It was getting better until now. Maybe it's just a blip. I don't think you can generalize that people start saying a show is getting better even if it isn't. There are lots of exceptions to that rule (Hostages!).

Aww, I like it. I think they're doing what they can to create new spins on the mythology. And I love Rebekah and Elijah. Klaus is Klaus, the petulant bad boy anti-hero. But it's a fun show.

Orly?

My Lord, what a finale. I was riveted from start to finish. Out of any show I watch, this one has a way of valuing the slow build of different arcs throughout the season which all intersect in the finale in devastating ways.

A-. I didn't share the reviewer's sentiment with the training montage. I thought they spent quite a lot of time showing Brody's path back to "normalcy," and they did a great job of letting some of the scenes breathe. Especially that fantastic first reunion scene between Carrie and Brody where you see his reaction…

Bland and terrible are usually polar opposites in TV. Bland or mediocre or middling means it's passable inoffensive entertainment. That's what I think a lot of people consider SHIELD to be. Terrible means horrible, bad, what-have-you. Like Hostages bad.

I don't think it's objectively bad. It's just….bland and mediocre. There's a difference.

I totally agree with this. Honestly, this episode was nowhere near a D+, which is reserved for the corniest of Dexter episodes and Hostages. This should not have gotten under a C+, and it was B/B- range for me.

Yeah, but the show clearly established that the lab geeks were never trained in the field. They are acting like lab geeks. Skye is acting like the quirky hacker chick, and didn't start out being a professional adult. Coulson, Ward, and Melinda DO act like professional adults IMO.