This episode was outstanding. I mean it. I'm so glad that the writers finally gave to TJ a storyline that intense, don't get me wrong, I love that every and each characters cont in this show, but sometimes, to gave storylines to other characters they tend to forget that they have incredible actors like TJ to use, and make the show literally shine.
I love the way the show came back, the way the describe Hodgins' denial and his reaction and hope and desire to return to work to a "normal" life was heart-crushing and incredibly delicate, I love that they chose not to go with a Hodgins in a state of rage for what happened, like they are really exploring every step of his path toward the moment in which he will be forced to face his situation.
I read here and there few nasty comments about Cam and Brennan reaction, but this time I totally disagree with the critics, because I fount both the characters to be totally IC and consistent with what they are. It's not the first time Cam has this difficult role of the "enforcer" of the Jeffersonian (she did the same thing when Brennan was arrested), she is not only Hodgins' friend, she is his boss too, and she has to take care of the people she work with. Plus she is a doctor too, she probably knew that his doctor told Hodgins to not to go to work too soon, and to take it easy, and she responded to that, out of love and affection for him. And, in the end, she even confesses to Hodgins her own fear, what happened to him is a shock for everybody at the Jeffersonian and she is human, she has the right to react to something that bad, even making mistakes.
The same for Brennan: I read she was clueless and cold to say that Hodgins should have accepted the reality of his condition, but she is not. Brennan is a hyper-rational, she is always have been, and it's totally IC for her to not to understand Hodgins' denial, but she wasn't mean to him in the episode, she didn't go to Hodgins tell him in his face what she was thinking: she was a good friend to Angela and she confronted with Booth about what she was feeling. The Brennan form the first seasons wouldn't have never act like that, so I liked the way the writers showed her progression, her growth. It was barely visible, but it was there.
It's been a while I didn't enjoy an episode THAT much, in all its aspects, but I did, I find everything to be very well-balanced and gentle. I loved that. And now I can't wait to see what's next.