I love everything about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including its presence on the small screen. After a slow start in its first season Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has gotten really good.
Building on its first television endeavor, Marvel premiered its second television series last week: Agent Carter. Agent Carter follows the further adventures of Peggy Carter. When the war ends Carter finds herself working for the SSR but relegated to secretarial duties far below her expert skills. Thanks to Howard Stark, though, Carter gets to put her skills to use as she looks for stolen weapons and unravels a dangerous plot.
I enjoyed the first two episodes of Agent Carter. Hayley Atwell definitely has the charisma to carry a series as the lead. I also really enjoy James D’Arcy as Edwin Jarvis, the human precursor Tony Stark’s Jarvis. I’m excited to see how Carter and Jarvis’s relationship grows in the future.
Here are some other thoughts I had on the first two episodes of Agent Carter.
The Past
In order to better connect to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the pilot episode utilized a number of flashback scenes from Captain America: The First Avenger. Peggy obviously still has some pain attached to her relationship with Steve Rogers and losing him. We may not have flashbacks to our most difficult moments, but they can still influence our lives today. We need to be willing to acknowledge those moments and how they have influenced us. If we can address them and work through them in a healthy manner, then they won’t cast as dark a shadow as we move forward.
Relationships
Another theme through the first two episodes of Agent Carter is our need for relationships. Peggy seemingly loses everyone who gets close to her, which makes her very wary of getting close to anyone. Even if we haven’t lost the love of our lives at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, we can still be timid about building relationships. The best relationships require us to be vulnerable, which by definition leaves us open to getting hurt. The potential joys of life-giving relationships, though, definitely outweigh the potential pain.
Strong Women
The Bible is filled with strong women. Women like Deborah, Ruth, Mary and Priscilla show that God can use women for his purposes just as much as he can use men. I like that Peggy is a strong woman in a very misogynistic world. I don’t like that most of the men in the SSR seem like stereotypical Neanderthals; I hope the show develops their characters beyond their current state. Comic books are filled with many strong female characters, even if they’re dressed in ridiculous outfits. I’m happy that Peggy Carter continues that tradition of strong characters and is much more than just a pretty face.
I was entertained by the first two episodes of Agent Carter. I’m looking forward to the rest of this shortened first season. Hopefully Peggy Carter will continue to be a strong, interesting character while adding to the mythos of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
I’ll be following Agent Carter during its first season here on Tuesdays with Peggy. You’ll be able to follow up on last week’s episode as you prepare for this week’s.
What did you think of the first two episodes of Agent Carter?
Thought it was a fantastic show. Very entertaining. I was especially amused by the juxtaposition of the Peggy-inspired character on the “Captain America Radio Adventure Hour” and the real Peggy. Like you, I also really enjoyed Jarvis. (I liked Carter telling him, “You do realize this line of work will require some after-hours commitments, yes?”)
Glad you will be reviewing this miniseries as it goes along!
I too enjoyed the radio hour Peggy. That was hilarious.