Agent Carter finished its second season run with “Hollywood Ending” and ratings which it did not deserve. This series really delivered in season two – in a way that I’d hoped for in season one but that didn’t materialize until the final episodes of that freshman series. The latest rumors are that despite low ratings, Agent Carter will very likely be back for a third season. There’s no denying that this season had a lighter tone, yet it still managed to really foreground some interesting themes such as what it took to be a woman in a man’s world – themes that are all too often still relevant today.
“Hollywood Ending” was directed by Jennifer Getzinger with a story by Chris Dingess and the teleplay written by the team of Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters. The episode picks up right where the last one left off – with Wilkes (Reggie Austin) exploding – or right before that at any rate as Jack (Chad Michael Murray) and Peggy (Hayley Atwell) both try to convince Samborly (Matt Braunger) to do their bidding. Jack is convinced that Peggy won’t shoot him – but I’m not so sure the rest of were! Wilkes explodes before anyone is shot, however!
They rush into the building to find that Wilkes has been restored to normal but Whitney (Wynn Everett) has now absorbed all the zero matter. They run away! Luckily, Jarvis (James D’Arcy) shows up in the nick of time and runs Whitney over! Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) is in the back seat and he’s appalled that Jarvis has hit a two time Oscar nominee! Jarvis assured him that she’s quite resilient!
Wilkes briefs them all on zero matter, comparing it to a cancer and warning that it will move on to consume their world if they don’t stop it. Wilkes moves in to Stark’s, and they work together toward a solution. Peggy does not approve when it looks like Stark wants to use zero matter for his own profit. Wilkes tells them that the Gamma Canon won’t work. Stark suggests that Wilkes build another containment chamber. Their brainstorming is interrupted by Jarvis who is being held at gunpoint by Manfredi (Ken Marino).
Manfredi is keeping Whitney at his house, but she seems to have completely lost it and spends all day, every day working on formulas. She wants even more zero matter and plans on opening the door to it again. Manfredi has finally had to admit that there is something wrong with Whitney. His Nonna (Tina D’Marco) tells him that he’s going to have to make a deal with the Devil if he wants to get his girl back.
There are a few tense moments as Manfredi holds Jarvis at gunpoint – but once again D’Arcy is terrific at the physical comedy as he gets Stark his mustard! As it turns out Manfredi knows Stark. Manfredi wants to work with them to get Whitney back. Wilkes warns them not to underestimate her genius, and Stark reveals how he got rich – you don’t have to be smarter, you just have to steal from anyone smarter than you are!
Manfredi provides the distraction so that Peggy and Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) can sneak in to Whitney’s room and steal the research. Manfredi tells Whitney he needs her help, and she’s interested as soon as she realizes that he needs her to be his “muscle.” She’s still enjoying her power. Manfredi enlists the help of Hank (Chris Coppola) to pretend he’s holding out information. However, under Whitney’s threats, Hank actually reveals he ratted to the Feds! Manfredi is distressed that he’s actually going to have to kill him now!
While Whitney is out, Peggy and Sousa take pictures of the research so Whitney won’t ever realize they were there. Sousa takes a picture of Peggy – a souvenir of her trip to California. It’s adorable and frustrating to watch the two continue to circle each other. Sousa tells her he’s glad they got to work together. The two rush out the window in the nick of time – but not before Sousa cleverly changes a 6 to an 8 in one equation to slow Whitney down.
Peggy names the machine the other create – the Rift Generator – when Wilkes, Stark and Samborly degenerate into fighting over the name. As the name suggests, it will create a fissure. They are going to open the rift on the studio lot of Stark Pictures, and they won’t have to do anything to get Whitney there – they’re sure that she will simply feel it and be drawn to it.
It’s hilarious to watch Stark flirt shamelessly with Rose (Lesley Boone) while the others get ready. Wilkes and Sousa are working together and Sousa asks why Wilkes held the gun on Peggy – instead of on him. Wilkes says that he used deductive reasoning. He knew Sousa would fold because that’s what he would have done… Wilkes isn’t stupid, he knows how Sousa feels about Peggy.
Even Jack shows up to help, and Peggy has a bit of sweet revenge in sending him off to fill the dinner orders. In Jack’s favor, he does it with a good grace – and I liked him better for it. He finds the files Vernon has left behind and in the file he finds one of the Council lapel pins that apparently turns into a key – and he eventually does turn that over to Peggy.
Jack and Peggy keep watch while the scientists open the rift. Jack is sure that Peggy is going to turn him in and he’s about to lose his job. Peggy tells him that she never considered turning him in. She tells him that she knows he’s a good man. For his own part, Jack decides he doesn’t really want to know whether she would have shot him or not! The two are interrupted by Samborly’s scream. Whitney has arrived!
Stark hits Whitney with the Gamma canon, knocking all the zero matter out of her and into the rift. The rift quickly becomes unstable, but they can’t get the generator to work remotely. If they do it from the generator itself, whoever does it will be sucked into the rift. Naturally, they all argue over who will get to sacrifice themselves! While the rest are arguing, Sousa ties himself off and just goes to do it.
Jarvis goes for the car and comes back with Samborly – who denies that he fainted at the sight of Whitney. Naturally, Sousa’s tether comes undone, leaving Peggy, Wilkes, Stark, and Jack to try and hold him from flying into the rift. Sousa yells at them to let go. Jarvis suggests a solution, but it will mean sacrificing Stark’s hover car – which would appear to be the early prototype for Coulson’s Lola on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Naturally, it works and they save the day!
Afterwards, Stark is still whining about having lost all the zero matter, but he has hired Wilkes to head his new project. Peggy is getting ready to head back to New York. It’s clear that whatever might have been between Peggy and Wilkes is over – bad timing.
Ana (Lotte Verbeek) arrives home just as Peggy is about to leave. She’s aghast that Peggy was going to leave without saying goodbye. Even with her loss and brush with death, Ana clearly doesn’t harbor any ill will toward Peggy. She hugs her and tells her that she’s home and safe and that’s all that matters. Jarvis offers to drive Peggy, but she says she can get a cab and he’s completely devastated! Ana convinces her to let Jarvis drive and he literally comes skipping back out of the house!
The last we see of Whitney, she’s talking to Cal (Currie Graham)! He tells her that she’ll find it – they just have to work together. It was a nice trick, until we pull back and see that Whitney is actually in an insane asylum. Manfredi is there to see her but can’t take in the roses he got her as she will try to use them to claw open her face – still desperately trying to find the zero matter and regain her power.
Peggy has Jarvis drop her at the office so that she can finish her paperwork. It’s a sweet final scene between the two as Jarvis tries to get her to stay. She tells him that her whole life is back in New York, and he suggests that maybe she only needs one compelling reason to stay in Los Angeles… Nobody ever said that Jarvis was a fool!
Sousa is clearly unhappy to see her go, but rather than thank her over saving him at the rift, he tells her that she screwed up! What she did was ill-advised and reckless! It’s the age old spark that either erupts in a fight – or turns into something else. Peggy finally makes the first move and kisses Sousa – who then kisses her back! And we finally see these two get together!
The final scene sees Jack packing to return to New York and he gets a phone call from Peggy, asking for more vacation time! There’s a knock at the door which Jack thinks is his cab for the airport. Instead, he’s greeted by a gun and shot! The gunman, whose face we don’t see, steps over Jack and takes Vernon’s file. Jack lies on the floor – apparently dead! It’s the ultimate cliffhanger.
I’m really hoping we get more
Agent Carter because I’ve come to really like these characters. The writing is solid and improved this year from last year. I’d really like to know if Jack is alive – I suspect he’s dead – but even more, I want to know who shot him! I definitely want to see more of Atwell, Gjokaj and D’Arcy. Fingers crossed we can get Angie out to LA for season three and we must have Bridget Regan back as Dottie! Rose also really came into her own this season and Ana was also a terrific addition.
I quite like the short 10 episode run – but I’d like to see it spread over 10 weeks rather than super compressed as the two hour blocks didn’t work that well for me. What did you think of the episode? The season? Do you want more Agent Carter? 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.
