Agent Carter Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Valediction
Stacy Glanzman
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Wow, what a fantastic finale!
After a season full of excitement and drama, I expected nothing less from Marvel's Agent Carter Season 1 Episode 8. I even saved my five star rating for it, and it did not disappoint.
I know it's probably unlikely, but I hope ABC decides to bring this gem of a show back next season. Though the writers gave us some closure, they left it open enough to leave us wanting more.
So much happened I almost don't even know where to start. We learned the original purpose of the gas, named midnight oil, was to keep soldiers awake, but as we saw, the affects of sleep deprivation can be deadly.
I theorized last week that the plan was to use the gas on a wider scale and if Dottie and Dr. Ivchenko had succeeded, the citizens of New York would have ended up killing each other.
I did not however expect the way they planned to execute. Listening to Peggy try to get through to Howard when he thought he was bringing Captain America home definitely pulled at the heart strings, especially when she told him he was dead. Even though we all knew Howard wouldn't die (Tony's not born yet, right?), it would have been even more emotional had it been Jarvis shooting him down.
The exchange towards the end between them was funny though, with Howard telling Jarvis shooting him down would not have been what he wanted. Great way to ease the tension.
We finally got our long-awaited fight scene between Peggy and Dottie. As awesome as it was, I admit I wish it had been a little longer. Also, Dottie looked pretty dead to me, but Peggy later said she escaped. With that fall and all that blood, that's a little hard to believe.
Sousa got his chance to shine! After failing to take down Dottie last week, he used his smarts to bring down Dr. Ivchenko and save Thompson's life. But, if Sousa couldn't hear anything he was saying due to the ear plugs, how did he know to pretend to turn the gun on Thompson? Can he read lips or something? The ear plugs were a genius move though.
As tension filled and dramatic as it was, we got our much needed comic relief as well. Stark feeding lines to Thompson at the press conference was great, and I loved that Thompson drew the line when he went too far. The scene at the end started out funny, with Angie's excitement over the new digs and Peggy and Jarvis' banter, but it turned into one of the most emotional scenes of the episode:
Peggy: So you are giving me this?
Jarvis: I owe Howard Stark a great deal, but he does not own my integrity. I am quite certain there is only one person in the world who knows what to do with this - you, Miss Carter.
I knew that vial of blood would come up again, but in the end it wasn't actually used for anything other than to bring Peggy some peace as she poured it into the ocean similar to someone spreading the ashes of a deceased loved one. When I saw Stark grab it behind her back, I expected him to use it somehow.
Agent Thompson grew on me as the season went on, but he managed to undo it all by accepting all the credit for saving the city at the end. I was as outraged as Sousa, but Peggy just shrugged it off with class:
I don't need a congressional honor. I don't need Agent Thompson's approval or the President's. I know my value, anyone else's opinion doesn't really matter.
Peggy
I'm glad with such a short season the writers didn't spend time trying to force a romantic story line. We know from Captain America: The Winter Soldier that Peggy gets married, but that smile she gave Sousa at the end was all I needed to see. Peggy is a strong, independent woman and I'm happy they kept the focus on that.
In classic Marvel fashion, just when you think it's over we get an addendum of the doctor in prison. I'll take that as the writers' way of setting the story up for a possible season two. Taking his hypnosis power away with a face mask reminded me of X-Men sticking Magneto in a plastic cell. I'm sure that final scene probably means something to comic fans, but I admit it went over my head.
Your turn, what did you guys think of the finale and the season as a whole? I expected it to be a nice filler to distract me until Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D came back, but it exceeded my expectations and then some. I didn't miss S.H.I.E.L.D nearly as much as I thought I would.
If you missed any part of the action-packed finale, you can watch Marvel's Agent Carter online any time.
Stacy Glanzman was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in March, 2019.
