Howard Stark: Inventor of the Selfie.
After a week off, we’re back into the thick of things with Agent Carter, and the stakes have been raised considerably from when we last left the world of our titular spy, which could bode well for the project’s future as a whole, if things continue to trend the way they are. What can I possibly mean? Well, let’s read on and we’ll see.
The Story So Far
Peggy Carter’s investigation into who stole Howard Stark’s tech has taken many unexpected turns, thanks mainly to the emergence of the Leviathan organization. It has also now hit even close to home when SSR Agent Ray Krzeminski is murdered in cold blood by an unknown assassin after several of Stark’s technology is seized from Leet Brannis’ ship, the Heartbreaker. Meanwhile, a new neighbor has moved into Peggy’s home at the Griffith Hotel, a ballerina by the name of Dottie Underwood, who may be hiding a few secrets of her own.
Recap (WARNING: Full Spoilers Ahead)
After last week’s (or two weeks ago, rather, though said episode in question did air in reruns) more downbeat — but still dramatically resonant – entry into Marvel Studios’ eight-episode miniseries, the story once again continues thanks to the re-emergence of Howard Stark into the narrative, and some interesting turns along the way. This hour, written by Brant Englestein, brings with it two major plot twists that will no doubt have ramifications for the rest of the miniseries as a whole.
As noted above, the Stark patriarch makes his grand re-entry and brings with him an interesting mission for the ever-intrepid Peggy Carter: the retrieval of a device known as the “Blitzkrieg Button”, a spherical invention that’s said to be able to shut down an entire city block as a last-ditch measure to prevent bombings of allied interest. The return of Dominic Cooper’s Stark leads to some vintage Howard moments that definitely let you know where Tony got his moves from early on, but that gets thrown to the side once the main thrust of this episode’s story kicks in. This main thrust also opens up the one aspect of Agent Carter that helps bolster its overall narrative to its full potential.
Truly, the miniseries’ greatest strength lies in the various relationships we’re shown between several central characters. I previously noted last time in how Carter has succeeded where the first half of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s first season failed in giving us reasons to latch on to our protagonists emotionally, and the developments in this episode are a prime reason why. Carter’s righteous indignation towards Howard for being used in the retrieval of the titular device – actually a high-tech container holding a vial with the blood of one Steven Rogers within it – is one that is completely justified. While Howard views the blood of the thought-to-be-deceased Captain America to be just a means to an end to cure illnesses and give people a second chance, Peggy will not stand by and see the blood of the man she loved and fought side-by-side with during World War II be used as nothing more but a tool for what she sees as Stark’s own monetary gain. It’s a verbal lashing of Howard’s less-than-altruistic nature that is bolstered greatly by Hayley Atwell exuding the right amount of emotion and gravitas to ensure the maximum effect of the scene is felt. And Cooper plays off of her burgeoning rage well with his futile attempts to smooth things out in his own way. All in all, this scene is one worth talking about and watching.
Peggy’s falling out with Howard seems to have also degraded her relationship with Jarvis, at least for the moment. In her mind, she feels that “she can trust the actions of men who don’t respect her more than those who do”, as a result of everything that has transpired. It’s also appeared to have brought Jarvis to question his role in this deception, made particularly clear in the hour’s final segment where he confronts Howard about it and calls him out on his behavior. As he tells Howard, “you took her for granted”. That brings us to a key theme of the episode: trust. Despite her initial suspicions about Stark and his secret mission for her, Peggy still pressed on, seeing it as an opportunity to clear the name of a dear friend. But now, that opportunity and her trust in Stark is all but dead, all thanks to manipulation and misdirection. It has also left Jarvis to question his own trust in a man who deftly manipulated one of his closest friends the way he did.
Getting back to the topic of the Captain’s blood, it’s interesting to see how Captain America continues to influence the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even in (apparent) death. As noted by Howard himself, “Steve Rogers may not be with us, but he can still save millions of people.” This certainly brings up an ethical quandary in whether it is morally right for Cap’s blood to be used in this manner without the man himself being able to give consent to do so. It also brings into mind the vial’s importance within the larger MCU as a whole, which could figure into future stories set within this universe – whether within the Carter narrative or otherwise.
Other aspects of the overall plot also begin to unravel, with SSR Chief Dooley looking to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the death of many Russians at the Battle of Finnau at the hands of an unknown entity by making a little trip to Nuremberg to get some answers. Back at home, the SSR (under the direction of Agent Jack Thompson) are tasked to investigate the Stark conspiracy even further. This focus on the SSR’s elite agents brings me to a point I’d like to address regarding the miniseries’ portrayal of them. Having everyone at the SSR being good at their jobs in spite of their questionable (to put it mildly) moral character when it comes to their relations with Carter is a neat way of presenting them, as opposed to the “cliché” route of depicting them as incompetent boobs that Peggy outfoxes at every turn. Sure, some of them (especially Thompson and the late Krzeminski) do nothing but belittle Carter when addressing her, but it doesn’t make them any less effective at their actual work.
On that tangent, such effectiveness shown by the aforementioned agents is one reason why it makes Agent Thompson’s callous remark towards Peggy hurt a hell of a lot more. It would be one thing for a misogynistic asshole who is quite incompetent at his job to brush off a female co-worker in the manner that Thompson did, but for someone placed in a position of authority and is effective at delegating work to make such pointed comments? Certainly does sting, right?
An interesting plot twist also manifested itself when the thread of Mr. Mink, the episode’s villain, comes to an abrupt end thanks to a surprising (or perhaps unsurprising?) party. Dottie, Peggy’s new roommate at the Griffith Hotel, kills Mink with such ease and elegance, that it raises a whole gamut of questions as to her true nature. What’s her angle and can she really be trusted? Is she a sleeper agent for Leviathan or an entirely different group altogether? These questions, as it appears, will definitely figure into the culmination of her character arc. And it’s a culmination that will no doubt bring her into Carter’s “crosshairs” once all is said and done.
One final note, it’s quite refreshing to see a story develop its plot and characters without much physical action occurring. This week brought us only a couple notable action sequences (the aforementioned scene with Dottie and one in the beginning with Peggy and Jarvis confronting Mr. Mink’s men), but we still got a great deal of story out of it. As an episode made with the intent of setting up the final half of the miniseries’ story, it succeeds in that regard.
As Carter’s story races to its eventual conclusion, the twists and turns and questions continue to pile up, and the ride is sure to be a wild and satisfying one, if this week’s chapter is any indication.
Grade: 8.5/10
Quick Hits
- I failed to mention this last week, but the way each episode starts with a quick recap bringing us up to speed in terms of the story as a whole (and not just the last episode by itself) is a unique and effective way of doing the “previously on” montage.
- It’s quite neat to see some unexpected espionage going on at the Griffith, particularly with food being brought out of the dining room covertly. Peggy just can’t seem to escape the spy stuff.
- The falling out between Carter and Howard makes for an interesting Civil War parallel, in the sense of a conflict being initiated by Stark-induced stupidity, with Peggy taking on the Captain America role in this context.
- On a related note to the above, it was neat that the show cut to commercial right after Peggy punches Howard in the face when he revealed the contents of the vial.
- This Week in Context is For the Weak: Chicken Pocket.
- As always, the Stan Lee cameo is short, but sweet. It also brought a bit of levity to a serious situation brewing. And it definitely brings up the question on just how many Stan Lees are running around in the MCU, assuming that they’re all related somehow.
Next Week
The Howling Commandos? Total, nonstop action? A little Russian girl with some moves that may bring to mind a certain Avenger not named “Stark” or “Rogers”? Count me in.