Fitz and Simmons find themselves trapped together in a prison from which there would appear to be no escape, as the Chronicoms attempt to force them to work together to solve time travel. But first they must confront and overcome their respective demons.

Finally, the Agents of SHIELD I know and love peeks out from behind the covers, and of course it’s in an episode that’s largely carried by two of the strongest characters. Ian De Caestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge make the best of some pretty challenging (and very weird) material to deliver the best instalment of this season so far.

The setup – that the two are trapped in a prison made of their combined minds – might smack a little of something we saw in an earlier season with the Framework, but the writers are wise enough not only to acknowledge this fact but to play things out satisfyingly differently. The two are and always have been the biggest brains in SHIELD, and it makes sense that the only thing which could possibly prevent them from figuring out any problem is themselves.

For Fitz, that means facing up to something the character has now been running from for quite some time, and it’s pleasing to see that sort of callback and acknowledgment of what’s come before, which has always been one of SHIELD’s greatest strengths as a show. This is a problem that’s been haunting the character under the surface for a while, and that’s on top of some fairly uncomfortable revelations he has to endure about exactly what happened in the future and why Gemma has been so desperate to find him.

Gemma, meanwhile, has to contend with something we’ve only ever really seen hinted at before – her own tendency to bottle her problems away. The manifestation of this issue is truly terrifying, if a little cliched, and Henstridge carries off all aspects of this very well indeed and gets to have some fun on the way. What’s clear is that there is a lot more beneath the surface of Gemma Simmons than we had ever suspected – even in its sixth season, the show is capable of throwing up surprises.

Other cast members get their moments – appearing in various flashbacks or in moments of need for one or the other of Fitz-Simmons, but this is mainly a two hander, and De Caestecker and Henstridge carry it all perfectly. We don’t get to see anything on Earth, aside from a quick scene of two people discussing the fact that Fitz is in fact still alive, but honestly it’s hard to care when the episode as a whole is such a triumphant return to form.

Verdict: By turns funny, scary and emotional, this is what we have been missing in the series so far. More of this, please! 9/10

Greg D.Smith