The paths of heroes and villains.
What They Say:
Smoke and Mirrors – Agent Carter and the SSR make discoveries about Hollywood star Whitney Frost, Peggy’s most dangerous enemy yet.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
One of the hardest things to do with a series is to not overuse something that the fans obviously love. With the first season, Howard Stark was used sparingly and in good ways, making him a welcome addition that didn’t overstay his welcome. Bringing him into the second season with him kicking up his movie studio plans and introducing Kid Colt just tickled my fancy perfectly. But it’s not something that you want with each episode. The draw this season is Peggy as always but also Whitney Frost, who has been well handled so far in showing some traditional old Hollywood (and modern Hollywood) issues. I was far more interested in her story, both as an actress and now mistress of the dark than seeing what was going on with Wilkes. But both stories plus everything Peggy has going on just makes the whole thing engaging.
The cold open here is actually a nice little bit of fun as we get a flashback to a very young Peggy where we understand part of where her mindset comes from in being the lead herself in her own story, something that you get why it’s so controversial at the time (and, sadly, still today for many). Small expansions on her character like this are definitely welcome because it just adds that extra touch to how she is in the now, such as how we see when she’s doing some research with Wilkes about the Zero Matter and everything else that they’re dealing with. It’s simple but effective and works as a nice touch of reinforcement.
It also works as a nice parallel to what we see with Whitney Frost as we get flashbacks to her time in 1920 Oklahoma. She’s a young girl here with a certain technical aptitude that her mother doesn’t quite get or encourage. She has a good commitment to it and some fun intensity when it comes to the paramours that her mother has visiting, which is what keeps them in their house. As an insight into her childhood and formative years it certainly hits familiar notes, but they’re notes that are accessible and clear in a way that adds rather than detracts from what we know of her in the present. And her curiosity about her powers is leading her to figure out how to use them in some creative ways. It’s a good thing she can get mice so easily! The downside is that the more she practices, the greater the cracks in her face, paving the way for who she will become.
What I really like about the flashbacks is that we get to move forward for both of these women and we see Peggy in 1940 being offered a field job for the war that they country is involved in. It comes at an odd time since she’s just been engaged and she’s not sure about it as she doesn’t believe she’s field material. Seeing it mix past and present versions of her where she’s beyond confident in a great way works really well and says a lot of just how fully invested in this character Atwell is. When she spends her time working over Rufus Hunt to gain information about the Arena Club she does it with all the skills that she’s learned over the years and all the people she’s worked with. And it’s something that others don’t recognize, hence Hunt not thinking she’s much of a threat. At least until she really makes it clear she knows what she’s doing and what lines to blur.
The big piece of the present that’s interesting is that we see as the SSR is getting ready to conduct its raid on the Arena Club, Thompson’s sponsor swoops in to audit the division. Since we know that they’re basically a faction or current incarnation of Hydra, they’re doing what they do to protect themselves while the foundations are being laid for what’s to come. The SSR is struggling to find its place in a post-war environment and it’s made clear that there are a lot of changes coming. One of those is the shift of the enemy to communists and it’s amusing to see how that’s being nudged into things to ratchet up the fear. While we know the big picture of how much of this goes with the SSR, SHIELD, and Hydra, watching pieces of it unfold amid other investigations and character stories definitely is a lot of fun to watch, particularly since Peggy looks like she’s ready to knock a lot of head around.
What we get for the most part here are small movements forward as the investigation goes on, which isn’t a surprise since it’s running in between the various flashback elements. The structure of the episode is certainly linear in the right way and there’s a lot to like with it. Everything just feels richer here with what it does, especially with the set and costume designs as it digs into both Oklahoma and England to tell the tales that it has. But it also does this while dealing with Hollywood, the lab, the office, and the politics as well. There are so many things going on here that it really does surprise just how polished and effortless they make it look, which in turn elevates the show even more.
In Summary:
Agent Carter once again does a lot of good stuff here as we get the incremental nudge forward with the story involving the Arena Club and what’s going on there as well as the Zero Matter phase. Both of these present days pieces are well served though Whitney’s story is smaller. What’s not small are the parallel tracks we get with the flashback stories involving Peggy and Whitney that explores the origins of these women and what they’ve gone through to become who they are. It’s a good look at the layers that exist and the challenges they’ve faced which has put them to where they are. Peggy was already pretty well fleshed out but this just takes it to a whole other level. Combining that with Whitney by making her even more engaging and interesting ups the show as a whole. Very, very, good stuff.
Grade: A-
