Uggggggh, this one hurts. How fitting that this show is unlucky number 13 in this retrospective. This show's cancellation is certifiable proof that we as a nation are not allowed to have nice things. How can such a well-written, well-acted show set firmly in a popular universe fail so badly? Well, at least I can take solace in knowing it lasted one season longer than Inhumans did.
Agent Carter follows the continuing adventures of, you guessed it, Agent Peggy Carter from Captain America: The First Avenger and the Agent Carter one-shot. Hayley Atwell's portrayal was so popular that Marvel grew some guts and commissioned an entire series devoted to her. Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely once again contributed to the MCU by writing the pilot, though the rest of the show was spearheaded by Tara Butters, Michele Fazekas, and Chris Dingess.
This show in particular felt extremely connected to the movies, possibly because Kevin Feige also produced this show. The series hinted at the Black Widow program, laid the groundwork for the foundations of S.H.I.E.L.D., foreshadowed Zola's role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and elaborated on Roxxon's role as a more dangerous foe. And for two seasons, we were also gifted with fantastic stories involving Peggy's battles against workplace sexism, delightful banter between her and Jarvis, and so on.
Today, we'll be analyzing the pilot and will dive into a brief overview of the show's 18-episode run. And again, why ABC can royally go eff themselves for sabotaging this show.
The series takes place between the events of Captain America: The First Avenger and the Agent Carter one-shot, roughly one year following the events of the former. Peggy Carter has been stationed in the New York division of the S.S.R.; where she's confronted daily by casual misogyny and general disrespect from her co-workers, with the exception of the wounded veteran Daniel Souza. After Howard Stark's technology is stolen and sold on the black market, he recruits Peggy's help to clear his name without the S.S.R.'s knowledge because they're on a mission to bring him in. He appoints his butler, Edwin Jarvis, as her aide in the investigation. When she discovers one of Stark's inventions, a heavily volatile chemical that has already been weaponized, she's soon targeted by a dangerous organization known as Leviathan. With newfound purpose, Peggy paves her own path in a world that she refuses to allow to bring her down.
Once again, Hayley Atwell dominates the screen as Agent Carter. Her confidence and cool demeanor exudes off the screen, but this also adds more gravitas to the moments where she's emotionally raw or heartbroken. But now that she's the star, we're allowed to see all sorts of sides to her character we weren't privy to in the movie. As the show progresses, she does moments of weakness which are eventually rebounded by renewed strength. We're given small hints to her backstory, filling in the gaps on how she became so strong. Unfortunately, the show never lasted long enough for us to pay off all of these plot points, namely the whereabouts of her long-believed dead brother. Still, for 18 episodes, we are given an extremely strong female lead in a genre sorely lacking in them, though it has significantly improved in the short amount of time since Agent Carter first aired. So I like to believe this series, as short-lived as it was, was a trailblazer for strong female comic book heroes in stories that didn't suck.
Atwell, as strong as she is, doesn't carry the show by herself however. James D'Arcy plays Jarvis, and man, the banter and chemistry between these two leads is just entertaining. There's never any romantic tension (Jarvis is very happily married, thank you), so it's simply a wonderful relationship between two people who deeply respect each other. They come from very different worlds, and there's a fun role reversal in that Jarvis, the man, is the more risk-averse of the two. Any time these two share the screen throughout the entire series is just delightful because there's real camaraderie. It's totally believable that they become best friends.
The show is populated by a bunch of memorable supporting characters too. Enver Gjokaj plays Agent Daniel Souza, one of the most likable characters in the show who later unfortunately gets trapped in a rather pointless love triangle between himself, Peggy, and Jason Wilkes in season 2 (easily the weakest story of that season, more on that in a bit). He's always by her side, even after learning she's working against the S.S.R., and the feelings he develops for her seem genuine. Chad Michael Murray plays Agent Jack Thompson, your classic mid-40s chauvinist. You want to punch him in the face throughout most of the show's run, but one of the most interesting aspects to his character is that he does eventually learn to respect Peggy Carter, just very gradually. It's a believable pace, which makes what happens to him at the end of season 2 all the more frustrating.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the cast is Bridget Regan as Dottie Underwood, a Russian spy and part of the Black Widow program, who disguises herself as Peggy's neighbor to learn secrets of the S.S.R. Her character arc is extremely fascinating because she grows obsessed with Peggy, even emulating her. Bridget gives the character the right amount of crazy to make it entertaining but not too over-the-top. I definitely would have loved to see more of her character.
One of the strongest elements to this show is how effectively it uses its setting, not just as a backdrop but also as its story. Post-war America was astoundingly racist and sexist, as if we had collectively forgotten everything men of color and all women regardless of race did for us during the war. The series addresses toxic chauvinism, racism, and other forms of bigotry; using these as a tool to empower our lead characters in a world which looks down on them no matter how strong they are. The series also effectively ties in the period itself, giving the show a unique flavor within the MCU. Episode 2 begins with an installment of a Captain America radio serial, the technology's limitations hinder our heroes (meaning this series wouldn't be as tense if it took place in the present), and it makes brilliant use of 1940s Hollywood as a backdrop in season 2.
Speaking of season 2, the quality does dip significantly even though it is still an entertaining series. Like I mentioned earlier, a pointless and eye-rolling love triangle is tacked on, which only weakens Peggy Carter's character. The story also doesn't move at such a smooth pace, definitely because the second season added two episodes. Still, it's worth watching, even though the finale is frustrating for a multitude of reasons.
Unfortunately, Agent Carter was never given a chance to redeem itself with a third season. The show, which was obviously expensive, was virtually buried by ABC. It filled in the winter break between episode blocks of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. when ratings for that show were already sharply declining. The advertising for season 2, mostly because of season 1's poor ratings, was next to none. ABC and Marvel, for some reason, only uploaded season 1 to ABC's website mere days before season 2 aired, making it impossible for curious people to catch up. To this day, both seasons can only be found on Hulu whereas Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. can be found on Hulu and Netflix. Finally, season 1 of Agent Carter was given an Amazon-exclusive DVD box-set release with next to no advertising.
For some reason, the execs at ABC had it out for this show either because they couldn't exploit soap-opera levels of sex in the ads for the show (because there was none), or it was at this point that ABC and Marvel's deal began to deteriorate. Either way, Agent Carter was unceremoniously cancelled in May of 2016. There's hardly any chance of us ever getting a third season, so the adventures of Peggy Carter will remain unresolved. And god, that is heartbreaking. This show set itself apart so firmly in the MCU with its period setting, but it also had such a wonderful cast and awesome tie-ins to the universe that made it worth watching week after week. Its shorter seasons allowed it to not overstay its welcome, but no one could ever get tired of Hayley Atwell's dynamite performance as the trailblazing co-founder of S.H.I.E.L.D.
With our next chapter, Marvel continues its aggressive expansion, this time into the world of streaming. The next series marks the beginning of the Netflix arm of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, led by the Man Without Fear. This would be a much darker series than anything Marvel Studios or Marvel Television had released before, a tonal signal for what Marvel had in mind for the streaming giant.
Next time: Daredevil
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