Agents of SHIELD Team Roster Shaken up in "Parting Shot" [Spoilers]

The agents are on another intense mission as the tension over the rising number of Inhumans continues. A Russian delegate has voted for a sanctuary state to be built in their country. This leads to an undercover mission where the agents face an evil Inhuman and the Russian government. After this mission, the team will never be the same again.

Warning: Spoilers for season 3, episode 13 of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., "Parting Shot," will be discussed below.

Bobbi and Hunter stow away on Gideon Malick's private plane as he takes the Russian delegate back to Russia. Malick is secretly interested in the proposed Inhuman sanctuary, so he can obtain Inhumans for the ancient entity known as the Hive.

Bobbi and Hunter are joined by May, Daisy, and Mack. There turns out to be an evil Inhuman there. A Russian general has the ability to control his shadow from afar. The shadow already killed the Russian prime minister's attaché,. Malick is pushing for the General to take out the prime minister in order to start a coup.

In order to save the Prime Minister, Bobbi shoots and kills the General in front of several guards. She and Hunter are taken into custody and are blamed for the deaths of three members of the Russian government.

During the interrogation, neither Bobbi nor Hunter will admit S.H.I.E.L.D. is still in operation. They claim they were on vacation. Eventually, the President arrives with an advisor to the ACTU (Phil Coulson). The President is adamant that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't exist.

Coulson goes in to talk to Bobbi and Hunter. He disables the surveillance to the room and has a plan for them to escape. Bobbi and Hunter will be be brought back to the U.S. and given new identities. They both refuse. They want to take the bullet in order to protect S.H.I.E.L.D. They will continue to insist that they are no longer members, and it no longer exists.

Bobbi and Hunter are disavowed. They're free but can no longer be agents. As Bobbi and Hunter sit in a bar to figure out what they'll do next, they start receiving anonymous shots of alcohol. Looking around, they see Simmons, Fitz, Daisy, Mack, and Coulson at separate parts of the bar. Because Hunter and Bobbi are being watched, none of them can actually talk. They all raise their drink in a silent spy's goodbye.

Thoughts

With Bobbi and Hunter no longer a part of S.H.I.E.L.D., this provides the set up for the upcoming spinoff, Marvel's Most Wanted, with the two characters. S.H.I.E.L.D. has to operate behind the scenes. If other nations discovered they were working with and training Inhumans, it would be seen as an act of war. Some Inhumans could be considered weapons of mass destruction.

The end scene was brutal to watch. You really feel the emotions between the characters. This also explains why during our set visit a couple weeks ago, Nick Blood (Hunter) was extremely coy in what might be coming up for his character. It could also explain why Adrianne Palicki was not there.

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It's almost a shame the evil General Inhuman was killed. He had a cool power and could have provided a threat later on. Then again, it's not a problem to create new Inhuman threats or bring in some from the comics. It will be interesting to see if there's more follow up or mourning over the loss of two members in the weeks to follow.