I was honestly expecting some reference to getting Stark to rebuild the plane, or admitting to Stark that it had gotten broken already.

and I'd like to see a scene where Coulson's doing something casual and then Jarvis says, "Good morning/evening, Agent Coulson, you're looking well" and Coulson says "Thank you, Jarvis" and then either looks horrified or casual.

Well THAT was FUN! Really enjoyed this more than the first episode. Next week looks pretty good too. And loved the Nick Fury cameo. I suspect that's the first non-interview/award first-run TV appearance Sam Jack has done in a long time. May Joss' rolodex only grow and grow.

Someone just replied to a post about "It's a magical place." with "doppelderp" and I don't know if it means something precisely, but it seems to fit quite precisely.

Was the post credit scene the one with Samuel L Jackson

Yes.

That bit with the shock grenadey thing coming out of the stick reminded me of Simon breaking River out of the labs in Serenity, too.

That's what I meant by this:

Ward has Simon's boomstick!

But with fewer words and less sense-making.

Someone just replied to a post about "It's a magical place." with "doppelderp" and I don't know if it means something precisely, but it seems to fit quite precisely

It's a little "marzipan in your pie plate bingo". The "magical place" tic, not the "doppelderp." Doppelderp is a good word for it.

I enjoyed that, but I'm really worried about the archaeologists. Especially since that temple was WAAY more than 500 years old, and therefore the archaeologists clearly had some minor cognitive damage, possibly from exposure to the MacGuffin. And I find it hard to believe that all of them would just decamp on the word of some American guy waving a badge around. Which means they probably got killed by either the police or the rebels.

I'm also amazed that SHIELD has the resources to use a frigging space ship every time it finds something it wants to destroy. Or maybe it stores them up and sends only one rocket a year?

I know it's fantasy, but still! My job is to nit-pick.

I did like the way Coulson & Reyes did their side-by-side bit in the gunfight, that was cool. Pity she turned out to be evil.

And I liked the final twist. Coolness!

Is it just me, or does Ward suddenly have a crush on Skye?

(Otherwise, his 180 on her does not work for me.)

Well, Skye did prove clear thinking in a crisis.

And someone on my flist also pointed out the ickyness of our heroes going to South America, where they shoot lots of brown people and then rescue some other brown people, who also turn out to be evil and have to die (or be sent to detention facilities). Which leaves a rather more sour taste in my mouth than I started with..

I think they were trying to offset that with the new team member discussing the rebels, etc. before they landed. not sure it worked, but I think that's what they were going for I think.

I think that would have worked better if the Peruvian police hadn't turned evil too.