Episode Title: Episode 8 The Edge Of Mystery Episode 9: A Little Song and Dance
Originally Aired: February 23rd 2016
Agent Carter is the best comic book show that “no one” is watching, this could be due to the fact that it is only superhero adjacent instead of focused on them like the more popular shows. It could be a result of an average first season. Whatever the reason someone has for not watching season 2 it is really unfortunate, even on a night when they didn’t put their best foot forward Agent Carter is still performing well above average this year.
The third 2-hour special of the season may have been the low point this season. One good thing about back to back uneven episodes is that hopefully it is all out of the way and we are set for a great finale next week. The writing may be starting to fail a show that is very well shot and superbly acted. It feels like they are cramming 5 episodes worth of material into the final 3 episodes. During tonight’s episodes there are at least 3 double crosses, forged documents, a new weapon, a suicide mission, two new team members, the death of at least one team member, and the loss of the Jarvises future as parents.
The highlight of the first episode of the night was the acting of James D’arcy and his portrayal of Edwin Jarvis. While Peggy is dealing with how to get Dr. Wilkes out of Whitney Frost’s hands we see Edwin at the hospital keeping a constant vigil over Ana. The way that D’arcy displays the anguish, anger and guilt that Jarvis is dealing with is wonderful. It seems that Ana will make a near full recovery but her encounter with Whitney has left her unable to have children. This was another blow to Jarvis who already felt extremely guilty over the incident and how his desire to go on “adventures” has impacted his wife and now he has to tell her she will never be a mother. While they never seemed like the family type to me this news was the final straw for Edwin and he is willing to sacrifice his life to kill Whitney and get revenge.
The first double cross of the night is the most surprising and a little disappointing. Peggy agrees to trade the uranium rods in exchange for Dr. Jason Wilkes, and almost makes it away successfully until Wilkes points a gun at her and Sousa. In what appears as a display of desperation and fatigue Jason has decided to at least temporarily work with Whitney, who taught him how to control his phasing. Whether it just removes the zero matter or kills him Dr. Wilkes is just ready for the ordeal to be over. I never really believed he would shoot Peggy but Sousa wasn’t willing to take that chance and reveals the location of the real rods to Wilkes and Frost. Dr. Wilkes was originally introduced as a love interest for Peggy and their chemistry was better than anything offered by Peggy and Sousa so I have been routing for him and Peggy to get together all season. This option may no longer be possible for several reasons after tonight’s episodes, but I believe the character is still a good guy and look forward to what the season finale may bring for him and his relationship with Peggy.
Even after his betrayal Peggy isn’t ready to give up on Dr. Wilkes entirely and we see how conflicted she still is with her love triangle during the opening to tonight’s second episode. In an homage to classic Hollywood the season wouldn’t be complete without at least one musical number and that’s what we got tonight.
After being knocked unconscious we enter Peggy’s mind where we are first shown a conversation between her and her brother where her faith in her career path may be restored. At the end of the last episode we saw her arguing with Jarvis about the difficulties and the sacrifices that one must face to be a part of this world. Maybe she was beginning to doubt why she did it and this conversation was just what she needed. After the ghostly black and white conversation with her brother Peggy finds herself in the rich colorful environment of the diner from season 1 with her friend Angie waiting on her just like old times. Peggy is offered a few things on and off the menu most notable Dr. Wilkes and Sousa. After a brief dance with each a full musical breaks out with everyone encouraging Peggy to make up her mind and decide who and what she wants. Before we can see her make a decision she is politely requested to wake up by Jarvis, to find herself in the back of a truck and bound at the wrists and ankles. The entire sequence was well shot, choreographed and styled, a true highlight for everyone that isn’t seen on screen.
Whitney Frost is continuing to fall apart as a character and she is possibly going crazy. Both she and Dr. Wilkes, who may be faking, may be losing their minds or the zero matter is a link to some sort of sentient being. The voices and her own desires are pushing Whitney along on her quest for more power and no one is safe if they get in her way. Wilkes is fascinating to her and is useful as long as he is willing to help her understand what is going on, but he is also her biggest lab rat, while he is unconscious she experiments on him. Frost was able to figure out how long he can stay corporeal and what he needs to return to our plain of existence. His ability to take in zero matter is completely involuntary proven by the fact that he is able to pull it from Whitney while unconscious. Whitney is power hungry and satisfying her desire is her only true goal, she likes to talk about helping the world and doing things for the sake of science but it is a thin veneer that anyone can see through.
In a night full of twists and turns I hope the show does a little recalculating and gets back on the path the first 3/4 of the season had us on. Even though these episodes were a bit uneven the highs still outweighed the lows, so tonight still goes in the win column but it wasn’t as clear of a victory as most of season 2. If this is the end for Agent Carter I hope next week is truly great befitting the work that everyone especially the actors have put in. Tune in next Tuesday to find out the fate or Dr. Wilkes, Whitney Frost and our favorite SSR agent.
Channel: Superhero 