The show's only let down is not letting us see the beginning of SHIELD. Not only is it great backstory, but as the epilogue of this finale shows, it's also the beginning of HYDRA hiding in SHIELD. Instead, the show's selling point has been in watching Agent Carter stay one step ahead of Leviathan and her own co-workers. The series decided to answer this question instead: how does a woman save the free world when the world only wants her to fetch coffee and file reports?
This is not a bad premise for a fun show. It's also been intriguing to watch Carter's arc compared to Dottie's, or whoever she really is. The show's creators consider her an early Black Widow, which is a great segue into maybe seeing more Black Widow(s) in the future. Black Widow was encouraged, even required on penalty of death, to be a superspy from childhood. She's never faced any obstacles to her career path, and if she did, she'd just kick it in the head and shoot it anyway. The bad guys always seem to make sure they're clear to proceed as they like. It's the good guys, or one good woman, who has to deal with unnecessary barriers.
The series, as it is, never really explained if Leviathan is still out there, or if it died when Ivchenko, or Fennhoff, went to prison. It seems like the show was more of a vehicle for expanding on popular characters from Captain America (Howard Stark, Peggy Carter) instead of trying to tell a wider story.
The series finale is heavy on Howard Stark, despite giving him very little character development throughout. We are now supposed to believe that his weapons work during the war has plagued his conscience, especially when both Carter and Jarvis are convinced he doesn't have much of one in the first place. We are now supposed to believe that Stark and Captain America were close friends, despite the fact that they didn't see much of each other during the War. The series, at least, did a good job of bringing in the "Battle" of Fennow early, so we'd know what mystery Stark solves when he waltzes into the SSR offices, Jarvis in tow, to "surrender".
He's coming into an office thrown into confusion over what they now know Item 17 is- it's a gas that causes choking and violent psychosis. Thompson, Sousa, and Carter arrive at the movie theater, which has lined the bodies up in the lobby. Thompson and Carter examine a body, marveling at what the gas will make people do; Sousa demonstrates first-hand in the theater.
Aren't dead bodies at the movies supposed to be fake?
After spying an overturned baby carriage, bought by a certain Leviathan agent, he at first dashes up to it, worried there's an actual baby in there. When he discovers only the cannister of Rage Gas, he mistakenly inhales some little bit of the gas left. Thompson and Carter come to help him with his choking fit, but they're the ones in danger- the gas acts almost instantly on him, and Thompson is in a chokehold on the floor until Carter finally knocks Sousa out with a lamp stand.
Sousa comes to in restraints back at the office. Carter has to jog his memory, but Sousa quickly fills in the blanks and the two agree that wanting to kill Thompson is normal and healthy anyway, so he's let go to wander back into the office full of fellow agents. They know that Ivchenko has enough Rage Gas to infect a chunk of Manhattan. Thompson thinks the motive is just plain old homicidal mania. Carter points out that Ivchenko has acted with hidden motivations the whole time- this attack is for something specific. Everyone is tense, with no idea where or when Ivchenko will strike, So it's the perfect time for someone no one, not even Carter, trusts to mosey on into the main office.
No, Mr. Stark, they actually might shoot us
Jarvis is a little freaked out when twenty SSR agents pull out their guns, but Stark just wants to let them know that their security system stinks, and that he'd love to sell them a real one. When Thompson tells him that he's officially under arrest, Stark brushes it off by announcing that he's brought them everything on Fennow, which Thompson doesn't care about until it turns out that Fennow pretty much explains everything.
During the War, Stark was tasked with developing an anti-sleeping agent for soldiers stuck in battles that lasted for days. Instead, he could only come up with a gas that mimicked the effects of sleeplessness, which include violent psychosis. Stark calls is Midnight Oil, and General McGinniss, he of Chief Dooley's past investigations, seized the stuff from Stark despite the fact that it didn't work and had horrible effects. McGinniss went further by actually using it on Russian troops to "aid" them in taking the town of Fennow. Instead, hundreds of Russian soldiers tore each other apart. One Russian soldier, a Dr. Fennhoff, assumed the identity of Ivchenko and wants to now get his revenge. Revenge that will get a lot of other people killed.
The SSR officially hates Stark even more now, and Stark tells them that he tried taking it out on McGinniss, and walked away from working for the government after. But, it hasn't helped his guilt. He insists that Ivchenko wants revenge against him, as he's the guy who's left with the responsibility. And since he admits his own culpability, he suggests that the SSR use him as bait to trap Ivchenko. In fact, the more flashy the presentation, and the more incredible the praise the SSR can heap on him, the more likely Ivchenko is to appear.
It works, even though Dottie has engineered their getaway already. They're having a lovely drive, and debating whether New York City is special. Dottie thinks it's like any other city she's been. She probably looks at things for their usefulness or threat; nothing's "pretty" to her, nothing's "meaningful". She's a killer and procurer of baby carriages. Ivchenko, on the other hand, likes to think about things. And he's decided that New York is an expression of people's hopes and dreams and prestige and power. And that makes striking it all the better. When a police officer stops them for a routine traffic stop, it goes swimmingly, despite the cop realizing who they are at the last minute. Dottie is ready with her gun and some ominous fate for the cop.
But, Ivchenko decides to change the plan as they're about to leave via plane. They are literally about to fly away when Ivchenko hears via the car radio that Stark has been cleared of all charges and will give a very public, very open press conference announcing how awesome he really is to us all. Ivchenko happily takes the bait, despite Dottie's pique at the last-minute change in plans.
Stark insists that he'll only wear his own personal bulletproof vest, which just happens to be in the same lab with all of his other badly-stored inventions. He's busy reshelving everything so it won't blow up on them, and Carter wants to talk him out of putting himself in Ivchenko's crosshairs. Stark stubbornly insists that it's the best way, so he can salvage some little redemption. He then notices the globe of the All-Important-Steve-Rogers-Blood-Vial and quickly lifts it without Carter noticing. Apparently, the lab is empty with no guards so Stark will be able to totally walk off with it.
Would someone here please attack Howard Stark already?
The presser goes as planned, with Thompson really hating every word Stark puts in his mouth, and maybe even hoping the gunfire that erupts takes Stark out. Carter finds the source, and she and Thompson race to it, while Jarvis hurriedly shoves Stark into a police car parked in an alley, ready to whisk Stark away. He sends the driver off before realizing that their are two cops laying in the alley with bloody holes in their chests. And Carter and Thompson find only a rigged gun in an empty room. The gun wasn't even aimed to hit anyone, so Carter realizes it was all a diversion to kidnap Stark. And she and Thompson quickly put together that Ivchenko will try to ruin VE Day anniversary celebrations in Times Square.
I guess this means our day just turned to shit
The team quickly figures out that Ivchenko wants Stark alive, and Carter realizes Ivchenko doesn't want to kill him; he wants to frame Stark for what he's about to engineer. Thompson bitches that the city won't cancel the celebration, as emptying Times Square isn't going to happen anytime soon. And Jarvis has to squeamishly admit that the US Government never found all of Stark's planes. There's yet another hangar.
The cop from Dottie's traffic stop is Stark's driver, but not for long; Dottie kills him and holds Stark at gunpoint while Ivchenko now drives to, presumably, Stark's previously unknown stash somewhere across one of the rivers. Stark would like to be let go; Dottie would like Stark to remember her name from when they were "dating". Neither gets what they want, and Dottie takes it badly that Stark doesn't even remember her old fake name. He seemed happy enough to know her six months ago, and offer her a private plane ride from his secret stash of planes and cars in some anonymous hangar somewhere. Now, in the present, Stark really wishes he was better with names. It might stop the slapping.
Lucky for Stark, it's not Ivchenko's plan to kill him. Instead, Ivchenko explains to Stark that he'll suffer enough for getting Ivchenko's brother killed at Fennow. And, we have a motive! Stark, who is legitimately guilty for Fennow, tears up as he begs Ivchenko to take his revenge out on only Stark. Ivchenko really needs Stark to focus.
Like prior hypnosis victims, Stark constructs a fantasy that can explain what's really happening while providing a barrier to it as well. Stark imagines that he's just received word that Steve Rogers is emitting a signal that can lead him, Howard Stark, right to his friend. Carter, now dressed for the cold and slowly brandishing Rogers' shield, as a way of telling Stark that this is what he's got to do. For him. For her. For both of them. Stark's got a single plane and lots of the Arctic Circle to fly over. He better get going right away.
Team SSR Everyone makes it to the hangar just as Stark is off the ground and out of range. But they've got a chance to stop him. Or, rather, two chances. The first is to take the radio room, and reach Howard by radio to break Ivchenko's vision. The second is to send Jarvis into the air with a civilian plane that just happens to be armed (does anywhere let civilian planes be armed?) so Jarvis can shoot Stark down if need be.
Carter finds the radio room easy enough, rifle at the ready. And she finds Dottie and Ivchenko there, easy enough, too. Dottie once again uses the fake surrender to draw her enemy close enough to strike.
I love your rifle! Can I have it?
This leads to the night's awesome fight scene. With Dottie and Carter using a knife, a scarf, a bat, and their bare hands to brawl it out in the radio room while Ivchenko decides, eventually, to get out while the getting is good. Dottie's having the time of her life in this particular form of girl bonding, and gushes to Carter that she's always fantasized about being just like the Peggy Carters of the world. She wonders if she can replace Carter once she's dead, but Carter ends up shoving Dottie out the window to fall to the hangar floor below. She lays there, looking dead, but Carter only has time for a brief glance. I can't help grieving over the waste. She was a truly gifted spy. Now, she's a bloody mess on the floor.
That leaves Thompson and Sousa to nab Ivchenko. Thompson, as expected, chokes and gets knocked out. It's Sousa who happens on Ivchenko, gun in hand, and calling for him to get his hands up. Ivchenko is happy to comply, but not without some calming rhetoric to help Sousa focus. And, he proceeds to spout every issue Sousa's had to deal with all season: the condescension of the other agents; his crush on Carter and her blissful ignorance of it; and his own desperate struggle to be seen as just as good as Thompson. So, Ivchenko suggests, why not shoot Thompson, who's groggily picking himself up off the floor and desperately calling for Sousa to point the gun somewhere else. Sousa is unsure of what to do, until he whips the gun into Ivchenko's face and knocks him out. His next move is to remove the cotton from his ears. He didn't hear a word of Ivchenko's spell. Although, he didn't have to.
Now, it's up to Carter, free of Dottie and Ivchenko, to talk Stark out of killing half of Manhattan while Jarvis tries to catch up, and eventually keeps bugging Carter to let him shoot already. Carter holds Jarvis off while trying to get through the vision Ivchenko's concocted. Stark is dead sure he's going to find Rogers and bring him back and they'll be a happy trio again. He's also convinced that it's a mission that's going to make up for all the weapons he developed to kill a lot of people in wars. Rogers' super-hero origin is the only project of Stark's that he can innocently enjoy and take pride in. He wants Rogers back so he can feel a little human again, and because he just wants the guy back.
Carter has to work for a while to get through Stark's vision. It's a frustrating few minutes while Carter, on the radio just as she was with Rogers in his final moments, can't talk him out of the stupid thing he's about to do. We see why, in the second episode, Carter is shown on the radio with Rogers, trying to find a solution that doesn't involve him dying. It's there to remind us how hard it is for Carter to fail on the radio again. Carter is openly crying as she tells Stark that she wants Rogers back too, just as much as he does. But that they must both face the sad fact that Rogers is gone for good (or, at least, until 2007). They must both move on as best as they can.
Carter has to work for a while to get through Stark's vision. It's a frustrating few minutes while Carter, on the radio just as she was with Rogers in his final moments, can't talk him out of the stupid thing he's about to do. We see why, in the second episode, Carter is shown on the radio with Rogers, trying to find a solution that doesn't involve him dying. It's there to remind us how hard it is for Carter to fail on the radio again. Carter is openly crying as she tells Stark that she wants Rogers back too, just as much as he does. But that they must both face the sad fact that Rogers is gone for good (or, at least, until 2007). They must both move on as best as they can.
This destroys Stark's vision, and he quickly comes to. Once back at his own airport, Stark makes sure Jarvis knows, for future reference, that he really doesn't want Jarvis to ever shoot him out of the sky. And Stark's head really is clearing up; he ends the night pleased with himself that he can suddenly remember Dottie's old fake name: he chuckles to himself that he's been had by Ida. Whatever her name is, she's also gotten through. As Ivchenko is hauled out with a gag in his mouth, Carter finds only blood where Dottie had been lying. If there's a Season 2, hopefully she'll be there, kicking butt. Black Widow is born, and I know I'm not the only one who wants a separate series for her.
Turns out, Carter's still fired from the SSR, despite Dooley's last words to her. Fired, but still has her security clearance. But it's so the entire office can give her a standing ovation when she pops in the next day for her last paycheck, so I won't quibble. The respect Jarvis said they'd never give her? Now they're freely pouring it on. It's especially sweet from Thompson and Sousa. Thompson offers her her job back; Carter says she'll mull it over. Their reunion is spoiled by a politician, who's excited to give Thompson the credit for everything Carter and Sousa have done.
Senator Idiot can't thank Thompson enough, or praise all his nonexistent excellent qualities enough; and Thompson, at least, has the decency to be embarrassed. And Sousa is livid, threatening to chase after the two when the leave to discuss how Thompson can further get all the credit. Maybe another Navy Cross? Carter manages to talk him down, telling him that she's not doing it for the politicians. Saving the world is what she does; even if no one knows. She knows she's awesome. She doesn't care who else doesn't. After all, the best spy is someone nobody knows about. Except, that Sousa knows. And he finally gets the courage to put the cane aside and offer to take Carter out for drinks. Maybe sometime later than 9am, and not conflicting with whatever she's doing today. Carter is happy to accept, and she seems to realize this isn't going to be the same as drinking with Thompson. Is she really ready to move on from Rogers, like she told Stark to?
Speaking of the guy who started this whole mess, he's who knows where as he battles with the US Government to get his merch back. In the meantime, he's happy to offer both Carter, who's no doubt been evicted, and Crying Angie, who aided him in her own small way, a ridiculous mansion to live in, rent-free. It's ginormous, and Angie will personally call her mother from the phone in every room. While she's on that, Jarvis and Carter have one last chat. They've been through everything together, and now he's got to get back to organizing the kitchen spice rack, and she's got to found SHIELD.
Jarvis has one last surprise for her. Stark is getting his merch back to destroy it, and Jarvis' only concern is that Stark will hold on to one item. The one he's already stolen. Jarvis holds up the Vial of Dangerous Science. The Vial of How Can I Live Without Rogers. And he offers it to her. He's let Stark believe he lost it somewhere, probably while being kidnapped. Because he thinks it's really for her.
Carter knows just what to do with it. We think, at first, that Carter is just enjoying a sunset on the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian lane. "The Way You Look Tonight" plays, reminding us that it's time for some nostalgia. Instead, she's there for a funeral. A very private one, where Rogers' last remains are poured into the East River, bound for New York Harbor, Long Island Sound, and then, the Atlantic Ocean. Unlike when he was alive, when she would have died rather than call him anything but "Captain", she quietly says good-bye to her darling as his blood slowly oozes over the rail.
There are so many things I enjoyed about Agent Carter. I love the dialogue. Fight scenes were quick and creative. Black Widow finds a gleeful joy in her horror-filled job. Sousa quietly shows up the other agents quick to dismiss him. Carter's can master any situation, even in handcuffs. Jarvis' transforms from fussy butler to bravest man on the show. Dooley sacrifices himself rather than harm his agents. In the end, it's a great character study of the people who will, hopefully, be shown creating the future.
And, the epilogue. Was that really a good idea to stash Ivchenko with a psychopath? Zola makes it clear, that if you have to be in prison, you should be in prison in a country that gives you lots of opportunities for being evil.
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