“The Only Light in the Darkness”
Directed by Vincent Misiano
Written by Monica Owusu-Breen
An agent dies. The team splits apart. Words of love are uttered. Words of love are thought, but never said aloud. Lost love is seen, and not seen. All of this and more in The Only Light in the Darkness! This was a fun tension filled episode. We took only a couple of steps forward regarding the season’s plot, but we found a lot of bits and pieces about the characters.
The episode opens on a dock with an escapee from the Fridge named Marcus Daniels sucking the power out of everything that he passes, including some poor fisherman/crabber who refused to drive him to Portland. I guess he didn’t especially want to keep it weird. On the bus Coulson just so happens to ask the status of Daniels, after Ward is able to tell his version of what happened on the Fridge. While he didn’t tell the full truth, he did tell them enough to know that weapons and prisoners are strewn throughout the planet.
Coulson decides to split the team up to go to Portland and go after Daniels. May disagrees which gives Ward a second of unvoiced anger. Eric Koenig is also against the plan, but he agrees if he is allowed to test everyone on his magical lie detector chair. Or as he calls it Orientation or as I call it Turbo Exposition. We learn that Tripp is a grandson of a Howling Commando, May has been married, Fitz has only his Mum as family, Skye named herself and the name the orphanage gave her was Mary Sue Pootz, Simmons is a Whovian and that Koenig was nicknamed Lightning Foot. Finally, it’s Ward’s turn. It’s a close call, but by calling on the memory of Skye and sticking a nail up the bed of his fingernail he is able to avoid getting shot by Koenig.
Daniels power is immense, but unstable. Fitz, Tripp, and Simmons go on the mission to take him down, deciding to put together a weapon on their way down. May tries to warn Coulson to be careful, since this mission with Daniels is personal. He disregards her warnings, and declines to take her along. Keeping her on base to fix the bus, and suffer for her sins towards him.
In Portland, Coulson tells the team that last time he was there he helped take down Daniels. Daniels was obsessed with a cellist and stalked her with her powers. No one believed her, until Coulson and SHIELD showed up. They captured him and, Coulson hoped, imprisoned him in order to rehabilitate him. They catch up to him in Portland and find out that not only wasn’t he rehabilitated, but SHIELD made him stronger. Keeping that crazy edge. Oh, we also find out that the cellist, Audrey, he was obsessed with turned into Coulson’s girlfriend. I guess we might have guessed that earlier. Because Simmons is not a good liar, Audrey knows that they are SHIELD. Because of her last experience with them, especially Coulson, she knows that SHIELD is good.
Skye and Koenig are going over where all of the weapons, or prisoners showed up in the world. She thinks it would be a good idea to hack the NSA to get their satellite feed and see what is going on in the world. Koenig is not as sure about it. But, she and Ward convince him the wisdom of being sneaky. She goes off to the SatCom room to start a hacking. Ward offers to back up the hard drive while Skye was busy hacking, but she tells him that the hard drive can only be opened at a certain geographic location.
Oh, yeah, Skye also noticed that Koenig was tracking them by their lanyards. I guess before Orientatioin Koenig didn’t need to track them, since they didn’t have lanyards. Maybe they were forced to stay in one room. In any case, Koenig did not want Ward to see his tracking tablet, I guess he still harbored some suspicion against him.
Fitz tells Coulson the only way they can save Audrey is if they use her as bait. Coulson is unwilling at first, but relents when he realizes that’s the only way he can save her.
May tells Ward that the bus is ready, and can go 10,000 miles. They have a conversation about following orders, and how you don’t question them. He prepares himself to fight her and take her out. But, before he can she gets her bag, and announces her intention to leave.
Ward goes to Koenig and sees that Skye has already hacked the NSA and images are starting to come in. We go to a commercial, and when we come back Skye comes in and sees that Koenig is all alone. Creepily, Ward is standing in the background. They start having a serious relationship over drinks about the Future of their Relationship. Right after he tells her a tale of his sorry sad childhood, he makes his sexy spy move. Right in the middle of their makeout session Skye finds some blood on his ear. He quickly gets up and says he is going to go wash up. While he is gone Skye finds Koenig’s lanyard tablet. He starts walking towards where he is.
Now we have this awesome tension filled scene that switches between Audrey playing the cello as a big piece of Power Bait, and Skye searching for Koenig. Back and forth the scene switches. Until, finally Skye enters the room holding Koenig and while looking for him some blood drips down on her tablet from his body up in the catwalk. Meanwhile, out in Portland, the gang starts dousing Daniels with Banner designed gamma weapons.
Skye realizes that Ward is Hydra and starts crying and trying to figure out what to do. She goes through the entire women’s room, seemingly trying to be Maguver, until finally she looks out one of the fake windows with a city scape and makes her plan.
Daniels defeats the weapons and continues on towards Audrey. Coulson comes to rescue bathing Daniels in the weapon’s power, giving Tripp a chance to get up and use his weapon as well. Finally, Daniels is destroyed in a sudden explosion of dark power that knocks Audrey over. With Daniels defeated, Coulson goes over and checks on Audrey. He tells her that he will always watch over her, and moves on before she wakes up. When she does wake up she says she must have dreamed him being there.
Coulson and Fitz have a discussion about love after the mission is over. Coulson gets up to leave and Simmons and Fitz have a chance to be alone. Simmons complains that Fitz is being unfair to Tripp, and wants to assure him that Tripp is a good guy. Fitz doesn’t take his chance to express his love for Simmons, even after the surprising pep talk from Ward, and Coulson’s tale of needing to tell the truth.
Skye clears all of her tears and expresses her love for Ward. He buys it, and tells her that Fitz has called and they need to go help them. She pretends to buy it and in the plane they run. She asks where they are going and he tells her that Fitz told him they needed the weapon from Peru. So, their next stop is up to her.
The rest of the team arrives at the base shocked to find no Bus, an no team.
The episode ends with May on a road in Ontario when a car with Pennsylvania tags stops to pick her up. Her Mother has picked her up, with information about Maria Hill.
This was a fantastic episode. That tension filled ten minutes with the two plots coming to a climax at the same time near the end of the episode was absolutely perfect, and it kept me on the edge of my seat each and every second. They didn’t move forward much with Ward’s story, but they did a good job showing him working his way around the lie detector, and maneuvering Skye to go with him. They also did a good job showing how hurt Coulson was by May’s actions (and how sad that Coulson realizes forgiveness is the key after May is already gone). Amy Acker was wasted in such a small role with so little to do, but she was great in the scenes she had. Poor Patton Oswalt. Already off the show. It was a great run, that’s for sure.
It’s still unclear how much of Ward’s love for Skye is an act to get the info, and how much of it is real. Of course, much of it was put on to get that hard drive decrypted. But, I am guessing some of the lines could be taken either way “I wish we could stay in here and forget the rest of the world.”
They’re still playing with Simmons and how he feels about the situation. Are you guys right? Is she deep cover Hydra? Or is she just upset about SHIELD closing up. They’ve done a good job of keeping that a mystery. Although, Fitz’s love for Simmons is becoming more and more outward. She’s his dream on the lonely island? Come on Fitz!
By the way. Thanks a lot SHIELD. You gave Coulson yet another reason to question his commitment. Not only do you not help Daniels, or get rid of his powers. But, you strengthen them? What’s the end game of strenthening prisoners without getting them on your side? Nicely done! Oh well, I guess HYRDA was in charge of the prisons systems.
I can’t wait for next week! I’m looking forward to seeing how Skye let the others know that Ward was bad, May’s encounter with Maria Hill, Skye and Ward traveling together, and whatever else they have to throw at us!
Favorite bits[ul]
[li]I liked all of Fitz’s insults towards Tripp, especially the ones he realized were off the mark once he said them.[/li][li]“Nothing bad happens when you are working with something called Dark Force”[/li][li]“That’s almost romantic.”[/li][li]“Who’s technology is this?” “Banner’s” “Oh then. I’m sure it will go without a hitch.”[/li][li]“The Big Scary Water Boarding Bear.”[/li][li]“Agent of Playing a video game while hiding in a bunker.”[/li][/ul]