Agent Carter - Time and Tide - Review

Agent Carter, “Time and Tide,” was written by Andi Bushell and directed by Scott Winant. Bushell’s credits also include Golden Boy, The Mentalist, Criminal Minds and Alias. Winant’s credits include True Blood, Fargo, Save Me, and Breaking Bad, which helps explain his comfort level with an off center tone and some dark, quirky humor. The show also gives writing credits to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for the Marvel source material.

I actually enjoyed this episode more than the first two because I had a better idea of what to expect. For anyone worried about catching up with the storyline, there’s now a very well done introductory sequence to catch you up on what you may have missed. I am very much enjoying the very meticulous detail of the sets, clothes, hair and makeup – they’ve definitely captured the 1940s. I also appreciate that, like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., they are moving the action along very quickly. We don’t have to wait for weeks and weeks to have the mystery of the symbol solved, for instance. Interesting that the boat is called The Heartbreak too.

We start to see a little more depth to the characters. My biggest problem with the show continues to be the disrespect shown to Carter (Hayley Atwell) by her co-workers, which I find extremely abhorrent. Of course, that’s the point. We are supposed to see how frustrating it was to be a woman in a “man’s” world. The double standard is brought home by the contrast between Carter’s life as a single woman and Krzeminski’s (Kyle Bornheimer) life as a married man. The episode begins with Miriam (Meagan Fay) kicking Molly (Laura Coover) out of their building for allowing a man into her room. Meanwhile, it’s common knowledge that Krzeminski has both a wife and a girlfriend, and he’s recognized by a prostitute at Green Suit’s building.

Carter is forced to extreme measures to save Jarvis (James D’Arcy) from Thompson’s (Chad Michael Murray) interrogation. She manages to cleverly pick up the stolen car report without Dooley (Shea Whigham) noticing and then in a seemingly incompetent action, she gives the report back to him so that Jarvis witnesses it and is able to use it as an excuse to get out of the interrogation. Dooley then calls her into the office and dresses her down. Prior to this, Dooley has come across as a supportive and competent leader of the unit. He stops Thompson from bullying Krzeminski – “Don’t be that guy” – and Dooley immediately suspects there’s something unique about Green Suit’s typewriter. However, in his dressing down of Carter, he does everything he can to demoralize her, including having her apologize – as you would a child – to Thompson for having ruined his interrogation. Murray is doing an excellent job making Thompson a prick. Whigham, in particular, is excellent in this scene. As he dresses down Carter, he talks directly to her chest – the classic ‘my eyes are up here’ male chauvinist approach.

Carter may be putting a brave face on things, but her true feelings come out when she wants to call in finding the stolen weapons, take credit, and gain some much needed respect from her colleagues. Jarvis warns her that she’ll only implicate herself and that “they’ll only use it to tear you down. If you wish to clear Mr Stark’s name, you must do so from the shadows.” Sounds a lot like the way S.H.I.E.L.D. has always operated, doesn’t it? In the end, Carter naturally chooses the more noble route and has Jarvis call in an anonymous tip, using an accent – which is hilarious. She insists that he give the tip to Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) because she’d rather he get credit rather than Krzeminski.

In the end, her actions lead to Krzeminski’s death. His death ups the stakes on the show. I was sad that we lost Bornheimer so early in the series. While at first his character seemed to be the stupid, womanizing muscle of the team – the straight man for some pretty obvious humor – Bornheimer did a great job in bringing him to life, and we saw a bit more from him in this episode. We see him try to give Sousa some advice, for instance. There’s clearly some nice chemistry between Atwell and Gjokaj, and Krzeminski has picked up on Sousa coming to Carter’s defense, assuming that Sousa is ‘sweet on’ Carter. It’s ham-fisted when he tells Sousa that Carter is hardly likely to be interested in a wounded veteran after having been in a relationship with Captain America, but it comes from a good place – not wanting to see Sousa hurt. Of course, Krzeminski would simply be stuck on the physical aspects of a relationship, but he’s likely right that Carter isn’t ready to think about anyone else yet. Krzeminski also isn’t quite the idiot we might think at first. He immediately picks up on Butch Wallace (Patrick Robert Smith) mentioning that he’d been beaten up by a British dame, after all. It was pretty clear that he was putting two and two together and coming up with Carter just before he and Wallace are killed.

Krzeminski’s death leads to some interesting reactions from Carter. She clearly feels guilty over his death. It’s interesting that her feelings aren’t blind – she recognizes all his faults, but still mourns him as a fallen fellow agent who was good at his job. She also really has no one she can talk to other than Angie (Lyndsy Fonseca). Angie proves to be a loyal friend. Carter has to essentially kick her out of her room when Angie tries to vent about her own day. I loved her suggestion: “I’ve got half a bottle of Schnapps and a rhubarb pie – let’s see which one makes us sick first!”

        But when Carter goes to Angie at the Automart, Angie quickly gets over her own anger to offer a supportive ear – and that bottle of schnapps. Angie is also subjected to daily sexism. Angie is also likely the only one whom Carter can cry in front of without losing all of her credibility. Carter may never be able to tell Angie about her real job, but it’s clear that Angie is going to be an important part of Carter’s support team. And who knows – maybe that acting background will come in handy too…

We learn some interesting backstory on Jarvis. It’s interesting to watch Carter’s face when it’s revealed that he was charged with treason and given a dishonorable discharge. Jarvis really only loses his composure when Anna is threatened. Carter tries to let it go, but eventually insists that she needs to know the story if they are to trust each other – as they must in the field. Of course, there is a reasonable explanation. It also explains Jarvis’ devotion to Stark. We learn that Stark saved Jarvis from hanging for his crime – taking a form from the General Jarvis was serving in an attempt to save Anna – a Jew – during the war. Stark also saved Anna. Once again, in this episode, the mysterious Anna is only heard off camera. D’Arcy gives another great performance in this episode in both the interrogation scene and in the lighter moments like his call to Sousa.

Sousa is also clearly not stupid, even if his physical limitations prevent Dooley from giving him much credibility. It’s Sousa who doubts that Stark would have been at REXXON or driving the car when Stark was supposed to be in hiding. Sousa is also suspicious about finding the weapons – saying it was too easy to find it all tied up like a Christmas present. Sousa is the one to take the call – and Jarvis drops his accent at the end when he says “Have a lovely night” – will Sousa pick up on it? Sousa also points out that he knew there was something fishy about the call after Krzeminski’s death. Why would a concerned citizen call them and not the police? A concerned citizen shouldn’t have the number to the SSR.

Jarvis may have been right about Carter implicating herself by calling it in, but Dooley clearly has it out for Stark even more after Krzeminski’s death. If the call gets traced back to Jarvis and Carter this could be even worse. There also appears to be a professional hitman on the loose. However, did anyone else think that that “man” moved and looked a lot more like a woman? And one wearing a mask of some sort? I wonder if that hit-person is someone we already know. There is a new resident at the hotel – Miriam introduces both Angie and Carter to Dottie Underwood (Bridget Regan) – who I also currently recurring as Rose on Jane the Virgin. Dottie is pursuing a career in the ballet – or at least that’s her story! And what of the mysterious Anna, what do we really know about her? And are Green Suit and Brannis really dead?

Just a final word about a few of the other things that I really liked about this episode. The sets are particularly striking. I also very much liked the lighting effects with the flashlights. It provided a different take on the usual “modern” blue light we’re used to by ringing them with a kind of prism effect. I adored the fight scene between Carter and Wallace. They really let her fight him – though she did have to have help from Jarvis and Stark’s psycho-massager. I might ordinarily complain about the fight scene having been chopped up a bit and the lighting being a bit dark, but in this instance, it really just seemed to reinforce the comic book nature of the fight – and after all, that’s the genre we’re in!

Haley Atwell was really superb in this episode. Carter was humiliated, angry, smart, tough, and vulnerable – and Atwell nailed all of them. What did you think of the episode? Who do you think killed Krzeminski? Are you frustrated by the way Carter is treated? Are you looking forward to her getting some recognition? Do you think it’s possible? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.