Agent Carter

I absolutely love the MCU Character Peggy Carter. She has such a rich, in depth character that does well in her own series. I'm still angry that the series was cancelled after the second season. However, I still go back and watch this one.

Peggy Carter of course first appears in Captain America: The First Avenger. In that movie, she is already established as a pretty BA character. However, that movie obviously focuses more on the title character rather than her -- which is fine. It is a Captain America Movie. The First Avenger movie ends where this amazing tv series begins.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Agent Carter starts shortly after the end of Captain America: The First Avenger and the end of World War II. Peggy continues to work for the Strategic Science Reserve (SSR), though her active role in it has been reduced to no more than the one who gets lunch and the coffee orders. The show is rife with historically accurate sexism toward women during the 1950s. I believe this was a really interesting conflict that drove a lot of the minor subplots -- becoming less and less of a conflict and more of a running gag as the story progressed. I say a "Running Gag" because Peggy constantly is underestimated by her opponents simply because she is a woman.

Throughout the series there are several character building moments for Peggy Carter. She's removed from the shadow of Steve Rogers -- especially in the 1st Season Finale. The end scene is moving as she says a final goodbye to Steve Rogers.

The series brings back Howard Stark as the playboy genius who clearly will be the role model for his eventual son -- Tony Stark. Howard Stark, for the most part, remains a static character -- hardly developing. The biggest moment of development for Howard is during the last episodes of season 1. He has an even smaller role in season 2.

A fascinating new character the series introduces is Edwin Jarvis. Mr. Jarvis is just an all around great character. I believe he fills the role of comedic relief character, but he is so much more than that. Jarvis develops a lot throughout the series and by the last couple episodes -- even after making an incompetent decision -- he becomes well loved by the viewer -- or at least he was for me. Season 1 he does a lot of good and is more of the helper to Peggy Carter, but season 2 is where he really shines.

The series is joined by two returning SSR characters. Jack Thompson and Daniel Sousa. Sousa is an interesting character with several flaws -- one including a physical limp that he gained from World War II. Sousa's flaws are used to develop him into a well rounded character which often leads to romance moments between Sousa and Peggy Carter throughout the series. Sousa in season 1 is often seen as more skittish and in the shadows, where as Sousa in season 2 is far more confident in who he is -- even more so when he is working with Agent Carter.

Jack Thompson on the other hand is often seen as the instigator of a lot of sexism toward Peggy within the SSR. He starts off as a hated character. However, thanks to the amazing writers of this show, Thompson slowly becomes a well rounded character as well. He adds a lot to the conflict and often becomes more likable as the show progresses. By the end of Season 2, I liked him a lot and couldn't wait to see what would happen next and then...

He got shot. And that's how the series ends. Did he die? No one knows lol. That made me so mad to know that the series would probably never be revived to show what happened with Jack.

There are several other characters throughout the series that allow Peggy to develop even more. However, I'm going to move on to the setting of the story.

One of my favorite things from this series is the music. The music of the 50s is just so awesome. The 1950s is such a fascinating period in history to me as well. For sure it was a bad time period to live in, yet just chalk full of history. Agent Carter clearly depicts the Cold War conflict between Russia and the US. The show was supposed to depict the movement of the SSR into becoming SHIELD, with Peggy rising to become one of SHIELD's main leaders. However, with the shows cancelation, we never got to see that.

I doubt it will happen, but I hope one day, with all the Disney+ tv series, that Agent Carter will be revived. I thought it was really cool that the actor who played Edwin Jarvis got to reprise his role in a cameo scene during Avengers: Endgame. But, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Overall, I highly recommend Agent Carter. If you're looking for a show with an awesome female protagonist who is well developed while dealing with the issue of sexism, I would recommend this show to you alone. If you are someone who likes crime or spy dramas, I'd recommend this to you. If you're someone who likes the MCU and specifically Peggy Carter, I'd highly recommend this to you -- but you've probably already watched this :D

Agent Carter's 2 Seasons are currently on Disney+