The Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. inch toward the finish line

Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Wednesday, July 29. All times are Eastern.

Top pick

Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC, 10 p.m.): There is exactly one problem with airing an episode that’s among the best a series has ever produced in the final season of that series: How on earth are you able to top that episode? It’s a good problem to have, to be sure, but when you hit a peak there’s usually a lot of work to put in before you reach the next one, and Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. only has a handful of episodes left.

So congrats and apologies, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.! “As I Have Always Been” was a stunner. Here’s Alex McLevy on last week’s gem of an episode:

Exciting, clever, often laugh-out-loud funny, and ultimately moving, “As I Have Always Been” was a superlative episode of the show, expertly doing everything the series has struggled a bit to get right in this freewheeling final season. At this point, the time loop premise is practically an old-fashioned conceit, but to quote Phil Coulson from once long ago, when telling another hero why something was important: “People might just need a little old-fashioned.”

Now, go ahead and top that.