Agent Carter is back! And everyone’s favorite bad-ass SSR agent is heading to Hollywood. So is California ready for Peggy Carter?
Sure, we get to see some familiar faces like Sousa, Thompson and of course everyone’s favorite British butler, Jarvis. But we also get to meet new characters like Jason Wilkes and Whitney Frost during the season 2 premiere, “The Lady in the Lake” and “A View in the Dark.” I love how Agent Carter dealt with issues of sexism in season 1 and Hayley Atwell has promised there will be more diversity and that they’ll deal more with race this season. Something I didn’t know is that Peggy actually has the first interracial kiss out of all the Marvel characters. And I’m excited to see how the storyline with Jason Wilkes turns out. I refuse to believe he’s gone.
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Peggy Carter Heads West
Agent Carter season 2 begins with a look-alike Peggy Carter and a bunch of guys attempting to rob a bank. It turns out it’s Dottie! She needs the key to safety deposit box 143. But there’s Peggy ready to place Dottie under arrest. Thompson and the rest of the SSR are there too! Dottie puts up a fight, but nobody can beat Peggy Carter. Haven’t we learned that already? She slams Dottie in the head with a bag of coins.
Meanwhile, Sousa has relocated to be a chief in Los Angeles in 1947 and learns about the Lady in the Lake killer. Sousa understandably asks what the SSR has to do with it. That’s when he sees that the lake is frozen on the hottest day of the year and there’s a woman covered in ice.
So while Peggy interrogates Dottie, Sousa calls Thompson looking for “one guy” to come out and help him. “I have just the man for you,” Thompson replies.
Peggy had been interrogating Dottie about the pin that was in box 143. But just like that, Peggy’s heading west and destined to reunite with Sousa. And the gang’s all there! Jarvis, of course, just happens to be there because Howard Stark’s working on a defense contract in California.
Oh, how I’ve missed Peggy and Jarvis’ banter. Jarvis has been bored all this time since saving the world and begs Peggy to let him drive her around. She meets up with Rose, who works for the SSR and finally comes face-to-face with Sousa again, who was not expecting to see her there. Things are awkward because he didn’t call her back.
Are the Death and the Frozen Lake Connected?
Peggy, Sousa and Homicide Detective Andrew Henry get down to business. Peggy immediately realizes that the lake and the murder might not be connected. The body was only found after the lake froze. Unfortunately, the medical examiner couldn’t do an autopsy because the body hadn’t thawed yet. The killer always switches the victims’ shoes, though, and this woman fits the bill. Oh. Also? She glows.
Sousa and Peggy hit a brick wall when Doctor Samberly pouts over not being invited out to drinks with the other agents. Finally, he reveals the victim was near a particle accelerator at Isodine Energy in Pasadena. They go to ask some questions but get nowhere. So Peggy takes matters into her own hands. And that’s when she meets Doctor Jason Wilkes, who wants her to drink his mysterious science wine. He recognizes the victim as Jane Scott, who may or may not have been sleeping with the owner of Isodine Energy, Calvin Chadwick.
In the midst of the investigation, I’ve decided to hate Detective Henry after he calls Peggy “Sweetheart.” Luckily, like the intelligent man he is, Sousa sends Henry to do whatever he wants and then sends Peggy to do the real work. So Peggy and Jarvis go to the races to find Chadwick, who’s with his wife, Whitney Frost.
They all go to catch up with the medical examiner, who’s frozen and breaks into a million pieces when Sousa touches him. So they call trusty Jason Wilkes in. Luckily, an autopsy was done. Unfortunately, it turns out that the police probably made it seem like the victim was killed by the Lady in the Lake Killer, and she really died of exposure.
Can Thompson Survive in the Muck?
Back in New York, with Peggy gone, Thompson takes over Dottie’s interrogation. He brings out a literal carrot and stick before throwing the carrot away. “You’re too easy. We need Peggy,” Dottie says. Oh, Dottie. You couldn’t be more right.
Thompson doesn’t get very far. The FBI comes in and takes over the case. Thompson’s frustrated, and being called “irrelevant” isn’t helping. He declares that he wants to be in the muck, and Vernon Masters advises him to keep his nose to the ground.
Can Wilkes Be Trusted?
It seemed pretty obvious that Detective Henry was the bad guy, right? He starts freezing things then abducts Jason Wilkes and steals Jarvis’ car so Wilkes can fix him. It turns out he was the one who made the woman look like she was killed by the killer. He just wanted some money.
Peggy and Sousa follow their frozen tracks to a freezing Detective Henry. He’s about to reveal a hint, probably about this season’s big bad, before some idiot shoots him into a million pieces.
And it turns out the idiot wasn’t an idiot. He pulls up to Chadwick and Frost, who pay him for killing Detective Henry.
For the second time, Jason Wilkes attempts to ask Peggy out and for the second time she turns him down. Peggy later asks Sousa to get a drink and he turns her down. Apparently, he’s moved on. And Wilkes isn’t all that he appears to be. The first hour ends with Wilkes going back to his lab and staring at some definitely dangerous material.
Mrs. Jarvis Exists
This deserves its own section. Jarvis has talked and talked and talked about his wife. And now we’ve finally met her. Jarvis brings Peggy over on the way to the racetracks and his wife is home! And I’m in love her. She even makes Carter a garter with a holster in it. Be still, my beating heart. She even reveals that she’s Jarvis’ sparring partner.
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Peggy’s Totally Fine with Sousa Moving On
Sousa and Rose discuss why Sousa won’t introduce Peggy to his girlfriend, Violet. They walk into the office to see them chatting it up. So much for that. Violet even declares that Peggy’s joining them for dinner. I’d kind of love it if they ended up being friends. The love square gets more complicated later when Peggy finds the ring Sousa’s going to propose with and cancels dinner.
Who Covered Up Jane’s Death?
Jane’s case gets crazier and crazier. When people come to remove her body, men in suits kill them and take the body. It turns out it’s the council. A bunch of counselors set up a meeting with Chadwick and say they decided to shut his program down. He just needs to focus on the Senate race they’re controlling.
With Jane’s body missing, Peggy and Sousa go back to Isodine Energy. There’s a containment leak and they can’t get in, and Wilkes won’t even help them. Very suspicious. He does sneak Peggy a note, though, telling them to meet at a bar where Sousa saw Ella Fitzgerald sing. He also sneaks into a private office and steals something. Unfortunately, he doesn’t go unnoticed.
Peggy and Wilkes’ Date
So Peggy goes to the bar for her meeting, which is definitely a date, with Wilkes. He tries to flirt before getting gown to business. He explains that some lawyers threatened him with “prison, treason, hanging” for disclosing classified information. He wants to know Peggy better before risking so much. This quest for information during their “meeting” leads to dancing. Wilkes does reveal that Chadwick didn’t kill Jane deliberately, but he would kill to protect their research.
Wilkes then decides to show Peggy what’s going on. Unfortunately, they’re being followed. Wilkes takes Peggy to the roof and talks about working in the orange groves. He took a second job washing floors in the observatory and got his degree. He applied to 16 companies when he got back from the war and only Isodine would take him.
Wilkes then explains how Isodine worked on atomic testing. Their test created a strange anomaly, like a black hole, and they have no idea how. The only thing that was left behind was Zero Matter. That’s what killed Jane. He thinks it’s extra-terrestrial or extra-dimensional. Peggy wants to steal it. But while Peggy’s getting her history lesson, some men are slashing her tires and getting ready to attack.
Peggy and Wilkes escape in one of their attackers’ cars. And what does she find? A pin that looks exactly like the one that Dottie stole. While Peggy and Wilkes face a racist restaurant owner, continue to build their sexual tension and make out, Jarvis calls Sousa right before he goes on his date so they can save Peggy. Sousa immediately loses it when they don’t find her.
Of Course the Zero Matter Gets Out
So, in the end, Peggy and Wilkes and Sousa and Jarvis all end up at Isodine. And they’re not alone. Wilkes goes to get the Zero Matter, while Peggy goes to do what she does best: fight the bad guys. Whitney shows up to get the Zero Matter, gun in hand. The container breaks, the Zero Matter gets out, and Wilkes and Peggy shows up to find a giant hole where Wilkes and Whitney were. I can’t feel bad or shocked, though. That can’t possible be the last we’ve seen of Wilkes. Sousa and Jarvis show up and hear that there were no survivors, but Peggy comes out.
Who is Whitney Frost?
Whitney Frost is going to be an interesting character this season on Agent Carter. After being completely demeaned on set, she goes back to her dressing room. Chadwick’s there and tells her that the Zero Energy project’s been dumped. And she’s pissed. That led to the whole Zero Matter debacle.
And what an ending! It turns out Whitney survived. There’s a crack in her head similar to the crack Isodine saw during their tests. I’m so excited to see what she does.
Agent Carter airs Tuesday nights at 9pm on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
