After taking a week off, ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ returned for their mid-season finale by presenting one hell of an episode. Without a doubt, this week’s episode titled ‘The Bridge’ was one of the best ones so far. Finally, everything is starting to come together!

The latest installment of the first television show set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe caught up with Michael Peterson, the superpowered individual with enhancements courtesy of Project Centipede from the show’s pilot played by Joss Whedon alum J. August Richards. We find Peterson training to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, but he’s called into the field to join Agent Coulson’s team as they face Centipede featuring the girl in the flower dress, her army of newly stabilized Extremis-injected super-soldiers, and their tactical leader Poe who has just been broken out of prison.

This is literally the episode that we’ve all been waiting for. All the loose threads from the first half of the season are finally starting to get tied together. I feel like things from basically every episode that preceded this one came back to play a part in this story. While things may have seemed a bit disjointed before, now they suddenly make more sense. Of course, there are a whole mess of new questions that arise from things coming into play all at once, but these are the good questions that make me want to tune in rather than ones that make me change the channel.

Of the things that came back in ‘The Bridge’, my favorite had to be Michael Peterson. In only two appearances, Richards’ character has had some rich development and an interesting storyline. Though I may like them more now than I did in the beginning of the show, I can’t really say the same thing for FitzSimmons. However, they have come a little way from where they were at the start and they’re each a little more of their own person now. It only took half a season, but I don’t think these two agents will be as much of an annoyance now.

And speaking of our agents, I love the growing relationship between Agent May and Agent Ward. The two of them aren’t like other couples that you see on TV these days, so that alone intrigues me. But on top of that, seeing the always guarded May overanalyze Ward’s actions in the field shows that he’s in her head a bit in the best way. This budding romance is one that I want to see explored more, but considering the turn of events in this episode, I could see the two of them being all business since she is meant to be in charge of the team in the event that something happens to Agent Coulson.

Centipede was also a welcome return. This antagonistic organization actually feels threatening similar to how Oscorp feels threatening in Spider-Man’s world. This mysterious and imposing group is very powerful and you certainly don’t want it coming after you. But while Spidey may dodge old stormin’ Norman from time to time, Centipede has targeted Agent Coulson and his team in order to find out information that they desperately need. This new development has put the team in a position that we haven’t exactly seen them in before: They are vulnerable and fragile. Prior to this, they always had the guidance of Coulson and it was a little hard to believe that they’d fail. But now the game has changed and I’m hooked on watching. (But let’s be honest. I’d probably be watching anyway.)

Overall, this episode had some great throwbacks that were pulled together quite nicely. All those details combined with the heartbreaking cliffhanger ending definitely has me on the hook to come back for more when the season resumes next month. And to put that oh so delectable cherry on top, we’re finally going to get to the bottom of Coulson’s return after his demise at the hands of Loki in ‘The Avengers’. Finally, it feels like ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ has hit its stride and I can’t wait to see where all this goes in the second half of the season.

‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ starring Brett Dalton, Ming-Na Wen, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, Chloe Bennet, and Clark Gregg returns on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 at 8:00pm on ABC.