Well, the show pretty much redeemed itself for me with this episode. The conversation between Coulson and Fury was everything I was hoping for-- Fury saved Coulson, not because he is an alien or an 086 or the Chosen One or his coming was foretold in the scrolls of prophecy, but just because he's a really good person. Coulson is the reason I watched this show to begin with and that kind of blue-skies philosophy is what made me love it. I can forgive a few haywire moments for that. And Coulson now has his mandate-- and a mysterious toolbox-- to rebuild SHIELD.
The entire subplot about Fitz and Simmons, from the moment she woke up to Fury pulling them out of the ocean like a Deus Ex Machina, was wonderful. I loved the conversation about the afterlife, I loved them realizing that certain death was a problem they could solve, I loved Fitz's confession, and I loved Gemma's reaction. The only thing I didn't love was the implication that Fitz is not completely okay. They better not screw him up. And if they do, they better have a way to fix him.
I'm glad they acknowledged in-story that Ward is just a puppy dog for Garrett. It's good that he's in custody, but I'd rather he was dead and gone (nothing against the actor-- I feel kind of bad for him). The showdown with May was pretty cringe-worthy, but it was the only bad moment in the episode, really.
I got a big kick out of Deathlok disappearing into the shadows to make amends. That was surely a classic Marvel Comics moment. And it was great when he got that text message from his son and blasted Garrett a fraction of a second later-- that was satisfying to watch.
And we've got some stuff to wonder about for next season, other than Fitz's health. Raina apparently knows Skye's daddy. And Coulson seems to understand the symbols that Garrett was drawing-- and he, too, would rather scratch them on a wall than use pencil and paper. I'm thinking Kree.
Anyway-- really nice. I'll rewatch it when I get the chance. And I'm back to getting the DVD set again.