In Agent Carter‘s“The Edge of Mystery,” Whitney Frost says what we’ve all been screaming since day one. It’s a damn shame such brilliant women are working at cross purposes. If they were working together they would have a real shot a world domination. But since Whitney’s gone the evil route, and Pegs has made it her mission to fight the baddies it looks like Frost is fighting a losing battle (but is putting up a helluva fight on her way down).
“Yes, you’re such a staunch defender of the sisterhood. I could tell by the way you shot an unarmed, innocent woman”.
Picking up from last week, Jarvis is red-eyed and making promises at Ana’s bedside. He promises to make Apple Torte once a week that they could even get a Bernese Mountain dog if she would come back to him. Ana adorably wakes up, informing him that she’d been listening for a while and was just waiting to see what else she could get.
In a flashback we see him on the other side of that call from season one when he talked Peggy though dismantling a bomb. He doesn’t lie to her for a second, but he does try to convince her not to worry. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” says Ana. Then she echoes it again in this room. She just wants for them to be together.
Jarvis’ complete character 180, where he starts lying to Ana (and keeping vital information from her about her own health), and vows revenge against the super powered maniac who shot his wife, is the real mystery of this episode. When a man we’ve seen to be good, and solid (though his action) so dedicated to loving his wife – and being one half of a loving, equitable, honest marriage discovers that while his wife survived being shot, she’ll never be able to have children (and then he doesn’t tell her this!!!) all of a sudden starts acting completely out of character – throwing away many of the traits that made him special and made Ana love him. That’s the mystery and that’s my major beef with this otherwise very straightforwardly wonderful episode of Agent Carter.
A familiar refrain returns: “Do as Peggy says.” If you know this, you’ll be okay.
Elsewhere, Jack Thompson is a confused puppy who might not be cut out for evil after all. On Vernon Masters’ orders he acquires a particularly damning file on Peggy’s wartime activities from a drunk pal in London. Jack approaches Peggy, foolishly asking her to come back to NYC and play nice and everything will be cool. His eyes seem to indicate that he knows she’ll never go for this, barely getting the words out before Pegs tells him to shove it, adding that the file is a fabrication anyway. As she breezes past him to get to work, seeds of doubt firmly planted in Thompson’s head, she adds an, I’m disappointed in you, you could be better than this.
Jack dutifully delivers this probably forged file to Vernon but expresses his doubts re: the file’s validity. As Vernon has to spell out how the difference between what’s true and what happened doesn’t actually matter – he must be wondering if Jack is cut out for this whole bad guy thing after all. Surprise! Jack is not. He listens in on a call between Vernon and Frost, and maybe finally realizing who he’s been supporting, he finally grows a spine and tries to stop Vernon from delivering the uranium directly to Frost.
Jack is all poised to make his heroic stand against Vernon but in a delightful turn is foiled by the return of the amnesia machine. Peggy and Sousa find Jack standing clueless (so like, normal?) in the lab. With a little holding, they’re able to retrace his steps and find coordinates written in Jack’s handwriting next to the phone. These coordinates will lead them to Frost and the dangerous uranium.
Jack wants to join the team, and insists that if he was really with them, he’d be with them, not left behind with a wiped mind. And they’re like fine whatever.
Then there’s this real awkward moment. Earlier in the episode Sousa let the location of the uranium slip because he couldn’t handle the gun pointed at Peggy’s head (while she remained cool under pressure). Wilkes, driven by desperation ran back to Frost with the info, he wanted to be whole again. Now Sousa has the damn nerve to imply that Peggy’s feelings might interfere with her ability to make the right call as an Agent. Reminding her that they may need to hurt Wilkes, as if this isn’t something she’s known all along. Luckily, Thompson intercedes that he would let them both get blown away so let’s get a move on.
SOMEHOW, Jarvis is allowed to go on this mission and Rose doesn’t. So that’s actually strike two for this episode (sadly). He asks her to take care of Ana (which he should really be doing), and she protests until she realizes he doesn’t think he’s coming back (which really makes this whole thing so much worse, right?).
Anywho – the team drives out into the desert where Frost and her muscle are already setting up their experiment to open the portal. The idea – it opens, zero matter pours out, she and Wilkes absorb it all and become super powerful. Wilkes is having MAJOR second thoughts, not unaware what he’s risked to be here. When Frost is like, “You know this will work the same way I know, the whisper in your head says it will,” I’m fairly certain that wasn’t the encouragement Wilkes was looking for.
When the rift opens but it chooses Wilkes instead, Frost is losing her shit! Carter and Co. pull up behind and attempt to shoot their new gamma cannon from a distance. New revenge-Jarvis acts like an asshole child and drives away to get Whitney. Carter is like ugh, guys deal with the cannon and chases after Jarvis in the truck.
We close out this chapter with the cannon successful, and Wilkes and Frost having survived the blast. Jarvis shoots Frost who shakes off those bullets like they’re nothing before taking both Peggy and Jarvis hostage to control Wilkes, who now holds the power she needs. Rose has made apple torte and sits with Ana, playing hangman.
Normally I place all my faith in the folks that put this show together but I’m feeling mighty bruised by this rogue Jarvis and sidelining Rose business. How can Jarvis’ character emerge from this and still be redeemed? Would Ana forgive him for this? Will Rose head up the rescue mission?
Other Notes:
- Frost: “What do you think of my findings?” Wilkes: “I think you’re a mass murderer of rats.”
- Peggy beating up all of Manfredi’s goons as he makes gravy with his Nonna, classic Carter
- That was a real conveniently timed telex from Stark. I’m guessing we’re only getting Dr. Samberly because Dominic Cooper wasn’t available for as many episodes. Building a Gamma Cannon and shooting it off in the desert seems like it’s right up his alley
- Love how neither Whitney nor Peggy are black or white, but their costuming in pinks and greens respectively puts them in opposition to each other visually.
Photo Courtesy of ABC
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