Agent Carter - Valediction - Review

Agent Carter, “Valediction,” wraps up the first season of the show. Whether there will be a second season remains to be seen, though the showrunners have already been hinting at where they’d like to go with the series. This episode was naturally written by showrunners Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters and was directed by Christopher Misiano, whose long credits include Resurrection, ER, and The West Wing. This episode was fast paced and fun and what you’d expect a Marvel show to be – perhaps more so than the rest of the series. While the episode doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, it does leave me wishing that they’d actually started at this point.

Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) and James D’Arcy (Jarvis) deliver the outstanding performances they’ve been giving all season. Dominic Cooper is simply – and always – delightful as Howard Stark. It’s just so easy to see him as Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr) dad! Enver Gjokaj has also consistently turned in terrific performances and this episode is no exception. He’s definitely the Agent I’m rooting for when it comes to Carter. And while it’s comic book unrealistic, who wasn’t thrilled that Dottie Underwood (Bridget Regan) managed to escape? Regan is simply fantastic as the cold blooded secret agent. I loved her being able to turn into whatever character she needed to at a moment’s notice – ah, the joys of being a beautiful woman in a world of easily distractable men!

The episode begins with another installment of the Captain America radio show. I have to say it was fun to see it back, but it plays no real role in the episode, and it’s been so long since we’ve seen/heard it that I actually found it a bit jarring. The episode then picks up in the aftermath of the attack on the theatre. There’s some interesting discussion over whether a monster perpetrated the carnage, but inevitably, the team concludes it was just men. It touches nicely on the theme of what makes a monster and whether a monster can be human – something to think about as we segue back into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Sousa panics when he sees the baby carriage and ends up getting doused with the Midnight Oil. I loved when he woke up and realized that he’d hit Carter – the look on Gjokaj’s face is priceless. Even better is his response to her asking how he’s feeling after brushing off him hitting her: “I still want to kill Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) but no more than usual!” Form a line Sousa, form a line!

It’s Carter who realizes that Ivchenko/Fennoff (Ralph Brown) has a specific target and later identifies the VE day celebrations. Of course, Stark isn’t wrong in assuming that he’s Fennoff’s main target. I loved the scene when he shows up at the SSR without setting off any alarms and they all draw their guns on him and Jarvis with Thompson telling them to put up their hands. Of course, Jarvis is the only one to put his up, and Stark simply swaggers there with his hands in his pockets. However, he’s back to redeem himself.

Carter brings Stark one of their bullet proof vests when he offers to be bait. Naturally, Stark can do better and he insists on seeing his stuff. It’s hilarious as he runs frantically about looking after his “highly volatile materials” – though one that looks like a hairdryer just needs to be flipped over. Carter is genuinely worried about Stark putting himself in danger fearing he’s punishing himself. Stark is more genuine with Carter than with anyone else. He tells her that he’s redeeming himself. “I don’t care what people think but I do care what you think.” I also think that he’s completely genuine in being horrified as what his invention was used for. He tells Carter, “I need to fix this or I won’t be able to live with myself.” Of course, he undercuts all this by stealing Captain America’s blood.

I loved the press conference with Stark feeding Thompson what to say and Thompson barely getting it all out through gritted teeth before simply handing the mike to Stark. There are lots of fun moments in the episode, including Stark trying to bribe the hypnotized cop (DaJuan Johnson) with Rosalind Russell’s private number. I also loved how angry Dottie was that Howard doesn’t remember her name! Regan is also terrific when Fennoff hears on the radio that Stark is back. We see through the windshield her get out of the car and quickly dispatch the guard at the airfield. She comes back to the car and Fennoff tells her a new opportunity has arisen. Somewhat put out, Dottie says, “Just since I left the car?”

The action all comes to a head at Stark’s “other” secret vault. Jarvis gets his hero moment as he’s the only one who can fly. He has to go after Stark who’s been hypnotized and faces the prospect of not only having to shoot down the first man he’s ever shot at but that man is his employer – and friend on some level. Peggy goes after Dottie and Fennoff, and we get a terrific fight sequence between the two women – the only real fight sequence in the episode.

Fennoff is stopped from getting away by Sousa. Thompson has been knocked out by Fennoff, but Fennoff tries to hypnotize Sousa by getting him to focus on his pain. It looks like he’s doing it and about to shoot Thompson, when instead of shooting he punches Fennoff and knocks him out, revealing that he had earplugs in all the time! This is a great sequence because it really looks like Fennoff is getting through to Sousa, particularly when he says, “you will not shoot. It’s not in your nature.” We already know this as he didn’t shoot Carter, but at this point, he’s still following his nature by getting close enough to Fennoff to knock him out rather than shooting.

Carter is left to talk Stark out of bombing Times Square with Midnight Oil. Little does she realize that she’s one of the main reasons Fennoff was able to hypnotize Stark – Carter and Captain America. Carter tells Stark, “You are the one person in this world who believes in me, and I can’t lose you. Steve is gone and we have to move on. All of us.” Stark snaps out of it – just in the nick of time and Jarvis brings him back. The three share a brief moment as Howard hugs them both, before reverting to typical Stark behavior and remembering Dottie’s name as Ida – at least in that persona! Carter and Jarvis exchange perfect long suffering looks.

In the aftermath, Carter returns to the SSR amid applause from all her fellow male agents. The glory is hers until Walt Cooper (John Prosky) shows up to bestow all the credit from the Senate on Thompson. Souza is outraged – mainly for Carter. But she tells him, “I don’t need a Congressional honor. I don’t need Agent Thompson’s approval or the President’s. I know my value. Anyone else’s opinion doesn’t matter.” It’s clear to see that Sousa has put Carter back up on her pedestal, and while she might not care about other’s opinions it does please her. Sousa puts aside his crutch to at long last move on with his own life and ask Carter to go for that drink. She says no, but it’s clearly more because she already has something else to do, not that she’s closing the door on saying yes another time.

She’s meeting Angie (Lyndsy Fonseca) and Jarvis, and she and Angie are moving in to one of Stark’s “smaller” apartments – rent free and for as long as they like. This to me, is where the adventure should have started. However, if we get these three having adventures together in season two, I’ll let them make it up to me. Angie is adorable as she can’t believe her luck, and it’s another sign that Carter has once again embraced life and is allowing herself a friend. Fonseca has been woefully underused in the series, and I’d love to see her take a much bigger part in Carter’s adventures going forward.

The final scene between Jarvis and Carter easily illustrates why these two have been described as the “heart” of the series by the showrunners. They’ve been through much and have grown very fond of each other. When she suggests he must be ready for some peace and quiet, he tells her, “should you again find yourself in need of my services, I would be honored to assist you at a moment’s notice.” I suspect that Jarvis will at least find the need to check up on things at the apartment on a regular basis.

         Jarvis presenting Carter with Steve’s blood is just a wonderful moment, beautifully acted by both. Carter thinks at first that Stark has given the blood to Jarvis to pass along – after all, Stark has decided to destroy all his inventions to prevent any government from getting them and misusing them. But Jarvis tells her, “I owe Howard Stark a great deal, but he does not own my integrity. I am quite certain there is only one person in the world who knows what to do with this. You, Miss Carter.”

Carter says goodbye to Cap by pouring the last of his blood over the side of a bridge, and her last words are “Bye, my darling.” However, like all good Marvel productions there’s a nice teaser “after” the final scene. We see Zola (Toby Jones) from both Captain America films, the mastermind behind the Winter Soldier program. You would think that someone somewhere would realize these two guys weren’t the best cell mates, right? Even if Fenhoff is in a Hannibal Lector-like face mask. Speaking of which, I’m not quite sure how that prevents him from speaking, but it sure looks like it would keep him from eating…

I liked that by the end of the season, Carter wasn’t looking to anyone, even Stark, for validation. I also realize that they didn’t want her to get over Captain America easily, that we needed to see her struggle to move past him. However, I was still looking to see the woman whom Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) venerated so reverently in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Sure the “real” world was male dominated, but couldn’t we have an Agent Carter in charge of the SSR – behind closed doors so to speak? I do hope we get a second season that will use the apartment as a base of operations because I definitely want more Carter, Jarvis, and Angie!

What did you think of the episode? Did you feel it brought sufficient closure to the Leviathan storyline? In the end, it really boiled down to one man’s revenge for his brother. For me, that seemed a little anti-climactic. Are you hoping for a second season? Would you be happy with another 8 week hiatus gap between two halves of S.H.I.E.L.D.? In the end, who was your favorite character? 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.