Agent Carter 1.05

[selenak]

I have no feelings about the Howling Commandos one way or the other (not least because the one time I rewatched the first Captain America movie, I fast forwarded through all the WWII fighting scenes), so this episode's reunion did nothing fo rme beyond "nice for Peggy". This was how I felt about the entire field trip - I mean, nice for Peggy that she finally officially gets to do stuff again, but it's not as interesting to me, character wise, as her one scene with Jarvis. Thompson got fleshed out a bit beyond "sexist jerk with brutal interrogation methods", and while his backstory makes psychological sense (i.e. the shame about being credited as a hero for what was actually a war crime makes him constantly pull a tougher than tough act), it doesn't make me like him more, either.

Otoh the fantastic opening sequence with the girls had me declare "they're really doing the Red Room" in horrified delight. (Horror because of the content, delight because it's such an iconic part of comics!Natasha's past, and even if MCU!Natasha was really born in 1984, a) we can assume something very like this was still her past, and b) Dottie now all but is confirmed as an earlier incarnation of the Black Widow. (Yelena? New character?)

BTW, this is as good a point as any for a whole rambling aside on why MCU Natasha does it for me as a character in a way MCU Bucky does not (yet - maybe that'll change in the future). What happened to Bucky is entirely external. He was operated on, he was brainwashed to the point where he appears to be little more than a moving automaton in The Winter Soldier (until his memories start to come back, of course). There is no indication he had something like a personality or relationships while in the Winter Soldier state. (Speaking solely of the MCU. Comics are different, I know.)

Now, these little girls getting trained as child soldiers is originally external, too, of course, and it's horrible that this is done to them. But they're still able to develop personalities in this state. Have thoughts. Form relationships. Natasha had a lot to come back from, but she wasn't a walking automaton before that, and she still uses the training she was given then. She has internalized it. This is just much more interesting character background.

Back to the actual Agent Carter episode. The Red Room girls learning to speak English via Disney movies was a great touch, and an even better one Peggy's discovery later, that the cartoons come with sublimal messages. Ditto child!Dottie (whatever he real name is) sharing the bred with the friend she later kills in training, and adult Dottie offering to share her bread with Peggy at the diner. I'm now really interested in Dottie, and what exactly her mission is. (Beyond keeping an eye on Peggy.) And while Dottie can't be Anna if she was one of the girls in 1937, I'm still betting on Anna being blackmailed by Leviathan and/or being originally a Red Room girl herself.

Also, the plot thickens as to why Howard stopped working for the US military in the first place. If all the dead Russians had been the result of a solely Russian experiment gone wrong, there'd be no triggery event, and the last episode clarified it wasn't a German experiment, so my money is still on the US army trying to replicate the Super Soldier experiment on a grand scale, possibly together with the Russians who were after all war allies, and it having gone disastrously wrong. Which could be what Howard found out and another reason why he was so set on not letting the SRR keep his vial of Steve's blood.

Lastly: did I mishear or was the Russian they retrieved called Luchenko? Luzhenko? As in....? (After all, there has to be a reason why Leviathon lured them there to begin with, and it couldn't be just so that Dottie got a chance to search Peggy's hotel room.)

Comments

[endeni]

Not Yelena Belova, if the PTB are to be believed...

[selenak]

Ah, okay then, but still: A Black Widow!

[endeni]

I know!! So cool! *_*

[likeadeuce]

I came away from this episode mostly impressed by 1) 'Howard punched a guy twice his size then ragequit the Army on some kind of principle? He *is* Tony's dad, huh?' and 2) Peggy's smile and delighted laugh after telling the men she hates them all.

There's definitely other interesting stuff happening (esp Dottie and the red room), I'm just not sure what to make of it yet.

[selenak]

One thing is sure: that's a lot of fanon jossed and new backstory canon possibilities. :)

[likeadeuce]

You mean as far as Howard or as far as the Red Room?

[lilacsigil]

It was such a great episode! The scientist is Ivchenko, not Luchenko, but who knows where it will lead?

[selenay]

It was such a great episode. So much lovely new backstory :-) And they really did a fantastic job at showing how horrific and creepy the Red Room is. I'm hoping that comes up again.

I loved the Howling Commandos, so watching Peggy team up with them again was great for me. The respect they showed her contrasted beautifully with her life back at the SSR.

I don't like Agent Thompson yet, probably never will, but I appreciated that they gave him some backstory that adds nuances to his character. He's not just a one dimensional terrible person anymore. There are things haunting him that have turned him into that person.

It felt like an episode all about what causes people to be the way they are, from Dottie to Thompson.

And Stark. I suspect that whatever he objected to was a part of what makes him Howard Stark: finding out his limits, learning that the good guys aren't always good. I can't wait to find out what's behind that entire plot.

[selenak]

And they really did a fantastic job at showing how horrific and creepy the Red Room is.

Yes indeed. And while Peggy didn't see what we did, she saw enough to make an educated guess. Will this influence how she deals with Dottie once she figures out who Dottie really is?

I appreciated that they gave him some backstory that adds nuances to his character. He's not just a one dimensional terrible person anymore. There are things haunting him that have turned him into that person.

*nods* I love that the show bothered with that. We don't have to like Thompson, but now he's not just a walking talking chauvinistic cliché with the sole narrative purpose of being an obstacle to Peggy.

And yes, I'm very very curious now what exactly happened between Howard Stark and the army. I don't think the name of the general he punched was one which has come up before, or did I miss something?

[wee_warrior]

I'm glad you guys seem to feel that this wasn't the show trying to make us like Thompson after all, since that was my impression (and one I didn't overly like besides). But maybe I'm just a little miffed that it makes him far less likely to be the mole. *g*

Jerky Boss also had his moments; I doubt he'll get an honorary progressive gold card any time soon, but he seems to dislike being used by his own side so much, he's at least willing to acknowledge Carter's competence and Stark's possible innocence.

I'm also glad I was only 50% right about which of the Redshirts and the Specialist Team wouldn't make it. I'd expected both Lee and Ramirez to die, and the black Specialist to bite it first, then Odd Yeti Guy.


The Russian Orphanage seemed quite a lot like Project Christmas, so I guess that means JJabrams and friends were also reading Black Widow comics back in the day?

Lastly, I enjoyed Vintage Black Widow and Daniel Souza, intrepid detective, as well as John Glover's cameo as Boss Guy's Alcoholic Informant. Generally needs more Jarvis, though.

[selenak]

Always needs more Jarvis! And ha, yes, I'm sure Abrams, Kurtz & Orc were all avid Black Widow readers.