Note: Full episode spoilers follow.

Having sat out last week’s premiere, both May and Ward returned in Season 3’s second episode, both in interesting, but radically different, new places in life – though it seems these two will soon be encountering each other again.

The look at Ward’s leaner, meaner version of Hydra was fun, with Ward as brutal as ever. This episode didn’t have the action highlights the previous installments directed by the returning Kevin Tancharoen did, but I did enjoy Ward’s fight on the boat, and when he simply shot and killed a man who got in a good punch – underlining this is not a guy who fights fair.As a Marvel comic geek, it was also cool to see SHIELD pull out the deep cut character that is Werner von Strucker (Spencer Treat Clark), the other child of Baron Strucker’s in the comics, who is often overlooked due to his siblings, the twins known as “Fenris”, being a whole lot flashier. It seemed like a bit of an in-joke/acknowledgement of an MCU misstep when Ward told Werner his father died a “meaningless death,” given it was pretty lame how he was killed off-screen in Age of Ultron, considering his post-credit scene in The Winter Soldier seemed to hint at big things ahead for him.Regardless, Ward recruiting the Son of Strucker is a fun turn of events, as he looks to build up his powerbase.As for May, she had gone the opposite direction, looking to put aside her old life for a far more domestic, golf-fueled experience. This was inevitably going to fail, but it was still an interesting change for her – harkening back to the desk job we met her at. And it was great casting to bring in James Hong (Chinatown, Big Trouble in Little China and so many other roles) as her dad.As for the episode’s main plot, I was surprised to see Simmons rescued so quickly, but it fits the faster pace SHIELD took on last season. It felt like it could have been interesting to see her there more before she returned, but I’m hopeful/optimistic we’ll still get looks at what happened via flashbacks and such, since that final scene in the premiere hinted at so much occurring.

Agents of SHIELD: "Purpose in the Machine" Images Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: "Purpose in the Machine" Photos 8 IMAGES

This episode faltered at times with some clunky moments of humor. Early on, SHIELD was plagued by what I can only describe as forced Whedon-isms, with too many quippy moments from too many different characters that de-valued the idea of the humorous line in the face of danger that worked so well on Buffy and Angel. The show has managed to feel much more balanced in this regard of late, but “Purpose in the Machine” suffered a bit from leaning back into this at times, with bits like the Asgardian Randolph pointing at Coulson while exclaiming “He did it!” or Hunter replying, “Neighborhood Watch?” to May when she found him outside the house falling flat.Still, the return of Randolph was a nice touch, with the show bringing back what had been a one-off Season 1 guest star in an appropriate manner. (Though with Jaimie Alexander now staring on NBC's Blindspot, it’ll be hard not to wonder if Sif could have played a role here and there, if the schedule had been clear for her, as was the case here).Two weeks in a row, Fitz has had standout moments. Last week, it was the raw emotion of seeing him helplessly beat his hands against the Monolith. Here, it was when he threw caution to the wind and dove into that portal, as he was so very determined to rescue Simmons, no matter the risk. Their dramatic reunion certainly played well, especially when he was yanked back away from her and she fought to climb forward to reach him again. Okay, the fact that they cut away just before their fingers let go of each other basically telegraphed they didn’t let to, but hey, it was a sweet moment. Let them have it!In the midst of this, we got more of Daisy’s evolution, both in her powers (which were integral to opening the portal) and via Andrew noting she is becoming a leader now. This was intermixed with the observations about the darker places Coulson has gone, including sending Hunter (and now May) on a pure revenge/assassination mission with Ward. Are we heading towards Coulson and Daisy as co-leaders of sorts, serving different purposes, or could Daisy one day supplant Coulson?Either way, kudos to Andrew for being the one to get to actually say “Secret Warriors” on the show for the first time!