Agent Carter goes into heist mode in “The Atomic Job”!
It’s a one step forward two steps back situation for Peggy. While Carter & Co. pull off an incredibly complicated, dangerous operation, foiling Whitney Frost’s own theft in the process, she still isn’t much closer to uncovering the far-reaching conspiracy that has already embedded itself in the SSR, FBI and the upper echelons of “society players.” Plus, Dr. Wilkes is still stuck in ghost form, and seemingly being pulled farther away by zero matter. And after facing off with Frost, Peggy is stuck in bed, recuperating from a close-call with zero-matter and a pretty gnarly fall onto some steel rebar.
Meanwhile, Peggy Carter’s latest foe, Whitney Frost, is adapting to her new-found abilities like an evil duck to heavy water, growing more confident with each passing day. From Dr. Wilkes, we learn that the zero matter comes from a place of pain. Thanks to last week’s flashback context, it’s not surprising that Frost is adept at harnessing pain into power.
While I’m not always a fan of a flashback episode, “Smoke and Mirrors” was full of character building history, providing a deeper context for comparing and contrasting Peggy and Whitney’s experiences. We know that Peggy and Whitney share the same bull-headed determinism, from the deep dive into their respective pasts in which we learn how their very different upbringings and support systems (and lack thereof) have led them into very different directions. “The Atomic Job” continues to highlight and contrast how similar qualities; strong-willed, brilliant, highly capable; have manifested such different worldviews in these women.
It’s a wonderful treat that Agent Carter has developed two formidable villains for Peggy to face off with – both Dottie, and now Whitney, each have very different origins stories, points of views, and goals. Part of the beauty of this too, is how the characters play off each other. Dottie gave a face to both the Soviet threat, and the horrors of the Black Widow program. Whitney represents something more familiar to Peggy, self-imposed limitations combined with society’s expectations, hitting closer to home.
Whitney, by the way, is completely kicking ass, and if we didn’t have such a wonderful hero to root for I might find myself wanting her to win. She is incredibly captivating (whoo Wynn Everett). As she pulls her strings, setting up deals with Ken Marino’s ruthless mob boss to get her as her terrified husband is carted along for the ride.
Speaking of these well-rounded lady-baddies. The barrage of wonderful women that were introduced in Season 2 have been noticeably sidelined in the episodes following the premiere. Ana got a kick ass intro but not much since then. Violet has shown promise, particularly in this episode – but I’m certainly left wanting more.
“The Atomic Job” gave us a taste of Rose’s story. Girl is a fighter with a blunt force style similar to Peggy’s, I think purposefully to have us wondering if she had a similar role in the war as Peggy. It’s doubtful we’ll go any further into Rose’s background, and it isn’t really necessary. Another nod and reminder that Peggy, while exceptional, isn’t the only woman who kicked ass in the war and was then expected to fade into the background.
The intangible romance between Wilkes and Peggy continues to burn hot despite the obvious hurdles of him being basically an unstable ghost (she really knows how to pick ‘em). Sparks fly for the moment he becomes corporealized and their connection grows as they work together – they share similar values and the same drive to exist on their own terms.
And then there’s Jarvis who is having an entire mid-life-crisis in the background. It’s a credit to the writers who add so much depth to each character, and to James D’Arcy who adds layers to small moments to build this in so organically. While Jarvis has surely had his share of adventures by Howard Stark’s side prior to meeting Carter, he wasn’t exactly a part of the action. In a sharp turn from Season 1, Jarvis’ hesitation has turned to eager enthusiasm when it comes to jumping into any situation Peggy leads him into. Peggy is a strong leader, inspiring people around her, Jarvis included. His story here is more than just getting into adventure, but it’s how he seems to be finding a certain emptiness in his everyday work. The moment the team is brainstorming and he realizes he’s the one meant to fetch the drinks, and D’Arcy’s face falls for just a second — it’s all tied in there. I do wonder how Ana feels about all this.
And some other stuff:
- Enjoyed the shout-out to Season 1’s soufflé.
- Very pleased to see Violet being positioned as more of a character than Sousa’s second choice.
- Peggy hasn’t had a vacation since Pearl Harbour. Zero surprises here.
- Ray Wise has excellent comedic rapport with Atwell as they play the key scene in which she repeatedly wipes his memory for a barrel of laughs.
- “I’m seeing Daniel Sousa, but I’m hearing Jack Thompson”. Sick burn, Peggy.
Image & GIFs Courtesy of ABC
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