Well done, and a great way to clear out a lot of that excess, superfluous plot device. It looks like there will be a lot more focus on narrative instead of having to address those niggling bits of ill-conceived story. Honestly, I liked the lack of focus that the earlier episodes had. It fit the style of the people playing the game better than a cohesive, linear narrative.
EDIT: An addendum. I hardly noticed the shorter episode length, and it actually felt like a longer episode because things were actually happening at a more engaging speed. It felt like you did more with these last eight minutes than with the previous three episodes combined. Lastly, the opening would have been a bit better, and less confusing, if you'd still had the voices, since ya know, they still had voices.