Thoughts on Season 2 of Marvel’s AGENT CARTER!

Stewart here…

WARNING: SPOILERS within…

With the second season of Agent Carter now finished, it seems like a great time to point out the highs and lows of the season, as we wait to see if the show is coming back (and as of this writing, its still up in the air). It’s certainly been a fun season with the change of scenery from New York to Los Angeles, and some improved villains to keep things interesting. So instead of a long winded write-up, I’ll just go through the bullet points of season 2:

Peggy, Peggy, Peggy. It goes without saying, Peggy had a chance to lighten up from her Cap-longing days of season one. We also got to explore more of her past before joining the SSR in one of the season’s more emotional episodes with her brother and the reveal she almost got married (!) to become a housewife. And she, not surprisingly, was the attention of several suitors, like scientist Wilkes, and eventually Souza (who, despite getting engaged, still had a thing for her), which finally paid off with her hooking up with Souza. But what has always made me like Agent Carter is you have a lead who can be emotionally vulnerable (note that scene with Jarvis in the desert where she reveals how much she keeps her emotional pain in) and still be one of the more cool and tough as nails heroines on television. Speaking of tough as nails ladies…

“I’m Dottie Underwood, and nothing scares me…unless you have someone who can suffocate me with Dark Matter!”

Better Baddies. This season did improve on the bad guy end from season one, while bringing its strongest baddie from season one, the unhinged assassin Dottie, with it. Whitney Frost was quite a fascinating villain, almost an evil fictional version of real life actress/genius Hedy Lamarr. That she ends up being easily dealt with by the season finale seems a bit of a letdown, but I remember her more than season 1’s baddie. Certainly the Council could have been beefed up in terms of being a threat, but they don’t seem to be done with, especially with Jack discovering that key and being shot (dead?) in the last scene of the season.

Stronger Supporting Cast. While last season wasn’t lacking in interesting supporting players, the change of venue brought in some more varied people to play off. We finally got to meet Mrs. Jarvis, and was it hard not to see why Edwin would hold onto someone that awesome. Then you got new faces in the SSR, like Rose and the scientist no one remembers, and briefly returning ones like ol’ Howard Stark. In this area, season two was a considerable improvement.

Jarvis! Peggy’s platonic friend and Stark butler is always fun, and he gets a bit more fleshing out here. Besides the brief look into his past and crisis with the pivotal wounding of Mrs. Jarvis, he’s been shown to be more than just comic relief. But, I’m not suggesting he is lacking in great comedic moments, because he has some amazing moments of sardonic wit and physical comedy that were stand-out moments. “Jarvelous”, indeed!

Fun, Fun, Fun. While I appreciate the occasionally soap opera-esque turns of comic book television, Agent Carter has been surprising me with how fun it is. And by that, I mean broadly comedic in a way that makes watching a breeze. It was almost a fluke that a show about a lady spy in the 1940’s got even onto network television, but the cast and crew are clearly having a blast with it. I mean, there was no real reason to have a musical number dream sequence during a particularly tense hour, but they did it, and it was spectacular!

JARVELOUS! SIMPLY JARVELOUS!

So now that the season is over, what’s next for Agent Peggy Carter and the rest of the SSR? It’s hard to say because of the low ratings this season and the lack of renew or cancellation notice at this time, but I would hope that at worst, we get some kind of conclusion to some of the plotlines left open in the season finale. Like, who shot Jack for that file on Peggy’s brother and will Peggy/Souza last? Also, that flamingo in Stark’s house? What will become of it?

But hey, what are your thoughts on this season of Agent Carter? Your favorite moments? Missed opportunities? Let’s discuss below…