AGENT CARTER (6 out of 10) Action-drama airing Tuesday evenings on ABC, based on characters from Marvel’s Cinematic Universe; Episode 1.3 written by Andi Bushell, directed by Scott Winant; Starring Hayley Atwell, James D’Arcy, Chad Michael Murray, Enver Gjokaj, Lyndsy Fonseca, Shea Whigham, Kyle Bornheimer, Dominic Cooper.
After last week’s action-packed doubleheader episode, unfortunately, “Agent Carter” has almost nowhere to go but down. And unfortunately it does. While not as good as its opening salvo, this is satisying in its own right.
This third episode brings us a lot of exposition, character development, and more of its trademark witty banter, but there is but a single fight/action sequence. I literally fell asleep the first time watching it, though that may have more to do with only having 3 hours of sleep the night before.
But I had to go back and re-watch it, which was a good idea, because otherwise I would’ve missed a lot. Especially when it comes to exploring the backstory of Jarvis, who gets a lot to do in this episode. Him trying to fake an American accent is one of the best parts of this week’s show.
And to top it all off, the episode ends with a shock. I literally shouted “NO!!!” at the tv when it happened, and I’m not happy with what happened to this particular character, who was fast becoming someone I love to hate.
We shouldn’t complain about an episode full of character development, though. For a show featuring a strong female protagonist and where feminism and equality are basic themes, “Agent Carter” only barely passes the Bechdel Test. I’m hoping in future episodes Peggy Carter’s flatmates, who are currently somewhat drab and underwritten, become more integral to her story, and not just foils off which to deflect “Remember how sexist and parochial everything used to be?” barbs.
But, all told, this was a solid episode of a show I can’t wait to see next week. If you haven’t yet added this to your DVR or weekly rotation, make sure you do.
Next week is “The Blitzkrieg Button” in which we are promised a Stan Lee cameo. Watch it!