(Due to the fact that
I would basically be repeating myself over and over again with each successive
season of the multiple comic-book TV series that I’ve already done reviews for,
this ‘review’ of the second season of Agent
Carter, as well as a forthcoming post on Season 3 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and basically any future post for a
superhero/comic-book show season (save for the first season of shows like Supergirl and Luke Cage), will not be done in the traditional style in which I do
my reviews. In other words, this is going to be more like a series of
observations made in regards to what happened this season.)
(Also I will be
discussing spoiler-heavy moments from this season so SPOILER ALERT!)
Amidst the midseason break of Season 2 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel Studios
debuted their second big TV series in the form of Agent Carter. Set in the post-WWII era a year after the events of
2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger,
the show saw First Avenger star Hayley
Atwell reprising her role of SSR agent Peggy Carter, Captain America’s key ally
and love interest. And thanks to its excellent period setting and production
design, as well as Atwell continuing to be terrific in the role of arguably the
best female lead in the entire MCU, the first season of Agent Carter was another solid success for Marvel Studios, keeping AoS fans like myself very much
entertained until the show returned that March. And now, here are we again in
the midst of a midseason break for Agents
of S.H.I.E.L.D. with Season 2 of Agent
Carter. This time around, everyone’s favorite ass-kicking SSR agent leaves
the confines of New York for the glitz and glamour of the City of Angels, Los
Angeles, as she combats a new threat in the form of Whitney Frost (Wynn
Everett), AKA Madame Masque in the comics. So with that said, how did this
show’s sophomore season turn out?
*Season 2 of this
show, as expected, carries a lot of the same great elements of the first
season. The period production design is terrific, with this season actually
managing to outshine the first thanks to its Hollywood setting. The series also
continues to maintain the same great light-hearted atmosphere and humor that
has defined the MCU from the very beginning, primarily as a result of the
ensemble cast’s excellent camaraderie. And of course, Hayley Atwell is once
again terrific as Peggy as is the rest of the ensemble, particularly James
D’Arcy as Jarvis. The camaraderie between Peggy and Jarvis is just as great as
it’s ever been.
*On that note, Jarvis
was quite frankly my favorite character from this season as he had one of the
most emotional arcs of this season’s overall storyline. This season finally
introduced us to his wife Ana (Lottie Verbeek), who unfortunately ended up getting
shot by Whitney Frost in Episode 7, ‘Monsters’. While she does survive this,
this also results in her and Jarvis not being able to have children. Definitely
the most heartbreaking moment of the season, this leads Jarvis to seek revenge
on Frost in Episode 8, ‘The Edge of Mystery’, but this ultimately ends up
risking the mission when he and Peggy are captured by Frost and her henchmen
after he tries to kill her. The argument that the two have afterwards in the
next episode, ‘A Little Song and Dance’, while walking through the desert leads
Jarvis to finally take responsibility for his actions, namely the fact that he
keeps tagging along with Peggy because he’s clearly gotten bored with just
being Howard Stark’s butler, to be there for his wife. And yet ultimately Ana
comes to accept that Jarvis should be out there helping Peggy.
*Whitney Frost is a
pretty damn great villain for this season and Wynn Everett is excellent in the
role. Frost is pretty much the perfect foil to Peggy as she too finds herself
combating the sexism of the time as the actress wife of prospective senator
Calvin Chadwick. She is also shown to be quite the engineering prodigy,
something that wasn’t expected out of women at the time. But once she kills
Chadwick in Episode 6 after he betrays her during a meeting with his
organization, the ‘Council of Nine’ (better known as the ‘Secret Empire’ in the
comics), she very much takes control of the situation, resulting in an
excellent adversary for Peggy to face this season. Speaking of adversaries…
*While she doesn’t
play as big of a role in the plot this season compared to the last, the scenes
where Peggy interacts with Dottie Underwood are easily some of the best moments
of the season, from their tussle in the first episode of the season, in which
Peggy apprehends her during an attempted bank robbery, to the point where Peggy
is forced to break her out of prison to help her deal with Frost. Just like in
Season 1, Dottie serves as an excellent foil to Peggy, just like Frost this
season, and it’s always great seeing Atwell and Bridget Regan work off of each
other.
*While the show is
still very much entertaining to watch, I do feel that this season suffered a
bit of terms of its plot. I can’t really explain why but occasionally there
were a few dull points in the story and even a bit of repetition in terms of
how certain episodes played out. At the very least, this season impressively managed
to get by without having to overly rely on the MCU films. The only real
connection made to the films this season was the introduction of the substance
known as ‘Zero Matter’, or as it’s known in the comics, ‘Darkforce’, which will
certainly be featured in the upcoming Doctor
Strange. I’m aware that some people are rather critical of this show and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. referencing the
MCU films a lot but quite frankly I’ve never had a problem with it as I felt
this helped these shows stay connected to the MCU films in a way that the DC films
never do with their shows, though it should be noted that Arrow and The Flash do
maintain a fairly strong connection with each other with their cross-over
episodes.
*Also contrary to
popular opinion is the fact that I wasn’t too bothered by this season focusing
in on Peggy Carter finding a potential love interest. While she is very much
one of those female leads that is in no way defined by a romance, at the same
time that doesn’t mean that she’s hampered by a romantic relationship when she
ends up in one. After all, the ‘romance’ between her and Cap in The First Avenger was so well done that
they’re still the best ‘couple’ in the MCU in my opinion. Anyway, the
relationship that forms between Peggy and scientist Jason Wilkes (Reggie
Austin) was a pretty nice one as the show ends up combatting not just the
sexism of the time but also the racism of the time as well. At the same time, a
closer relationship starts to form between Peggy and Agent Daniel Sousa (Enver
Gjokaj), which of course ends up forming a love triangle between the three.
Again, I didn’t mind this because at the very least Sousa has proven himself to
be the only major SSR male that Peggy frequently interacts with that does 100%
respect her, especially when compared to Agent Jack Thompson (Chad Michael
Murray), who of course spends a lot of the season conflicting with Carter,
partially due to his friendship with his boss Vernon Masters (Kurtwood Smith in
an excellent supporting turn).
*If I had to pick my
favorite episode from this season, I would have to go with Episode 6, ‘Life of
the Party’, for its premise in which Peggy is forced to work with her mortal
enemy, Dottie Underwood, and all of the great dynamics that occur between
characters in this episode, including Jarvis ‘manning up’ when he ends up
partnering with Dottie while at a campaign event for Chadwick.
*Also, Episode 9 has
a full-blown musical number. No I am not kidding. To be more specific, this was
a dream sequence that Peggy had after getting knocked out at the end of the
last episode. This moment features plenty of cameos from the rest of the cast,
along with the brief return of Lyndsy Fonseca as Peggy’s friend Angie from last
season. Admittedly this actually doesn’t contribute anything to the plot but as
someone who is a fan of musicals, I didn’t mind this at all. Though I will
admit it was still a very unexpected moment.
In Conclusion: Save
for the occasional lull in the plot, Season 2 of Agent Carter is another highly enjoyable entry into the MCU canon thanks
to all of the great things that made this series great in the first place, most
importantly Hayley Atwell continuing to be terrific in the title role. The 40’s
esque adventures of this show serve as a nice contrast to the modern-day
exploits of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Unfortunately,
low ratings and the fact that Hayley Atwell has recently signed onto another
show for ABC may mean we won’t be getting a Season 3. And the thing is… Season
2 ends on a fairly big cliffhanger, as Agent Thompson ends up getting shot by a
mysterious figure who then proceeds to steal what was meant to be a ‘damaging’
file on Peggy, so it would be disappointing if this is how the series ends.
(Note: Take this next
statement with a grain of salt but despite what I just said about the unlikelihood
of a third season, there are rumors that the series is going to be renewed.)
Season 2 Rating: 4.5/5
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