Agent Carter “Life of the Party”/”Monsters” Review by Kevin ‘That Movie Nerd’ Morrison
ABC has thrown me for a loop, releasing two episodes a week between last week and this week instead of the regular one, with only one episode to go in this (hopefully not final!) season. As such, I wasn’t sure how to review these four episodes exactly and it took me a while to decide to review them by week instead of by episode. So, here we will be talking about last week’s “Life of the Party” and “Monsters”, with a review of this week’s “The Edge of Mystery” and “A Little Song and Dance” to follow. There’s so much to talk about!
Starting with “Life of the Party”, Peggy decides to break out and trust Dottie Underwood, who makes a much welcomed return. They need her to be Jarvis’s date to a party attended by many government officials and FBI/SSR officials, as well as Whitney Frost. Still needing to figure out how to cure Dr. Wilkes, Peggy assigns Dottie to get a blood sample from Whitney, all while Dottie decides to do some snooping on her own. I always love it when old enemies come back, especially when they are now thrown together with the hero for the same goal and the duality between Peggy and Dottie is great. They work well together and even though they can be total opposites at times, they have much more in common than we would realize.
Meanwhile, Whitney Frost has become stronger and is running the show now, taking control over government and FBI officials, using her new powers as a threat. This is a great threat as well as only Peggy, Jarvis and crew know to try and stop her and fight against her. I like that the show gives us the underdog story, similar to a Captain America type character story, and it’s fun to root for them. As always, Hayley Atwell does a great job as Peggy, but Bridget Regan brings an appropriate craziness and some endearingness to her role as Dottie. It’s a thrilling partnership on top of Jarvis and Souza, great characters as well.
“Monsters” opens with Dottie captured by Whitney and Peggy deciding she must rescue her, making Peggy even more interesting than she already is (which is saying a lot). Morality is a big part of the show and to see Peggy take responsibility for Dottie’s capture is smart and well-executed, giving her and Jarvis another fun team-up and infiltration. I’ve noticed the show does a great job with the secret agent and sneaking in places thing, as every time they break into somewhere it is fun, thrilling and hilarious all at the same time, something a certain other ABC Marvel show can’t manage.
As for the villain in this episode, Whitney’s ideologies are similar to something like Darth Vader’s in that her powers give her a sense of purpose and strength, making others question whether or not they should join, such as Dr. Wilkes. I like seeing people tested this way and it all makes sense with the way these characters were set-up and explored.
Jarvis of course is here as well, who is funny and charming as always, but also endearing this week. Near the end of “Monsters, there is something that happens where you really feel for him and I like how this was all well set-up and unexpected. Jarvis is part of the core of why this show works so well.
There is also a love story blooming between Peggy and Souza in these episodes which you would think would be a negative, but that couldn’t be farther for the truth. I like these two together and it does not take away from the strong female center this show has (how often did I talk about THREE main female characters in this review?). I like the combination of elements and adding a love story like this does not take away anything from the show.
Agent Carter continues to be fun and exciting, with a great female lead in the title role. I wish more people would watch this season as most likely this will be its last, but for what Season 2 has giving us so far it’s been a great ride that I can’t wait to see where it is turning next.
