Amy Acker! Episode 19 of Agents of SHIELD marks the introduction of long time mystery woman, Coulson’s cellist! Originally mentioned in passing in The Avengers and a constant background presence this season when it came to Coulson, we finally get our first look. Played by the always-lovely Amy Acker, the first appearance of the cellist is definitely one to remember. Offering powerful character moments that tear at your heart strings and some phenomenal music not heard on the show before, The Only Light in the Darkness continues AoS’s hot streak and cements my statement from last week. Agents of SHIELD has become must watch TV, especially for those following the MCU.
Patrick Brennan as Blackout
The episode opens to one Marcus Daniels, or Blackout for those comic enthusiasts, walking along a pier sucking all of the electricity. Played by Patrick Brennan, Blackout appears pretty driven and menacing but falls prey to his lack of material. It was nice to see a genuine super outside of Deathlok but with no return in sight and very little to do aside from walking around and blowing out light bulbs Brennan’s Blackout leaves little to get excited over. He does however provide one of the most intense sequences in the show thus far. Not because of his power set our performance, but because of the amazing score that came along with him (and Amy Acker). With Acker’s cellist playing bait for the baddie we get a dual scene in which she is slowly approached by Daniels and at the same time we get a very powerful moment where Skye realizes Ward’s true allegiance (probably Bennet’s best performance of the season). Combined it made for a thrilling moment that I hope can be recreated down the line. Hats off to Bear McCreary. I didn’t think it possible to love a character I’ve only known for a whole of five minutes but Acker certainly showed me. It absolutely broke my heart seeing her wake up having missed Coulson by mere seconds (why didn’t you just stick around man!).
Amy Acker as Audrey (the cellist)
Luckily Blackout was the only thing I found issue with in this week’s episode. SHIELD brought on even more drama and further cemented Ward’s fall from grace. The Only Light in the Darknessfeatures a nice interrogation scene in which we get a nice insight into all of the characters mindsets. Patton Oswalt once again plays Agent Koenig and drills the team with a series of questions designed to weed out any spies. With each character getting a shot at “THE Lie Detector” we learn a little more about each of them alongside some welcome jokes and references. Agent Triplett’s ties to the Howling Commandoes were unexpected but a nice touch nonetheless. We also get an awesome Doctor Who reference from Simmons, “the Tardis!” The entire scene led to some great character development.
Agent Triplett in ‘THE Lie Detector’
One Thing I did have a bit of trouble with was Koenig’s reaction to Ward. If his super amazing uberaccurate lie detector said he was lying why wouldn’t you just shoot him? I guess all those Call of Duty hours have made his interrogation skills a little lax.
By the end of the episode the entire team is quite shaken up. We have never seen Coulson and company so spread thin and it will be very fun to see how they all handle their new situations. We also get to see Melinda May’s mom! On a trip to find “Maria” expect to see one Colbie Smulders return in next weeks sure to be awesome episode.
Ps. Poor Fitz! I just want to reach out and hug him sometimes. I totally agree with him, Trip is an awful, awful person (sarcasm).
Overall I give this episode an 8/10
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