Just finished the season finale of Agent Carter and good lord, it was EXCELLENT!
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
I didn’t want to be bias with this show. I didn’t want to support it just BECAUSE it had a female lead or just BECAUSE it was about this or that. I’m always interested in story, first and foremost. Every episode was interesting, exciting, tense, funny and thrilling. Every single episode.
Can I just say I adore Dominic Cooper as Howard? He has just the right amount of serious human-being concerned with doing right and sleazy, overconfident genius who’s maybe let his sucess go to his head. I love that Howard already recognized in Peggy her own abilities and intellect that he trusts her unconditionally and repeatedly says he basically needs her approval to know he’s doing right. Peggy tearfully reveals she believes him to be the only person who really believes in her. I LOVED the writers’ approach to their relationship; after Steve’s “death”, they really need each other to survive in a world transitioning into suspicion, black listing and revenge.
I love that they brought up the idea that Howard is aware he is an agent of death (Tony is aware of this too) and feels guilty about that. (HISTORICAL PLUG: after WWI, the whole world was able to reflect on the war: was it worth it? what was really achieved? Didn’t we just learn new ways to kill each other? After WWII, there were a new set of question: did this earth shattering scientific discovery just save humanity by destroying millions of lives including those of their descendants? Or did we just become masters of death and lose our humanity completely? What could possible bring us back from this? These questions would have weighed very heavily on someone like Howard Stark) That he cared deeply for Steve as Peggy did is truly heartbreaking and just wonderful insight into Howard’s character. While it’s great we get to see more of these characters than we would (Howard of course, the origin of good old Jarvis, etc.), the ending and the episode is still very much about Peggy. I loved watching Atwell tear up as she told both Howard and herself it was time to let Steve go.
I demand we see more. How does Peggy meet her husband? (who Steve saved at one point), will we get to see Peggy in the 50s? 60s? What happened to Dottie? Will she hold a vendetta against Peggy? Will she look for Ivchenko? Will we get any details on Howard’s involvement in making the A-bomb (which Tony hinted at in Iron Man) and Will we ever get hint of the beginnings of a certain soldier?
Now some obligatory possible foreshadowing…
Dr. Ivchenko is obviously (or making a huge HUGE reference to) Dr. Faustus who had a major hand in manipulating both Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier) and Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff). That ending scene was my salvation and what I’m taking away as Agent Carter’s hint at what is happening/will happen to poor Bucky (Note: I seriously thought the episode with the Commandos would maybe somewhat PERHAPS mention Bucky seeing as he was fighting with them BEFORE Cap and hey he died too during the war but WHATEVER IT’S ABOUT CAP [additional note: I have nothing against Captain America, I just love Bucky. Very much. And need more of him]).
Dr. Ivchenko meeting Zola in an AMERICAN prison (how CREEPY was that line, “you are in an American prison, America is the land of opportunity” *shivers*) gives reference to again, Bucky. During Bucky’s flashbacks in the bank in Cap 2, we see Zola was involved in the beginning of Bucky’s “brainwashing” and transformation. I think it’s safe to assume Zola will work with Ivchenko in creating the Winter Soldier in the MCU. My theory. *shrug* While Natasha is clearly stated to have been born in 1984 (MCU canon) it’s super unlikely that the Winter Soldier/Bucky will have trained her in any capacity which is a bummer but I’m hoping she’s able to really empathize with him and that’ll be nice…
AGENT CARTER SEASON TWO!!!
-LC