”You arrogant plonker!”
By Eric Goldman
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Agent Carter was certainly up to a lot this week, attempting to steal both a corpse and some atomic material. Always busy, that Peggy!
It was good to see Wilkes quickly showing Peggy his own control of Darkforce manifesting, rather than keep it a secret. The fact that both he and Whitney can feed off it and grow more powerful is a notable touch, even as they both have their own very different physical reactions to their initial exposure.
Whitney continues to be the best part of Season 2 and there was something very amusing about Chadwick not being able to sleep, while she mumbled away in her dreams, after seeing what she can do.
This was an episode that went back to being somewhat awkward when it came to figuring out the right balance of comedy. There were some truly funny, well-executed gags – how can you not enjoy seeing Peggy zap Hugh Jones (Ray Wise) over and over again to take away his memory, as she looked for that key? But some of the material with Rose and Samberly felt forced and like it was going on a bit too much – though I will give points for the Reservoir Dogs-type slow-mo walk moment for Peggy’s offbeat team.
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
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Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
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Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
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Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Marvel’s Agent Carter: “The Atomic Job” Photos
Ken Marino made his debut in this episode as crime boss Joseph Manfredi and the comedic actor played things commendably straight – and even dangerous, as we saw Manfredi absolutely lose it at a henchmen he thought was “undressing” Whitney with his eyes. This was also a fun, deep cut Marvel character for Agent Carter to use, since in the comics, Joseph Manfredi is the son of Spider-Man villain Silvermane and becomes the costumed villain Blackwing himself.
It’s a credit to Sarah Bolger’s likability and charm playing off the equally likable and charming Enver Gjokaj that the “nothing went as planned” proposal scene between Sousa and Violet was as sweet and endearing as it was, with only a limited amount of screen time for Violet prior to this. However, it felt a bit forced to then immediately have Violet see Sousa’s demeanor around an injured Peggy and delve into a “you’re in love with her” scenario. Maybe if these events had been separated by a couple of episodes it would have helped, but it felt jarring here.
I really hope Jarvis gets more to do soon. He’s great as a comic foil and partner for Peggy, but of late, that’s all he’s had to do and it seems like a waste of a beloved character to not give him any real conflicts of his own. We met Ana earlier this season, but she’s vanished of late too.
Peggy’s bit of heist work here was fun, as was the idea of giving her such an unlikely team for this mission, though some of the comic material was a bit overplayed at times. However, it was cool to see Peggy fight Whitney for the first time – and really, see Peggy fight a supervillain in such a direct manner — and learn just how dangerous she is, as she took a effectively nasty, nearly fatal fall to escape her new enemy’s Darkforce-powered abilities.
