Episode Title: The Atomic Job Originally Aired: February 9th 2016
Atomic bombs, corporate espionage and mobsters, oh my, all of these things play a pivotal role in tonight’s episode of Agent Carter. The episode is full of danger not only for our main characters but all of Los Angeles and maybe even the world.
The real strength of this show is its cast, its cinematography and its sense of fun. It may not be the most original show ever but it does the usual things in a beautifully shot and highly entertaining way. This episode even includes a slow motion team walk down an alley, but because of their choice in music and the way it is shot, instead of thinking this old thing again you stay engaged with the characters. The low light for this episode is the script by Lindsey Allen, it is well written and has to give us a lot of information which it does well. However, a scene or two are a little too over the top, a first for this season, and Rose’s story line seems heavily influenced by last year’s Spy. The scene that needed the most tweaking was one that involved Peggy going undercover. it was of course well-acted by Haley Atwell it even had her ditching her accent for a couple of minutes. Since Peggy is kind of unique in the SSR their ability to disguise her is extremely lacking and leaves her looking like this.
In response to this failure of the SSR she is provided a mind wiping device by Dr. Samberly. The device allows her to repeatedly shock Hugh Jones (Ray Wise) making him forget the last two minutes. The scene is played for laughs but is overly cartoony and has a surprisingly timid Peggy which does not fit the character.
This episode sees Peggy’s team continuing to grow with the addition of Rose and Dr. Samberly in an effort to stop Whitney Frost from getting her hands on an atomic bomb. Rose’s job is to make sexual innuendos and surprise everyone by being the plump secretary who can kick serious butt her first time in the field. Dr. Samberly is there as the tech guy and is easily influenced by Rose to the point he overcomes a lifetime of issues with his father in seconds. While each character has a few interesting moments I hope they won’t continue to be a large part of the team unless the writes find a way to quickly grow the characters from what they are now.
Relationships also play an important role in this episode: Peggy and Wilkes, Peggy and Sousa, Sousa and Violet, Whitney and Chadwick and Whitney and Joseph Manfredi each one brings something to the episode and promise to impact the rest of the season. Peggy’s relationship with Dr. Wilkes is the driving force behind her desire to finish her current mission. There is still romantic tension between Peggy and Sousa that has a major impact on his relationship with Violet and may impact her relationship with Wilkes if he spends too much time being incorporeal. We learned some of Sousa and Violet’s back story when Sousa finally worked up the nerve to propose. She was his physical therapist when he first moved to L.A. she was very mean but in an endearing way. Whitney has grown tired of playing the role of a proper housewife and with her new found power she is definitely wearing the pants in her relationship with Chadwick. I won’t be surprised if in a few more episodes she decides to absorb her husband and get back with her ex Joseph Manfredi, someone who would appreciate her power. Manfredi is a local mob boss, son of the Marvel villain Silvermane, and the person Whitney was with before marrying Chadwick. It has been more than a decade but the mobster still carries and Statue of Liberty sized torch for Whitney. In one of the more interesting scene of this episode Manfredi severely beats a man in a restaurant who glanced in her direction when he passed by. The action of him pummeling the man in the ground is in the forefront but the more interesting things are in the background. Chadwick is highly disturbed by the violence, and I’m assuming how public it is as well, at first he just hangs his head but then can be seen visibly fighting the urge to flee. Whitney on the other hand while the act may not excite her it doesn’t appear to bother her either, she only adverts her eyes for the briefest amount of time.
How will Peggy be impacted by the very physical and emotion ending of this episode? It appears she may have to rely more on her team and an unlikely source in next week’s two hour episode. What exactly Peggy and the other pistol packing mamas and papas will be up to next, tune in next Tuesday have two hours of fun and find out.
Channel: Superhero 