Review 439: Agent Carter (Season 1)

Agent Carter is the second a long line of TV Shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and by all accounts a considerable improvement over the previous show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

It's 1946, a year after the war ended and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) is working for the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR) and is still reeling from the loss of Steve Rogers/Captain America.
But now that war is over, peacetime deals he yet another blow as she finds herself marginalised when the men return home from fighting abroad. Now her “mission” consist of fetching coffee and answering phones - until old acquaintance Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) finds himself framed for selling his deadliest weapons on the Black Market, he contacts Peggy - the only person he can trust. Working as a secret double agent with the aid of his butler Edwin Jarvis (James D'Arcy), Peggy must evade both her SSR colleagues and mysterious foreign assassins as she attempts to track down those responsible and dispose of the weapons before they inflict mass destruction.

As far as the world is concerned, Captain America is dead. 

The fact that this is eight episode series because that means the overall arc is very tight and fast paced. All the episodes are there own stories and they all have there own drive but at the same time they’re all building towards an explosive finale where a pieces of the puzzle match up and everything is wrapped up in a nice tidy bow.

Directors Louis D’Esposito, Joe Russo, Scott Winant, Stephen Cragg, Peter Leto, Stephen Williams, Vincent and Christopher Misiano The production design is exquisite, the cinematography is stellar utilising the hyper stylised, retro look of the 1940’s as shown in Captain America: The First Avenger to create something visualy very desitinct and separate from the rest of the MCU. The costumes are fabulous, the score by Christopher Lennertz is  the action scenes are exciting and excellently choreographed.

Hayley Atwell had already established how great she is as the character and easily slid into the lead role. At the beginning of the Season, we find Peggy Carter working for the SSR, still greiving over Steve's sacrifice. She's deeply frustrated and is doing what she set out to do. As she says in one scene "During the war, I had a sense of purpose. But now, I connect the calls but I never get a chance to make them"
She's not being utilised. As Agent Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) says "They treat you like a Secretary." But all of that changes when Howard Stark comes back into her life and he presents her with an assignment

She jumps at the opportunity to clear Howard Stark's name because she wants to feel useful. She knows that she's good at what she does.
 
James D'Arcy  playing Edwin Jarvis, Howard Stark's loyal butler and Peggy's confidant. They have a wonderful Lady Penelope and Parker dynamic

Of all of Peggy's SSR co-workers, her chief Roger Dooley (Shea Whigham) does respect Carter,
deep down he likes her and cares deeply, he'd just never say it to her face.

 

Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj)  Peggy finds camaraderie with Sousa because he's a fellow SSR agent whose skills in the field are ignored due to his injury. Due to his debilitating injury suffered in WWII, Sousa's superiors only allow him to do paperwork around the office. Despite this, Sousa finds new ways to apply himself and strengthen other skills. Because he was a soldier and has been very active all his life, he has to now figure out how to use his brains and try to be smart

 

Jack Thompson (One Tree Hill's Chad Michael Murray) also initially seemed liked an obnoxious one-note character but over the course of the eight episodes, the layers were pulled back and   It's also implied that his jerkish facade is a mask to hide his crush on her.

 

Dominic Cooper  having a ball  Howard Stark, while only appearing in three episodes, was crucial to the story not just becuase of the history, he and Peggy share but because,

 

Lyndsy Fonseca  playing Angie Martinelli There's nothing cynical about their relationship and nothing beyond that but support, interest and friendship. Peggy and Angie have

 

Bridget Regan  Dottie is someone who both envies and doesn’t quite understand what it’s like to be a normal woman. She’s been raised to be anyone—to take on any personality, any occupation. She's very intrigued by Peggy. There’s an interesting parallel between Dottie and Peggy—Peggy herself is intrigued by the “normal” lives of Angie and Jarvis, people who have relationships and interests outside of the job. Dottie’s fascination with Peggy definitely comes back in a big way this season.

 

4/5.

 

The Anonymous Critic.