This episode was extraordinarily well done because it was funny, relatable, cute, entertaining, and full of love all at the same time.
Malcolm's condition certainly isn't a rare one--certainly how he ultimately handled it might have been, but the entire storyline proved to us just how important the Malcolm-Stevie friendship had become over the last seven years. As nervous as Malcolm was, he wanted to support his friend--he just wasn't sure about the right way to go about it. And as Tony pointed out, it was touching to see Stevie just thrilled to see Malcolm, even after he pretty much blamed the operation on Stevie.
The Hal plot was typical of that character--beginning quite sanely, but quickly accelerating to a degree that is surreal, yet believable. It's reminiscient of such plots at Pearl Harbor and Dewey's Special Class, in which Hal becomes so entwined in completing a task that everything else takes a backseat. But what separates plots like these from plots like Bomb Shelter or Lois Strikes Back is that they're realistic. I'm not saying they happen every single day; I'm just saying that someone with Hal's personality can quite easily find himself intertwined in a boat battle. The point is that this seemingly rare and impossible stunt was made to seem realistic by the talented writers. Furthermore, they were able to make the plot even better by extending some heart into the episode and putting some additional affection between Hal and Malcolm. It's not exactly news to anyone that the boys are more important to Hal than to Lois. Sure, Lois loves them and sure they'd both be happy to go away to Mexico and never see them again, but the latter would be much harder on Hal--being separated from Francis always bothered him. Hal shares a special bond with his boys that's been shown numerous times throughout the series; in this episode, his development with Malcolm was furthered with this one simple line:
"Malcolm, sometimes all you need to say is hello."
Changing gears, unlike Tony, I found the Lois/Dewey plot to be sheer genius. We've seen physical battles plenty of times--probably the best recent example is Reese vs. Stevie. But this time, we saw a much more kniving side of each; both thought they were outsmarting each other, but really neither was outsmarting the other one. Brilliantly well written indeed!