Agent Carter Season 2: The Lady in the Lake and A View in the Dark

PEGGY IS BACK Y’ALL

Previously, Peggy was the best.

We open much like we did last season, with a dark haired woman in a red hat in a sea of grey suits walking into a bank. It’s Dottie! She pulls a gun, and like, EVERYONE that’s a customer in the bank is on her crew, and she has them open the very prettily arranged vault. Peggy is in there! And everyone working in the bank is with the SSR! JackOff (Agent Thompson) is there! Dorothy Underwood does not go quietly though, and she and Peggy get into a full-scale brawl which Peggy ends by beaning Dottie across the head with a bag of coins. “Love the hat.”

I’ve missed you, Peggers.

In vintage footage of post-war LA, we are brought to sunny California, where Sousa is the chief of the SSR West Coast office. He meets with an LAPD detective, where they are going to check out a body that fits the profile of a series of murders known as “the Lady of the Lake killings.” 3 years ago, two women were found in this same lake, and another one was just found. The SSR was called in because it’s the hottest day of the year in LA, but the lake is frozen over, and the body of the woman is in a giant ice cube. “Until we catch this lunatic, it looks like you and me are partners.”

In New York, Peggy is interrogating Dottie- she wants the names of Dottie’s superiors, her methods of communication, all of it. Behind the mirror, two agents are gleefully watching like they’re at the front row of a boxing match, and JackOff is watching grumpily. Dottie was hoping for a better technique- “girls like you raised with a silver spoon and perfect skin expect everything handed to you.” Peggy isn’t afraid of Dottie, she says and unlocks Dottie’s shackles. Peggy shows Dottie a stickpin that was in the safe deposit box Dottie was after, but there’s no owner on the bank registry. So whose is it, and why does Dottie want it? “Peg. We both know there are currencies stronger than money.”

JackOff sends the watchers away as he is told that LA is on the horn. They banter a bit, and Sousa tells JackOff about the body in the ice cube, and he asks for JackOff to send him “just one guy.” JackOff, thinking about the other agents who recognize Peggy as The Absolute Best, says “I have just the man.” So you haven’t changed, JackOff. Not one bit.

Behind the mirror, Peggy upbraids him for interrupting her flow with Dottie. “That’s no longer your worry, you’re done here.” He’s sending her to LA, because “Sousa’s asked for you and nobody else.” Peggy’s like, I know Dottie better than anyone. “You didn’t know she was a spy, so…” Peggy opines that this is about his insecurity, and he’s like no. NU UH. HOW COULD YOU THINK THAT. The SSR can run JUST FINE without Peggy Carter. IT TOTALLY CAN. Peggy is a bit nervously happy at the idea of seeing Sousa again, though.

In LA, Peggy gets off the TWA plane (ah, airlines of the past) and is met by one Mr. Jarvis (HEY JAMES D’ARCY HEEEEEY), who is there while Howard is there for a defense contract or some such nonsense. He escorts Peggy to the car, where Peggy stops in her tracks. She is puzzled by the flamingo in the car- “The newest member of the Stark Menagerie. Bernard.” “Bernard.” “Bernard Stark. Ready for another adventure, Miss Carter?

In the car, Peggy learns that Howard also has a new hobby- he’s opening a film studio. “He fancies himself Cecil B. DeMille.” “Fatty Arbuckle more like.” Jarvis is happy to drive Peggy from place to place while Howard is distracted. He also warns her that Californians eat avocados, the foliage is ridiculous, the heat is unbearable, and also the drivers suck. Also Jarvis is freaking bored and Peggy is not boring. PLEASE LET ME HELP PEGGY.

Jarvis drops Peggy off at the Auerbach Talent Agency, where two girls are tap dancing for Rose (one of the telephone operators from New York). Rose welcomes her warmly and shuttles the dancers away. “We don’t advertize, the signs is very small, and the address in the directory is wrong and still they find us!” Rose brings Peggy back to the secret door in a file room, chattering away. Rose is happy to be warm and in the sun, and has taken up surfing. “How is everything?” Peggy asks nervously. “Everything is to the first door on your right. You can’t miss him.”

Peggy walks in to find Sousa, and he’s clearly not expecting her. “Peggy. What are you doing here?” “Thompson said you requested back up….? You weren’t expecting me.” “No, no… just not until tomorrow!” Sousa tries to cover. Peggy jumps in- she’d called, why didn’t he ever call her back. “Sometimes a 3 hour time difference feels like a lifetime.” That’s… not really an answer, dude.

The LAPD detective brings in a bunch of files, but he’s convinced that the publicity from the case will bring the killer out of the woodwork and the press will do his job for him, so they don’t really need Peggy. Peggy’s like well, sure, maybe, unless this ISN’T the Lady of the Lake killer and the frozen lake and the murder aren’t connected, and the body was only found because of the frozen lake thing Sousa picks up on her trail of thought, “What was it Dooley used to say?” “Explore all avenues for unturned stones.” The only reason the SSR is involved is because of the frozen lake in a heat wave.

In the morgue, the room is freezing cold, and the body is frozen solid, so there’s not been an autopsy, yet. What the coroner does know is that the stab wounds are consistent with the other murders, and the shoes are on the wrong feet- a detail that’s never been released to the press. Also the body glows in the dark. So that’s weird. Peggy: “Fetch a chisel.”

The lab tech isn’t sure what’s going on, and then goes into a rant that just because lab techs don’t carry guns doesn’t mean they’re not a valuable part of the SSR like field agents believe, and Sousa’s like “What just happened.” No one invites the lab techs out. He then politely techno-babbles that the body was near a particle accelerator- and there is one in Pasadena, at a joint called Isodyne Energy. So Peggy and Sousa head out there to see what’s up.
The receptionist cheerily explains what Isodyne does- a development lab for fuel initiatives in the 20th century. Peggy and Sousa and the detective would like to know who works with the particle accelerator. “Our scientists.” They would like to see it. “Not without a search warrant.” Peggy smiles and asks for the ladies room. The detective is dismissive about this, and Peggy swipes someone’s passcard to get into the complex while Sousa, who is not dumb, flirts with the receptionist.

Peggy runs into a scientist who asks her, “Do you want to be thunderstruck?” and pulls her into a lab and turns on a still-like thing. “Taste this!” Peggy half smiles “Are you poisoning me?” “That’s ethanol, so….yes.” He’s adorably dorky and very excited and she’s amused despite herself. “I’m usually a whiskey girl, but this is the best wine I’ve ever tasted.” He babbles about ph balances, and she calls him a genius.

She then shows him a picture of the dead woman, and he identifies her as Jane Scott, and says that there were rumors that she had a very close relationship with the owner of Isodyne. “Like, they were involved. Like, sexually.” Peggy understood you the first time, but you’re adorkable. At this point, the receptionist bursts in and is like, “Really now.”

On the front steps, Peggy apologizes for getting him caught, and he’s like look, they didn’t find my scotch dispenser, so we’re okay. He give her his business card, if he can help any more. His name is Jason Wilkes. And also here’s his personal number, and can he maybe have her number? He is SMITTEN.

Chadwick is running for Senate, and will be at a horse race later that afternoon. Detective is not pleased with the idea of going to question him- he’s a wealthy industrialist and will make trouble for everyone, and he doesn’t want to go bothering him on the word of “some janitor.” (DId I mention that Jason Wilkes is black?) Peggy: “JASON WILKES IS A PHYSICIST.” The detective wants to use the press, and Sousa sends him on his way. When he leaves, he tells Peggy to place a bet for him after she’s done questioning Chadwick.

Jarvis drives Peggy back to Stark Manor West, saying that his wife Ana can totally help her with the right clothes and things. She finds this all awkward and weird. Ana Jarvis is a hugger, and feels like she knows Peggy already (and then macks HARD on Jarvis: “She’s an embarrassing creature.”) Ana is a delight and loves embarrassing him. Neither Peggy nor Ana was who the other was expecting, but Ana shows Peggy a little something she picked out: “It’s a garter. That’s also a holster.” “You are FANTASTIC.” A friendship is born. (Where’s Angie? She better be coming out soon)

At the racetrack, Peggy is in another fantastic hat, and sees her quarry with his wife, Whitney Frost, an actress. Jarvis is sent to distract Miss Frost, while Peggy saunters up to Chadwick, telling him that she’s one of his biggest advocates. He is delighted to bask in her glory. “I was just extolling your virtues to a friend of mine. Jane Scott.” He goes white and tries to excuse himself.

He asks who she is, and she counters if he knows that Jane is dead. He angrily asks if it’s SSR policy to surprise people with death notices of their employees, and she asks if his wife knew he was having an affair.

Jarvis is telling Miss Frost about this picture he, as a representative of Stark Films, thinks she would be perfect for- about a female agent, tough as nails. “Does she have a love interest?” “Ummmmm we haven’t found the right actor yet.”

Chadwick says that he’s a patriot and if Peggy gets proper clearance, he’ll give her a tour himself. Peggy snags Jarvis and off they go.

Peggy reports to Sousa that Chadwick was nervous while they and the detective check on the coroner about the autopsy. The coroner, however, is frozen solid, and after Sousa touches him, he sort of…falls apart into ice cubes? That’s awkward.

Dottie drums her fingernails on the table, while JackOff attempts to interrogate her. “Where’s Peggy?” “She’s moved on to another case. You’re yesterday’s news for her.” He talks a big game about how Dooley was the carrot, and he was the stick, but thanks to Dottie’s people there’s no carrot and he unshackles her for some reason so she knocks him down with the table. “You’re too easy. We need PEGGY.” Other agents take her away.

Peggy brings Jason to the coroner’s office to see what used to be the coroner. If he’s given a sample, yes, he can try to figure out what happened, but Sousa needs a minute with Peggy and Jason needs a bit of water. At the drinking fountain, the detective also gets a drink, but realizes that he’s making the water freeze, so when Jason comes down the hall, he gets an idea.

Sousa has autopsy results- the stab wounds were post-mortem, so it was someone who wanted everyone to think it was the Lady of the Lake killer, and not the whole freezing thing.

Out in the parking lot, Jarvis is getting some air, and the detective and Jason swipe the car and punch out Jarvis. Jason is confused about what the detective even wants from him. “I want you to fix me!”

Back to JackOff. He asks Dottie what she wanted with this pin. What Dottie wants is deportation. “Deportation is better than prison.” “Prison is better than the electric chair.” “Deal. Show me the paperwork, and I’ll tell exactly why I wanted that pin.” But the FBI comes in and takes Dottie away, and Kurtwood Smith (the dad from That 70s Show) tells JackOff that he’ll take him for a drink.

Back in LA, Sousa is driving and giving an APB for the detective while Peggy tends to Jarvis’s bloody nose. “Is it broken?” “You’ll live, keep your head back.” “I’m worried about the aesthetic. Ana is absolutely mad about my profile.” They find the car, which has been frozen.

Jarvis is given the derringer and told to stay with the car while Peggy and Sousa go after Jason and the detective. The detective marches Jason and gives his confession- he was hired to clean up someone else’s mess, and all of his resources were pulled, so he made it look like the Lady of the Lake killer and everything has gone to shit and HE IS NOT A BAD GUY REALLY. Gunshots ring out, and Jason books it, and runs into Peggy (literally). Peggy snaps into the radio that she said no gunfire, and asks Jason where the detective is. “Back that way.” “Stay here.” “YOU SHOULD TOO.” Peggy runs off.

The detective runs into Sousa, and holds him at gunpoint as we go into commercial.

(I’m gonna see Hail, Caesar SO HARD you guys)

But the detective’s gun is frozen. Peggy and Sousa try to talk him down, but a cop shoots the detective who collapses into a pile of ice cubes. “I SAID NO GUNS.” “I didn’t hear, my radio is in the car!”

In the bar, JackOff and FBI!Red talk about the future. The SSR is a wartime agency, and even the War Department is being restructured. It’s time for JackOff to think about his next steps.

Peggy finds Jason, who is shaken, but has thought about what killed the detective and the coroner. He’s pretty sure it’s blood born, so they’re probably okay. Peggy asks for a written report, and he will get it to her immediately, and then wants to take her out for dinner and dancing as a thank you. “You’re a brave man, but I make it my policy not to socialize with persons of interest.” “That makes perfect sense. It’s nice to know that you find me interesting.”

The cop that killed the detective drives up to a car, and it’s Chadwick, who pays him off. Chadwick is pleased that it’s all taken care of, and his wife tells him, sternly, that this is the last time they should have to dirty their hands. “Just because you dirtied other parts of your anatomy.”

“I’m not sure whether you follow the adventure, or the adventure follows you.” Since they still don’t know who killed Jane Scott, Peggy will be around. She asks Sousa for a drink, but he can’t. He leaves, and she watches out the window as he greets a woman outside with a kiss. As she’s taking this in, Jarvis drives up and energetically waves. “I’M PARKED DOWN HERE.” Peggy rolls her eyes fondly.

In the lab, Jason climbs a catwalk and looks at a large container full of black matter that’s frantically shifting shapes, and those of us who watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. know what THAT means.

CarrieS:

There’s an episode of Roseanne in which Roseanne’s young son realizes that his birth was unplanned and he asks his mom, “Was I a mistake?” “Oh no, honey,” she says. “You were a surprise. See, a mistake is something that, if you had a chance to do it again, you wouldn’t. But a surprise is something you didn’t even know how much you wanted until you had it.”

SURPRISE!

I had NO IDEA that there was a void in my life that could only be filled by every single thing that happened in this first hour. It wasn’t wish fulfillment. It never occurred to me that I could wish for Ana, Violet, and Rose to be central and so marvellous. Every single moment was just blissful rapture – the flamingo, the holster, the “Miss Carter,” “Mr. Jarvis,” reunion.

And I must say that seldom have I fallen so madly in love so fast as when the scientist says to Peggy, “Do you want to be thunderstruck?!?” to which I’m all YES, YES I DO because y’all know how I feel about skinny geeky smart men (bonus that he’s a black guy, because last year was sorely lacking in diversity).. My only regret is that Angie isn’t here. Can you just imagine a spinoff with Violet, Ana, Rose, and Angie? I’m imagining it and it’s WONDERFUL.

RHG:

I HAVE MISSED THIS SHOW SO MUCH PEGGY WELCOME BACK LETS KNOCK BACK A FEW DRINKS TOGETHER.

We knew after last season that JackOff was not going to learn and grow. We knew that. And while Peggy and Dum Dum Duggan are my OTP, it would be nice if Sousa could get his head out his ass. Like, last time he asked peggy out the timing was legitimately bad, and she knew that and went and finally let Steve go and then, renewed and with a whole heart tried to open up something with Sousa and Sousa couldn’t FUCKING USE HIS WORDS.

But Sarah Bulger is a solid choice. And YES Carrie, YES. I love that we deliberately subvert the “women in competition with each other” narrative.

I’ll address comments I have on our newest dork to join this dork squad, one Jason Wilkes, Adorkable Extraordinaire, in part two. ONWARD.

Episode Two

Morning at Stark Manor West: Peggy walks out into the courtyard to find Jarvis in a HILARIOUS onesie working out, with many grunts. He finds the free range of motion to be imperative. He’s been training in the deadly arts since New York. He offers to show off how good he is at Judo, and pokes Peggy into stacking him, and she throws him like a sack of fingerling potatoes. He grabs the hand she offers to help him up and throws HER, and that’s when Ana walks out, to find her husband pinning Peggy to the mat. Awkward.

Ana is very amused, and declares that Jarvis is never more lethal than when he’s flat on his back. Peggy asks for a ride to the office.

Sousa walks to the office with Rose, and Rose is like, you have to tell Peggy about your girlfriend. It’s gonna be more awkward the longer you wait. But in the front office, Peggy is chatting with Violet (the girlfriend, played by Sarah Bolger, aka Mary Tudor from The Tudors and Aurora from Once Upon a Time and Jade from Into the Badlands – look, she’s awesome), and whoops, now it’s more awkward! Good job, Sousa. Violet would be very happy to show Peggy around, and invites Peggy to dinner with her and Sousa and Sousa’s like um, what? But it’s settled.

Peggy has the body of Jane Scott coming from the morgue. SSR guys in hazmat suits and an isolation chamber are on their way, when a dude in a fedora shoots them and swipes the body.

At a fancy club, Chadwick is brought to a meeting room with a group of old white dudes, who don’t look happy to see him. “The Council” is planning to shut down Isodyne and dispose of assets. The Council engineered the Great Depression, by the way. Chadwick says that “this substance” (the Zero Matter) is going to totally revolutionize energy and whatever and they’ll make lots of money, blah blah blah greed is good. But the decision has been made, and they are taking care of the woman’s body and the lab will be cleared out. Everything is settled. Chadwick needs to focus on the Senate race, since these dudes have funded the campaign.

At that canal that runs through LA that everyone films in eventually, Sousa and Peggy discovered that the body has been taken and their guys are dead. BUT they do have a warrant for Isodyne, so they go down to kick the nest again.

The Cheery Receptionist tells them that there’s a small containment leak, and the lab is under isolation, sorry. Jason happens by, and he gives them the run around on the leak, but writes down something and hands it to Peggy and excuses himself. It’s a note that gives a location and a time and to “come alone.” (My roommate is not convinced by that.)

Inside Isodyne, Jason gets into a locked office and picks the lock on a file cabinet and pulls a record (BYNIL) on the radiation experiments. Sneaky sneaky! I like him SO MUCH.

Sousa tells Peggy that the designated meeting place is “a hot spot for the colored crowd” and he saw Ella Fitzgerald there. He’ll come along as back up, but the note said come alone. “It’s a swanky place, you’ll want to get yourself dolled up a bit.” He tosses his jacket on the chair, and a box with an engagement ring falls out. Peggy goes ah, no wonder the dinner reservation was for two, and I’m very happy for you. Sousa is so conflicted about this but also dude you’ve been in LA for six months. Isn’t this a little fast? Anyway, Peggy leaves.

At Stark Manor West, Peggy is contemplating dresses, when Ana is like no, neither of those are “swanky” or will do for dancing. Ana pulls a purple dress, while Peggy waxes a bit rhapsodic on the virtues of Jason. SING IT GIRL.

Jarvis shows Peggy the additions to Howard’s leisure car – a button that reveals a bottle of champagne and two glasses. (“Howard Stark gets more ridiculous the longer I know him.”) There’s a compartment in the back with a change of clothes and tracking system to summon the butler and another one that flips the seat all the way back (and a mirror on the ceiling).

At the Dunbar Hotel, Peggy is the whitest person in the room, and she’s like um…. Not the most secret meeting place. Peggy wants to start in on what Jason knows, Jason wants to talk small – where did she grow up? Peggy’s like um a woman died? So could we get to work? Fine. Jason was brought into a conference room first thing in the morning full of people that reminded him about his confidential work, and they used words like treason and hanging and stuff, so he’d like to know more about the woman he’s trusting.

Peggy says that she grew up outside of London, and orders a whiskey.

On a movie set, Whitney performs a scene, until cut is called and the odious director calls her old, wrinkled, and kinda fat.

Peggy recounts a story at school where her friends abandoned her during a caper and she didn’t rat them out, not at all.

The torch singer begins a song, and Jason asks Peggy to dance. “Don’t worry, I can still dance and spill my guts at the same time.”

He admits that he probably knows what’s going on – he doesn’t think Chadwick killed Jane on purpose, but it is bigger than Peggy thinks it is. He wants to show her what the deal is, and they leave, followed by the same dude that killed the other SSR agents. Seriously, if Peggy couldn’t spot the only other white dude in the place….?

Whitney goes into her dressing room, upset and stressed, and Chadwick is there. He tells her that they’re scrapping the whole thing. “We have at our fingertips the ability to change the world, and they’re just throwing it away.” She blames him for fucking the wrong side piece and letting The Council walk all over him. He tells her that by tomorrow it will be all gone, so they should focus on the Senate campaign. She tells him that he’ll make a wonderful senator, and they hug, and they do that thing where she looks worried/mad over his shoulder.

At the Observatory that everyone films at eventually, Peggy and Jason look over the city. Jason tells Peggy that he grew up working in the orange groves, and he had been told that he’d never get out – he didn’t deserve it. She asks how he got from orange groves to the lab. He got a second job scrubbing floors at the observatory, and saved up enough to get a degree, and then during the war, he became a Navy engineer. After the war, he applied to 16 companies, and only got an offer from Isodyne – so that’s why he wasn’t eager to jump at the chance to toss them under the bus.

But the view is not the only reason her brought her up there. He’s also got a film of what should have been a standard atomic explosion – after the explosion, a black thing is there that sucks in men and trucks and equipment and no one can explain that shit. The only thing left behind was the Zero Matter. “It’s unlike any substance we’ve ever seen, and super dangerous.”

Outside, the white dude has let the air out of the tires of Howard Stark’s fuckmobile, and he and a bunch of buddies with guns move on the Observatory.

Inside, Jason offers a hypothesis: There’s a concept called Perfect Fluid, and it sucks in all energy, and what he thinks happened to Jane was that she came into contact with it and it froze her. Jason was building a thing to contain it. “Can you transport it? Because you and I are going into Isodyne tonight and we’re going to steal it.”

At that point, the bad guys are coming in, and Peggy and Jason escape to the car. The tires are flat, but the signal to Jarvis to go get the car does work, so she triggers that. This leads to a delightful scene where Jarvis is trying to contain the flamingo while Ana watches with delight. Ana hears the signal, and sends Jarvis on his way. Peggy hotwires another car and has Jason cover her (“Can you shoot?” “I was in the Navy, remember?”). They do work very well as a team.

They drive off with the bad guys in hot pursuit.

The car overheats, and Jason directs her to an alley. They kill the lights and duck (the old ways are sometimes the best ways). Peggy finds a lapel pin that’s the same as the one Dottie was trying to steal.

It’s late at night, and things are closed, so Peggy proposes they walk until they find a phone. “That’s a lot of walking in those heels.” “I’ve performed far more strenuous tasks in heels.” Jason is delighted by this and TOTALLY SMITTEN.

At the office, Rose is chatting with Violet about surfing, and Sousa comes in, dressed like a grown up, and he and Violet are about to leave when Jarvis calls asking for help. So much for dinner.

Peggy and Jason do find a phone! Out in the wild! Like phones used to be! But neither has change, so they go into a donut shop for change. The owner asks Peggy if she’s all right, and Jason says she’s fine. “I wasn’t talking to you, boy. I was asking the lady.” Peggy says she’s perfectly fine, and the guy’s like, you have to buy something. Peggy will NOT buy something from a no-good charlatan and –

Smash cut to Peggy angrily dialing the phone while Jason eats an éclair. The phone doesn’t work, and Peggy’s like fuck this asshole. “I gotta say, this éclair isn’t half bad.” Jason also points out that there are a lot of people who are like that guy. “A quick jab to right eye will adjust his attitude.”

Oh Peggers. “Start with the guys with the guns that were trying to kill us.” “They were trying to kill you.” “That doesn’t make me feel better.”

A car comes, and they snuggle into the corner of the phone booth. The car passes, and it’s safe (“Safe to make out!” yells my roommate). SO THEY DO A LITTLE BIT. Peggy’s like, “I have an idea!” “So do I” says Jason, staring at her mouth. “We’re going to steal that car!” “….not what I was thinking…”

At the SSR office, Jarvis and Sousa come back to report that they haven’t found Peggy, but they did find her car with the tires slashed and a “rather unsettling amount of bullet casings.” Sousa goes into his office to smash things for a bit. “He’s just worried about Peggy….the Chief has a special kind of worry for her.” (Rose totally ships them.) Sousa comes out and gives marching orders – everyone is to be looking for her and figuring shit out. Jarvis and Sousa head to Isodyne to stop playing nice.

Peggy and Jason arrive at Isodyne and Peggy grabs a tire iron – Jason used all her bullets. People are there, so Peggy sends Jason to get the Zero Matter, and she grabs a lab coat to take care of them. Jason puts the Zero Matter in its containment unit. And Whitney walks in. He’s a little confused.

Peggy marches out to the guys in her lab coat and glasses, and beats the shit out of them.
Whitney says that she’s quite surprised to see Jason alive, and tells him to give her the Zero Matter, and pulls a gun. He tells her that he’s pretty sure that she’s smart enough to to shoot him while he’s holding it. She throws a punch, and he falls and drops it. The container breaks, and the Zero Matter sucks a huge hole in the building. Peggy runs in to find nothing but destruction.

After the commercial break, Sousa and Jarvis find Peggy alive – Peggy begins to give her report – shaken, upset, trying to make sense of everything. Sousa asks if she’s okay, and she says she is, but Jason was killed. Sousa sends her home, and she asks, “Mr. Jarvis, can I trouble you for a ride home?” and her voice is breaking. “Yes, of course.”

In the morning, Sousa finds Violet outside…his house? Her house? And he apologizes for ruining their night. “My boyfriend catches bad guys.” It’s cool. It happens. She brought him a bear claw (and then ate half of it). He asks her to call him when she’s off work, and she will. He’ll make it up to her. “I love you, Daniel.”

Peggy sits in her bathrobe and stares out the window. Ana brings her whiskey. “Edwin suggested tea, but I thought whiskey was more the order of the day.” Peggy is a bit embarrassed that it’s hitting her so hard – she’d only known him a few days. Ana’s like Edwin had known me only a few weeks before he forged papers and basically stole a plane so… it’s not weird.

Whitney sits in her dressing room while Chadwick yells that he needs to talk to her. She’s shaking, and there’s a dark mark – Zero Matter colored, if you will- at her temple. DUN DUN DUN.

CarrieS:

The second episode of Agent Carter wasn’t quite as ridiculously blissful as the first, but it was still delightful. I’d be really upset over the fate of the One Black Guy except for the fact that I’m 99% sure he’ll be back, and I love how Whitney’s struggles to achieve respect in Hollywood mirror Peggy’s struggles to get respect in the SSR. The last season involved a lot of men’s character arcs and it looks like this season will be more female-centric as a whole. Which I adore. I also like how they deal with racism in the show. Before a million people start complaining that a black man and a white woman wouldn’t be able to dance together, Peggy and Jason meet at the Dunbar Hotel, which is a real hotel that was the center of the Los Angeles Dance scene and which was also a place where black and white people could mingle.

I could do without the whole Sousa-Violet-Peggy thing. Truth be told, I feel like Violet and Peggy both deserve someone better than Sousa, who is not honest with either of them. I have a huge weakness for Sarah Bolger, who plays Violet, because she was one of the best things about Into the Badlands. And I love how with both Ana and Violet we expect some rivalry with Peggy, but instead they’re making her gun holsters and inviting her to dinner, respectively.

As for Jarvis – you are perfect. Never change.

RHG: 

I really wish, both as recapper and a viewer, that we hadn’t done two episodes in one night. Anyway.

What I loved about Jason is that he is a great use of a black character. He’s not just a physicist that happens to be black and the fact that he’s black never has an effect in universe. He talks about the realities of his life and how people react to him. The writers did their research on the Dunbar Hotel and what that would mean. Peggy doesn’t give a fuck, except in that it gives her some place to focus all of her anger, but Jason knows who he is what that means to the world. He’s not happy about it, but he’s chosen what battles to fight.

Peggy is someone who’s life motto is “fight me.” She’s angry at everything, and while she is assembling this support system (sometimes in spite of herself), she’s angry that the world isn’t what it could be, and no matter how hard she works, how good she is, or what she accomplishes, no matter how many times she says ‘I know my value,” it’s still angry-making that her colleagues won’t see that value. No matter how many times you can use that to your advantage, it’s still exhausting.

Jason isn’t dead. No way. He’ll be back.