“Bouncing Back” is episode eleven of season three of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
In the previous episode, “Maveth” – presumably the mid-season finale – Coulson had finally killed Grant Ward on the alien planet, and Fitz had fired a flare gun into the Other, who had been pretending to be Will (who had actually died at the end of “4,722 Hours” when Simmons escaped), apparently killing him. Given how powerful the Other is supposed to be, it seemed a bit too easy to kill. And perhaps it was. Gideon Malick encountered Grant Ward as he was leaving the scene back on Earth – and he seemed none the worse for being dead. The Other is now in Ward’s body.
This episode opens three months in the future, where a spacecraft in orbit suffers from an internal fire. Nothing is explained, and it goes back to the present day in Bogotá, Columbia, where a police convoy is attacked and a shipment of guns stolen by someone with superpowers.
Coulson and May are meeting with the U.S. President in Rosalind Price’s house. Although the president isn’t willing to publicly reinstate S.H.I.E.L.D., he wants them to keep doing what they are doing, and the ATCU will remain the public face of the administration. A new head will be appointed, but they will be under S.H.I.E.L.D. (and given who the new head is going to be, there’s a definite source of friction). Coulson wants to take out Malick, but the president cannot help.
In Columbia, most if the rest of the team is investigating the incident. The theft was carried out by an Inhuman who has a limited form of superspeed, although her motives are rather unexpected.
In order to try and track down Gideon Malick, Coulson decides to question Werner von Strucker. Von Strucker has been in a coma since nearly being killed by Ward in “Among Us Hide”, so Coulson decides to use the machine that was used to question him in “The Magical Place”, despite his misgivings – he says that having his arm cut off in “S.O.S.: Part 2” was more pleasant than using the machine. Malick himself now has the Other, and is trying to bring him back to full strength.
Fitz and Simmons’ relationship is a bit uncertain at the moment, but should rebuild itself.