Agent Carter {Seasons 1-2}

"What's your name, darling?"

"Agent."

My feminist soul, grabbing anyone who'll listen and shaking them by the shoulders:  "hAVe YoU eVer HeARd aNYtHinG sO glORioUS iN YoUr LIFE?!?!"

As you may have guessed, I recently finished watching Marvel's Agent Carter television series.   

AND I FLIPPING LOVED IT OKAY AND I'M SO EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT IT WITH YOU.

But before I do so, I first have to share what will probably turn out to be a rather lengthy recap of my history with Marvel — both in general and in particular as relates to the Captain America universe.

I feel it incumbent upon me to warn you that Unsavory Revelations may follow.  I may be about to say Hurtful Things about Beloved Characters.  (I am definitely going to.)  Ideals may be about to be shattered.  You may never think of me in the same way again.  I'm telling you like it is so that, when the time comes, you'll be prepared.

Okay.  Now that we're all on the same page:  A Not-So-Brief History of Olivia's Relationship with Marvel Studios. 

Basically . . . I don't like it.  I do enjoy some of the characters (Thor, Loki, and the Iron Man bunch, if you were curious), but I just. can't. stand. the movies.  

And when I say that, it's important to understand that I essentially mean that I can't stand any kind of superhero movie, period.  They are Just Not My Jam.  The amount of affection I may have for individual characters is not, unfortunately, strong enough to counteract the intensity of my aversion to the style of show as a whole.

(To be clear, there's nothing wrong or inferior about said style.  It just grates on every last story nerve that I have, personally.  It doesn't interact well with my individual story sensibilities, that's all.)

That being the case, even though I watched the majority of the Marvel films, it was Extremely Rare for me to find one that I actually, genuinely, unequivocally loved.  In fact, before Agent Carter, I'm not sure if there was a single Marvel show that I adored.  I liked the Iron Man movies and I loved Thor: Ragnarok, but I don't know if I found a Marvel offering that I wholeheartedly enjoyed in general, across the board.  (Not just enjoyed "for a Marvel show," if you get what I'm saying.)

So.  Those are the basics.  Now for the specifics that are relevant to a review of Agent Carter.

*big sigh*

Some of you already know this and some of you don't, but I'm just going to come right out and say it:

I don't like Steve Rogers/Captain America.

I know.  I just lost you all. 😄  But it's true.  In fact . . . not only do I not particularly like him; I sort of actively dislike him. 😬  (And by 'sort of,' I mean 'definitely,' but I am keenly aware that some of my dearest buddies love him very much and I JUST DON'T LIKE HURTING MY FRIENDS, DANG IT.)

Now, for the record, I used to like him.  There are a lot of reasons why that changed — why I now feel the way that I do about Cap — but I don't want to give them unsolicited because I've been on the receiving end of someone else denigrating something that I love, and it's Not Fun.  Even all the disclaimers and caveats and "but that's just me, though!"s notwithstanding. 

me, always

I'm only telling you now because I thought it might be important for you to know that that is the point of view from which I watched (and loved) Agent Carter.  Because if you feel differently about Steve, then you might have a different reaction to this show.  I don't know.  I'm just telling you in case.  (I do have one friend — hi, friend *waves* — who loves both.)  

Also:  I have watched all three Captain America movies and a couple of the Avengers movies.  I more or less know the basics of where Endgame left everybody.  (Whether I accept those basics is another conversation altogether, but wE WON'T START THAT CONVERSATION right now . . . )

I haven't watched any of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-off — nor do I plan to — so any further explanation of where these characters ended up, as developed in that show, is irrelevant to me.  

Basically:  I have these characters firmly where I want them, based on my own interpretations and on the ending of Agent Carter.  I have written my own ending, and I don't really care what else Marvel has to say about it. 😁  (One's got to be Firm with these franchises, sometimes.)

I've known about Agent Carter for a long time now, but I had always sort of dismissed it out of hand as something I was unlikely to enjoy.  Again, that's because I knew that I didn't like Cap, so a story that (I thought) would revolve around his girlfriend's life after he supposedly died didn't seem that enticing to me.  Especially since, while I'd liked Peggy well enough in her appearances in the various Marvel films, I hadn't been enthralled by her.  

(*cough* # i now strongly suspect # that that was because # before Agent Carter # she'd only really seemed to be included # in reference to # and as an accessory to # Steve *cough* BUT AGAIN WE WON'T TALK ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW.)

So, as I said, I knew about the show but was never that interested in trying it.  But then I started seeing fan edits of fun Peggy/Jarvis moments and what-not, and the aforementioned nonexistent interest was piqued.  I started thinking, "Hmm, maybe I would like that show.  Maybe if it doesn't have too much connection to the rest of the Marvel franchise?  Hmmmm . . . "

And then I got Disney+.  And I noticed that AC was offered.  And I added it to my watchlist.  And, eventually, I started it.  And I got hooked.  (I know that's not grammatically appropriate.  Hush.)

In case you didn't know, Agent Carter follows Peggy Carter as she works for the SSR, uncovering international security threats and trying to do right by both her country and her friends.  There is some tie-in to the Captain America plot, obviously, but AC is a strong story in its own right. 

{Characters}

I've realized that, while I am not a character-driven reader — or even, really, a character-driven moviegoer — I am more character-driven when it comes to TV shows.  If I'm going to spend x number of seasons with these people, I need to be invested in them.  I need to want them to end up well and happy.  Fortunately, Agent Carter's characters check all of my boxes.  I love every single one of the (good) recurring MCs.

Ana Jarvis, with her sass and her sweetness and her sewing skills. 

Roger Dooley, with his 99 problems and his Tired Dad™ aesthetic. 

Angie Martinelli, with her spunk and her bluntness and her fake crying.

Howard Stark, with his ethical stupidity and his love for his friends.

Jason Wilkes, with his eagerness and his scientific prowess. 

Jack Thompson, with his humor and his utter lack of self-awareness and his cHARACTER GROWTH CAN I GET A HOORAH.  

Daniel Sousa, with his love and his determination and his whole entire being literally he is an angel boy and we must all Adopt Him.

Edwin Jarvis, with his suits and his loyalty and his darkness.

And, of course, The Queen herself, Peggy Carter, with her Literally Everything.

And speaking of those last four . . . 

I LOVE THOSE LAST FOUR.  Like a lot. 

As I said, the dynamic between Jarvis and Peggy was one of the first draws of the show, for me, and I wasn't disappointed.  They are a dream team.  Best of buds who become hopelessly reliant on each other in a wholly platonic way is one of my favorite things, y'all.  I am Utter Trash for a good romance — and this series is no exception, as you shall see *beams* — but a solid guy/girl friendship is incredibly refreshing.  You've got the same bone-deep commitment without all the messiness of sexual tension and "will they or won't they?" games.  (I have no quarrel with "will they or won't they," on principle, but it does tend to get a little Complicated & Stressful.)

So yes.  Peggy and Jarvis for the win. 

Then there's Agent Thompson.  Thompson can be a bit of a puzzle.  He keeps you guessing.  Pretty early on, you know that he's not an Utter Monster; but you still don't know if he's genuinely good or not.  His moral ambiguity carries on right up to the end of the second season.  (AND NO, WE ARE NOT GOING TO SPEAK OF THAT LAST SCENE WITH HIM.   As I said, I have written my own ending.)

But all that greyness notwithstanding, you start to pick up on the fact that he cares about his people, in his way.  And he cares about the mistakes he's made, in his way.  And in that way, he makes you care about him in turn.

(Plus there's the whole "Peggy and Daniel running around frantically trying to protect their Annoying Older Brother and keep him from messing everything up all the time" thing.  Which is adorable.)

(I just grinned like a fool and rewound it about fifty times.)

AND SPEAKING OF PEGGY & DANIEL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT ABSOLUTE GIFT FROM THE HEAVENS, SHALL WE?? 😍

You guys.  I can't even. 

Daniel is Peggy's love interest, and HE IS PERFECT.  THEY ARE PERFECT.  Okay?  I have spoken.  

I just . . . *waves hands inarticulately*  I'll talk more about the "romantic conflict" of the second season — ahem — below, but beyond that, I don't want to go into too many specifics about why I love these two so much.  I just do, and they make me happy, and that's all that needs be said on it, right now. ♥

LOOK AT THEIR STUPID DORKY BEAUTIFUL FACES I mean shut up

Oh, wait, except this:  

I feel I should tell you — because apparently I'm just going all-out with the hurtful opinions thing today — that I don't ship Peggy and Steve.  And . . . I don't think I ever really did?

I totally understand why people do ship them; and it's not like I absolutely hate them together, or anything like that. It's just, I don't ship them. I don't see enough romantic chemistry there to keep me interested. 

And I don't mean that in a, "they don't bicker enough!" way. After all, Daniel is hardly the Han to Peggy's Leia, either. I just don't . . . see Peggy/Steve.  They don't "fit," in my mind.  I don't know quite how else to explain it to you without getting into a lot of tangled detail, but I promise that I did feel this way about them before I watched Agent Carter, even if I didn't know to articulate it. 

I tell you that because, again, your mileage with the Agent Carter show may vary based on your feelings about the Steve/Peggy ship.  I love the show and I love its romantic element, but I never loved Peggy's initial romance that happened before the show started.  So. *shrugs*

 

{Plot}

Here's the thing:  The first season has a better plot, but the second season has better exposition, specifically in the relationship department. 

Unfortunately, the second season also feels the need to insert The Dreaded Love Triangle.  (Or love quadrangle, really, since new love interests are added for both Daniel and Peggy.)  *collective groans from the audience*

I know, I know.  I wasn't a fan of it in this instance, either.  

To be clear, I am not of the opinion that a character is automatically fickle or less self-actuated if they get sucked into a love triangle.  I am not categorically opposed to all love triangles in fiction.  However, I do think that this one was, if not wholly unnecessary, at least mostly so.

But on the other hand, I think the second season was stronger for Jason Wilkes's character; and I actually like the dynamic between Peggy and him.  I am hardcore Team Daniel, but I still think Jason and Peggy would make a good couple, as well.  

BUT ALSO.  I must address The Musical Scene.

*facepalm*

Y'all.  What is up with this trend?  It's as if, at a certain point in their show, producers just go, "Hey, you know what this story needs right at this exact moment?  What we have Never Once Included but definitely should now because it won't be Jarring or Distasteful in the slightest?  A 🎇 ~ musical angle ~🎇!"

You guys.  I love musicals.  But, with musicals, it's sort of got to be an all-or-nothing scenario.  You can't just randomly decide to foist a song-and-dance number onto an Extremely Unrelated episode just for kicks and giggles.

(Yeah, Once Upon a Time, I'm looking at you.) 

You mess up your entire story-world.  You create chaos and confusion where there was order and clarity.  You become dIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE for the dISINTEGRATION OF YOUR STORY'S STYLISTIC INTEGRITY —

Okay, I'll stop. 😛

(but also just pointing out that it seems unworthy of Peggy's character direction to suggest through a random dream sequence that her subconscious priority in the midst of a Very Serious, Life Or Death situation would be, "but which guyyyyyyyyyyy, tho?!?!?!")

me trying to watch the opening to "A Little Song and Dance"

There you have it.  Agent Carter, in all its glory.

I feel like this review isn't as polished as I want it to be, but I'm tired of writing it so I'm going to published it anyway.  

Basically:  I love this show and I'm happy I got to watch it. 😊

What about you?

Have you seen

If not, have I convinced you to try it?

(also am I alone in not loving Steve??)