‘Agents of SHIELD’ S1, E19 Recap “The Only Light in the Darkness”

Warning: Major Spoilers!

This week’s episode of “Agents of SHIELD” shows the team in their continued efforts to regroup in the midst of the SHIELD/HYDRA drama. Let’s dive into the recap.

On the docks, in the middle of night, a man is strolling and overhears chatter. He sees a man stacking crab pots and demands a ride to Portland. The fisherman refuses to give a ride 200 miles out of his way and then he stops the truck. How did he do that? Just like that, okay, that makes sense. He gets in the truck, starts it and we see his red bracelet. Wow! He puts it into gear and drives off.

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In the bus, Gemma is taking care of Ward and he even has the members wrapped around his fingers. Ian Quinn, Garrett – they are all free and on the run. Gemma wants Ward to take some time to rest but he is up and wanting to get the encrypted information from the phone to another back up device.

May, Coulson and Skye are chatting. Coulson, out of everyone, is curious about Mr. Daniels. Sure enough, he is out on the loose and ready to cause a ruckus after being released from the facility. Coulson wants to get protocol taken down so other agents can come to the secret base for safe keeping, but Koenig refuses until everyone goes through orientation and psycho-analytic tests that no one can beat. Each agent must go through the test. Who is up first?

Koenig begins running down a list of questions for Triplett, May, Gemma, Fitz and Skye. Each person undergoes the same questions. Each agent has their own answers and it gets interesting but they seem to pass, gaining their lanyards which will grant them access. Skye finally passes and is able to get a lanyard, then walks out of the room to Ward standing in the hallway. It’s Ward’s turn but with two broken ribs, his results may be skewed, Koenig requests that he doesn’t move so much. Sure thing, boss.

Coulson, Gemma, Triplett and Fitz chat about a plan to bring Daniels down. The last time they brought him down was with a flush of light.

Back in the room with Koenig, Ward is undergoing tedious questioning and Koenig begins picking up spikes in his results. Results begin running off the charts and then when it comes to the question about why he is there, Skye is the only one he can think about. Of course, when you’re HYDRA, it’s all or nothing. Ward heads down the hall to run into Fitz. The two chat and Fitz wishes he was coming along but there is more to be done.

Coulson and May are together and May wants to come along to fly the bus. Coulson doesn’t want her there because of the lies, she could have more hiding and Coulson has had enough. It’s either follow orders or get your things and leave. Ouch! Ward and May are sitting back this time. Coulson, Fitz and Gemma are in the plane heading to Portland and they are talking about Daniels. Why is Portland so important? Would it be hard to believe if a woman was involved?

In Portland, a woman is getting ready to run, grabs her music, stretches and it’s foot-over-foot. Daniels is behind her and the lights begin shutting off, one by one. Gemma is in an SUV and grabs the woman off the street. Fitz and Coulson speed in with their little mechanical bugs to overdose him with light. They want to get him under control but while he was contained, he became stronger. Take a second look, fellas. Daniels is gone!

Skye and Koenig are working together, and Skye notices that Koenig is tracking them via the badges. But, it gives Skye an idea and when she thinks that hacking into NSA is a good idea, Koenig refuses. Ward chimes in and wants to know what is going on, agreeing with her ideas. Will the duo be persuasive enough to change Koenig’s mind? Oh yes, it is and it is time to use the keys to get into the room. Go Skye!

Gemma and Triplett have picked up the woman, and they are all in a secure location. She talks about how SHIELD has protected her once before. Daniels was at a concert, front row and he was always there, saying that she was his light. She and Coulson had a good life together and had been planning a trip together when she got the call that he was killed. Fitz thinks he should go in but Coulson thinks that it is too risky. It’s already out on the line.

Ward approaches May and asks about the bus. With everything May has done, she thinks there is no more she can do, so her bags are packed and she is off. What should Ward tell Coulson?

Ward comes up on Koenig and asks what is going on. Koenig has full view of what is going on. Ward sees that he has some intel and turns around, and shuts the door.

Triplett and Gemma have a plan to have bring our musician on stage. She will play and there will be agents ready at any time in case something goes wrong. Will the rays that Fitz brought be strong enough to bring Daniels down?

Skye heads into Koenig’s office and is impressed with what she was able to hack up. Ward walks in and wants to know where Koenig is. Ward says he is off to get the information to others who will be able to help. Ward pours the drinks that was promised but there is also never a good time. Will Skye open up to Ward? Ward and Skye are chatting, getting closer, Ward expressing love for her but he will always be kevlar, and he doesn’t have to shut people out. Skye is curious as to why and everyone has skeletons. Ward bottles up, but then puts more on the table – his family life, beating up his brother and Skye gets close, the two kiss. Skye sees blood and Ward gets up. He will be okay and doesn’t need any help.

Back at the studio, Fitz and Coulson are overseeing the team and are prepping for the arrival of Daniels. When the cellist begins playing, Gemma, Coulson and Fitz are on edge. Will Daniels be there soon?

Skye is looking for Eric Koenig and sees him on the iPad. Ward is in the back, cleaning up, in a hurry. Hopefully, no one will come looking for him.

On stage, Daniels shows up and startles the cellist. She stops and Daniels is aware that he is a monster but wants her to keep playing. On she goes. Triplett, Gemma, Coulson and Fitz begin turning on switches, prepping for them. ON! But Daniels overrides them. The woman on stage is scared and Coulson then comes up behind him and when Daniels thinks he has him, Fitz comes in, then Triplett.

Skye heads to find Koenig, following his spot on the device. She is unsure of where he is and when she comes to the door that Koenig should be behind, she opens and a penny drops down. She walks into the utility closet and sees that he should be right there. She takes a couple steps and blood trickles onto the device. Skye looks up and Koenig is dead, in the vent system. Skye begins to panic. Ward then calls for her – oh Skye?

Ward comes around the corner, looking into the room with open doors, searching for Skye. In a bathroom, Skye puts it all together, he’s HYDRA. Ward calls out one more time. Still searching, he comes to the door, opens it and sees the penny fall. Skye turns the corner and is there. Skye gets close and talks about the kiss. She tells him that she panics after the kiss and she kisses him. She is good and wants this, then turns to question his motives. Ward lies through his teeth and says that he wants her. He has plans to get her out of the facility to help Coulson and the rest of the team.

The woman is on the stage and Coulson is there to check up on her. All is well and everyone is okay. On the plane, it seems that all is well, too. The cellist is upset that Coulson lied to her and Coulson wants to make things right with May. He doesn’t know that she has left. Gemma and Fitz talk, and Gemma wants to know why Fitz is holding a grudge. Fitz has nothing against Triplett. When Coulson and his crew arrive, Ward and Skye are in the air with the bus, but they don’t know where the bus is. Ward has plans to have Skye decrypt the files and it leaves her as the lead. Where to next, Captain?

In Ontario, May is backpacking and a car pulls up. May puts her bag in and gets into the car. It’s her mother. May wants to get going and after 500 miles, there was no thank you. May could have called anyone, but why her mother? Trust. May has requested something and her mother has retrieved her. May just wants to talk, and her mother seems to have always had a soft spot for Maria.

There are only two more episodes left in the season, so stay tuned as the tensions build between HYDRA and SHIELD. It’s all connected!

“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC and stars Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson, Ming-Na as Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Grant Ward, Iain de Caestecker as Leo Fitz, Elizabeth Henstridge as Gemma Simmons and Chloe Bennet as Skye.