As Marvel’s Agent Carter wades into post-war Hollywood navigating espionage, intrigue, and flamingos – nothing can be taken at face-value.
“The Lady in the Lake” kicks off Season 2 with a familiar sequence. In a sea of men in grey suits, a woman in a red hat and blue suit stands out in the New York crowd. But there’s something not quite right here. It’s Dottie done up in Peggy drag. Ms. Underwood must be sending Agent Carter a message. They have a special relationship.
Carter, now dressed in a green (perhaps reflecting her own military experience, having moved on from her trademark red, white and blue that ties her to Captain America), foils Dottie, waiting for her in the bank vault Dottie was attempting to break into, taking her down with her trademark blunt force.
But in the interrogation room – across the desk from Agent Carter, I’m not so sure Dottie isn’t so far from where she intended to be.
It’s in the midst of this interrogation that Carter finds herself called away to assist Sousa, now Chief of the SSR’s West Coast operation on a tough case. Thompson snarks as he’s reluctant to send back up, that he’s got just the man for the job.
While Thompson doesn’t seem to have learned his lesson and is pawning off Peggy like he can spare her, Sousa seems to have figured things out — grateful – if not taken by surprise by her showing up. Plus, distance seems to have made the heart grow fonder, hints were dropped about Sousa’s crush last season but these feelings seem to have deepened. Something that’s especially awkward because Violet, his new lady friend, seems to be a totally stand up babe.
The case leads Peggy and Sousa to Isodyne Energy where Sousa and Pegs both use a bit of charm to get in the door – before Peggy finds herself THUNDERSTRUCK by a handsome, and a little bit wacky, scientist. Enter Dr. Wilkes.
Dr. Wilkes turns out to be a totally stand up dude. Not super aces on the subtlety front but smooth where he needs to be and his candor is appreciated. A former marine, a scientist (and not a bad dancer either), he’s got a solid moral compass and is willing to risk his career to assist Agent Carter in her operation. He’s also keen to get to know the Agent he’s risking so much for and that Agent seems to want to get to know him as well.
Dr. Wilkes takes Peggy up to the observatory for the view, but also to exposit about the mysterious liquid (a substance that to me seemed to be behaving similarly to something we’ve seen in Agents of SHIELD, but may actually be related to another Marvel property) before finding himself facing off with Whitney Frost leading to the vial of this volatile substance crashing to the ground. Wilkes appears to have gone missing, but since Frost survived we can’t rule out his return.
We also finally met Ana Jarvis. WHAT A GEM! She’s got a killer sense of humour, a fab sense of style, and knows when a gal really needs a stiff drink.
My hope is that Dottie will find herself continuing her mission, chasing whatever that “A” lapel pin is about, in L.A. and once against up against Agent Carter. There is always room for more Bridget Regan but it would be great to keep this momentum going forward rather than getting bogged back down in New York.
Whitney Frost, an actress and brilliant scientific mind, modeled on actress/inventor Hedy Lamarr, has already proven to be a compelling character. Wynn Everett has given Frost depth and complexity with her limited screen time. I’m very much looking forward to seeing more of her as she evolves into Madame Masque.
Other Stuff:
- There are a lot of women characters, including some new this season, and their first instincts are to become friends. Don’t love that this is a notable achievement, but love that this is happening.
- On that notable note: Pegs, Violet, Ana, and Rose need to get together and hang out. Book club maybe?
- Peggy doesn’t have an excellent track record with men. At least she and Wilkes made it to the dance floor.
- Dottie’s chasing after the same lapel pin worn by Ray Wise and co in that ominous room of “powerful white dudes” – can’t wait to see her and Peggy face off again.
- What does Jarvis have against avocados?
GIFs via, Images Courtesy of ABC
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