To me, I find this episode special because prior to the series being renewed for a seventh and final season (and it was quite iffy there for awhile), this episode would have been the final episode of MITM that was filmed. While it wasn't aired as a season finale, it was the last episode produced in season 6. Linwood Boomer came back to direct this episode and it would have aired as a series finale, had the series not been picked up for another season.
Oh, god, I would have hated this episode as a series finale. But then, I'm not really fond of this episode full-stop and am mystified by the love it receives.
Agreed. This episode would have been bad for a series finale - but it was a good general episode. There just wasn't enough closure for it to be the end.