The episode introduces guest star Spencer Treat Clark as Werner von Strucker, whose father appeared prominently in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Garner again denies the request, stating that Gutierrez needs time to adjust to his new reality before even being considered for a covert strike force.
Grant Ward, looking to rebuild Hydra, kidnaps the young Alexander Braun, a child of wealth whose ransom could support the now fledgling terrorist organization.
While being interrogated by Ward's right-hand man Kebo, Braun fights back rather than submitting, and reveals himself to actually be Werner von Strucker, son of the previous Hydra leader.
Agent Leo Fitz, who has been searching for his partner Jemma Simmons since she was apparently consumed by a Kree Monolith, realizes that the stone is a portal.
Fitz enters the portal and finds Simmons on a barren planet, bringing her back as Johnson's power destroys the Monolith.
"[2] In September 2015, Marvel revealed that main cast members Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Nick Blood, Adrianne Palicki, Henry Simmons, and Luke Mitchell would star as Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Grant Ward, Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Lance Hunter, Bobbi Morse, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, and Lincoln Campbell, respectively.
Brown and stunt coordinator Tanner Gill, along with Tancharoen, had only around a day to plan Ward's entrance in the episode, involving him driving through a warehouse between pillars while giving a "dissertation" on the future of Hydra.
[9] Eric Goldman of IGN scored "Purpose in the Machine" an 8.2 out of 10, indicating a "great" episode, saying that it was not "quite as strong as the premiere, especially when some forced moments of humor fell flat", but praising the end sequence and the actions of Fitz and Johnson within it, the character beats for May, and the introduction of Clark as Strucker.
[5] Joseph McCabe at Nerdist praised Tancharoen's direction, calling him "one of the show's strongest directors" and feeling that his episodes on the series are "remarkable not only for how well they move, but also for the clarity of their storytelling".
Club, graded the episode a "B", calling it "an improvement on the season opener, proving that the best way to build a captivating story is by focusing on the characters and their relationships."
Sava praised May's story arc, and Tancharoen's direction—while this episode doesn't give him very many chances to flex his action muscles, it still greatly benefits from his dynamic camerawork....Tancharoen understands the value of movement, giving his episodes a cinematic feel that compensates for TV's budgetary restrictions—but was disappointed that Simmons was brought back so soon after being revealed to be on an alien planet.
Though he felt that the Ward and Hydra subplot should be removed from the series at this point, Fitzpatrick was positive about the May storyline, and praised the performances of De Caestecker and Henstridge.