The automat ain’t just for a sandwich and coffee anymore.
Last week on Twitter, I alluded that this week’s Agent Carter installment would go all Captain America: The Winter Soldier on us, inspired by the next episode preview last week. Having now seen this episode in question, I can safely say that I was right in that assertion. How, you may ask? Well, let’s read on and find out. But first, let’s get you all caught up.
The Story So Far
An SSR mission to Russia revealed a school where young women are trained into becoming deadly assassins, bringing along a psychiatrist back to the USA. This mission won Agent Carter the respect of her SSR peers. Meanwhile, Agent Sousa has all but cracked the case of the blonde-haired woman from the bar, finding out that it’s actually Carter. To make matters possibly worse, Dottie has begun making her move by sneaking into Carter’s room at the Griffith and stealing some important intel.
Analysis (WARNING: Full Spoilers Ahead!)
After last week’s episode ending on a probable high note for our titular agent, things are starting to go to hell for her, unsurprisingly. This hell is not initiated by an enemy threat, but rather the inquisitive investigation of someone she considers a friend. Agent Sousa’s investigation into the blonde woman’s identity from the incident at the bar reaches its natural conclusion with the revelation that said woman and Carter are one and the same now known to the SSR. This, of course, leads to the organization now deeming Carter a fugitive that must be apprehended. With this development, the miniseries’ premise is turned on its head and the status quo no longer stands as it once was. Episode writer Lindsey Allen helps augment this installment with the same dramatic resonance felt last week, while adding some humorous moments to bolster the story into all-around enjoyability.
In the preface above, I mentioned how this week’s episode features a great deal of parallels to The Winter Soldier and it comes right down to the predicament Peggy finds herself in: hunted down by the very organization she’s employed by for simply trying to find the truth, which neatly mirrors Cap being deemed a fugitive by S.H.I.E.L.D. – albeit without the sinister influences found in the latter which led to that circumstance for Captain America. Dr. Ivchenko, the psychiatrist brought into SSR custody last week – now revealed to be working for Leviathan, can also be seen as a parallel to Hydra’s Dr. Arnim Zola, whose presence in the early formative days of S.H.I.E.L.D. led to the eventual Hydra subversion of the organization. There’s also a nifty action sequence where Peggy and Jarvis fight off SSR agents at the automat which could help bring to mind the sequence in The Winter Soldier where Cap beats the hell out of rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents inside an elevator.
Speaking of that sequence, it’s one that’s punctuated by dissonant jazz music that actually helps underscore the chaos that is unfolding on screen at the moment. What episode director Stephen Williams brings to this sequence is a melee bolstered with rapid cuts and sweeping camera movements as the short action set-piece unfolds inside the automat setting normally used in previous for denouement and exposition. It’s an indictment of one of the biggest strength’s of Agent Carter: the fistfights are just visually fun to watch. Seeing Hayley Atwell beat people up has never been more entertaining as it is on Carter.
While we’re on the subject of Hydra and Leviathan, it’s fascinating to see the latter being portrayed as ruthlessly competent – emphasis on both words. From the episode’s opening flashback, to the subterfuge that Dr. Ivchenko partakes in, and especially with Dottie’s course of action in this hour, we’re given a brutal look at the organization that some might just dismiss as “Russian Hydra”. And speaking of Dottie, we learn here that she utilized her considerable set of skills to manipulate Howard Stark in a way to allow for access to his top-secret weapons vault. We also subsequently learn her role in the murder of one Agent Krzeminski from way back in episode three. In just four episodes, this character has easily transitioned from “friendly new neighbor” to “dangerous assassin” and without missing a beat. On the other hand, Ivchenko’s hypnotism and his embedding within the SSR could spell certain trouble for the good guys, without any of them being wise to his scheming.
This is an episode where nearly every major and minor player gets their chance to shine, so to speak. Jarvis gets quite a bit to do here, helping out Carter in her own investigation and escape from the SSR, even getting in on some fighting during the earlier-mentioned automat brawl. Meanwhile, Angie (absent from last week’s episode) gets to be a helping hand for Peggy in her own way, and definitely beyond lending an ear for her friend. Her acting skills are on display when she utilizes it to distract pursuing SSR agents at the Griffith to buy Peggy time to escape. This scene is hilarious and helps further endear her to us. In the early episodes, it would be easy to assume that Angie would be a double-agent in disguise, as an offset to her cheery personality. With all that’s transpired, it’s probably a relief for the audience that she’s not only “clean”, so to speak, but also beginning to be on the up-and-up in regards to Peggy’s profession of choice. Even as she begins to somewhat learn the truth about Peggy, she’s nothing but supportive for her friend, highlighting that not even keeping secrets can break apart their rapport.
Perhaps, it’s especially ironic that the very same knockout lipstick that helped start this mess of sorts is the one that ends up helping Carter get apprehended by the SSR. Dramatic irony has never before felt like a kiss from a “Black Widow” (almost in the literal sense of the expression in this case).
As we leave our dramatis personae for the week, Carter is certainly in dire straits as she’s in the captivity of the SSR and getting prepared to be interrogated. However, she now knows of Dottie’s duplicity and her status as a Leviathan sleeper agent, which could sooner or later out Dr. Ivchenko as working for Leviathan to the SSR. While it’s a foregone conclusion that she’ll make it out of this unscathed – a relative given due to Carter’s importance in the founding of S.H.I.E.L.D. – it certainly definitely doesn’t lessen the anticipation being built for the final two hours of Agent Carter. This week’s chapter builds on that anticipation by setting things up nicely for the next two weeks, ratcheting up the tension to an all-time high, and promising audiences a wild, fun ride to the end.
Grade: 9.0/10
Quick Hits
- Ivchenko’s mind-control ring might seem “out of place” for some in a setting like this, but given that Agent Carter takes place in the same universe where a skinny beanpole is transformed into a muscular hulk of freedom thru super-science and an explosive that causes implosions exists, it’s certainly just another run-of-the-mill MacGuffin.
- Going back to my earlier assertion of how part of the episode’s plot is a mirror to The Winter Soldier, the scene where Dooley tasks his men to find and apprehend the now-fugitive-from-the-SSR Carter, definitely evokes a similar scene in Winter Soldier where Alexander Pierce and Jasper Sitwell are giving a similar briefing to bring Captain America into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. Whether it’s intentional is certainly up to debate.
- Oh, Howard. You’ve obviously had hundreds (if not more) of girlfriends, if this episode is any indication.
- While I’ve got The Winter Soldier on the brain, I think I should note that I had Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man playing as typed this recap up.
- “I knew you didn’t work at the phone company!” Never has a friend finding out of another friend’s true intentions exuded both awe and slight anger.
- Jarvis’ suspicions of Ginger Rogers being Leviathan, in my view, are not unfounded. The only person surnamed “Rogers” I trust is Steve Rogers. This may or may not be true.
Next Week
We’re almost done. It’s the penultimate episode, and by the looks of things, it’s about to get explosive. Possibly in the literal sense, too.
Marc Quill writes recaps on Marvel TV shows for FAN. You can talk to (or yell at) Marc on Twitter @MarcQuill.