Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–…): Season 1, Episode 19 - The Only Light in the Darkness - full transcript

Agent Koenig puts the team through the ultimate lie detector test and Coulson races to protect an old flame from an old enemy.

Previously on Marvel's
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D...

You really felt nothing for them?

I spent time with Coulson,
he's a good man.

Is that your badge?

They look like coordinates.

MAN". Welcome, Agent Coulson.
We've been expecting you.

What is this place?

One of Fury's secret bases.

Eric Koenig, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.,
Level 6.

What about Ward?

He and Agent Hand



should've dropped Garrett off
at the Fridge by now.

S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most secure
facility is vulnerable right now.

Yeah, well,
we're gonna raid it.

This is a hard drive with
all of Simmons' research.

She programed it to erase all data

if anyone other than her
attempts to access it.

GARRETT 1 You know
what that means, Romeo?

You got your story straight?

I just need time alone
with her to get the information.

Another example of this
administration's lack of transparency.

WOMAN". You can't seriously
be blaming the President for this?

Those who let
S. H. I. E. L. D. operate without oversight

should be held accountable.

If your party
held the White House,



would you be taking this position?

If my party held the White House,
we wouldn't be in this position.

I need a ride.

- Sorry, what?
- I need a ride to Portland.

Sorry dude, I'm not going 200 miles
out of my way to give you a ride.

Okay.

Somehow,
it's someone else's fault?

At the very least...

What the...

All right, I give up. How'd you do that?

Like this.

We cannot allow
HYDRA and their allies to rise again.

I'm afraid this might scar.

Upside, you'll look badass. Dangerous.

He's gonna be fine, though, right?

He will if you back up
and give me some room.

So what then?

By the time we got to the Fridge,
it was too late.

It was overrun. HYDRA everywhere.

We couldn't stop them.

- What were they after?
- Everything.

They took weapons,
alien artifacts,

anything they could grab.

I assume that means
the prisoners are no longer prisoners?

So Ian Quinn?

I'm sorry. He's out. They all are.

And Garrett. Did he get away?

Couldn't stop them from taking
the Fridge,

but I wasn't gonna let Garrett walk,
not after what he did.

Is he the one that did this to you?

He was a tough son of a bitch.

We need to make it believable.

Was? Past tense?

As soon as I had the upper hand,

I put two in the back of his head.

- Good.
- One from me.

One from you.

I would have emptied the mag.

You're all set.

Well, I mean, as set as you can be
with two cracked ribs,

and a zygomatic fracture.

Uh, for those of you that don't know
what that is...

That's a hairline fracture
to the cheekbone.

Your body needs time to heal.

Please, take some time.

Understood. Thanks.

Ah.

One small victory,
HYDRA didn't get their hands on this.

A hard drive?

It's all the research
our team's ever done,

downloaded off the plane
and encrypted for safekeeping.

We should probably back it up
now that we're in a secure facility.

First, Skye, I need you
on threat assessment.

Pull up a list of all the inmates
at the Fridge.

I wanna know just how bad this is.

This is really, really bad.

Quinn is the least scary of the bunch,
and he shot me twice.

Quinn's more a sociopath.

A lot of those inmates
are full-blown psychopaths.

Violent. Impulsive.

And some with superpowers. Lovely.

Is Marcus Daniels on the list?

That's him.

Cross check the list of inmates

with crime databases, recent activity.

Got a feeling we'll be seeing
a slight uptick.

Okay, but that'll take time

and more computing power
than my laptop.

Agent Koenig probably
has some sort of...

I'm sure he'll lend a hand.

The plane you flew in on,
is it operational?

Yeah. You need me to pilot?

You heard Simmons.
You stay and get better.

I'm gonna take a splinter team out
and start going after

inmates on that list.

Starting with Mr. Daniels.
I think I know where he's going.

Uh, you sure it's wise to split up
the team, leave this base?

What if it's part of HYDRA'S plan?
A distraction?

She's got a point. I mean, Fury
brought you to this base for a reason.

We're safe here.

Yeah, we're safe here.
But what about everyone else?

People who don't happen to have access

to a top-secret underground shelter?

What about them?

I don't know if it's wise, but it's right.

I'm taking a team and that's the end of it.

No you're not. Absolutely not.

You can't leave. There are protocols.

Since the entire agency's
pretty much collapsed,

maybe now's not the time
to stand on protocol.

Okay, fine, then forget protocols.

What part of "secret base"
don't you get?

Fury said to let you in, and you show up
with a bunch of people?

- Agents.
- Whatever. The point is,

they know where this place is now,
and I don't know them.

HYDRA just released the entire
population of the Fridge into the wild.

There's gonna be violence.
People will die.

And I still consider it my duty

to be the shield that protects them.

Moving speech, truly,

but nobody leaves until
they go through orientation.

Orientation?

All right. Just gonna need you guys
to answer a few questions.

A few psychoanalytic,
non-sequitur questions.

A lie detector?

The lie detector, Agent Coulson.

This baby measures
galvanic skin response,

oxygen consumption,
micro expressions,

biofeedback brain waves,

pupil dilation, voice biometrics.

96 variables in all.

Fury designed this himself.

He wanted a lie detector
Romanoff couldn't beat.

- Did she?
- Like Fury would tell.

Okay, sooner we get this done,
sooner we can get to work.

So who wants to go first?

We're gonna start with some easy
questions and establish a baseline.

Can I have your full name?

Melinda Qiaolian May.

- Eye color?
- Brown.

- You ever been married?
- Once.

- Have you ever been married?
- No.

- Please, list your immediate family.
- Just me and my mum.

So you're not gonna
mention your grandfather?

That's not something I advertise.

Didn't wanna be treated
any different 'cause I'm a legacy.

If I was the grandson
of a Howling Commando,

I'd have that tattooed on my chest.

- What is your first name?
- Skye.

And what is your last name?

Only name.
No family, no family name to inherit.

And you gave yourself the name Skye?

Well, the name they gave me
at the orphanage was Mary Sue Poots.

When we were kids, my brother
and I use to give each other nicknames.

He called me Lightning Foot.

What's the difference between
an egg and a rock?

Edible. Not.

Well, that's absurd.
The differences are...

innumerable. If you want,
I can start listing them, but then...

We'll be here all day.

Have you ever heard of Project Insight?

- No.
- No.

Ever had any contact
with Alexander Pierce?

I've met him. We shook hands.

Garrett would get a call from him
once in a while.

Said they had mutual friends.

You wash up on a deserted island alone.

Sitting on the sand is a box.

- What is in that box?
- Machete.

A sat phone, so I can call someone
to get me off that island.

How big is the box?

Just say the first answer that comes
into your mind. What's in that box?

Simmons.

That's a hard one. Let me think.

The TARDIS.

I wanna say my laptop, fully charged,

but I don't wanna seem subversive.

- With the Rising Tide and all...
- You're overthinking it.

The laptop would be stupid anyway,
there's no Wi-Fi.

S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists.

The Agency has been labeled
a terrorist organization.

So, why are you here?

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure.

We have to stick together.

Keep the people we trust close by.
No one else really.

My grandfather fought HYDRA
back in the day.

The good guys won then.
We'll do it again.

Coulson.

It's the only home I've ever known.

Congratulations, Agent Skye.
Let's go get you a lanyard.

Got my backstage pass.

Piece of cake?

If you don't mind talking about yourself.
So, you'll hate it.

Have fun.

What is your full name?

My name is Grant Douglas Ward.

Please, list your immediate family.

Two parents, a sister, two brothers.

I don't have contact with any of them.

Boy, your baseline is getting
a lot of spikes. Are you in pain?

Yeah. Only when I breathe.
Two broken ribs.

Okay, well, try not to move,
it may affect the results.

I'll try my best.

Marcus Daniels was an assistant
at a physics lab

where they were trying
to harness electrical power

of something called Darkforce.

Nothing bad ever happens

when you work with something
called Darkforce.

It's a form of cosmic radiation,
pure negative energy.

Unstable, but powerful.

You knew that already, didn't you?

Daniels was exposed, ended up being
able to absorb energy. All types.

But the human brain and the heart
run on electrical impulses.

Exactly. He can kill with one touch.

I'm guessing he likes to?

Do we need to put a bullet in him?

Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

He can absorb the energy
of most conventional weapons.

He sounds unstoppable.

Like Fitz said, his power's unstable.

Last time, we managed to capture him

by overloading his system
with pure light.

Exposing him to more energy
than he can absorb at once.

I'm sure we can engineer some sort
of delivery mechanism en route.

That's what I was hoping
you were gonna say.

You mind flying,
being the specialist on mission?

Sir, I'll be whatever you want me to be.

That's what I was hoping
you were gonna say.

What is the difference between
an egg and a rock?

Egg's a food. Rock's a weapon.

Have you ever heard of Project Insight?

- No.
- Ever made contact

- with Alexander Pierce?
- No.

You wash up on a deserted island alone.

Sitting on the sand is a box.
What's in that box?

Depends on the island.

Where is it, how big,

what's the terrain, is there fresh water?

Just say the first thing
that comes to your head.

A pistol.

S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists.

The Agency has been labeled
a terrorist organization.

So, why are you here?

I'm an Agent. It's my duty.

I need you to give that to me again.

It's my duty.

I'm gonna ask you a follow up.

Agent Ward, are you associated
with HYDRA?

Yes.

We all are.

They've infiltrated the highest
levels of our organization.

Like you mean it. Are you HYDRA?

I'm loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D.,
to Agent Coulson and to my team.

Do you have another agenda here?

I'll give you 24 hours to get
the password and get out.

After that, well,

cross off the team
and bring the girl to me.

Agent Ward, why are you really here?

Skye.

Came back for her.

I wanna spend time with her.

Skye?

Cool.

Hey!

Ward!

Hey. Got my lanyard.

Nice.

$0, you guys taking Off?

Yeah, I wish you were coming,
instead of Trip.

He's insufferable, isn't he?

- Trip?
- Yeah.

Think the guy's okay.

I know, he's terrible.
He's a horrible person.

You sure this is about him?
Not about Simmons?

What the hell does that mean?

Everything is falling apart around us,

we don't know how it'll end.

If there's something
you wanna tell her, don't wait.

Maybe Simmons should check you
again for a head injury.

'Cause that is not the Ward I know.

You know what? Do what you want.
I don't care.

Good to have you back.

I should be flying this mission.

I made another call. Stay here.

Get the fuel line repaired on the bus.

I remember when you brought
Daniels in.

I know how personal this is for you...

We don't do personal. Not anymore.

Phil, the polygraph cleared me.
I'm not hiding anything.

You mean, you're not hiding
anything else.

Unless you do know who was behind
the T.A.H.I.T.I. Project?

I didn't ask. I was ordered not to.

And you would've done the same thing.
Our job is to follow orders.

It's also our job
to determine right from wrong.

Watching someone in agony,
searching for the truth,

not saying anything? That's wrong.

Look, I was just trying...

Don't tell me it's because you care
so damn much.

Fury's no longer around,
telling you what to do.

So why are you here?

You want some orders to follow?
Follow mine.

Or find somewhere else to be.

How can you be sure
he's going to Portland?

Daniels was obsessed
with a woman there.

He called her his only light
in the darkness.

That's almost romantic.

Almost.

The man's been locked up
in the Fridge for years.

He must be over her by now.

Some people are hard to get over.

Besides, Daniels
is pathologically insane.

Single-minded. Obsessive.

His powers not only robbed him
of a normal life,

they also pretty much fried his brain.

What about the woman?

Audrey Nathan.
She's how we tracked him the first time.

We find Ms. Nathan, we find Daniels.

Audrey Nathan?

What? There's a man after me!

We know. We're with the CIA. Get in.

Mr. Daniels, we don't wanna hurt you.
We need to take you in.

For your safety, and the safety of others.

It was you. You took me there.

They did things to me there.

They were trying to contain you.

No. They were trying
to make me stronger.

And they did.

Here's where we'd normally call
for reinforcements.

Where did he go?

Here's something.
Police report out of Morocco.

Attempted murder. The victim says
the guy appeared out of nowhere,

disappeared into thin air.

Yeah, you just described
every mugging ever.

Aren't you clever?

Aren't you sneaky?

Using these to keep watch on all of us.

What?

We've been killing ourselves

trying to guess where these guys went.

But what if we could see it?

Get visuals on where the prisoners
went after leaving the Fridge?

That's a good idea,

but right now, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s
sat surveillance is dark.

Ours aren't the only ones up there.

The only other satellites
in the vicinity that could...

The NSA. You wanna hack the NSA?

That's a bad idea, Skye.
That's a terrible idea.

The NSA's already got
S.H.I.E.L.D. on its watch list.

Why poke the bear?

The big, scary, waterboarding bear.

Oh, I thought you were a comms agent.

Not agent of playing
video games while hiding in a bunker.

You can't goad me to...

Can you help me convince
Steve Rogers here to suit up?

Grab his shield. Head into battle.

Okay. Who's he supposed to battle?

If we hack NSA satellites,

we can get footage
from the Fridge breakout.

See who was there. Where they went.

She's right, it's worth trying.

You know, I can't hack the NSA,

but maybe I can upload
the hard drive you gave me.

Get specs on the weapons
they might be carrying.

Absolutely, we should, but we can't.

The encryption is location-based.

We'll have to take a field trip
at some point to decrypt it.

Okay. All right. Color me impressed.

Now impress me more.
Get me that footage.

These are the keys
to the Comm-Sat room.

The mainframe's in there.

Start the hack, but then send
the feed to these monitors.

- Let's live dangerously.
- Yeah!

- How long before you get visuals?
- Uh...

NSA satellites should be tough.
Give me an hour.

Great.

This is exciting.

Let's see if being sneaky pays off.

We should be safe here.

- I thought he was locked up.
- He escaped from prison.

You don't have to worry.
That's why we're here.

We're gonna keep you safe.

"We?" Meaning the CIA?

Of course. That's what I said, isn't it?
We're the CIA.

The Central Intelligence Agency people.

You're not.

You're S.H.I.E.L.D., aren't you?

We're just trying to help.
We're not the bad guys.

I know.

I don't believe what they're
saying about S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Agency saved my life once before.

A few years ago, I saw Daniels

at one of my concerts. Front row.

Then I started seeing him at all of them.

At first, I was flattered.

Cellists don't get groupies.

But then one night,
I saw him outside of my house.

I was terrified.

I begged him to leave me alone.

He just stood there saying,
I was his light.

I didn't understand what he meant,

until he started
blacking out my entire block.

I ran and called the police.
They didn't believe me.

But then a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent
came to my door.

I don't know why,
but I trusted him right away.

Something about his face.
The handsome part, maybe.

He just swooped in.
It was like out of a movie.

You two were close?

Very.

He promised me he would stop Daniels,

and that's exactly what he did.

That's why I know I can trust S.H.I.E.L.D.

Phil never lied to me.

- Phil?
- Agent Phillip Coulson.

I've heard the name.

Is that... Audrey was... You two were...

- Yeah.
- Okay.

What happened to him?

He died in the line of duty.

I don't know the details.

We were planning a trip up the coast,

and then I got the call.

You must miss him.

For so long after he died,
everything reminded me of him.

I still dream
about him sometimes.

Just us together, laughing.

I wake up feeling like
he's watching over me.

It's nice.

Maybe you should go in there.

No, she's healing.
She's getting on with her life.

We should help her do that.

I think I know a way
how to stop Daniels for good.

But we would have to use her
to draw him out.

No. Do you understand?
That's not acceptable.

It's not ideal, but there's no other choice.

I won't put her in danger again.
That's not fair to her.

But, sir.
I'm sorry, but she's already in danger.

And you said it yourself.
Daniels is single-minded,

he's dangerous. He won't stop
until he gets what he wants.

How's it coming? Is the bus operational?

Still banged up, but she's ready to fly.

The fuel line's repaired
and the tank's full.

What's the range on this thing?

Just under 10,000 miles.

Are you leaving?

Yeah.

I was here for Coulson.

But he can't see past me lying to him.

I get why you did it.

When you get orders,
you don't question them.

You follow them. No matter the price.

Yeah, well this price was too high.

I lost him. Coulson doesn't
want me here. He doesn't need me.

So what should I tell him?

Whatever you want. He won't hear it.

How's it going?

Oh, hey, believe it or not, Skye got us in.

We have access to NSA's
complete sat feed history.

That girl's good.
I can see why you like her.

The images are a little patchy,
but they're gonna clear up any second.

I guess living on the edge
really pays off sometimes.

Yeah. Sometimes.

What if he doesn't show?

Before they put him away,
he never missed a rehearsal, right?

- No.
- Then he won't this time either.

Don't worry. We'll be close.

All you need to do is keep playing
until Daniels gets close to the stage.

We'll do the rest.

Last time, there were
two whole teams of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

See up there?

Our best agents are watching.

I promise.
They won't let anything happen to you.

I pulled these
from the jet's power reserves.

Simmons made me wear gloves.
She's so uptight, that one.

Sir?

Good. Can they stop him?

Okay, well this will modify the frequency

and wavelength of the stage lights,

although, technically,
they wouldn't be lights at that point.

- More like gamma rays.
- Tell me this'll work.

I gave Daniels to S.H.I.E.L.D.
to rehabilitate him.

It turns out,
they just gave him an upgrade.

Well, I mean, there's a slight chance

he would absorb the energy
and gain more power.

But it's unlikely.

Who did you say
created this technology again?

Bruce Banner.

Then I'm sure it'll go off without a hitch.

Eric? Eric?

You did it.

Koenig said you managed
to hack the NSA.

Yeah, it looks that way. Where'd he go?

He's sending everything
over to NATO, CIA, INTERPOL.

Guess he hopes they'll take it
as a sign of good faith from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Smart. Though, looks like all I got

was lots of views of an empty rooftop.

May's gone.

What do you mean gone? Gone where?

She left. I'm sure If I asked where,
she wouldn't have told me.

WOW.

So no goodbye, no nothing?

She never felt anything for us, did she?

She just played us
so she could keep an eye on Coulson.

That was her mission.

Did you feel anything for her?

Um, no.

The only comfort we took in each other

was knowing we didn't have to.

- You can't choose to feel.
- Usually I can.

It's different with us.

"Us" is a strong word.

I mean, I know I kissed you,

but, to be fair, I thought there
was a 97% chance we were gonna die.

- But we didn't die.
- Which is good.

Yes. That is very good.

But there's still no rush
on us being an "us."

It's not like it's a good time
to start anything.

There's never a good time.

We've gotta start somewhere.

You better get going.
Daniels will be here soon.

It's okay. You'll be fine.

Why don't you tell her the truth?
That you're still alive?

Sorry, it's just the way
she talks about you

sounds like you two had something nice.

We did.

So it's not because
you're afraid to talk to her?

I don't wanna hurt her again.

Besides, it's not like I can stay.
We have a job to do.

Yes.

If that's how you felt,
you had a funny way to show it.

Specialists don't spend time
with a lot of people.

The ones we do,
we're all cut from the same cloth.

Black Kevlar?

Trained to get the job done.
Keep emotions in check.

You? You're different.

Different bad?

Bad for me.

I didn't wanna think about you.
I wanted to stay focused.

And then I saw you, after you were shot.

Fighting to stay alive.

But you're right. I'm Kevlar.

You're not.

You don't have to be.

You don't have to shut people out.

Yeah, I do.

There are things about me

that you wouldn't like if you knew.

You think I don't have skeletons?

It's different.

You're...

Good.

So are you.

Not always.

I lied to you.

My older brother,

he didn't beat up my younger brother.

He was crueler than that.

He made me do it.

And I let him. I was afraid of him.

What about your parents?

They were worse.

I am not a good man, Skye.

Yes, you are.

Mmm.

One of my cuts must've just opened up.

- Let me help. Let me help.
- No, no, no, no. I just need to clean up.

There you are, Eric.

No. Keep playing-

I'm sorry I scare you.
I know that I'm a monster.

But you're the one that can save me.

Come on.

Eric?

That's weird.

Eric?

Eric?

Ward.

Aah!

Jemma!

No.

Please.

No, no.

No.

No. No.

Skye?

Skye?

He's HYDRA.

Okay. Okay. Okay.

Skye?

Oh.

You're safe. I'm still here.

I promise. I'm still here with you.

Phil.

Are you okay?

I thought he was here.

It seemed so real this time.

See what we wanna see, I guess.

I guess so.

Hey.

Think I'd be hiding in a closet?

I was wondering where you went.

I went back to the room,
you weren't there. Why'd you leave?

- Truth?
- I'd appreciate it.

You scared me.

Opening up. That kiss.

Which was a very nice kiss, I admit.

I didn't mean to scare you.

I don't exactly over-analyze.

I just act impulsively
and then I freak out after the fact.

Are you still?

No. I'm good.

I want this.

And you?

What do you want?

What I want is to stay here with you,

and imagine the world outside
doesn't exist.

But the world outside does exist.

I just got word from Fitz.
They need our help.

Bus is fueled up, ready to go.

We should tell Koenig.

I just did. He's headed outside to open
the hangar doors. We're in a hurry.

- I just gotta grab a couple of things.
- Hey.

We need to go right now.

Of course we do.
Lead the way.

Sir?

Is everything okay?

She said I never lied to her. Today, I did.

But she's alive. And safe.
We did that at least.

Why didn't you tell her the truth?

I will.

Someday, I guess.

When there's a chance
she'll understand.

When we get back,
I need to make things right with May.

How can I expect Audrey to forgive me
if I'm not willing to do the same?

I'm gonna check with Trip.
See how much longer we have.

- We need to talk.
- We do?

Agent Triplett thinks
he's done something to upset you.

Fitz, if you're questioning his loyalty
in any way, I can assure you...

It's not him.

What is it then?

You know how I can be.

I hate change.

Where's our bus?

And our team?

I don't know.

It's so beautiful.

So, are we off to Portland?

Actually, Fitz thinks the 084 plasma ray
we found in Peru might help.

Didn't we jettison that to the sun?

Yeah, but Fitz has the specs on it.

- On the hard drive.
- Mmm-hmm.

You need me to decrypt the hard drive.

The team does.

And since it's coupled
to specific coordinates, Agent Skye,

you're in charge.

Where to next?

What are you doing? We have to go.

500 miles.

What?

500 miles and I don't even get
a thank you.

- I was just about to...
- it's too late.

- Thank you.
- I said, too late.

You can call anybody you like. Why me?

I needed someone I can trust.

That bad, huh'?

Did you get it?

I may be retired, but I still have contacts.

And my agency hasn't fallen apart.

You're not the only one looking,
you know?

She won't be hard to find.

I know.

You're not gonna take her out, are you?

No, Mom. I just wanna talk.

Good. I've always liked Maria.