S01.E19: The Only Light in the Darkness

[ElectricBoogaloo]

COULSON’S PAST LOVE IS IN JEOPARDY - With their WORLD turned upside down, Coulson races to save the life of his one true love as the mystery of “The Cellist,” which began in Marvel’s The Avengers, is finally revealed on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

[ChelseaNH]

There's a mystery to "The Cellist"?  Other than the question of her name, I can't think of any mystery raised in the movie.  Well, there was some speculation about her sex, but that's been put to rest.

[charis]

The fact that they're hyping her up as his "one true love" when they dodged giving her a NAME for the entire show to date does not inspire any confidence in me ...  Seems more like the latest example of "more show and less tell" being tossed out a window.

[AimingforYoko]

How in the hell has Skye-Ward become one of the most interesting parts of the show? Gotta give Skye this, she pulled her shit together right quick.

[formerlyfreedom]

Yes, Skye went up in my estimation tonight.

And how about that tag? That was pretty awesome. Hi, Mama May!

[Grammaeryn]

And... that's when my interest in the show dropped to pre-Hydra levels. 

They killed Patton! Bastards!

Not interested in the Sky and Ward hour thank you very much.

[Last Time Lord]

I have a digital antenna, and it went on the fritz for a good few minutes. Did we see Ward kill the Bunker Agent, or did we find out with Skye?

 

I really liked this one. The Cello music as the field agents were waiting to spring the trap still being heard over Ward looking for Skye really helped to amp up the tension.

[Jediknight]

Man this timeframe is all messed up.  Nobody knows where Maria Hill is?  I'm guessing they're saying the ending of Winter Soldier happened over 4 months or so.

Probably not a good idea to name drop Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers in a show where it's become clear they won't pop up.  Yeah we get Maria Hill next week, but we know that none of the big superheroes are popping up.

I love that Ward is 100% HYDRA.  There's no coming back for him, he's killed too many people, has a soul, and has free will.  He's gone beyond the point of no return.  Thank you writers for that.  I did not want to see the power of his love for Skye saving him.  He's more interesting evil, and Triplett is a better character than SHIELD agent Ward.

[formerlyfreedom]

Did we see Ward kill the Bunker Agent, or did we find out with Skye?

 

He closed the door 'sinisterly,' so we knew it was going to happen, but we found out with Skye that it actually happened.

[caseylane]

Can someone explain to me why Skye figured out it was Ward and not May that killed Bunker Agent? I know she saw Ward walking around on the tablet but why would she think it was him when May had left all of a sudden. Once he said the guy was warming up the plane for them she knew he was lying but she knew before that. I'm confused.

[HistoryGirl]

God, is the death knell ringing for Fitz or what? Please, please say it's not so. 

In any case my shipper feels were just all over the place.  The scene at the end when Simmons confronted Fitz about his bad attitude toward Triplett and Fitz's inability to pull the trigger over his fear that she's not ready to hear it... Guh. 

Ward is a legit PSYCHOPATH.  But Koenig had that coming. Ward was right there in his hand failing his stupid lie detector test and he didn't pull the trigger. Tsk. 

[thuganomics85]

Simmons busting out the TARDIS as her choice for what's in the box?  Hell yeah!  I want Simmons as the next Doctor Who companion!  Although, really, Simmons could be in anything and it would be awesome.  Unless the show is very bleak and full of death (so, stay the hell away from Westeros, Simmons!)

 

I think Skye is doing the right thing.  If she lets Ward know that she knows he's Hydra, he would have easily overpowered her, and taken her anyway.  At least here, she might be able buy time and learn more info.  I can work with this.  I'm actually curious to see where this goes.  I wonder if the bit that her "given" name from the orphanage being "Mary Sue Poots", was suppose to be some kind of joke/acknowledgment about how special/perfect she can come off at times (the whole "Mary Sue" label.)

 

On the other hand, did not give a shit about the other stuff.  I like Amy Acker fine on Person of Interest, but she was boring here, and both Fitz and Coulson annoyed the fuck out of me.  Fitz just needs to either man up and tell Simmons, or get over it, because I was getting to the point where I wanted Tripplet to just smack him.  And, of course, Coulson's "reason" for this mission is because he loves Amy Acker and not because he's just trying to do his duty.  And, of course, he doesn't tell anyone this, until she lets it slips.  Only he can keep secrets.  At least he seemed to acknowledge it at the end, but I don't blame Melinda for bailing.  Maria Hill is much more awesome anyway.  Team Melinda/Maria!

 

So, Tripplet is the grandson of a Howling Commando?  Maybe Gabe Jones, the one played by Derek Luke in the film?

Edited April 23, 2014 by thuganomics85

[Lantern7]

RIP Agent Koenig. May you get your lanyard right away when you arrive in Secret Agent Heaven.

Damn . . . dunno if Skye is brave or stupid for going with Ward.

[shapeshifter]

But Koenig had that coming. Ward was right there in his hand failing his stupid lie detector test and he didn't pull the trigger. Tsk.

I know, but sheesh, now Patton Oswalt can't come back. Unless maybe he has an evil twin?

And yes, thuganomics, I loved Simmons' choice of a TARDIS--both because of the Who reference and because, seriously, is that the best answer or what?--and I loved that Skye's given name was Mary Sue Poots. Does anyone know if Chloe Bennett knows the Mary Sue reference?

[Sandman]

Can we keep Mama May? She's so badass, the Cavalry calls her.

[Izzyboy]

I enjoyed this episode, although maybe not as much as the last couple.  I will say I thought there was real tension when Skye realized Ward was with Hydra and he was closing in on her.  More than I thought there would be!  I am sick of Coulson's hypocritical treatment of May so I hope he really is over that crap.  No secrets with the team...unless Coulson is the one keeping the secret and then its fine by him...

[KirkB]

I'm hoping Skye had the good sense to leave a note or a message for Coulson and the others when they get back. A warning about Ward, at least. She was alone for a good period of time and the way she was looking at some of the things in the supply closet...

Ward makes a much greater villain than he did a hero. A lot of people found Ward boring and chalked it up to Dalton's acting. Now it looks like it was something Ward was doing deliberately.

I'm not quite sure what to think about Koenig. When it seemed to become obvious Ward was failing the lie detector I half expected him to drop a "Hail Hydra." I thought he let his guard down way too easy but then again he's not really a field agent.

[Cerulean]

Who is May's ex?

Seems like they placed the gun on the mantle. Presumably Coulson knows him, since they've talked so much about past history, but part of me wonders if it's supposed to *be* him.

[ramble]

I've realized I'm just a stubborn, old meanie. I can't get past my dislike of Skye. She annoys by just being. It makes the show more difficult to watch. I have a not so secret hope that Ward will have to kill her. My fear is that in the end he won't be able if it's necessary because it's her.

I want to know more about Mama May. What agency is she with?

[Raja]

Can someone explain to me why Skye figured out it was Ward and not May that killed Bunker Agent? I know she saw Ward walking around on the tablet but why would she think it was him when May had left all of a sudden. Once he said the guy was warming up the plane for them she knew he was lying but she knew before that. I'm confused.

The blood splatter on Ward, maybe she watches CSI.

[Cranberry]

I've realized I'm just a stubborn, old meanie. I can't get past my dislike of Skye. She annoys by just being. It makes the show more difficult to watch. I have a not so secret hope that Ward will have to kill her. My fear is that in the end he won't be able if it's necessary because it's her.

I hope she has to kill him. 

I actually really like how they're handling the Skye/Ward thing. I was worried that the show was going to push it as this epic romance, but what we're really getting is Ward pushing it hard because he needs something from Skye, and Skye wanting to take it slow (until she has to kiss Ward again so that he doesn't realize she's onto him, anyway). I liked that she told him it wasn't a good time to start anything and that she'd only kissed him because she thought they were going to die.

[Sandman]

I don't care if you have the most sensitive, hair-trigger, multi-modal (not for nothing, show, but biofeedback is based on galvanic skin response) lie detecting thingamajig in the history of Stark industries; if you warn the subject that you're suspicious by pulling your gun, and don't follow through, you just have a death wish HYDRA will be only too happy to accommodate. Level Six my eye!

I thought Agent Koenig seemed much warier about Skye than about Ward. At least Koenig seemed less enthralled with Skye than the other Earthlings.

[Jediknight]

I don't care if you have the most sensitive, hair-trigger, multi-modal (not for nothing, show, but biofeedback is based on galvanic skin response) lie detecting thingamajig in the history of Stark industries; if you warn the subject that you're suspicious by pulling your gun, and don't follow through, you just have a death wish HYDRA will be only too happy to accommodate. Level Six my eye!

 

Or at least warn Coulson and the team about him.

[HistoryGirl]

I wouldn't be surprised if Coulson is May's ex-husband.  It would explain his anger at her over lying.  I mean in a group so small that you don't know who to trust and May is clearly a pro-Fury supporter, yet you nag her until she actually physically leaves?  There's more to that than what's on the surface. 

The cellist thing was such fan pandering.  I mean it served the purpose of removing some players (Fitz, Simmons, Trip) from the bunker and of pulling at Fitz's feelings, but aside from that? What else was really accomplished by meeting the cellist?  

What was so significant about the photo in the bathroom?  What skyline is that of?  I figure Skye must've left a message or something for the team (well, a female member of the team if it's the ladies. lol) 

[Sandman]

What was so significant about the photo in the bathroom?  What skyline is that of?  I figure Skye must've left a message or something for the team (well, a female member of the team if it's the ladies. lol)

I thought Skye must have hidden a message there somehow, as well.

[Glory]

We saw one on the windows change views so I thought she left a message on the window before it changed to the next view.

I really liked Sky's freak out. It felt so real to me. Her best acting to date.

[Tara Ariano]

Here's Monty's post on the episode!

[EricJ]

 

Probably not a good idea to name drop Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers in a show where it's become clear they won't pop up.

I don't really get this attitude - should Parks and Rec not name drop Jay-Z because he's not likely to show up?

Anyway, though I really liked this episode I thought Koenig was an idiot in the way he handled the lie detector. I don't care how super-advanced it is, you're going to get better results by asking Yes or No questions like "Are you a Hydra agent?" (Though I was hoping Koenig would slip a Voight-Kampff question in there. And that someone would say that what was in the box was Gwynneth Paltrow's head.)

[JTMacc99]

Can we keep Mama May? She's so badass, the Cavalry calls her.

Mama May: "Why me?"

Agent May: "I needed somebody I could trust."

Mama May: "That bad, eh?"

 

Damn . . . dunno if Skye is brave or stupid for going with Ward.

I think it was more "didn't have a choice".

[KennedyHawk]

Can someone explain to me why Skye figured out it was Ward and not May that killed Bunker Agent? I know she saw Ward walking around on the tablet but why would she think it was him when May had left all of a sudden. Once he said the guy was warming up the plane for them she knew he was lying but she knew before that. I'm confused.

 

I'm not sure if she was 100% sure but in her situation she had to assume it. It may have confirmed her suspicions when he checked the body closet for the penny drop. She seemed to be able to tell he had been acting funny since returning maybe that was a part of it.

 

Also really curious about May's mother and her organization and her relationship with Maria Hill. Also based on Skye's comment about the police reports are there any known teleporting villains from Moroco in the comics?

Edited April 23, 2014 by KennedyHawk

[AzureOwl]

Also really curious about May's mother and her organization and her relationship with Maria Hill. Also based on Skye's comment about the police reports are there any known teleporting villains from Moroco in the comics?

 

I have the suspicion that the Fridge was located in Morocco or pretty close. From what I can remember the tower was located at a point were the desert met the sea, and presumably it was far from any densely populated areas. Western Sahara fits those criteria, and being one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, and under no clear jurisdiction because of its disputed status, it would be the ideal spot to build the Fridge. 

Edited April 23, 2014 by AzureOwl

[Sandman]

Mama May: "Why me?"

Agent May: "I needed somebody I could trust."

Mama May: "That bad, eh?"

 

This didn't really line up for me, once we learned that Mama May is also part of an "Agency." If she's also in the trade, she would know without asking (wouldn't she?) that May called her precisely because there's no one else to trust.

 

Mind you, I think Mama's "Agency" is probably the International Order of the Tiger Mother, but what do I know?

Edited April 23, 2014 by Sandman

[Dagny]

The fact that they're hyping her up as his "one true love" when they dodged giving her a NAME for the entire show to date does not inspire any confidence in me.

 

The Cellist's name is Root and she not has a cochlear implant <g>

OMG, May and Christina share a mom.  Her job as an interior designer must have been a cover for whatever intelligence agency she works with.  She does snark so well.

[Izzyboy]

I may be in the minority but I think I liked Fitz/Simmons better when they had more of a sibling relationship going than true romantic feelings the show is hinting at...at least as far as Fitz is concerned.  I was hoping Fitz's treatment of Triplet was more the "no one is good enough for my sister!" standpoint but they defintiely are making it more that he's caught feelings for her and he's jealous.  It just seems like its the easy/obvious way to handle it...

[Sarahastro]

OMG, May and Christina share a mom.  Her job as an interior designer must have been a cover for whatever intelligence agency she works with.  She does snark so well.

 

I'm glad someone else noticed this! I could not stop grinning when I saw her. I loved watching her snark at Cristina, and seeing her snark at May is even better.

[myril]

I really liked this one. The Cello music as the field agents were waiting to spring the trap still being heard over Ward looking for Skye really helped to amp up the tension.

Think it would have been better to let the cello play solo for a lot longer. Bit of symphonic action orchestra overkill. Cello solo could have been an interesting contrast to the action and tension visually going on. (edit: If anyone wants to know how much action a cello can make audible, suggest to listen for example to the Finnish group Apocalyptica or to Zoe Keating)

 

Damn . . . dunno if Skye is brave or stupid for going with Ward.

Stupid and brave are not mutually exclusive.

 

Whenever I see or hear about lie detector machines I have a laughing fit. Absolutely sure Romanoff would beat any machine, these things are as reliable in detecting lies as a good guess is, no matter how many physical factors they're measuring. None of these factors is prove for any lie, just prove for a physical reaction which can be caused by different things. But it made for some nice character moments, that was something.

 

Simmons is adorable. Now even more, putting a Tardis into her box, brilliant.

 

Skye was named Mary Sue Poots. Considered early in the season that someone might be playing a tiny joke on us with how they portray Skye. And now this name.

 

 

Can we keep Mama May? She's so badass, the Cavalry calls her.

And she always has liked Maria!

Edited April 23, 2014 by katusch

[caseylane]

One of my least liked episodes until toward the end. I dislike Amy Acker anyway and I always hate the lost forever love story unless the names are Wesley and Buttercup. There was no way in hell I was going to like that story. Strangely enough I did like the Skye story once the romance was shot to hell and gave her props for her lightning fast recovery.

[marcee]

I must've missed it - or maybe it didn't happen, but did Skye remember to put the penny back on the door?

[Happy to be here]

Mary-Sue Poots?  Did Joss Whedon just pull a season long funny on us all?  Good one Joss Whedon.  Good one.  

[myril]

I must've missed it - or maybe it didn't happen, but did Skye remember to put the penny back on the door?

She must have done it. When Ward opened the door looking for her, the penny dropped down in his hand. 

[marcee]

 

She must have done it. When Ward opened the door looking for her, the penny dropped down in his hand.

Thanks, that's what I must've missed. I wasn't sure if that was something that was going to come back and bite her later... as if Ward knew all along that she knew. Glad to know that's not the case. I'm proud of Skye. Awwww... Also, a little jealous. ;)

[JTMacc99]

This didn't really line up for me, once we learned that Mama May is also part of an "Agency." If she's also in the trade, she would know without asking (wouldn't she?) that May called her precisely because there's no one else to trust.

Mind you, I think Mama's "Agency" is probably the International Order of the Tiger Mother, but what do I know?

Heh. I didn't think about ANY of that. All I thought was that Agent May probably has a quite a bit of history with what is clearly an equally strong-willed Mama May. And the "That bad, eh?" line implied that over the years she has developed respect for her mom, but still would rather go to almost anybody else for support. And while Mom has come to accept that part of their relationship, she isn't above pointing it out.

[kitlee625]

I may be in the minority, but I was disappointed with the cellist. I thought Amy Acker did a good job with what she was given, but I was disappointed with the fact that she was written as a straightforward damsel in distress who fell in love with Coulson because he saved her "like something in a movie." It's a sweet idea that your hero is going to show up magically at your door and rescue you, but it doesn't resonate with me as much as the other women on the show who can rescue themselves (and the men in their lives) through science, martial arts, and/or wits.

 

That being said I did like the Skye/Ward dynamic this episode because it serves as an interesting parallel to the Audrey/Blackout storyline. Initially Ward is able to play on Skye's feeings for him, but as soon as she sees Koenig's body, she realizes the hard truth. I thought the scene where she breaks down in the bathroom was really great - not just, oh my god the man I love betrayed me, but also, oh my god I'm trapped in an underground bunker with a murderer. Once she realizes that, instead of hiding out until the rest of the team gets there to rescue her, she starts planning some scheme to save herself and get the upper hand on Ward. I'm really looking forward to the next episode to see what it's going to be.

[KirkB]

You're not alone. I like Amy Acker but this just struck me as stunt casting. They wanted Coulson's cellist to be connected to Blackout and Whedon cast one of his special folks. Really, the whole thing was an excuse to get the entire rest of the team away so Ward could take Skye.

[millahnna]

I need to rewatch because I was a bit distracted with cat politics during the crucial scenes but I got the impression that Skye figured it was Ward who killed Patton Oswald because of the data she was seeing on her tracking tablet thingy.  SHe seemed to look at the screen, see herself and dead dude in the same location, see Ward booking down the hall, and figured it out from that.  No one else was showing up on the tracking stuff and I thought May was long gone by then.  But I am a little fuzzy on the details because my cats are assholes, so like I said, rewatch. 

[Izzyboy]

And the "That bad, eh?" line implied that over the years she has developed respect for her mom, but still would rather go to almost anybody else for support. And while Mom has come to accept that part of their relationship, she isn't above pointing it out.

 

Yeah, I took it as due to them working for two different agencies there's a level of professional curtesy between them and they try not to get involved in each other's business.  The fact that Melinda did reach out to her mom shows just how desparate the situation is...

Edited April 23, 2014 by Izzyboy

[Sarahastro]

You're not alone. I like Amy Acker but this just struck me as stunt casting. They wanted Coulson's cellist to be connected to Blackout and Whedon cast one of his special folks. Really, the whole thing was an excuse to get the entire rest of the team away so Ward could take Skye.

 

It also seemed like a way to get Coulson to realize that he was being an ass to May. If it gets him to stop acting like a petulant child, I think the episode was worth it. That's not to say that I don't think he's justified in being upset, but he is acting really obnoxiously. And that's okay with me from a storytelling perspective because it's interesting to inject tension in relationships, but it's time for them to make up now.

[kitlee625]

I need to rewatch because I was a bit distracted with cat politics during the crucial scenes but I got the impression that Skye figured it was Ward who killed Patton Oswald because of the data she was seeing on her tracking tablet thingy.  SHe seemed to look at the screen, see herself and dead dude in the same location, see Ward booking down the hall, and figured it out from that.  No one else was showing up on the tracking stuff and I thought May was long gone by then.  But I am a little fuzzy on the details because my cats are assholes, so like I said, rewatch. 

 

So I think the tracking tablet was Koenig's. Skye seems him using it earlier and notices that it follows their lanyards. Then she finds it on the table under some papers and notices that Koenig's is on the screen, despite Ward making it sound like he had gone, so she follows the signal to find Koenig's body. As for figuring out who had killed Koenig, the only people who could have done it are Ward and May (May having left mysteriously earlier). However, Ward had blood splatter on his neck and was moving suspiciously around the compound, which I think is what tipped her off.

 

As someone also pointed out, Skye probably thinks that Ward has killed May too at this point, since all she knows is that May is gone and Ward is the last person to see her.

[Cranberry]

I need to rewatch because I was a bit distracted with cat politics during the crucial scenes but I got the impression that Skye figured it was Ward who killed Patton Oswald because of the data she was seeing on her tracking tablet thingy.  SHe seemed to look at the screen, see herself and dead dude in the same location, see Ward booking down the hall, and figured it out from that.  No one else was showing up on the tracking stuff and I thought May was long gone by then.  But I am a little fuzzy on the details because my cats are assholes, so like I said, rewatch. 

I think it was a combination of things. She was kissing Ward and noticed that he had blood on him. He made an excuse about how one of his cuts must have opened up, and ran off to wash up. Then Skye decided to find Eric using his lanyard (something Ward didn't know she could do, as only Skye knew the lanyards were trackers), found him dead in a storage closet that had been marked with a penny drop so that whoever put him there would know if anyone had opened the door, heard (and saw, via tracker) Ward insistently searching for her and heading toward the closet, and put two and two together. Then she saw him open that closet door and catch the penny, so that would have totally sealed it.

 

(I bet she does think that Ward killed May, too. Ward told her that May left, which we know is true, but that would sound awfully convenient to Skye.)

 

The camera lingered on Skye staring at that skyline picture in the bathroom, so I'd say it's a safe bet that she left a message for her team in there. We know the pictures rotate.

[millahnna]

For the record the whole episode I kept thinking that people may underestimate Bob at their own peril (Patton Oswald when he was on Justified), but Keonig doesn't seem to have that problem.  I am really sad they killed him off.