Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S1E19 - "The Only Light in the Darkness" Recap

Marcus Daniels (Blackout) comes off a boat and shuts lights off that he passes. He asks a fisherman for a ride but kills him and takes his truck when the man refuses.

Ward is patched up by his team and lies, saying that Hydra took over the Fridge, stealing artefacts and freeing inmates. He tells them he killed Garrett before escaping and tries to segway into getting access to the hard drive, but Coulson instead tasks Skye with looking into the inmates now on the loose. Once they realise Blackout is on the loose, Coulson is determined for them to go after him. Koening doesn't want them to leave and tells them they must first go through "orientation," an incredibly high-tech lie detector test. This machine was designed by Nick Fury with the intent that not even Black Widow would be able to beat it.

Through this "orientation," we begin learning more about the team members. Skye's real name isn't "Skye"; she gave it to herself at the orphanage. Trip's grandfather was a Howling Commando. Fitz would want Simmons with him on a desert island whereas Simmons says she would have the Tardis. Ward struggles with the test and is only able to deflect suspicion by admitting his feelings for Skye.

Ward runs into Fitz and advises him to tell Simmons how he really feels about her but Fitz claims to not understand what he means. May and Coulson end up in another argument and he tells her to either follow his orders or leave. Coulson tells the team that Blackout was obsessed with a girl named Audrey, whom they must now track down and protect. They get to her (hello, Amy Acker!) and shine lights on Blackout in an attempt to keep him at bay. He ends up revealing that the experiments performed on him in the Fridge made him stronger. He unleashes more of his powers to knock out Fitz's drones and send Coulson and Fitz flying back.

Skye is sitting with Koening in his office, where she figures out that their lanyards are a tool for him to keep track of them. She then proposes they hack the NSA to get surveillance footags from the Fridge in order to track down the escapees. Ward comes in and supports Skye's idea before again trying to get to the hard drive again. Koening appears suspicious of this and sends Skye off to hack the NSA.

Simmons and Trip are telling Audrey they're CIA but she knows they're actually from S.H.I.E.L.D. She tells them how six years prior, Blackout was stalking her but Coulson swooped in and saved her. Audrey believes that Coulson died in the line of duty when in fact he's listening in on the conversation from the other room. Fitz tells Coulson he might have a way to stop Blackout but they'll need to use Audrey to lure him out.

Ward visits May, with a gun ready to draw on her but refrains from doing so when he learns that May is preparing to leave, having already packed a bag. She says that Coulson hasn't been able to see past her deception and leaves Providence. Ward heads back to Koening's office, where images are coming in from the NSA satellites and they will be clear soon. Ward sinisterly closes the door.

Trip and Simmons are in a theatre with Audrey, prepping her to play cello to bait Blackout. Fitz intends to use Bruce-Banner-developed-technology to take Blackout down. Ward visits Skye and tells her Koening is trying to contact NATO. At the moment, the only thing she can see are images of an empty roof. Ward tells Skye that May has left and they begin discussing their relationship.

Coulson tells Fitz he doesn't want to hurt Audrey again, which is why he is refraining from telling her he is actually alive. Ward tells Skye how she encourages him to open up when he has always kept them in check. He says there are things about him that she wouldn't like. He confesses that he lied to her; his older brother didn't beat up his younger brother but instead made Ward do it. He says he was afraid of him and their parents were only worse. He tells Skye he isn't a good man and when she insists that he is, he kisses her. She gets some blood on her hand and he pulls away, telling her it's one of his wounds that he needs to clean up. Skye locates Koening's tablet and tracks his lanyard, opting to go after him.

Blackout reaches Audrey and tells her she's the only one that can save him. She says nothing but instead keeps playing. Ward returns and finds Skye is gone. She has tracked Koening's lanyard to a supply closet and a coin drops when she opens it. She heads inside, looks up, and finds his bloody body on the grate. She realises Ward must have killed Koening.

Trip, Fitz, and Simmons begin trying to use their devices on Blackout but he resists them. Coulson then comes out and with his help, the team are able to overload Blackout, causing him to explode.

Skye is in a bathroom, crying, trying to re-collect her thoughts. She tells herself that Ward is Hydra and looks through the cabinets before honing in on a picture on the wall.

Coulson goes over to check on Audrey and kisses her forehead, saying she is okay and he's still there for her. He runs off before she opens her eyes to see Simmons standing over her.

Ward opens the closet door and the coin drops (it was a device set up to check whether anyone had gone inside). Skye appears behind him and says she was scared by the kiss and his opening up but isn't scared anymore and leans in to kiss him again. She tells him she wants this and he says he wants to stay there with her and imagine that the world outside doesn't exist. He tells her they got word from Fitz that they're needed and they leave hand in hand to the hanger.

Coulson tells Fitz he'll tell Audrey the truth someday, when there's a chance she'll understand. He says that he needs to make things right with May, as he can't expect Audrey to forgive him if he can't forgive May. Simmons comes in and asks Fitz if he has a problem with Trip and Fitz says that he simply hates change. They arrive back to Providence where they find that the Bus is gone, along with Ward and Skye.

Ward and Skye are in the air and Skye realises that Ward needs her to decrypt the hard drives. He tells her that she in charge. Meanwhile, May is walking down a road in Ontario and is picked up by her mother (presumably). She is annoyed that May didn't thank her immediately for her help, but then offers her some contacts, since her agency hasn't fallen apart. She says that May wasn't the only one looking and asks if she intends to kill the person whose contact info she has just offered up. May says no and that she just wants to talk. The woman is pleased, saying she has always liked Maria.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 8PM.