Coulson and his team were off to Peru to recover an item of unknown, also known as an "0-8-4," on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this week.

Once there, the beloved agent found that retrieving the item was relatively easy... but getting five strangers to work as a team could be quite the opposite.

It was a nice to see that Coulson’s selection of misfits didn't instantly become a team after just one mission. Then again, it shouldn't really that big of surprise , given that it’s a fairly common theme among Marvel stories: a new team has to figure out how to work together.

You will find it it in everything from movies like The Avengers and X-Men to comics like Guardians of the Galaxy, all great units go through a growth cycle that starts at the awkward point of a bunch of individuals all doing their own thing, evolving and becoming workable unit as time goes on.

You have to love how loyal Coulson is to his people; he never wavered in his belief of them becoming a team. Just like Nick Fury and The Avengers, Coulson was right about his people: when working together they got the job done. 

Melinda May fans were treated to a little more information on her background. Now I’m more curious than ever on how she got the nick name (or code name) “The Calvary." It’s clear she’s not a fan of it, but it doesn’t seem to stop her from living up to it.

Melinda is second in my curiosity only behind Skye. I wish we had gotten a little more from her on her background, but I suspect that hers is going to be an “all or nothing” situation, that once we learn a little it will all come pouring out together.

Okay, we did get one cryptic text from The Rising Tide that she replied back to. So now we know she’s not the only one in that group. Oh, and that she might be spying on S.H.I.E.L.D. for them. I’m not worried, as I suspect that Coulson knows she still in contact with them and has faith she will do the right thing.  

Of course, I have to gush on how fun Fitz and Simmons were this week. They may not be cleared for field work, but they certainly know how to step up and do their part of the puzzle when all the pieces are coming together. I loved how Simmons was running down the list of "new things" they had done on the mission like they were on vacation.  

On the other hand, I’m a little sad for Coulson. His first time seeing an old fling from his past and she tries to use it against him. Maybe it’s just a time honored tradition for leaders in Whedon-verse, as I think back to Saffron and Mal in Serenity and realize Coulson is in good company.

By far the coolest point in the episode, though, was the surprise appearance of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, busting Coulson’s chops for wrecking the plan. In last week's Round Table I asked who we might want to see from the Avengers, I never dreamed we would see Fury at all... much less this soon!

Will we continue to see cameos from other Marvel franchises? While I think it's cool, I fear there could be too much of a good thing and the show could easily become dependent on it.  

Overall, it was a really good second offering for the freshman show and I think it has more potential than ever to be one of this season’s biggest hits. What did you think? Was anything missing you really wanted to see? 

Jim G. is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow him on Twitter.