Agent Carter, “Smoke and Mirrors,” was written by Sue Chung and was directed by David Platt. I loved the flashbacks in this episode that really help to fill in who Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) really is and how she became the woman we know. It was also a really nice touch to parallel Peggy’s story with Agnes’s, and really highlight how few opportunities women had and what was expected of them. In many ways, the world wasn’t ready for either of them. Both share a special moment with their mothers in front of a mirror – as the title alludes to.
Young Peggy (Gabriella Graves) loved playing knight – complete with swords – with her brother Michael (Webb Hayes), much to their mother’s (Carole Ruggier) disapproval. She tells Peggy that one of these days she’s going to have to start acting like a lady. Peggy still had the advantage of her very much approving brother and a loving family to fall back on.
Young Agnes (Ivy George) was clearly a scientific prodigy, and we see her fixing the radio for her mother, Wilma Cully (Samaire Armstrong). Wilma couldn’t care less, but only wants Agnes to treat her “Uncle” Bud (Chris Mulkey) nicely. Wilma is obviously sleeping with him in return for his looking after them – it’s one of the few ways for a woman to support herself at this time. When Agnes doesn’t respond to his teasing, Uncle Bud simply remarks that Agnes is a strange kid.
Peggy follows a more traditional route and by 1940 she’s engaged and working in Bletchley Park. Her boss has other ideas, however, and offers her a position with the SOE, doing field work! Peggy’s already and excellent code breaker and they need women who can blend in – to fight for King and country! He encourages her to discuss it with her fiancé, but Peggy insists she doesn’t think she’s cut out for field work!
Back in Oklahoma, in 1928, Bud is cheating on Wilma. He’s kicking her out of the house, though he does leave her some money. Wilma blames Agnes (Olivia Welch) for not being nicer to Bud. One wonders if she expected Agnes to sleep with him too! She cruelly tells Agnes that no one cares how smart she is – unlike Peggy – and that all they care about is her face. It’s her looks that are going to get her anything in this life.
At a party in Hampstead, England, in 1940, Michael (Max Brown) meets Peggy’s fiancé, Finn Watson (Kevin Changaris). Peggy tells Michael that she was recruited to be a spy, and Finn tell him that “we” turned them down because that’s not Peggy. When Finn gets up to go for a drink, Peggy asks what Michael thinks of him. He deflects her by saying he’s not marrying him, but then asks why she turned down the SOE job. Naturally, he was the one to recommend her for it. He tells her that he knows her better than anyone else, and he knows she craves adventure! Yep. That’s definitely the Peggy we know! He tells her that she’s meant to fight and that she shouldn’t pretend to be something she’s not.
In the next scene, in 1940, Peggy is trying on her wedding dress while her mother weeps – as mothers do. The SOE letter is still on her dresser. Soldiers arrive with news of Michael’s death. Peggy has a personal stake in the war now. She takes the letter and leaves the ring – as we know she will.
In Hollywood in 1934, Agnes (Wynn Everett) is going to the movies. She’s spotted by talent agent Ned Silver (Andrew Carter) who tells her she’s pretty enough to earn a living modelling or acting. When he asks her name, he tells her that she needs a name as pretty as she is – and Whitney Frost is born. He tells her that the beauty of Hollywood is that you can be whoever you want to be – as long as you’re pretty enough. Once again, no one is interested in what’s behind that pretty face.
In the present, Whitney’s face isn’t so pretty anymore. At first I thought she was attempting to fix herself, but each time the zero matter absorbs something – or someone else, the crack on her face gets bigger. But it becomes clear that she’s enjoying destroying the face and good looks that she’s become a slave to, and she’s enjoying learning how to wield her new power.
I loved the first flashback scene seguing from Peggy’s mother telling her she’d have to start acting like a lady to Peggy wolfing down a huge sandwich! Let’s also not forget the director controlling Whitney’s body by telling her that she was getting too fat and suggesting she skip lunch. It’s heavily ironic that she basically ate him when she absorbed him!
Wilkes (Reggie Austin) is watching Peggy eat – he’s missing having any sense of his own body, and he seems to fade as the episode progresses. He tells her that while he’s a genius, Cully is in a category all by herself. There are definite sparks between these two.
Meanwhile, Jarvis (James D’Arcy) and Peggy are looking for Frost who hasn’t been seen since her director disappeared. In staking out Chadwick’s (Currie Graham) campaign office, they recognize the wound on Rufus’s (Chris Browning) hand. Jarvis doing an American accent – badly! – and pretending to be the police to flush him out was terrific. D’Arcy never fails to be a highlight. I loved them using a tranquilizer rifle to take him down!
Of course, the tranquilizer dart doesn’t really take Rufus down. He manages to stick Jarvis, but Peggy finishes the job with a terrific right hook. She asks Jarvis if he’s ok, and he answers “Jarvellous!” before pitching forward unconscious!
Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) is waiting for them back at Stark’s. He tells Peggy that Jack (Chad Michael Murray) okayed her holidays – but wasn’t happy about it. Naturally, they can’t keep Rufus a secret from him. Peggy tries to tell him it’s a possum in the trunk. Sousa tells her it’s a felony, and she tells him she was trying to give him plausible deniability! She tells him she feels badly that she ruined his proposal, but he maintains they are partners.
The two interrogate Rufus and quickly determine they aren’t going to be able to break him. Peggy comes up with a terrific plan. They inject him with a cold virus and tell him it’s a deadly strain of malaria! Rufus breaks, but he knows he’s a dead man anyway. There’s no hiding from the Council of the Nine. They aren’t merely criminals, they’re in everything. They even caused the 1929 crash.
Sousa gets a warrant for the Arena club. Peggy tells him about the hidden door and secret room – odd rich man love that sort of thing! However, Vernon Masters (Kurtwood Smith) shows up and shuts down the entire operation. He tells Peggy that he’s been dying to talk to her. He asks how her vacation is going, and she replies, “Vigorously!” She knows that he knows it’s a shame.
Vernon remarks that Jack has told him that she’s an independent thinker – something he clearly disapproves of. Vernon wants to know her source, but she clearly smells a rat and won’t give him up. Vernon then tells her the Hollywood ten thought they were above the law – Peggy calls it a communist witch hunt – which it was. He also threatens her by suggesting she could be seen as a British spy – she’s not even American! She tells him she’ll survive, but he suggests that her friends might not!
Once again, Peggy is more concerned with protecting her friends. And once again, Sousa reiterates that he’s in it until the end. He got the commie speech too. He’s also managed to steal a tissue sample from the Jane autopsy. Sousa has a gun on Rufus, but Rufus punches him and gets away – but they’ve planted a bug on him!
Meanwhile, Wilkes is deteriorating. He’s having trouble concentrating. The blackboard seems to be morphing into zero matter. He confides in Peggy that he’s tired and it would be very easy just to let go. Peggy tells him that her brother said that she was a fighter, and Wilkes is one too.
Rufus goes right to Chadwick’s house. He tells them about Peggy and Chadwick insists he’ll have her deported. Whitney’s carefully crafted serenity cracks – just as the zero matter is cracking her face. Her true self is finally coming out. She demands to know what Rufus told Peggy. Chadwick complains that they hired Rufus because he couldn’t be broken! Chadwick threatens to tell the Council and Rufus threatens the same thing.
Whitney solves the problem by absorbing Rufus – and that’s when the bug cuts out! The team misses the final exchange between Whitney and Calvin. He wants to know what that was. She tells him it was her fixing another one of his problems. He asks her what she is – he’s clearly way beyond his depth and is totally freaked out. She tells him that she’s “whatever she wants to be.” And she now has the power to do it!
I loved this episode and what it had to say about women. I also liked the use of a sepia tone to help differentiate the flashback sequences. What did you think of the episode? Favorite scene? Line? Did the flashbacks make you feel some sympathy for Whitney? Do you think they’re going to be able to save Wilkes? Will the Council come after Peggy? 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.
