real with the President of the United States — and come away with a small but significant victory for S.H.I.E.L.D.

As for the other thing? Well, let’s just say that the events on Maveth have inspired Coulson to make another, more aesthetic kind of change.

Meet Elena Rodriguez, love of your life

“Bouncing Back” introduces another new Inhuman character to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fold. Elena Rodriguez (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) is a newly-transformed speedster who has rapidly been making waves in her native Columbia. She is also self-assured, intelligent, and possessed of incredible conviction — and, incidentally, one of the show’s first Inhumans to use her powers with a real sense of humor and joy.

There’s a lot going on in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season premiere, and a lot of madness ahead. But no matter what happens, we definitely want Elena (perhaps sporting a toy-inspired nickname) to be along for the ride.

Fitz and Simmons make a decision

It wouldn’t be an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. premiere without some FitzSimmons drama, right? Actually, not really. Between an Inhumans investigation in Colombia and Coulson up to his elbows in the hunt for Gideon Malick, Fitz and Simmons take an understandable back-seat to the excitement this week. But the science kids do take an interesting step together in “Bouncing Back,” and we’re certainly intrigued to see where their decision ultimately leads.

Hive-Ward is the best Ward

From white-bread Specialist to tricksy, traitorous murderer, Brett Dalton has worn a lot of hats on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now he has the chance to wear a whole new body (well, so to speak) and we have to say — it’s a really great look on him.

As Hive, Dalton sheds the smug, entitled evil that Ward wore as a second skin. Gone is the obsessive personality, gone is the pretension of misunderstood reactionary. Hive is evil, all right (his choice of binge-worthy TV makes that clear) but he doesn’t need to prove that he’s the most powerful being in the room. He just is — or he will be — and in the meantime, he doesn’t give a flying Fitz what anyone else thinks.

That said, what we see of Hive in “Bouncing Back” suggests that what this prime Inhuman thinks is going to be very important indeed… and probably not a good thing for the good guys.

Bonus hint!

Follow the necklace…

The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mid-season premiere, “Bouncing Back,” airs Tuesday, March 8 at 9:00 p.m. on ABC.

What are your top theories for the ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ mid-season premiere?