Agents of SHIELD: 5 Things We Want To See In Season 3

No. 2:  A Chance To Right Wrongs With The Inhumans

While Season 2 did successfully lay a lot of groundwork for Inhumans to be introduced into the MCU (especially in terms of establishing the mythology and backstory), the choice to position the first major group of them as villains could certainly be seen as a major misstep; if Inhumans are the MCU's "mutant" analog (since the term 'mutant' cannot be used by Marvel Studios), there probably should have been more of an effort to paint them in a favorable light.

Put simply, Skye's mother Jiaying -- who outside of Skye herself was the most prominent Inhuman character of the season -- was more Magneto than Professor X. Which was problematic:

"I built this community in the middle of nowhere so we would be left in peace. Yet, S.H.I.E.L.D. found us. No matter where we go or what we do, they will hunt us down. If we are to survive, S.H.I.E.L.D. must be destroyed."
"What are you planning?"
"I am planning for our future, your future."
―Jiaying and Skye

There was a feeble attempt made to legitimize her actions, but Jiaying was mostly played as a straight-up villain, especially during the season's major end-of-arc conflict. (No one is making "Jiaying was right" T-shirts, if you catch my drift.) Season 3 of Agents of SHIELD will give the showrunners an opportunity to course-correct a bit, with regards to portraying Inhumans as a more sympathetic group. As Skye/Daisy recruits more powered people to her team, it will also afford the oppportunity to show that Inhumans can be heroes, too.

No. 3: Grant Ward's New HYDRA Team

It's a staple of any spy/espionage show -- any monolithic, governmental, "good-guy" agency needs a monolithic, hierarchical, "bad-guy" counterpart to do battle with. For SHIELD, HYDRA is it, and while they've proven to be inconsistent in terms of their effectiveness as villains, they have proven to be the most prominent and common antagonist for the Agents of SHIELD.

While they took a bit of a backseat in Season 2 thanks to Jiaying and the Inhumans of Afterlife, Ward's power play near the end of Season 2 should serve up a good opportunity in Season 3 for some new heads of HYDRA to grow where previous heads have been "chopped off".

Ward, whose heel turn following the Captain America: The Winter Soldier tie-in during Season 1 felt a bit jarring and forced at first, has slowly grown into the series' most compelling antagonist. Seeing him in more of a leadership role with the resources of HYDRA at his fingertips should allow for some juicy narrative arcs this season.

As much as the film side of the MCU is criticized for paper-thin "one-and-done" villains, SHIELD has reliably leaned on the serialized television format to introduce villains with actual opportunity for motivation, agency, and character development rather than caricatured, unjustified, "I'm evil because this story needs a bad guy" type villainy. Elevating Ward to a leadership position within HYDRA is the next logical step.