S02.E06: Life Of The Party / S02.E07: Monsters

[Noirprncess]

I might be the only one thinking this, but, I somehow think Vernon is doing the bidding for Dr Evil Psychatrist and the little guy he was imprisoned with. That last scene from season 1 has to tie into season 2 somehow. Meanwhile, I really wanted Dottie to snap his neck.

It was quite a shock to finally see something that Dottie was afraid of. Just never got why Whitney wanted her or even knew of her existence. Hmmm.

Jack is another character that should have a cartoon anvil drop on his head.

Poor Ana. At least Wilkes enjoyed her Hungarian feast more than Jarvis. Lol

[tennisgurl]

This is just such a great show. Its a show that I really, truly look forward to. Its characters are delightful, the action is exciting, and the dialogue is very school fast talking and banterful (banter and beautiful). And now two good episodes for the price of one! It was all over the place, with laughs and romance and drama and fights, and it all blends so well together. I will desperately miss this show when its no longer with us. 

 

Jarvis commenting on the fine features of both Sousa and Wilkes might be one of my new favorite MCU bits, ever. And he and Anna are just the best. Even if my favorite ship (Daniel and Peggy all the way yall) does not get to sail, I`ll always have Anna and Jarvis. 

[anna0852]

I'm waiting for Evil Red Foreman to use the 'foot up your ass' threat.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Wheeeee! The only thing better than watching an episode of Agent Carter is watching two episodes of Agent Carter!

 

I think we were verging on too much Dottie at one point last season but because we haven't seen her much this season, I was excited to see her back in action. I loved how her face lit up when Peggy walked into the room. Don't get me wrong - I know she is crazy obsessed with Peggy and if given the chance would kill her and then walk around wearing Peggy's skin draped over herself, but I love watching them interact.

 

Jarvis and Peggy's pantomimed conversation while Dottie had her head under the hair dryer was hilarious. Loved when he faked taking a cyanide pill and falling down dead.

 

Whitney is a great villain. I loved seeing how terrified the council was of her. It's sad that in order for her to get their respect (or at least enough fear that they didn't dismiss her), she had to kill half of them. I also like that she feels her intentions are good, that she wants to help women and minorities with her power and that taking Wilkes was about her wanting to help him understand his power. I know she's still off, but at least she isn't like the stereotypical villain who is just "MWAHAHAHA, I WANT REVENGE/POWER!"

Edited February 18, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[DeLurker]

Never saw Robocop, but he'll always be Red to me. Red knew how to strike primal fear in me because he was so much like my friend's dad. Vern's got nothing on Red.

[blackwing]

He's about to disappear into an alternative dimension and knows how to build a machine to do it. Wilkes can't do a thing to rescue Dottie (who would have rescued herself within a few seconds of Jarvis doing it). Wilkes's device work and made him corporal. His priorities were correct, IMO.

To me it was a case of "it's not what you say, it's how you say it".  Of course he's concerned with himself and trying to regain corporeality.  That is understandable.  But the way he just barked orders at her and then got angry when she didn't immediately ten-hut and step to it rubbed me the wrong way.  He didn't even take a moment to ask her opinion, he just assumed he was running the show.  I'm curious as to what he was about to say before he stopped himself.  Something tells me that he is not all that he appears to be.

[AzureOwl]

Last time Thompson was underestimating her in an attempt to one-up Peggy. This time he got her from behind and he was certainly not underestimating her, so I can buy it.

 

And he pistol-whipped her. Hard. Twice. I checked. 

 

That's going to make a dent on the toughest agent around. 

[Maelstrom]

I thought Angry Jarvis was scary in this episode! When he grabbed the gun, pointed it at Dottie, and snarled "LET'S GO"? He was legit terrifying. And you'll notice Dottie didn't give them any attitude after that!

 

 

Angry Jarvis is indeed intense and impressive.

 

James D'Arcy was scary as hell on Broadchurch last year as violent rageaholic Lee the murder suspect. I'd just finished watching him on season one of Peggy, and then saw Broadchurch - damn! It was hard to believe at times it was the same actor. He's such an essential part of what makes this show so awesome (along with Hayley Atwell, of course) so I was very happy to see him have a little more to do in these two episodes than in the past few. Jarvis FTW!

[kili]

He didn't even take a moment to ask her opinion, he just assumed he was running the show.

 

They had already agreed that they needed to build a containment vessel for him earlier that day - that is why they went to go get the zero-matter. What opinion did he now have to ask? Wilkes is obviously the one who should be running the show when it comes to Project "Build a Containment Vessel". He's the only one who knows how to do it (the only one in the world). And he needs help doing it because he can't actually do the physical building himself.

 

It is Peggy who changed missions/goals on him without bothering to tell him or discuss it.  He doesn't know how dangerous Dotty is, so he probably doesn't realize why it is such a priority to get her back. Wilkes is scared of dying or disappearing into some weird dimension for eternity. In the same situation, I might be a little frantic and bossy too.

 

Where did Wilkes go when he kind of blinked out? Was that Whitney's house?

 

Red was a torturer in the war. Why am I not surprised? HIs teeth implements reminds me of the torture dentist in Alias. It was a "Hell Yah!" moment when Will (Bradley Cooper) stabbed the dentist with the truth serum that paralyzes 20% of the people it is given to (he had previously used it on Will). I'm hoping Red gets his comeuppance and that it isn't just a quick turning into zero-matter.

 

I kind of suspect that the zero-matter dissolved people will come back.

[Cekrypton1]

This is the first time I've ever enjoyed Bridget Reagan. Her "six-walls/cube" line is what put me over the top for Dottie.

[miracole]

Jarvis is always awesome. Mrs. Jarvis better live.

 

Letting Dottie out no matter how much you might need her is never a good idea.

 

I really liked Wilkes' re-meet up with Whitney, she wasn't expecting that. He's going to be integral in bringing her down.

Edited February 18, 2016 by miracole

[Sandman]

For me Kurtwood Smith's memorable roles are (in roughly the order that I saw them) Boddicker; Robert Sean Leonard's father in Dead Poets Society; Agent Gargoyle in The X-Files episode "Grotesque"; Red Forman. In short: Evil!

Edited February 18, 2016 by Sandman

[anna0852]

I thought it was interesting to have it driven home that sometimes Peggy makes very bad decisions. She did not have Dottie well contained at all, she fell right into the trap of leaving Dr. Wilkes unguarded and however much she dislikes Thompson, he's going to have every right to call her out *hard* for this. 

[kili]

She did not have Dottie well contained at all, she fell right into the trap of leaving Dr. Wilkes unguarded and however much she dislikes Thompson, he's going to have every right to call her out *hard* for this.

 

Dottie escaping at the end is fundamentally Red's fault.

 

Thompson already failed to really call Peggy out on letting Dottie run amuck (pretty much ignoring what Red told him to do) after he himself contained Dottie (this time, he respected her talents enough to knock her out). After handing Dottie over to his supervisor, it becomes Red's responsibility to properly contain her and he was the one who gave her to a third-party (who are not LEOs) who improperly secured her. Dottie would have been in the wind on her own had not Peggy somewhat contained her again, but Peggy isn't technically on the job and she didn't have proper containment tools, so Dottie's escape should be pinned on Red. IMO. As if Red would ever take the blame and he's barely even bothering to hide that he is evil.

 

Although, it is true that Peggy had a bad idea and her control over Dottie was largely an illusion. Dottie easily escaped that necklace.

 

I bet when we next see Dottie, she's riding to the rescue. I think she quite likes Peggy (or at least wants to be the one to kill her), so she will help to save the day.

 

Thompson can't really complain about Peggy losing Wilkes either since he thinks Wilkes is dead.

[anna0852]

I don't mean Thompson is going to get on Peggy for losing Wilkes. No one knows about him yet.

 

But Peggy is the one that ultimately got Dottie out of her prison cell and put her in play. Red made things worse of course but Peggy got the ball rolling.

[ChelseaNH]

Dottie easily escaped that necklace.

 

Pretty sure Whitney disabled it for her.  She at least figured out the tracking, and the booby trap is the next obvious step.

[Tiger]

I don't remember Clarence Boddicker going by that nickname.

On a related note. I've often wondered if his role in Robocop is why I've found Kurtwood Smith intimidating in other roles. (On some level I spent the first season of That 70's Show waiting for him to ask Bob if he could fly). Are there any non Robocop viewers here? If so, do you find Vernon intimidating?

I never saw Robocop, but every character I have seen Kurtwood Smith cwme across as intimidatimg to me.

[Terrafamilia]

After Dr. Wilkes had contained himself and was able to enjoy a fine Hungarian feast I was wondering just how far away from the facilities his little containment unit was. I suppose they would have to resort to a curtain and a bucket.

[shapeshifter]

There's a tablet kids' app game called Dumb Ways to Die in which you have to do certain tasks in order not to die. One of the tasks is "Don't push the button." Of course my 9-year old niece pushes the button and an animation appears showing she destroyed the world. I asked her, "Why did you push the button, that's the easiest task in the game?" She replied, "The game telling me not to do it made me want to do it." As soon as Peggy said, "Whatever you do, don't open the trunk." I knew it was a metaphysical certainty that he would open the trunk.

Yes, totally, but I would have also liked a muttered line like, "Just like a dame to be scared of another dame" or something.

Jarvis and Peggy's pantomimed conversation while Dottie had her head under the hair dryer was hilarious. Loved when he faked taking a cyanide pill and falling down dead.

Loved that bit too. It was reminiscent of a silent film from that era.

I agree with those upthread that this is the most tolerable love triangle going. It reminds me of my own confusion over multiple suitors 40 years ago. Sadly, I never picked a worthy companion. For Peggy, I'm not sure Ana won't die and Peggy and Jarvis will live happily ever after with his cooking skills. But when Ana and Jarvis hugged, I wanted to hug her too, poor sweet thing.

[romantic idiot]

Ana is lovely, isn't she. 

 

Most of what I wanted to say has been covered already and Hayley and James are great. But I just wanted the spare a moment to gush over Enver's acting. The first scene in the first episode, when he is looking at her so fondly -  it's just in his eyes. Then later when he tells her they must talk - he switches from a professional look to warm yet bashful. I'm a sucker for expressive eye acting and his game was on. He is so good. 

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Agent Carter Pits Villain Against Villain
A flurry of kidnappings and rescues and backstabbings whittles down the roster of bad guys considerably.

[Leia1979]

I might be the only one thinking this, but, I somehow think Vernon is doing the bidding for Dr Evil Psychatrist and the little guy he was imprisoned with. That last scene from season 1 has to tie into season 2 somehow. 

 

That is an excellent point. Dr. Zola and Evil Psychiatrist (why can't I remember his name?) have to be up to something. Vernon working for them makes a lot of sense to (Captain America 2 spoiler)

set up the Hydra infiltration of SHIELD apparently led by Zola.

No reason it couldn't have started back in the SSR. Vernon also mentioned in an earlier episode that the SSR was a wartime organization that will eventually go away.

 

I hope Ana Jarvis survives--I think she'll make it. I wish she'd paid more attention to Jarvis' security system, though. And I do enjoy Righteous Anger Jarvis.

[roomtorome]

I want a Jarvis all my own; my favorite character on tv this season - hands down.  The actor is really doing terrific things with the character - from funny to serious to heartbreaking.  Just terrific.  

[piperkat]

 

Whitney is a great villain... I also like that she feels her intentions are good, that she wants to help women and minorities with her power and that taking Wilkes was about her wanting to help him understand his power. I know she's still off, but at least she isn't like the stereotypical villain who is just "MWAHAHAHA, I WANT REVENGE/POWER!"

 

Whitney kind of reminds me of Ingrid from the Frozen arc on Once Upon a Time.  With Ingrid, you knew she was the villain and what she was doing was wrong overall, but at the same time you understood her motivations and kind of wanted her to win.  

I feel the same way about Whitney. I don't agree with all of her actions, but I totally agree with a lot of her goals and even feel bad she's been pushed to this point. 

It's a real shame she couldn't have met someone like Peggy a few years ago. Her life could have taken a totally different path. 

[Black Knight]

Yeah, one of the well-done things about Whitney is that she's not pointlessly evil. She always has a motivation, she doesn't do evil just for the sake of doing evil. Even in this episode - everyone here is bagging on her for shooting Ana (which was bad, of course), but nobody's mentioned that she stopped her sidekick from just executing Ana outright, in favor of simply talking to Ana. I loved her delivery of "I don't think this concerns you," and she explained (in a general way) what she was going to do with Wilkes, that she was going to help him, not kill him. She only shot Ana when she realized Peggy was about to arrive and she needed a way to slow Peggy down (which is another sign of restraint, as Whitney could have just killed Peggy instead), and even then she shot Ana in a place where her odds of survival would be higher.

 

When Dottie started singing like a bird, telling the truth about absolutely everything, without the slightest bit of snark thrown in, I knew she was fucking terrified of Whitney. So effective.

Edited February 20, 2016 by Black Knight

[KirkB]

I do actually feel kind of bad for Whitney. Yes, she's killing people and clearly needs to be stopped, but she is a brilliant woman trying to make her way in a time and profession which has little to no respect for women. Today she'd be a CEO or like Tony Stark, with all the money and accolades that she deserves, but under the circumstances (especially being infected with dark matter or whatever it is) she pretty much has no choice but to be a villain.

Edited February 20, 2016 by KirkB

[shapeshifter]

I do actually feel kind of bad for Whitney. Yes, she's killing people and clearly needs to be stopped, but she is a brilliant woman trying to make her way in a time and profession which has little to no respect for women. Today she'd be a CEO or like Tony Stark, with all the money and accolades that she deserves, but under the circumstances (especially being infected with dark matter or whatever it is) she pretty much has no choice but to be a villain.

If I ever decide to become a supervillain, will you please be my lawyer KirkB?

[kili]

Yes, she's killing people and clearly needs to be stopped, but she is a brilliant woman trying to make her way in a time and profession which has little to no respect for women.

If she is really as smart as the show says she is, she could have worked as an engineer at the time. It's not like there were no female engineers in the 40s and she appears to be smarter than Stark who is the smartest guy around. When you are that good at your job, people are forced to overlook their prejudices. An average woman would have had a lot of problems, but Whitney should have been able to get a real job. Especially during the war effort. 

 

And even if you are brilliant and can't get a job, you don't get to go around murdering people. She's responsible for Wilkes' "death" and he never did anything to her. She tried to kill Peggy. She shot innocent Anna. And being a handsy director is skeevy, but does not warrant the death penalty. 

 

The actress is doing a really good job of making Whitney sympathetic, but I find it's kind of ignoring the achievements of real women like Grace Hopper, Kathleen McNulty, Ellen Richards, Beatrice Hicks and Heddy Lamar who all got the job done without turning into serial killers. 

[Sandman]

I agree that Whitney's life is harder than it ought to have been, but I think she did have choices other than to be a villain, even given the abuse and neglect she suffered as a child. I think the zero matter is meant to be the thing that tipped the balance towards her villainy

(especially if, as spoilers I've read indicate, it's the thing that becomes known to Stephen Strange as the "Dark Force.")

.

 

Of course, it's line with origin stories for all sorts of Marvel villains for the incipient villain to be already disposed to selfishness and cruelty before whatever culminating event turned someone from "mild-mannered girl scientist" into Headly Lascar, Evil Science Bombshell, or whoever.

[rab01]

And even if you are brilliant and can't get a job, you don't get to go around murdering people. She's responsible for Wilkes' "death" and he never did anything to her. She tried to kill Peggy. She shot innocent Anna. And being a handsy director is skeevy, but does not warrant the death penalty.

Agree with everything in your post except ... is she really responsible for WIlkes' death? He was stealing her dark matter. (It really was hers in every sense of the word.) So, is she supposed to let him walk out the door of her factory with it?

[Julia]

Agree with everything in your post except ... is she really responsible for WIlkes' death? He was stealing her dark matter. (It really was hers in every sense of the word.) So, is she supposed to let him walk out the door of her factory with it?

I think that argument applies equally as well to Whitney as it does to anyone who murders lots of people who are getting in the way of their criminal conspiracy (which is killing lots of people). I'm pretty sure most of them would tell you they had shitty childhoods too.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Julia

[kili]

Agree with everything in your post except ... is she really responsible for WIlkes' death? He was stealing her dark matter. (It really was hers in every sense of the word.) So, is she supposed to let him walk out the door of her factory with it?

 

Wasn't she there trying to steal it as well? The Council dudes had ordered everything cleaned up and she was going to lose access to it. The zero matter was created as part of Isodyne research, but the company owns it. Cal technically owns the company and he was going along with the Council's demand.

 

And she knows how dangerous it is. She was being reckless with that stuff. I'm pinning Wilkes's "death" on her. L&O's McCoy seemed to like charging people with Depraved Indifference Homicide and this one fits the bill (until you prove that Wilkes isn't dead in a shocking Perry Mason moment).

[rab01]

Cal went along with the Council's orders to shut down Isodyne's dark matter research but that doesn't mean he's Isodyne's sole owner. For all we know, Whitney might have owned title to it. In any event, since California is a community property state, Whitney co-owns it as Cal's wife.  Whitney is also the genius behind it's creation and commercialization. She's allowed to remove her property from Isodyne's facility.  Wilkes isn't legally allowed to remove dark matter from the facility, nor is Peggy Carter.  Carter and Wilkes were thieves; Whitney wasn't. I was rooting for them of course but, yes, what they were doing was illegal.

 

Whitney didn't intend to release the dark matter from its containment, that was a regrettable result of what Peggy started. I think Peggy was a little hard on herself when she thought Wilkes was dead but it wasn't a completely wrong view of the situation. 

 

Julia - I agree with you in general and about all the other people Whitney hurt or killed. I'm just not sure that Whitney would be held legally liable for Wilkes' death even if he had died.

[anna0852]

Cal went along with the Council's orders to shut down Isodyne's dark matter research but that doesn't mean he's Isodyne's sole owner. For all we know, Whitney might have owned title to it. In any event, since California is a community property state, Whitney co-owns it as Cal's wife.  Whitney is also the genius behind it's creation and commercialization. She's allowed to remove her property from Isodyne's facility.  Wilkes isn't legally allowed to remove dark matter from the facility, nor is Peggy Carter.  Carter and Wilkes were thieves; Whitney wasn't. I was rooting for them of course but, yes, what they were doing was illegal.

 

Whitney didn't intend to release the dark matter from its containment, that was a regrettable result of what Peggy started. I think Peggy was a little hard on herself when she thought Wilkes was dead but it wasn't a completely wrong view of the situation. 

 

Julia - I agree with you in general and about all the other people Whitney hurt or killed. I'm just not sure that Whitney would be held legally liable for Wilkes' death even if he had died.

Did community property even exist in 1947? This a time when women couldn't get credit without their husband or father's signature, couldn't serve on juries and the Want Ads were still titled Male and Female. 

[rab01]

Did community property even exist in 1947? This a time when women couldn't get credit without their husband or father's signature, couldn't serve on juries and the Want Ads were still titled Male and Female. 

According to various law review articles, it dates back to and before the 19th century, that it's derived from Spanish Civil law and was enshrined in California's 1849 State Constitution.

[Julia]

Cal went along with the Council's orders to shut down Isodyne's dark matter research but that doesn't mean he's Isodyne's sole owner. For all we know, Whitney might have owned title to it. In any event, since California is a community property state, Whitney co-owns it as Cal's wife. Whitney is also the genius behind it's creation and commercialization. She's allowed to remove her property from Isodyne's facility. Wilkes isn't legally allowed to remove dark matter from the facility, nor is Peggy Carter. Carter and Wilkes were thieves; Whitney wasn't. I was rooting for them of course but, yes, what they were doing was illegal.

But then, Isodyne was taking part in a US Government nuclear test when the dark matter was created, so it didn't actually belong to them. They have it because they stole it. And I very much doubt that Whitney would be able to walk away from murdering even one person because a government agent harshed her buzz by trying to take away the stolen stuff that was killing people.

Wilkes' death wasn't an accident. She had every intention of killing him with a gun, just as she had every intention of killing Peggy by hitman. And JMO, she kills people because she's as much of a psychopath as her charming new gentleman friend.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Julia

[StarBrand]

I liked Jarvis' analysis of Peggy's "famine to feast" would be love life. I liked how momentarily flustered she became once she discovered how much Jarvis actually knew ("I might have heard a few...personal utterances..."). Describing Peggy's would-be suiters as if they came out of a romance novel.

 

I did like that Peggy outright admitted she had no idea what to do about the whole situation.

[Zuleikha]

but I find it's kind of ignoring the achievements of real women like Grace Hopper, Kathleen McNulty, Ellen Richards, Beatrice Hicks and Heddy Lamar who all got the job done without turning into serial killers.

 Whitney was getting the job done without turning into a serial killer, too. She was the brains behind a seemingly successful company and had filed multiple patents. It seemed to me like the killing of the director was a total accident when she had no idea what the zero matter inside of her could or would do. With the council, she was acting in self-defense for the most part. They were trying to kill her.

 

I think she felt powerless for so long that she's getting either corrupted by the dark matter or just by the fact of having difficult-to-stop power. But it's not like she started killing just for the sake of killing. (I don't hold her to blame for what happened to herself or Dr. Wilkes. He was there illegally, and he knew the risks. Neither intended the confrontation to end with the release of the zero matter)

 

Also, Hedy Lemarr was told to sell kiss for cash instead of being allowed to be on the National Inventors Council like she wanted. There were brilliant women who made things work, but it's not dishonoring them to acknowledge that the bar was much higher for them. Whitney had the barrier of both gender and class holding her back.

[Captain Asshat]

Because cops on tv are basically 9-year-olds, hee.

Unless it is a cop show. In that case, the cops on TV are smart, and federal agents of whatever alphabet soup know absolutely nothing.

[Taryn74]

And being a handsy director is skeevy, but does not warrant the death penalty. 

 

I thought her reaction in that scene made it pretty clear she didn't intend to kill him.  She seemed legitimately afraid (for him) when he touched her.  At that point all she knew was that she was infected with the dark matter and that she did not know how to control it, and unfortunately for the director he got too close and it killed him.

[AudienceofOne]

Considering the themes of this show, it was so awesome to see Whitney Frost come into the cabal of white man begging and then owning them so completely. I often find comic book villains (and their representations in TV shows) boring so she is a breath of fresh air. I think I fist bumped when she took out half the Council. And the best thing was the cowed way the other men played it in the second episode. It was so very much a product of their entire world being thrown over. Loved it.

 

I also kind of love how Wilkes was considering Whitney's offer to join her until the gangster came in and was racist all over everything. The company you keep and everything.

[AudienceofOne]

 Whitney was getting the job done without turning into a serial killer, too. She was the brains behind a seemingly successful company and had filed multiple patents. It seemed to me like the killing of the director was a total accident when she had no idea what the zero matter inside of her could or would do. With the council, she was acting in self-defense for the most part. They were trying to kill her.

 

I think she felt powerless for so long that she's getting either corrupted by the dark matter or just by the fact of having difficult-to-stop power. But it's not like she started killing just for the sake of killing. (I don't hold her to blame for what happened to herself or Dr. Wilkes. He was there illegally, and he knew the risks. Neither intended the confrontation to end with the release of the zero matter)

 

Also, Hedy Lemarr was told to sell kiss for cash instead of being allowed to be on the National Inventors Council like she wanted. There were brilliant women who made things work, but it's not dishonoring them to acknowledge that the bar was much higher for them. Whitney had the barrier of both gender and class holding her back.

 

 

Yes to this entire post. Even when she confronted Wilkes in Isodyne she clearly didn't want to hurt him. And the first few times she killed she seemed genuinely horrified.

 

But she's been forced to subjugate herself to get things done. Her husband was almost a beard in regards to her achievements at Isodyne and she had to sleep her way into the movie business. Everything she has, she had to get a man to give it to her - even the credit for her own scientific achievements. She was extremely vulnerable in the lead up to the Council meeting and so happy her husband was finally supporting her rather than the other way around. And now she finally has the power to take the things she feels she deserves for herself.

 

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if the Zero Matter is affecting her mind. But below that, she was powerless and now she has power. And she is going to use it. But, given societal power in her ordinary life, she wouldn't be the bad guy now. And that's an important point.