Week 28: Time and Tide, The Blitzkrieg Button

Time and Tide

One thing I'll say for Agent Carter that differs from AOS: There's plenty of fighting in AOS, for sure, but Carter has a lot of executions. More than AOS, I feel that Carter is a cause for the additional permissions we had to agree to in order to "unlock" the additional Marvel titles on Disney +.

The one caveat to my previous statement on misogyny is that it does come in useful when Peggy can use it to her advantage. Playing into the chief's expectation of her just being some dumb girl dumped into his office worked quite well to her favor when helping Jarvis escape a tricky situation.

It doesn't mean that I don't still hope the trope wears off soon. I was just glad to see it be more than a passive, "Hey toots. File these papers and bring me some fresh coffee."

So they didn't plug up the hole in the vault? Seems that would be something that would be taken care of just out of a general concern for ongoing basic security.

P.S. I don't trust Dottie.

P.P.S. Watching the recap at the beginning of The Blitzkrieg Button, I'm getting J. Jonah Jameson vibes from the Chief. I get his his emotional reaction to losing an agent, but did they not just confirm that it wasn't Stark behind this whole thing? Is he blaming Stark for inventing things? Unless they resolve it properly, I'm not on board with his logic.

Time and Tide: I continue to enjoy this well-written series, which has so much more wit and self-awareness than AOS. I suspect that the limited episode count forced it to be more economical. Peggy damaging her career to rescue Jarvis from interrogation seemed unnecessary (I'm sure that he could have talked his way out of the room himself), but it led to a touching backstory for Jarvis's character that was a standout scene for James D'Arcy. The discovery of the weapons cache and Chekov's Constrictor, and the ensuing fight scene, were fun. The doomed Ray Krzeminski's exit from the series (R.I.P. Teddy) was a good jolt to keep the tension raised, and I liked the use of "Someone to Watch Over Me" in the automat scene afterwards. There are a few little details that bug me, such as the vault being untouched by both Stark and the SSR (as Erik mentioned), and Jarvis suddenly being terrible at an American accent on the phone after doing such a good job of questioning Peggy in the voice of her supervisor. But on the whole, this show is turning out to be every bit as good as its reputation. Count me among the viewers and critics frustrated that enough people didn't watch it for it to last. (8/10)

Carter said in the series recap that Steve Rogers "was the love of my life." That's hard to believe given that they barely flirted and only kissed once; it feels a bit too fairy-tale even in this science-fiction setting. Given how important it was to many subsequent productions that Carter and Rogers were utterly devoted to one another, do you think Marvel would go back and strengthen their connection in The First Avenger if they could?

The Blitzkrieg Button: Did anybody else interpret Jarvis tugging on his ear when lying as an intentional tell, as in, he wanted Peggy to investigate further because he trusted her more than his boss did? I thrilled at Mink's quick death at Underwood's hands after being set up as a notable enemy; I love it when a new villain is unmasked when s/he suddenly and unexpectedly takes down a lesser villain. The vial of Rogers's blood was a nice touch by the writers, as precisely something that Stark would want to preserve and that Carter would resent being used over. Hear hear to the Stan Lee cameo, and really to any Stan Lee cameo as a general rule. I grow tired of the puritanical busybody Miriam Fry; I just want Carter to pull out her badge and tell Miriam she's a government agent working on a case already. I like Sousa and his decency, and I hope that he continues to get good subplots. (7/10)