S01.E05: Iron Ceiling

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Peggy is finally trusted with a mission and calls upon her trusted Howling Commandos squad for backup. But her cover could be at risk when SSR Chief Dooley also sends Agent Thompson with her.

 

Promo:

[AimingforYoko]

Damn you, Chad Michael Murray, you're so good as a dick. Don't make me like you or anything.

[Shanna]

I love this show so much.

[kirinan]

Other than the lack of Jarvis, i think this may have been the best episode yet. I'm not a S.H.I.E.L.D. watcher so I may be biased, but all I could think of when I saw the commercial for it was, "Why do they have to put this back on and take my Agent Carter away?" I am so anxious to see where things go with Sousa and him realizing Peggy was the blonde. 

Edited February 4, 2015 by kirinan

[Tim Thomason]

Nitpick: Since it's 1946, Dooley's either lying or grossly misinformed when he says he's been talking to the Vice President of the United States.

 

Otherwise, great episode.

[Amethyst]

This show is so awesome.  I'll really miss it when AoS returns.  I give Peggy credit for not gloating in Thompson's face when he froze up, because she had the right to.  I know she's not the type, but Thompson has been such a jerk up to this point that I wouldn't have blamed her.  And the Chief said that Thompson has a crush on Peggy?  Not really here for some love triangle between Peggy, Sousa, and Thompson.

 

Anyone else think Dottie was going to shapeshift or change form when she sat in Peggy's chair?  Wonder if she wants to be Peggy, or Dottie's just training to take her place if she's supposed to kill Peggy.

 

I did miss Jarvis, but seeing Dum-Dum made up for it.  

 

Damn, those kid assassins were rough.  Seeing Dottie willingly chain herself up at the end was just spooky.  

[Actionmage]

Dum-Dum!!  Those Russian bastards!!  Da Chief gettin' his intel on with John Freakin' Glover!!!

 

Still sorting through how awesome this episode was with Dottie, Sousa, and everybody!  I think I know what happened at the massacre, w/r/t the whos. Then the previews and Sousa drawing on Peggy?!  Hokey Smokes, Bullwinkle!

[Shanna]

I thought that was john glover!!! So awesome.

I didn't miss Jarvis because he was there? I enjoyed the chief being sort of savvy here.

Omg, when Dottie handcuffed herself to the bed? So creepy.

[paigow]

If Dottie is in her early - mid 20's, then Leviathan was running their Black Widow school well before WW2 started  Is the rest of her class split into sleeper cells throughout the USA? Or did she kill them in order to graduate?

[Actionmage]

If Dottie is in her early - mid 20's, then Leviathan was running their Black Widow school well before WW2 started

 

Just thinking out loud, here.   The date on Dottie's flashback was 1937 and her present is 1946, a gap of 9 years. Going with the youngest age, 20, she would have been 11 in the flashback. If Dottie is 25 currently( the mid-20s), then she would have been 16. The girl looked younger than sixteen to me. 

 

Yes, the Widow school would have been in operation well before WWII. Possibly, not long after WWI ended.  If we are to believe that "P.E." was the equivalent of Thunderdome, I'm not seeing sleeper cells, but individual sleeper ( or not) agents. An old-school Army of One, if you will. I truly hope that the instructor-approved murder wasn't a frequent thing.

 

Dottie at the end? I felt for her; that she became so used to that treatment, that she now can't get to sleep without it. (Though I thought she 'woke with a start' without them at the top of the hour. I know; it woulda ruined the reveal.)

[NorthstarATL]

I love when characters challenge my opinion of them. I was actually all set for Thompson to turn on Peggy when they arrived back in the States by returning to form BECAUSE she knew him for who he really was...but he seems to have matured into an actual human being respecting a colleague. Meantime, Sousa, who was always the sympathetic one, might turn out to be the real heel.

  From the Red Room to the Red Guardian, Marvel's Russians have always fascinated me, so Leviathon and the budding Widows are just making a show I'm already loving that much more of a dream come true.

    I wish I liked the main series as much as this.

 

Dottie at the end? I felt for her; that she became so used to that treatment, that she now can't get to sleep without it. (Though I thought she 'woke with a start' without them at the top of the hour. I know; it woulda ruined the reveal.)

 

I could fanwank that she doesn't always sleep with them. Just when she needs to steel herself for a next step perhaps.

[AimingforYoko]

Meantime, Sousa, who was always the sympathetic one, might turn out to be the real heel.

Well now, let's not call the man a heel because he's good at his job. He doesn't know the whole story yet.

[Jediknight]

Meantime, Sousa, who was always the sympathetic one, might turn out to be the real heel.

He's just trying to figure out who killed his friend.  I don't think it's the actions of a villain, he's good at his job is piecing it together, and I'm guessing next week he's going to let Peggy go when she tells him what's going on.

 

Love that the Chief is having doubts about Stark being guilty.  I've also got to give props to them for making Thompson an actual human instead of a complete douchestain.

 

And speaking as an Agents of SHIELD watcher, can we somehow just time travel Simmons, Fitz, Mack, May, Bobbi (they need someone who could stand a chance in a fight against Dottie), and Lance to this time period?  And have the shows merge being called Peggy Carter Agent of SHIELD?

Edited February 4, 2015 by Jediknight

[Tangerine]

I'm glad they're making Agent Thompson more than just a one dimensional jerk-face, but I must have this natural aversion to Chad Michael Murray that when he was telling his war story I was rolling my eyes going "Oh great, time for his romantic lead face." I should give him a chance, he did a decent job tonight. But I STILL don't want him to turn out to be Peggy's husband.

 

I squealed with absolute delight when Dum-Dum appeared and we saw the Commandos again. 

 

And I lost my mind when I saw John Glover. I just spent the entire time going LIONEL LUTHOR! LIONEL! LUTHOR!

 

So maybe Dottie's plan isn't to kill Peggy so much as to just Single White Female her. Which might also include murder. Never mind.

 

Red Room. Red Room. Red Room. Red Room.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Tangerine

[Jediknight]

I'm glad they're making Agent Thompson more than just a one dimensional jerk-face, but I must have this natural aversion to Chad Michael Murray that when he was telling his war story I was rolling my eyes going "Oh great, time for his romantic lead face." I should give him a chance, he did a decent job tonight. But I STILL don't want him to turn out to be Peggy's husband.

They still haven't said he was trapped behind enemy lines, so I'm sticking with Sousa is Peggy's husband.

[statsgirl]

I was expecting Thompsonn to turn on Peggy too because he made himself vulnerable and she now knows his secret.

 

I think they're setting up her ship with Sousa though.  He's going to figure it out, and instead of turning her in, he's going to trust her.

I don't care what the show says, I'm shipping Peggy with Dum-Dum now.

 

Was that Dottie who killed the other little girl who shared her food in the flashback?  Creepy.  Did they test for psychopathy too?

[Malbec]

Well this was fun.  Nice to see Peggy flexing those war muscles, and I like the deconstruction they pulled with Thompson. Still think he's an asshat but that was a good bit of depth they gave him.  I also really liked Dooley independently getting on the clue train about Howard.

 

Dottie -- boy was that sequence creepy, especially when she picked up the picture of Steve. I like that she found some of Peggy's secrets but not all of them.  Peggy's efforts to hide the vial of Steve's blood actually paid off and weren't immediately wasted.  There may be some legitimate cat-and-mouse here.

[AimingforYoko]

They still haven't said he was trapped behind enemy lines, so I'm sticking with Sousa is Peggy's husband.

And Thompson was in the Pacific theatre, Cap was strictly ETO, wasn't he?

[bagert]

Nitpick: Since it's 1946, Dooley's either lying or grossly misinformed when he says he's been talking to the Vice President of the United States.

 

 

How about a fanwank that he was talking to former Vice-President Henry A. Wallace, who until September 1946 was serving in Truman's cabinet? :)

[Sandman]

And I lost my mind when I saw John Glover. I just spent the entire time going LIONEL LUTHOR! LIONEL! LUTHOR!

 

I know, right?! The Chief was gettin' the scoop from the Magnificent Bastard himself.

 

I don't think we did see Chad Michael Murray's romantic lead face -- nothing that looked quite constipated enough. But I will give the show credit for avoiding (so far) the trap of "now that she's seen me vulnerable, I have to hate her MORE."

 

As far as I'm concerned, the unmistakeable glee in Dugan's "Hi, Peggy" made the episode for me. Loved the rapport between those two.

 

Did the US consider the Soviet Union an enemy power as early as 1946? The reaction to Howard Stark's "selling weapons to the Russians" feels slightly anachronistic to me.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Sandman

[thuganomics85]

Dum-Dum!  And the Howling Commandos!  But, mainly Dum-Dum.  I love that guy.  And his bowler hat.  And his awesome moustache.  And Neal McDonough's pale blue-eyes, that always make him look kind of scary, yet he's somehow still hilarious here.  It was great seeing them again.  Although, I should have known that the likable young dude in the group, was totally a goner.  Didn't catch all their names: any hints to one of them possibly being the grandfather of Tripp from Agents of Shield?

 

Glad we finally got some background on Jack Thompson, and it explained a few things.  Basically he got an honor for his time in Japan, but it actually was a major fuck-up, because he fell asleep on watch, and killed a bunch of soldiers who were actually trying to surrender.  Yeah, I can see some major guilt over that.  Makes Thompson a bit more interesting, and I thought The Chad was decent enough in it.  Still, I'm personally hoping they don't go there with him and Peggy.  Would still feel way too obvious to have the guy who had been such a jerk to her, suddenly turn a new leaf, and not only fall for her, but her to fall for him as well.  I hope they have another idea in mind.

 

Certainly didn't predict that Peggy's undercover work would unravel thanks to Jack being a jerk.  But, it sure looks like it.  He tricks Daniel into accidentally walking into Peggy changing, and Daniel sees a mark on her shoulder, that he recognizes from the pictures.  Uh oh!  Just don't act to hasty, Daniel!

 

Not much Jarvis in this one, but I liked seeing him and Dooley again, on better terms.  Good stuff with Dooley was well.  Glad he's moving past just being a jerk boss.  Loved seeing John Glover as that guy he was getting info from in the bar.  It's been a while; TV needs more John Glover!

 

Pretty much loved everything involving Dottie.  Looks like she's a Russian assassin; part of the Black Widow project, right?  That upbringing looked rough as hell.  I was actually glad that Angie wasn't around, because I would have the spent the entire episode worrying she would pick the wrong time to be nosy, and be another body under Dottie's bed (actually, it looked like Dottie got rid of it.  I wonder how she pulled that off.)  Really can't wait to see what she brings to the endgame.  And, again, it better end in an epic Peggy vs. Dottie face-off.

Edited February 4, 2015 by thuganomics85

[MarquisDeCarabas]

Dottie at the end? I felt for her; that she became so used to that treatment, that she now can't get to sleep without it. (Though I thought she 'woke with a start' without them at the top of the hour. I know; it woulda ruined the reveal.)

 

I'm guessing the woke with a start is the reason she put on the handcuffs the following night, A bad dream/flashbacks followed up with something to calm her.

 

Until i get told otherwise, I'm holding onto the belief they are going close to the Marvel Comics origin of Natasha and she was the girl that was still in the compound.

[benteen]

I was thinking that too about the girl.  I wonder if Marvel will go there and establish just how old Natasha really is in the comics.

 

Great episode, the best to date.  Between the return of Dum Dum and the Howling Commandoes, to the character development of Thompson, to Dottie the disturbed badass to the origins of the Black Widow program, this episode was a winner.

[Orion]

Really good episode.

I like the change of pace that got the show out of the office set and let Peggy's tactical experience and intelligence shine. Russian code breaker, super awesome agent, marksman, cool under pressure and A+ lipstick game.

I really appreciate that none one character has been left to be two dimensional. Bad guys, agents, boss man, Jarvis, Howard, even Dottie. Some other shows haven't managed that level of character development after being on the air for years. I also love that they slow the action down to let characters breathe, react, and grow. Dum Dum talking to the little girl, the one guys Yeti story, and the scientist guy.

I had a brief moment where I started yelling stop it when the boss talked about Thompsons crush on Peggy.

Missing Jarvis and Angie.

Did I miss an explanation for the handcuffs?

Set decoration is still amazing. And the Russian boarding school was a very creepy location.

I'd trade half the shows on tv to have a Howling Commandos and Agent Carter shows, twice a week of awesome.

[stealinghome]

Aside from the lack of Peggy/Jarvis time--I didn't realize how much I appreciate their chemistry until it was nowhere in evidence--I agree this might have been the best episode yet. They can have Neal McDonough back anytime; he had a great rapport with Atwell, I totally bought them as old war pals. And that opening was horrifying in the best way! Overall, I wish that the show had gotten to this point sooner, maybe less people would have bailed on previous episodes. Getting Peggy into the field really helped, as did her finally gaining some traction in the office, as did the SSR agents finally beginning to maybe consider the possibility that Howard Stark isn't entirely guilty. Obviously ymmv, but I almost feel like this is what episode 2 ought to have been, not episode 5. Alas.

 

Everything with Dottie was creepy and awesome. Despite myself, I felt a pang for her when she locked herself in at night. Can't wait to get more of her. Bridget Regan is really having a banner year for being a villainness, isn't she?

 

I'm still not feeling Thompson, however, and I thought CMM had a few pretty weak scenes. I'm still a big NO to any kind of romance between him and Peggy.

 

Peggy's channeling Steve at the beginning, and the way she told Dottie to go to Brooklyn to see the heart of America? Be still my heart. I really like how the show has written, and Atwell has played, Peggy's grief. It's so understated yet poignant; it's never OTT, but always moving.

 

Looks like the last three episodes are going to be bananas!

[quarks]

 

 

Did the US consider the Soviet Union an enemy power as early as 1946? The reaction to Howard Stark's "selling weapons to the Russians" feels slightly anachronistic to me.

 

The United States considered the Soviet Union an enemy power as early as 1918, and had multiple concerns about Soviet occupied territories in 1945 and 1946.   But I think this show is willing to play a bit with historical facts when necessary. As in, for instance, the idea that the Soviets trained up their assassins by handcuffing them to beds.

 

Loved the return of the Howling Commandoes; I just wish Peggy had brought two bottles of bourbon along. 

[statsgirl]

The US may have been wary of the Soviet Union but they totally underestimated them especially when they gave them the lands from the conquered countries. At the end of the war as the Germans were retreating, people in countries such as Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia were praying that them Americans would be the ones to liberate them not the Russians, because they were longtime democracies and didn't want to live under Soviet rule.

 

I thought she should have told the Russian guy, I'll get you bottles when we land and left that one for the Howling Commandos.  But it was sad and sweet to see him cuddling it as he slept on the way home.

 

I found the middle of the episode too dark visually (as opposed to Dottie which was too dark emotionally).  I could hardly see the nighttime and the hiding parts.

[GinevradiBenci]

 

Did the US consider the Soviet Union an enemy power as early as 1946? The reaction to Howard Stark's "selling weapons to the Russians" feels slightly anachronistic to me.

 

In a book written by one of the Band of Brothers guys, he mentions having German soldiers say, essentially, "Well, gosh, you got us, but wouldn't it be a good idea for us to join forces and go defeat the Soviets? You see where this is going, right?" So I suspect that the US looked sideways at the Soviets despite their status as allies. I think things went very quickly south for that relationship.

[benteen]

I continue to notice they don't use the words "The Soviet Union" on this show.

 

Great bit from the IGN review of this show (they gave it a 9.0) and I was thinking along the same lines...

 

 

Let's just pause to once more note that Marvel managed to use their Disney ownership to get a clip from a famous Disney animated movie, in service of a story about little girls being turned into highly trained killers. This is all synergy we can get behind, no?!

[Tim Thomason]

How about a fanwank that he was talking to former Vice-President Henry A. Wallace, who until September 1946 was serving in Truman's cabinet? :)

 

So the SSR is a division of the Commerce Department?

I continue to notice they don't use the words "The Soviet Union" on this show.

Great bit from the IGN review of this show (they gave it a 9.0) and I was thinking along the same lines...

I like it. It's like old episodes of Mission: Impossible or Doctor Who or Star Trek where they talked vaguely about a foreign power or the other superpower or "beyond the Iron Curtain".

Edited February 4, 2015 by Tim Thomason

[tessaray]

I am surprised at how much I love this show.  AoS is one of my fallback shows - I like it a lot but if it waits a week or two on the dvr, nbd.  I would sacrifice it without a second thought if I could get Agent Carter in its place.

 

 

Peggy's channeling Steve at the beginning, and the way she told Dottie to go to Brooklyn to see the heart of America? Be still my heart. I really like how the show has written, and Atwell has played, Peggy's grief. It's so understated yet poignant; it's never OTT, but always moving.

 

Here is where it gets embarrassing.  I have never seen a Marvel super-hero movie or read a Marvel comic book. I'm so frustrated, because I know I'm missing some of the good stuff.  I knew it in AoS, of course but didn't care. Now I care.  Can anyone tell me what movies to watch before the finale? 

[Rick Kitchen]

Did the US consider the Soviet Union an enemy power as early as 1946? The reaction to Howard Stark's "selling weapons to the Russians" feels slightly anachronistic to me.

 

One of the US diplomats to the Soviet Union during the war, George F Kennan, came back and wrote a number of articles and books about the danger from the Soviet Union.  His first article, called the "Long Telegram", came out in February of 1946.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Article#The_Long_Telegram

 

Yeah, boss, there is no Vice President.  Are you lying?

[Julia]

New York lost half the episode to a nasty train crash in Westchester last night. I'm going to have to wait for Hulu for a lot of this.

And speaking as an Agents of SHIELD watcher, can we somehow just time travel Simmons, Fitz, Mack, May, Bobbi (they need someone who could stand a chance in a fight against Dottie), and Lance to this time period? And have the shows merge being called Peggy Carter Agent of SHIELD?

Oh, please, no. I have a mental image of the blank-eyed little girls at Black Widow school chanting "Skye is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life" Manchurian Candidate style.

Did the US consider the Soviet Union an enemy power as early as 1946? The reaction to Howard Stark's "selling weapons to the Russians" feels slightly anachronistic to me.

Definitely. There was a significant faction in the US who thought we should ally with Hitler against the russians to begin with, Patton had to be ordered very hard not to keep going east after Germany went down, and we "rehabilitated" some nasty nazi war criminals because we thought they would give us an edge against the soviets. Edited February 4, 2015 by Julia

[PalmettoExpat]

Best episode of the set. Didn't think I was going to like this show, but man I do.

 

Loved her rapport with the Commandos and growing respect / relationship with Thompson. I liked that he and Sousa have seemed to switch roles at this point - one man stepping in her court, while the other sprints outs. Excited to see the Sousa showdown (and I'm calling that he'll finally reveal he doesn't have a fake leg).

 

Loved the Dottie characterization. I can't decide if she wants to use Peggy or kill her, but in either case there seems to be some serious, next-level, Single-White-Female business going down. If Dottie dyes her hair brown and starts wearing navy and scarlet, I think we're in trouble. So creepy in a great way.

 

I really hope the show continues to put her out in the field.

[SophiaD]

Wow.  What a great episode!  Where to even start?  LOVED seeing Peggy back in the field.  LOVED that the men actually did start to respect her.  LOVED the easy camaraderie between her and the Howling Commandos and how it reminded me of the original Captain America novel.  Especially loved the ending when she and Thompson were giving each other credit in his office.

 

Bridget Regan really brought the creepy.  Brrrr.  That was impressive.

 

I am kind of freaking out about next week's episode, though. The previews looked incredibly intense. 

[Orion]

 

 

Here is where it gets embarrassing.  I have never seen a Marvel super-hero movie or read a Marvel comic book. I'm so frustrated, because I know I'm missing some of the good stuff.  I knew it in AoS, of course but didn't care. Now I care.  Can anyone tell me what movies to watch before the finale?

Watch Captain America - The First Avenger (this one takes place before Agent Carter)

Captain America - Winter Solider (has a brief scene that takes place in current time featuring a old Peggy, and several scenes where people talk about things Peggy did for the government)

Agent Carter One Shot that was on the first Captain America DVD (I think it takes place not long after this show end date- this one you can watch online). http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1viter_marvel-one-shot-agent-carter-2013_shortfilms

[Rick Kitchen]

I'm hoping that Dottie is a Peggy Carter fangirl.  :)

[Leia1979]

I loved this episode! The only thing I didn't like (only knowing Captain America through the movies, not the comics) was having Howling Commandos I've never seen before. I'm sure a lot of that is practical (casting) but I feel like the movie told me the Howlers were Cap, Bucky, Dugan, Morita, Jones, Falsworth, and Dernier.

 

I thought it interesting that Dugan called Peggy mostly by her first name instead of "Carter." He spent the better part of two years calling her Agent Carter. I guess it was to show they're friends. I mean, who's ever heard him called Timothy before?

 

• Peggy was at Bletchley Park. I'm not surprised.
• Dottie freaks me out. Black Widow meets Single White Female.
• Peggy and Dugan briefly talking about Steve hits me right in the feels. (Every time this show invokes Steve does that.)
• The Howling Commandos looking to Peggy for orders, not Thompson. 
• Dammit, don't make Thompson sort of likable this episode. I was enjoying hating him. Knowing he was in the Pacific and couldn't have crossed paths with Steve is the only thing making that okay.
• Sousa is a smart cookie. 

 

I admit to extra geeking out this episode because I wrote a fic where Peggy goes to the USSR with S.H.I.E.L.D. in 1949. I now feel I didn't make her badass enough. 

 

I'm sad that there are only three episodes left!

 

Edited to add one more thought: It's really a shame the MCU folks never gave Peggy an actual rank. She probably would have been a Lieutenant and might have been equivalent rank to LTJG Thompson. (The internet tells me Army First Lt is equivalent to Navy Lt Junior Grade.)

 

Edited again because Raja pointed out a mistake I made in the ranks, and I hate to be wrong.

Edited February 4, 2015 by Leia1979

[Jediknight]

Oh, please, no. I have a mental image of the blank-eyed little girls at Black Widow school chanting "Skye is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life" Manchurian Candidate style.

I don't want Skye to time travel back.

[tessaray]

Watch Captain America - The First Avenger (this one takes place before Agent Carter) Captain America - Winter Solider (has a brief scene that takes place in current time featuring a old Peggy, and several scenes where people talk about things Peggy did for the government)

Agent Carter One Shot that was on the first Captain America DVD (I think it takes place not long after this show end date- this one you can watch online). http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1viter_marvel-one-shot-agent-carter-2013_shortfilms

 

Thanks!  I guess it's going to be a Captain America weekend for me.  

 

ETA:  The empty quote post is making me crazy.

Edited February 4, 2015 by maraleia
fixed the empty quote post for you

[Temperance]

I may never watch Snow White the same way again.

 As someone who's never seen the movies or whatnot I'm surprised the death of a Howling Commando isn't a bigger deal, but I'm guessing he wasn't as big in the movies.

It also seemed like everyone at SSR was relatively cool (with the exception of Thompson) about the death of an agent. (Not nearly as upset as they were when the jackass agent died.)

I know I'm alone in this, but I don't like Dottie very much. Not sure why. 

CMM has really grown up well. I always found him a little whiny but still likable as Tristan, or Lucas. 

If he didn't seem so honor bent, I'd almost wonder if Sousa blackmailed Peggy into marrying him.  I totally see those two together, although I'm not sure I want to.

Sousa proved he was a good agent when he noticed the marks on her shoulder while looking at Peggy in her slip (not just gawking at the pretty lady).

Totally didn't recognize Lionel Luther. I used to be good at spotting people from other shows. Either I'm getting old or the forties are throwing me off.

I'm definitely hoping for more Agent Carter when these eight are done.

[turnitwayup]

Dum-Dum!  And the Howling Commandos!  But, mainly Dum-Dum.  I love that guy.  And his bowler hat.  And his awesome moustache.  And Neal McDonough's pale blue-eyes, that always make him look kind of scary, yet he's somehow still hilarious here.  It was great seeing them again.  Although, I should have known that the likable young dude in the group, was totally a goner.  Didn't catch all their names: any hints to one of them possibly being the grandfather of Tripp from Agents of Shield?

 

Sawyer, Juniper and Pinkerton were other commandos for this ep. Surprised they didn't have Morita back since he showed up in Shield's flashback with Peggy and Dugan. I still wanna know who's Tripp's grandfather is. Since FX is constantly showing The Avengers, I hope Enver's cop character is related to Sousa.

 

I love Peggy's pinstripe dress she wore for part of the ep. They're doing amazing job with the costuming and the set design.

[VCRTracking]

 

Although, I should have known that the likable young dude in the group, was totally a goner

 

He was Junior Jupiter, who also died in the comics. He was the only Howling Commando who got killed there too.

 

 

As someone who's never seen the movies or whatnot I'm surprised the death of a Howling Commando isn't a bigger DEAL, but I'm guessing he wasn't as big in the movies.

 

Nope. Just introduced in this episode. The British guy was a different character too. In the movie it was Farnsworth(The British Cap equivalent Union Jack) here it's Pinky(who was in the original comics)

 

Surprised they didn't have Morita back since he showed up in Shield's flashback with Peggy and Dugan.

 

The actor was probably busy being killed on Sons of Anarchy.

 

Maybe Dooley was referring to Truman when he said the "Vice President" because he hadn't accepted FDR's death?

 

It took me a while to realize Dottie was holding Peggy's "knockout lipstick" from the pilot episode.

 

Cap in the MCU fought only Europe as far as I know so I don't think Thompson is Peggy's husband(thank god).

 

Skyebashing aside I would like to see the AOS team time travel just to see May, Simmons, Bobbi and Skye done up 40s style. Simmons would look cute of course and imagine her meeting Peggy, her idol?

Edited February 4, 2015 by VCRTracking

[AzureOwl]

Loved the Dottie characterization. I can't decide if she wants to use Peggy or kill her, but in either case there seems to be some serious, next-level, Single-White-Female business going down. If Dottie dyes her hair brown and starts wearing navy and scarlet, I think we're in trouble. So creepy in a great way.

Because of her upbringing no doubt, Dottie seems to have the emotional development of a child or a teenager.

Last episode her interaction with Mr. Mink was 50% lethal assassin 50% spoiled brat wanting a new toy. And by the end of the episode she was actually playing with her new toy exactly like a little kid would. And now, as soon as her “mission” is over, what does she do? Start playing make-believe in front of a mirror.

I’d say the Soviets still have a long way to go before their Black Widow program produces reasonably well adjusted adults. Unless they’re "recruiting" little girls who already show signs of sociopathy that is. In which case, they might not care.

Edited February 4, 2015 by AzureOwl

[Malbec]

He's just trying to figure out who killed his friend.  I don't think it's the actions of a villain, he's good at his job is piecing it together, and I'm guessing next week he's going to let Peggy go when she tells him what's going on.

 

Yep.  And sort of ironically, Peggy's screwed exactly because Sousa respects her capabilities.  In contrast to the other agents who think she's just some silly harmless woman, he's the one who understands that she actually could pull off being a double agent.

 

I actually thought that was an interesting contrast with the way Peggy was completely fooled by Dottie.  It's not a knock on Peggy -- at this point she has no reason to suspect Dottie, and Sousa's had a lot more time to process the clues he's been given -- but it was sort of interesting to see Dottie use the same "tee hee, I'm just some dumb girl" trick to fool Peggy that Peggy's used against the men in her office. 

[Raja]

 

It also seemed like everyone at SSR was relatively cool (with the exception of Thompson) about the death of an agent. (Not nearly as upset as they were when the jackass agent died.)

 

 

Mission top secret destination unknown loss of a red shirt in combat versus a hit on a New York city street of a reoccurring character.

I loved this episode! The only thing I didn't like (only knowing Captain America through the movies, not the comics) was having Howling Commandos I've never seen before. I'm sure a lot of that is practical (casting) but I feel like the movie told me the Howlers were Cap, Bucky, Dugan, Morita, Jones, Falsworth, and Dernier.

 

 

Edited to add one more thought: It's really a shame the MCU folks never gave Peggy an actual rank. She probably would have been a Lieutenant and might have been equivalent rank to LTJG Thompson. (The internet tells me Army Lt 1st class is equivalent to Navy Lt Junior Grade.)

They were careful to say the 107th Regiment and not Howling Commandos though. I will fan wave that some of Captain Rogers' special ops team had rotated home like Agent Carter in the post war mop up period. It does seem as if the 107th was Army, perhaps National Guard as they all seemed to come from Brooklyn which was assigned to the SSR as their stick. My guess is that the Strategic Scientific Reserve was set up like the American Office of Strategic Services and the British Special Operations Executive. While they used soldiers like Commander James Bond it was possible to initially serve in the spy branch without military experience and rank like Agent Carter. given the time frame about the only rank Peggy Carter would have had pre war was from the nursing corps. When women were recruited for non combatant roles after the war started she may have had a rank but going in as an Agent was probably more powerful then a rear area commission.

 

In the US Army, Air Force and Marine Corps the correct rank is First Lieutenant, not Lieutenant First Class. "First Class" would be part of the ranks of enlisted USAF Airman First Class. US Army and USMC Sergeants First Class and the Navy's Petty Officer First Class

[paigow]

Why jump into Poland "miles from the Russian border" and drive through Lithuania? So there is time for exposition? Good thing Dum-Dum planned it that way.

[fastiller]

Dum-Dum!  And the Howling Commandos!  But, mainly Dum-Dum.  I love that guy.  And his bowler hat.  And his awesome moustache.  And Neal McDonough's pale blue-eyes, that always make him look kind of scary, yet he's somehow still hilarious here.  It was great seeing them again.

I kept expecting him to say "N'est pas?"

 

Did I miss an explanation for the handcuffs?

When our heroes were in the Leviathan facility all the beds had handcuffs on the headrails.  I'm guessing all the 'students' were forced to sleep cuffed to their beds and Dottie continues to do so into adulthood.  (If this answers a question you weren't asking, sorry.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

After all these weeks of watching Peggy get treated like a secretary who fetches coffee, it was nice to finally see her be treated with respect and accepted as an equal. The easy camaraderie between her and the 107th was great because she hasn't been so relaxed with anyone else on the show.

 

Agent Li might as well have been wearing a red shirt. I was surprised that Agent Martinez survived.

 

It was so sad to see the doctor shoot Nikolai and then say he was sorry for having to do it.

 

I couldn't take The Chad seriously when he was confessing what happened in Japan. As he was gazing out the window, I imagined him thinking, "This is my Emmy scene!"

[shrewd.buddha]

I am really impressed with how all the separate elements are starting to gel in the final episodes.

I'm also liking how Peggy's co-workers are coming around and are not just stereotypes. They are being shown as men who are good at their jobs, despite their prejudices at the time. 

 

Man, that was a brutal, two day work trip for the the SSR agents. Judging from their running escape from the camp, the bodies of their co-workers were left behind. 

 

It looks as if it took Stark's betrayal for Peggy to be more assertive at work. She isn't hiding her skills anymore. ...Unfortunately, it appears her new status is to be short lived from what the previews showed for next week. Oh well, it was a good evolution from her beginning status.