Lance Hunter Returns to Save Fitz in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

         

Nick Blood’s Lance Hunter finally returns in the next episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ‘Rewind,’ as he swoops in to save Leo Fitz (Iain de Caestecker), who was left behind when his friends were abducted and sent to the future.

Fan-favorites Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse were written out of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. back in season 3. At the time, Marvel planned for them to star in their own series, Marvel’s Most Wanted. Unfortunately, ABC passed on the spinoff show, and as a result Hunter and Morse have been missing in action for quite a while.

Now, Marvel has confirmed that at least Lance Hunter is about to return. In an interview with TV Line, Blood explained that his character will play a crucial part in Fitz’s mission. They additionally released an official preview, showing Hunter’s thrilling return [above].

Friday night’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode, “Rewind,” seems to kick off with Fitz a prisoner. As fans will remember, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 4 came to a close with the team in a difficult place. Blamed for an attempted assassination, they were wanted men. In a surprise twist, it wasn’t the military who tracked them down. As Fitz has correctly surmised, his friends were abducted by aliens, but he was left behind.

It seems that Fitz has languished in prison for six months, desperately wracking his brain to figure out what happened to his friends. Now, his captors’ patience has run out, but just in time he gets help from an unexpected source. Enter Lance Hunter, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent fans never really thought we’d see again.

While the S.H.I.E.L.D. team has been busy saving the world a few times, Hunter and Morse have been up to their old tricks. “He doesn’t necessarily have access to all the bells-and-whistles and gadgetry that S.H.I.E.L.D. did,” Blood explained to TV Line, and that’s going to shape how he helps Fitz track the team down. It sounds as though the quick-witted spy will have to call in favors from some of his “dodgy friends,” and naturally we can expect that strategy to backfire.

Hunter’s return will leave fans wondering whether or not Adrianne Palicki’s Bobbi Morse aka. Mockingbird will also turn up in season 5. Sadly, it doesn’t sound likely. Asked about Bobbi’s whereabouts, Blood gave an amusing answer. He suggested Hunter and Morse probably just had “a tiff,” and have parted ways for a while to cool off. While Blood does seem to have missed working with Palicki, he couldn’t resist a final quip: “Hunter’s got his Bobbi fix, so he’s probably grateful for a little time away from the ex-wife!”

In true Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. style, Marvel’s teaser raises more questions than answers. No doubt the episode itself will explain last Friday’s cliffhanger, in which Fitz unmasked to request Daisy fight to the death. But how does Lance Hunter fit into all this? And how did Hunter even learn about Fitz’s plight? Fans will be eager to learn the answers.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues with “Rewind” airing Friday December 22 at 9pm on ABC.