It was a wonderful tribute to the importance of Agents of SHIELD in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it was also goddamn terrifying and I almost had a heart attack.

Lots of drama, lots of action, lots of balls in the air, with powers and aliens and space ships and time travel.

Solving their problem solves nothing; seeing the disastrous results of their future actions fixes nothing. For a genre-loving audience fluent in time travel paradoxes, this obstacle shouldn't be as compelling as it is.

Well, THAT was bonkers.

This is a hard reset for the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. storyline, and a welcome one that goes big and isn't afraid to experiment with massive large-scale storytelling. What a fantastic twist.

Aside from the setting, the characters we've grown to know and love over these past few years still don't skip a beat.

It's interesting that Agents of SHIELD has become a bridge between the Marvel Earth and the Marvel Cosmos. Even Iron Man and Captain America haven't really interacted with aliens yet.

Agents of SHIELD went big for its Season 5 story, and while there was plenty of engaging action and team-building turmoil there was also a sense of tragic transience.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the one-liners were flying fast and furious throughout.

Overall, there's a lot to love about what S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing in the new season. It's a crazy ride fans are going to be glad they've stayed aboard for.

It was something of a genius masterstroke to give the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. an adventure in space that the Guardians of the Galaxy would fit right into, with the universe of Firefly thrown in there for good measure, too.