Agent Carter S2E10 (Hollywood Ending)
Feb. 27th, 2021 12:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silverflight8Last Agent Carter episode :( I'm still emotionally recovering. I'm sort of coping by reading fic. AHHHH!!! (I'm not coping.)
*FIRST THINGS FIRST, JACK IS NOT DEAD. I'll come back to this.
*It's a good thing Jason detonated when he did because that was a confrontation heading nowhere good extremely fast. I...I really do think that Peggy might have shot Jack, and that Jack had really made his mind up that he was going to detonate the gamma cannon. Jack had a lot emotionally riding on it, I think - he had decided he needed to make the hard decision about it, and then had done so.
*Is Vernon dead or not? Sounds like they left it open. Well, at least Peggy got a few good punches in on him last episode, that's the only justice we're getting.
*Why not actually drive over Whitney again? It will slow her down a bit!
*I felt so bad for the dude who Manfredi brings in to let Whitney torture, and the show did a great job of making me believe he was genuinely innocent. And then he screams out that he cooperated with the feds and Manfredi's dismayed "oh no now I have to kill you" was kind of adorable (??) I so enjoyed watching Manfredi's expression change from bafflement to dismay to anger.
*Aw, Daniel including one photograph of Peggy is so cute. (I hope they're shooting with high ISO film, it looks dark in there!)
*LOL at Daniel mostly falling out of the window.
*Manfredi genuinely cares about Whitney Frost and I kind of ship them. Not only is he seeing her clearly - he recognizes her intelligence and her mile-wide ruthless streak and hunger for power - but he loves that. I don't know that Chadwick ever did, honestly. Whitney didn't want Chadwick to see that, and he only saw because Zero Matter happened, and when he realized he tried to have the Council dispose of her. He obviously knew she was okay with blood on her hands, she's sitting in the car as they pay off the man for shooting the crooked cop, but she also has to get him to do what she wants by appealing to his protective side.
Relatedly, I want to know who approached who. Did Chadwick "discover" Whitney somewhere? Was Whitney employed at Isodyne and wanted to run things or have freer rein? Chadwick fronted and/or managed Isodyne, and Whitney was the brains, but how did they get to this? In an earlier episode, Chadwick, convincing Whitney to present to the Council, seems to have Whitney's trust (and then there's the scene in the boardroom, where she flat out says, "I trusted you!")
OK Manfredi is constantly on a knife edge and has like no impulse control but look, he's genuinely sweet sometimes! And he even can cook!
*Intrigued also by Manfredi and Stark knowing each other. I guess they probably crossed paths in New York. Howard does say in the first season that he grew up poor. Jason's reaction to the whole thing was perfect though. His face, the way he was like "this man KIDNAPPED ME".
*I enjoyed the three scientists bickering. It was fun! Both Wilkes and Samberly eyerolling at Stark, it's so fun. I do love Howard - but he's rightly mildly ridiculous.
*Samberly you never had a chance, catch a clue!
*Daw, Jack coming in first to say "I'm not a scientist but I'm here to help" and also him taking the lunch order. I love it.
*Is the redacted file that Jack takes from Vernon's folder the same one he dug up from England?
*I like that Jason was like wait, wait, safety meeting! This isn't exactly a show heavy on the boring engineering/safety/building etc part, but I did enjoy that Jason was like wait, we should probably talk about some logistics. Of course, it's to put parameters around the climactic scene, but still.
*Jack and Peggy's convo!! I feel myself going kind of hearts eyes over it for some reason. Look, OK, after the whole Belarus incident, they may scrap a bit, but genuinely, they work GREAT together. On cases, they work so well as a team - they bounce ideas off each other and compare notes, they're united in their goals and work together to achieve them. So I also enjoyed the somewhat emotion-baring parts here. The way Jack wonders if Peggy will come after him - Jack, how have you worked so long with Peggy and still not realized this?? Buddy, think about it a minute! Peggy isn't here to ruthlessly clean house, she never was. She does make hard decisions but it's not out of inflexibility. Also laughed when Jack actually brought up whether Peggy would shoot him then changed the subject.
*DAMN IT we don't get an answer to the Arena Club pin key thing!!
*For some reason Whitney walking to the rift gives off very strong Dorothy in Oz vibes. I think it's heightened by the unreality of the movie set.
*The VFX in the rift reabsorbing zero matter was very weird. It's so...shoestring budget, lol. Why?
*In general the climax at the end was kind of eh. For one, why can't they use a tool? They could cobble something together. Or why not tie Daniel to something more sturdy? The human chain isn't a good idea! Let's solve this problem! Anyway, skip.
*I'm so glad that Ana and Peggy got to hug.
*Jarvis is so hurt when Peggy says she called a taxi. Then he just flies off the step in a leap when she says OK.
*"Have you tried a 'taco'?" Daw! I also just love Jarvis and Peggy's friendship. It's such a good strong emotional tie all throughout this show.
*DANIEL being all "you were reckless" when he rushed in to the danger zone! Oi!
*Peggy and Daniel together are very cute.
*The shooting hurts me :( he was JUST on the phone with Daniel all cheerily.
*This show is not that heavy on the realism part, all told - look, Peggy gets rebar through her abdomen and yes she is obviously in pain for an episode but then it kind of goes away and isn't mentioned again. I think he can recover.
*I guess the shooter is potentially Michael? Since the file could (maybe is) Michael Carter's file.
*Not only do I covet many, many of Peggy's outfits, I also quite like Jack's long grey coat from S1.
*I feel like this season was a lot more slapstick than the first. I read someone writing that they felt Peggy's grief for Steve really anchored/gave emotional weight to the first season, and I have to agree about that. I think it balanced well against the more fantasy elements of the show. However, I like that the first season concluded that arc, though; one of the overall themes that I enjoyed about the show was Peggy's ultimate determination to carry on, to move forward, to do what she could and not wallow in either the past or to nurse grievances, but always to engage with the world as it was and move forward. I really enjoyed season 2, but I think the combination of the greater emotional weight + the NYC setting make it my favourite. Though, I'll be rewatching S2 and maybe eventually my opinion will change!
*FIRST THINGS FIRST, JACK IS NOT DEAD. I'll come back to this.
*It's a good thing Jason detonated when he did because that was a confrontation heading nowhere good extremely fast. I...I really do think that Peggy might have shot Jack, and that Jack had really made his mind up that he was going to detonate the gamma cannon. Jack had a lot emotionally riding on it, I think - he had decided he needed to make the hard decision about it, and then had done so.
*Is Vernon dead or not? Sounds like they left it open. Well, at least Peggy got a few good punches in on him last episode, that's the only justice we're getting.
*Why not actually drive over Whitney again? It will slow her down a bit!
*I felt so bad for the dude who Manfredi brings in to let Whitney torture, and the show did a great job of making me believe he was genuinely innocent. And then he screams out that he cooperated with the feds and Manfredi's dismayed "oh no now I have to kill you" was kind of adorable (??) I so enjoyed watching Manfredi's expression change from bafflement to dismay to anger.
*Aw, Daniel including one photograph of Peggy is so cute. (I hope they're shooting with high ISO film, it looks dark in there!)
*LOL at Daniel mostly falling out of the window.
*Manfredi genuinely cares about Whitney Frost and I kind of ship them. Not only is he seeing her clearly - he recognizes her intelligence and her mile-wide ruthless streak and hunger for power - but he loves that. I don't know that Chadwick ever did, honestly. Whitney didn't want Chadwick to see that, and he only saw because Zero Matter happened, and when he realized he tried to have the Council dispose of her. He obviously knew she was okay with blood on her hands, she's sitting in the car as they pay off the man for shooting the crooked cop, but she also has to get him to do what she wants by appealing to his protective side.
Relatedly, I want to know who approached who. Did Chadwick "discover" Whitney somewhere? Was Whitney employed at Isodyne and wanted to run things or have freer rein? Chadwick fronted and/or managed Isodyne, and Whitney was the brains, but how did they get to this? In an earlier episode, Chadwick, convincing Whitney to present to the Council, seems to have Whitney's trust (and then there's the scene in the boardroom, where she flat out says, "I trusted you!")
OK Manfredi is constantly on a knife edge and has like no impulse control but look, he's genuinely sweet sometimes! And he even can cook!
*Intrigued also by Manfredi and Stark knowing each other. I guess they probably crossed paths in New York. Howard does say in the first season that he grew up poor. Jason's reaction to the whole thing was perfect though. His face, the way he was like "this man KIDNAPPED ME".
*I enjoyed the three scientists bickering. It was fun! Both Wilkes and Samberly eyerolling at Stark, it's so fun. I do love Howard - but he's rightly mildly ridiculous.
*Samberly you never had a chance, catch a clue!
*Daw, Jack coming in first to say "I'm not a scientist but I'm here to help" and also him taking the lunch order. I love it.
*Is the redacted file that Jack takes from Vernon's folder the same one he dug up from England?
*I like that Jason was like wait, wait, safety meeting! This isn't exactly a show heavy on the boring engineering/safety/building etc part, but I did enjoy that Jason was like wait, we should probably talk about some logistics. Of course, it's to put parameters around the climactic scene, but still.
*Jack and Peggy's convo!! I feel myself going kind of hearts eyes over it for some reason. Look, OK, after the whole Belarus incident, they may scrap a bit, but genuinely, they work GREAT together. On cases, they work so well as a team - they bounce ideas off each other and compare notes, they're united in their goals and work together to achieve them. So I also enjoyed the somewhat emotion-baring parts here. The way Jack wonders if Peggy will come after him - Jack, how have you worked so long with Peggy and still not realized this?? Buddy, think about it a minute! Peggy isn't here to ruthlessly clean house, she never was. She does make hard decisions but it's not out of inflexibility. Also laughed when Jack actually brought up whether Peggy would shoot him then changed the subject.
*DAMN IT we don't get an answer to the Arena Club pin key thing!!
*For some reason Whitney walking to the rift gives off very strong Dorothy in Oz vibes. I think it's heightened by the unreality of the movie set.
*The VFX in the rift reabsorbing zero matter was very weird. It's so...shoestring budget, lol. Why?
*In general the climax at the end was kind of eh. For one, why can't they use a tool? They could cobble something together. Or why not tie Daniel to something more sturdy? The human chain isn't a good idea! Let's solve this problem! Anyway, skip.
*I'm so glad that Ana and Peggy got to hug.
*Jarvis is so hurt when Peggy says she called a taxi. Then he just flies off the step in a leap when she says OK.
*"Have you tried a 'taco'?" Daw! I also just love Jarvis and Peggy's friendship. It's such a good strong emotional tie all throughout this show.
*DANIEL being all "you were reckless" when he rushed in to the danger zone! Oi!
*Peggy and Daniel together are very cute.
*The shooting hurts me :( he was JUST on the phone with Daniel all cheerily.
*This show is not that heavy on the realism part, all told - look, Peggy gets rebar through her abdomen and yes she is obviously in pain for an episode but then it kind of goes away and isn't mentioned again. I think he can recover.
*I guess the shooter is potentially Michael? Since the file could (maybe is) Michael Carter's file.
*Not only do I covet many, many of Peggy's outfits, I also quite like Jack's long grey coat from S1.
*I feel like this season was a lot more slapstick than the first. I read someone writing that they felt Peggy's grief for Steve really anchored/gave emotional weight to the first season, and I have to agree about that. I think it balanced well against the more fantasy elements of the show. However, I like that the first season concluded that arc, though; one of the overall themes that I enjoyed about the show was Peggy's ultimate determination to carry on, to move forward, to do what she could and not wallow in either the past or to nurse grievances, but always to engage with the world as it was and move forward. I really enjoyed season 2, but I think the combination of the greater emotional weight + the NYC setting make it my favourite. Though, I'll be rewatching S2 and maybe eventually my opinion will change!
no subject
Date: Feb. 27th, 2021 05:28 am (UTC)I agree that he's not dead, though. The producers kind of hinted that he wasn't, and also, honestly, one of the main things that makes me think he's dead is the kind of arc he had in the season and the kind of show that it is. I don't think the show is the sort of show that would do that - build up his slow traitor-to-ally arc and then have him die at the end for his mistakes. It feels out of tune with everything else.
All of which makes me heartbroken all over again for the lack of season 3, because we could have had Jack recovering, and working with Peggy and Daniel as a full ally, but noooooo. ;___;
Anyway though, despite feeling that season 2 was weaker overall, it has some GREAT supporting characters (Samberly! Ana! Whitney! Manfredi and his Nonna!). I also think that Manfredi and Whitney were really great together. I couldn't figure out early on why the show was giving them so much screen time, but actually they were pretty neat.
And JACK LIVES. LOL. :D I will die on this hill.
no subject
Date: Feb. 27th, 2021 08:36 pm (UTC)Farcical is a good way to describe it. It just didn't quite have the same weight that the previous episodes had, too. It's too bad Whitney is gone. Like a lot of villains I think she had some legitimate grievances, just the execution was way overblown (to say the least!) but it makes me sad that her work is going to just disappear forever too. I don't know that the MCU could harness zero matter in a non-world-destroying way (and I think it's connected with cosmic MCU?) but I dunno. All that research, poof.
His arc is also a good point. They spent a lot of time on his arc this season especially with Peggy - hard to remember it starts with the two of them capturing Dottie and Jack then deciding to ship Peggy off to LA so he can take over the case. The ambition, the interactions with Vernon, trying multiple times to make Peggy change her mind, making his decision, etc etc. It's a big thread in the show!
no subject
Date: Feb. 27th, 2021 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Mar. 5th, 2021 07:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Mar. 6th, 2021 03:24 am (UTC)One of my favourite tropes is forced proximity (and ALL the subtropes thereof), like when the boss goes and makes people pair up and then they HAVE to work together and come to a better understanding/relationship and I was like thinking of ways to make this happen. And then I realized that's LITERALLY the plot of 1x5 The Iron Curtain. Except of course, Peggy had to sorta force her way on, but then Dooley stood by his word and Jack had to go with it. :D Plus, it being MCU-verse, there are so many slightly absurd/fun things that they can run into! It really lends itself to a lot of fun situations without going totally over to crack.
no subject
Date: Mar. 6th, 2021 03:53 am (UTC)It's really kind of a surprise to me that there's not more casefic in this fandom. Especially with weird SSR cases. We really need more of it!
no subject
Date: Mar. 7th, 2021 12:08 am (UTC)I know, I wonder if it's because AO3/LJ/DW/tumblr fandom side tends to be really into shipping. I got into fandom like 15 years ago through FFN and while there's lots of shipping there it seems to be a little more gen-focused. Hoping for more case fics!
no subject
Date: Mar. 7th, 2021 12:13 am (UTC)Yesssss. I absolutely love all of this.
What really gets me about 1x5 is that the change in Jack sticks, he could easily go right back to pretending nothing happened but oh man, he changes a LOT.
YES!! SAME!! I think it especially hit me that he reaches out to Daniel after that (based on Daniel's shocked reaction when Jack invites him out with the guys, this has never happened before). So it's not just that he warmed up to Peggy, but he's generally trying to be a better person and make amends overall. It's really neat. And yeah, he could so easily have compartmentalized away everything that happens in Belarus and changed nothing, but he doesn't, even though he backslides later.
no subject
Date: Mar. 7th, 2021 02:59 am (UTC)Ohhh that's a good point about Daniel! I had absorbed Daniel's reaction to the drinks thing as mostly him trying to cope with his realization Peggy was a traitor (for which I can't blame him - evidence looked pretty bad). It's true though. He looks surprised.
he could so easily have compartmentalized away everything that happens in Belarus and changed nothing
ESPECIALLY since he's prone to this anyway!