Agent Carter returned this week with not one but two terrific episodes. This was the Agent Carter that I’d hoped to see last season, so I’m just beyond thrilled to see her kicking ass and taking names. The fact that the show has shifted to Los Angeles and we’ve mostly lost Chad Michael Murray, is just a bonus for me! An even bigger bonus is that the show is now clearly dovetailing with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as we see the introduction of HYDRA. I’m betting that Dottie’s (Bridget Regan) fascination with Peggy (Hayley Atwell) will see Dottie heading to LA too – at least I’m hoping because I love Regan in this show!
“The Lady in the Lake” was written by Brant Englestein and “A View in the Dark” was written by the team of Eric Pearson and Lindsey Allen. Both episodes were directed by Lawrence Trilling which certainly helped to give them the feel of a two hour event rather than just two discrete episodes. I’m always a bit leery of a show in which the showrunners don’t write the lead off episode, but Chris Dingess, Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters only wrote the end of last season too. Trillings other credits include
Pushing Daisies,
Parenthood,
Invasion, and
Alias, so there is an action background and strong women roles in his resume.
The episode opens with a nice segue from season one to season two involving Peggy’s signature red hat on a crowded New York street. However, in season two, it’s Dottie in the red hat and she’s robbing a bank! When she opens the vault, Peggy is waiting for her. Loved the fight between the two in the vault – beautifully choreographed right up to the slow motion shot of the bag of coins taking out Dottie.
We then jump to Los Angeles. Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) has left New York to head up the West Coast Division of the SSR as Chief. He’s caught the Lady of the Lake Killer case with Detective Andrew Henry (Sean O’Bryan). The SSR is called in because it’s one of the hottest days in LA but the half of Echo Lake is frozen and the dead woman pulled from it is also encased in ice. It’s clear that Henry is going to be of little help, so Sousa calls the New York office for help.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Peggy is making headway in her interrogation of Dottie. I just loved this scene – both Regan and Atwell are terrific as they spar. Peggy’s number one question is why Dottie was intent on stealing a simple lapel pin. For those of us in the know, however, we quickly recognize the stylized HYDRA symbol. Dottie explains to Peggy that there are some currencies stronger than money – power for instance?
Peggy has finally come into her own and earned the respect of the other Agents – much to Jack Thompson’s (Chad Michael Murray) dismay. He’s now the Chief of the New York office but he’s still not the number one Agent. As soon as Sousa calls for back up, Thompson figures out how to kill two birds with one stone. He tells Peggy that Sousa has asked for her specifically, rightly calculating that that alone will make her accept because she’s not happy about being pulled off the Dottie interrogation.
Dottie, of course, makes absolutely short work of Thompson when he tries to interrogate her. I loved her flipping the table on him and pinning him! And then asking to have Peggy back. Just as it seems that Dottie might be going to strike a deal, the FBI arrive and take her and the pin into their custody.
Vernon Masters (Kurtwood Smith) takes Thompson for a drink, presumably to take the sting out of losing his prisoner. He steers the conversation to the fact that the SSR is becoming irrelevant now that the war is over. He offers Thompson a job that will continue to let him move up in the world. Clearly counting on Thompson’s questionable morals and ambition. It would seem that Vernon is offering him a job with HYDRA. Is Murray being groomed to go the same route as Brett Dalton I wonder? Frankly, I’m not sure that Murray is a good enough actor to pull off the transformation that Dalton has with Ward, but time will tell – if we are even going there!
Peggy arrives in Los Angeles by plane, and we get a terrific 40’s style Hollywood pose as she comes off the plane with her fabulous red sunglasses. Even better? Jarvis (James D’Arcy) is there to meet her with Mr Stark’s latest addition to his menagerie – Bernard the flamingo. It simply can’t be Agent Carter without Jarvis! D’Arcy is perfect as always and delivers a terrific performance.
Jarvis fills Peggy in that Stark is dabbling in movies and that LA is not for the civilized. People eat avocados, talk about the dry heat, and are terrible drivers! All typical LA clichés. More than anything, however, Jarvis is bored now that he’s experienced the excitement of helping Peggy, and he’s looking forward to helping her.
Jarvis drops her at the Auerbach Theatrical Agency – the SSR’s cover company in LA. It’s Rose (Lesley Boone) running the Agency! Unlike Jarvis, she loves LA, including the dry heat, and has even taken up surfing. She is watching two tap dancers when Peggy arrives because even though the sign is barely legible and the address is wrong in the phone book, actors still find them! She leads Peggy in and points her to the office, telling her everything she’s looking for is through the door. Rose clearly knows that there has been something between Sousa and Carter.
Sousa is shocked to see her, of course. Peggy quickly realizes that he didn’t request her. There are some truly awkward moments between the two as she mentions having called him several times and his never returning her calls. He makes a very lame comment about how three hours difference can be quite an obstacle. But that’s not really the issue, and at the end of the episode, when she asks him out for that drink, he makes an excuse and runs down to get picked up by Violet (Sarah Bolger).
Carter, Sousa and Henry go off to see Meltzer (Bruce Katzman) about the body. She’s still frozen solid, so he can’t do the autopsy, but the stab wounds on the body are consistent with the Lady in the Lake killer. In addition, her shoes have been switched onto the wrong feet – the signature of the killer. However, she glows in the dark!
They discover that she glows due to uranium, so they go to the closest particle accelerator at Isodyne Labs. While Sousa flirts with the receptionist (Angela Cristantello), Carter sneaks into the lab. Carter runs into Jason Wilkes (Reggie Austin) who asks her if she wants to be thunderstruck. He then gives her something to drink that he’s distilled himself – wine! He recognizes the dead woman as Jane Scott who also worked in the Lab. Their paths didn’t cross, however, as she worked in the particle accelerator and he’s in containment.
Wilkes reveals that Scott was involved with the head of Isodyne – Calvin Chadwick (Currie Graham). I love Graham so was thrilled to see him added to the cast. Wilkes also gives Jane his card and then his personal number just in case. And then gets hers too!
Chadwick has a horse running at Santa Anita, but Sousa and Henry have to give a press conference, so Sousa sends Peggy. Jarvis is to accompany her, and he enlists his wife, Ana (Lotte Verbeek) to help by picking out an outfit for Peggy to wear. I loved this sequence as they drive up to Stark’s house and the flamingo is roaming free. Jarvis, clearly disturbed, says he couldn’t get the flamingo into its enclosure and refers to him as the “Devil in Pink!”
It was awesome to finally get to meet the reclusive Ana! She is effusive in greeting Peggy and gives her a huge hug. She also kisses Jarvis to within an inch of his life, getting him to remark, “She’s an embarrassing creature!” Ana has not only picked an outfit for Peggy, she’s also sewn a garter with a gun holster on it for her to wear!
I loved the sequence at the racetrack, in no small part because Santa Anita is probably my favorite track in the entire world – it really could just have stepped out of the forties or even earlier… While Jarvis lures Chadwick’s wife, Whitney Frost (Wynn Everett) away by acting as a representative of Stark Pictures, Carter concentrates on Chadwick. It’s hilarious when Jarvis tells her the picture is The British are Coming and it’s about a tough as nails agent – by the name of Carter maybe?
I loved Peggy turning on the American accent! She pretends to be a supporter of Chadwick’s political ambitions until suddenly dropping the accent and asking if his wife knew about the affair. She then tells him Scott is dead. Chadwick is not happy. But he also doesn’t give anything up.
Sousa, Carter, and Henry return to the ME, only to find that Meltzer has also frozen and see him disintegrate. Peggy gets Jarvis to pick up Wilkes, and he agrees to run some tests. Wilkes walks into the bathroom to see that Henry has frozen the water. It’s clear that Scott wasn’t killed by the Lady of the Lake killer but by uranium. Henry knocks Jarvis out and takes Wilkes to fix himself. It’s hilarious when Jarvis comes to and is worried that his nose is broken because Mrs Jarvis is so partial to his profile!
It turns out that for the right amount of money, Henry is willing to take care of problems or messes. When the steering wheel freezes, Henry is forced to abandon the car. Carter finds Wilkes and protects him. Henry gets the drop on Sousa, but his gun ices over. Henry tells Sousa he’s dying but before he can say anything else and after being told not to shoot, Henry is killed when a Rookie Cop (Alex Alcheh) shoots him.
Wilkes wants to take Peggy for dinner and dancing for saving his life. She tells him it’s her policy not to socialize with “persons of interest.” Wilkes says it’s nice to at least know she finds him interesting. It’s pretty clear that she’s attracted to him – but she hasn’t yet found out about Sousa.
We see Chadwick pay off the Rookie Cop. Then we see Frost is also in on it – and knew about the affair. They are clearly well suited as a couple. Neither would appear to have any scruples. The very last shot of this episode is Wilkes looking at the zero matter. He’s certainly kept his secret throughout the episode, and I was sure at this point that he was a bad guy!
The next episode picks up at the Stark mansion. It would appear Peggy is staying there along with Mr and Mrs Jarvis. Peggy comes upon Jarvis during his physical fitness regime – seems like he’s started this to be in tip top shape whenever needed. He’s been focusing mostly on boxing and judo. I loved him poking her until she’d spar with him and then her getting the upper hand. Of course, Jarvis manages to pin Peggy just as Mrs J walks in! It’s quite hilarious as she doesn’t let the situation phase her one bit! In fact, up until Peggy arrived, Ana had been Jarvis’ sparring partner!
Back at the theatrical agency, Rose is urging Sousa to tell Peggy about Violet. We miss the actual meeting but it’s hilarious to watch Sousa’s face when they come in the office to see Violet and Peggy chatting like old friends. Violet insists that Peggy come to dinner with them. She agrees until later in the episode when she discovers that Sousa was planning to propose when he drops the ring. She tells him that she’s very happy for him, but neither of them looks very happy. I like that Violet isn’t set up as an obvious second choice but is clearly smart and cares for Sousa. It’s impossible not to like her, setting up a very complicated triangle.
This episode gives us more insight into HYDRA’s activity in LA. Chadwick attends a meeting at a men’s club with the “Council.” This season has an amazing cast with Ray Wise joining as Hugh Jones and Casey Sander also on the Council as Tom. They are all wearing one of those lapel pins and the symbol also hangs on the wall. The Council has decided that Isodyne must be shut down because it’s too much of a risk even if, as Chadwick insists, it could make them billions. I loved them all snuffing out their candles – the meaning there is pretty clear. They tell Chadwick that they’ll be concentrating all their efforts on his race for Senate. Chadwick is clearly not the brains of the group. Have I mentioned how much I’m enjoying Currie Graham?
Sousa and Carter arrive at Isodyne with their warrant only to find the place shut down due to a containment leak. Carter runs into Wilkes who passes her a note to meet with him. We then see Wilkes break into a file cabinet and steal a file on Isodyne’s atomic program. Unfortunately, he doesn’t go unseen.
Wilkes wants to meet at the Dunbar – the hotspot for the colored population. Ana helps her dress and Jarvis sets her up with one of Stark’s car that is full of gadgets – and even a mirror on the roof! I loved Peggy’s comment: “Howard Stark becomes more ridiculous the longer I know him.”
Carter points out that Wilkes looks complicit by wanting to meet in such a public place, but he tells her that he had to be sure about her. When he got to work that morning, he was reminded of the contract of non-disclosure that he’d signed and was even threatened with treason! Peggy relents and tells him – and us – a bit about herself growing up and getting into trouble. He then insists they dance. He tells her that Chadwick didn’t kill Jane intentionally but had to cover it up to protect the research they’ve been doing. It seems that Peggy isn’t having much of a hard time getting over Sousa as she seems to be falling for Wilkes pretty quickly!
We visit Whitney on the set of her new movie. It’s clear that she’s reaching an age at which she’s losing her star power and the director’s comments that she needs more makeup and to be thinner – it’s all about her looks and she’s losing them. It’s a nice commentary on what is still the state in Hollywood. It also explains Frost’s taking control in other parts of her life. She berates Chadwick for letting the Council walk all over him. She seems mollified by the news that they are going to concentrate on his run for Senate.
Wilkes and Carter share a nice moment looking over the lights of LA as he tells her about his own childhood growing up in the orange groves. He tells her he wanted more, and it was the war that gave him a real shot. A story she’s heard before. Afterwards, Isodyne was the only one who would hire “one of his kind.” This is the first indication that there is any racial tension, and of course, in the 40s/50s life for Wilkes would be quite difficult – it’s why he chose the Dunbar club. I was therefore really happy to see at least some of the issue addressed when the two have to get change for the phone. Sadly, the restaurant owner (Nick Hoffa) would have been closer to the reception Wilkes would have received more often than not. The 40s and 50s were not all glamor and good times and it was nice to see the show at least touch on that.
Wilkes shows Peggy the film of the atomic testing and the creation of zero matter. Wilkes describes it as the perfect fluid with no heat conduction. His hypothesis is that it is always drawing energy into it. It was his job to build and maintain the containment for it. He speculates that it maybe isn’t from earth. Carter decides that they are going to steal it.
The goons confront them and there’s a shootout that results in a flat tire. Carter sends out an SOS to Jarvis who is hilariously busy trying to catch Bernard. Ana luckily hears the message and calls him in. Jarvis calls Sousa for help, so he misses his dinner with Violet. Rose and Jarvis watch as Sousa wrecks his office over worry about Peggy. Rose explains that the Chief has a special kind of worry about Peggy. I wonder if Jarvis will pass that little bit of information on? Of course, he does know how to be discreet… Jarvis is beyond pleased when Sousa takes him to Isodyne with him.
Carter finds a lapel pin after the car she hotwired is hit and immediately recognizes the HYDRA symbol. At Isodyne, Carter tells Wilkes to get the zero matter – he has a handy travel case! – while she fights off the thugs. Wilkes is surprised by Whitney showing up. Wilkes tells her it’s not safe and she says she’s surprised that he’s still alive! Whitney wants the zero matter and wants to know if Wilkes is willing to die for it. Clearly she’s not satisfied with being married to the next Senator.
The jar ends up getting dropped and both Wilkes and Whitney are sucked in. By the time Carter arrives they are both gone and there’s just a hole in the wall. Sousa and Jarvis arrive to find Carter clearly shaken. Sousa sends her home.
Sousa heads home himself to be met by Violet. She wants to know if everything is ok. He says it is, he’s just tired. She tells him it’s okay. She’s happy that her boyfriend catches bad guys – she just wants to make sure he’s ok. She tells him she loves him and he says he loves her too. It’s clear that he does and that she is loveable. Let’s hope she’s not just a HYDRA operative!
Meanwhile, Ana brings Peggy a whiskey. Peggy remarks that it’s strange that Wilkes’ apparent death should hit her so hard as she’d only known him a few days. Ana then tells Peggy that Jarvis had only known her a few weeks when he broke her out of the Third Reich and married her. Sometimes that deep connection is pretty instantaneous…
The final scene is Chadwick finding Frost cowering in her room. She has a tiny bit of zero matter stuck to her head. What does this mean? Is the zero matter in her? Where has she been? Is Wilkes also inside her? Inside the zero matter? Can they safely get it off her?
What did you think of the return of
Agent Carter? Did you like the connections to
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? The storylines will also connect to the upcoming Dr Strange movie. Should Sousa choose Peggy over Violet? Did you like finally getting to meet Mrs Jarvis? Is she what you were expecting? 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, Agent Carter, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, The X-Files, Defiance, Bitten, Killjoys, and a few others! I'm active on the Con scene when I have the time. 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.
