By: Dave Clark
It's been a long time since the First Lady of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter graced our televisions, but tonight she returned in true Peggy fashion. The action picks up right where we left off with Peggy on the hunt for the escaped Dottie Underwood. We're also immediately immersed in the mystery of a frozen part of a lake in the middle of a very hot Los Angeles. A great science fiction noir story to kick the season off! I love it!
We're whisked quickly away from New York to Los Angeles as Agent Carter is sent to assist Daniel Sousa with the Lady in the Lake case. We're also introduced to many new characters including Ana Jarvis and the lovable Jason Wilkes, a genius Isodyne scientist who takes a romantic liking to our Agent Carter. Wilkes has a bit of mystery to him as we see him looking over the Zero Matter (AKA Darkforce, which we were introduced to on an Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. episode and will supposedly play a role in the Doctor Strange movie.) We also meet actress Whitney Frost and her husband, owner of Isodyne Energy, and a senatorial candidate, Calvin Chadwick quickly setting up this season's main antagonists.
Overall, I enjoyed both episodes greatly. I'm a huge fan of anything that Hayley Atwell is attached to, so I'm glad we get to see her weekly on this show. She's done an amazing job of completely becoming Peggy Carter and making her a more believable and human character, and not just some former love interest for Steve Rogers. You feel everything that she feels. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and can't wait to see what's next!
What I Liked:
I LOVE the noir look and feel of the show. Being set in 1947 is probably the best thing about the feel and aesthetic of this show.
Peggy's fight scenes. The woman can go. Its great to see her in action.
The banter between Peggy and Jarvis. Their friendship and working partnership is what makes this show work so well.
The cameo made by comedian Matt Braunger as a bitter S.S.R. lab technician. Hilarious comedian and I hope this is more than just a one shot appearance.
Ana Jarvis. Her addition to the show is fantastic! Lotte Verbeek (the actress portraying her) was tremendous in The Fault In Our Stars, and I'm happy her character is very much the opposite of Jarvis.
What I Didn't Like:
Agent Jack Thompson. The guy is super annoying. The way he attempts to interrogate Dottie and his utter failure at intimidating her was almost laughable. His arrogance is still beyond irritating.
While I'm all for comedy in our comic book shows, I felt these two episodes leaned too heavily on the jokes and a little less on the dramatic. Might just be them easing people into the new season so we'll reserve judgement for now.
I want much more of our resident Black Widow in the form of Dottie Underwood. I loved her in the first season and I hope we get a heavy dose of her as Peggy's nemesis.
I miss Angie.