Marvel's Agent Carter Series Premiere Review: Girls Rule, Boys Drool

Marvel's Agent Carter S01E01 & S01E02: "Pilot" & "Bridge and Tunnel"

"Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman," declares the tagline for Marvel's Agent Carter, ABC's new eight-part series starring Hayley Atwell as her Captain America: The First Avenger character Peggy Carter. The show—which is subletting Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Tuesday-night timeslot while Coulson and the gang are on hiatus—is the first major project set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be headlined by a female character, and while that fact is slightly distressing to fans who've been clamoring for a Black Widow feature film, it's still a triumph in and of itself. Of course, it also puts a lot of pressure on a character like Peggy, who was introduced as a supporting player and love interest in the Captain America universe and is now the central focus of her own eight-hour miniseries. Is she, and by extension Atwell, up for the challenge?

In short, yes. Everything that made fans fall in love with Peggy in The First Avenger (and again in her Marvel One-Shot) is present in Agent Carter, Marvel's second foray into episodic television. She's intelligent, tough, resourceful, and capable, and she's always one step ahead of the men who populate her world. But even when Atwell delivers a line with perfect comedic timing (which happens constantly), or Peggy's excellent fighting skills are put on display (which is always fun to see), the show still has a few kinks to work out—namely, the men she's constantly having to prove herself to at the Strategic Scientific Reserve (S.S.R.).

The S.S.R. is a precursor to the modern S.H.I.E.L.D. as we know it, where Peggy executes covert missions in addition to doing administrative work (despite having the title of agent). And most of the guys in Peggy's immediate orbit—portrayed by Boardwalk Empire's Shea Whigham, One Tree Hill's Chad Michael Murray (who's apparently grown out of his squinting phase and actually maybe looks good in his '40s getup), and Kyle Bornheimer—are essentially buffoons. They're not written as inept, per se, but it seems awfully simple for Peggy (with the help of James D'Arcy's sometimes-unwilling Edwin Jarvis) to outsmart them. The main conflict? She's searching for a way to clear Howard Stark's (Dominic Cooper) name even as they try to prove he's sold his "bad babies"—his most dangerous creations—to the highest bidder.

It makes sense that Peggy is smarter, faster, and better at her job than most of the men she works with; it's her show, after all, and she's had firsthand experiences others have not. But if Agent Carter relies too heavily on its male cohort to underestimate Peggy at every turn, it will run the risk of unintentionally discrediting its heroine. The show is set in 1946, a time when women were still expected to be wives and mothers—and if they had jobs, to work only until they became wives and mothers. Even though many women stepped up and joined the workforce during World War II, once the fighting was over and the men returned from overseas, most of them couldn't wrap their macho heads around the idea that women might be equally capable—or, god forbid, more capable—of performing their jobs. That's exactly what's going on here, but if Agent Carter really wants to portray Peggy as the top agent at the S.S.R., I'd prefer to see the gents she's one-upping be painted as equals rather than stereotypical, condescending apes. That way, when she ultimately saves the day, her victory would be that much sweeter. Instead, it's two steps forward one step back in terms of earning the men's acceptance.

The secret weapon and saving grace of the Agent Carter's Y chromosome-carrying contingent is the always charming and exceptionally talented Enver Gjokaj (Dollhouse). Gjokaj plays Agent Daniel Sousa, a man who was injured during the war and who sticks up for Peggy even when she asks him not to. The actor has never given a bad performance in his life, and he isn't about to start with Agent Carter. The easy warmth he brings to the series is one of its many high points, and my only complaint is that I wish Marvel hadn't used him here, because a high-profile role in a future film would've made better use of his talents. He's definitely one of the brightest spots in an already bright series.

As of its two-episode premiere, Agent Carter is miles ahead of where Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was at the beginning of its tenure; Peggy Carter is a character with a strong and vibrant personality, and the series' opening shot, which featured Peggy as a pop of saturated color against a muted background, perfectly illustrated as much. Her appearance in The First Avenger and subsequent relationship with Captain America provides plenty of backstory, while his apparent death and the murder of her roommate, easily explain why she's reluctant to get close to anyone else, like waitress and best friend material Angie (Lyndsy Fonseca).

All of this is to say that the show wasted very little time introducing Peggy or building out her world, preferring to jump right in to the spy action—a welcome approach, considering it only has eight hours in which to tell its story. And neither of the first two episodes bothered to explain who Jarvis and Stark are, but it's not like that hurt the plot; if you know the history of the two characters or recognize other Marvel Easter Eggs, that's all well and good, but if you don't, it won't lessen your viewing experience. Agent Carter is as comfortable existing within the MCU as much as it is existing as a standalone story, which is just how it should be. Shows like Agent Carter shouldn't come with prerequisite viewing; instead, they should build on what already exists in a way that is exciting and fresh, while also remaining nonessential to the success of other projects. Thankfully, this one succeeds on all fronts.

It'd be easy to accuse Agent Carter's connections to Cap of weighing the show down, and at times the show might rely a little too heavily on his role in Peggy's life as a way of establishing pathos, but it's hard to deny that it makes for a fun viewing experience. The second episode of the premiere, "Bridge and Tunnel," even featured a radio program about the adventures of Captain America and a character named Betty Carver (hardy har), complete with sound effects created by punching meat instead of people and cracking crabs to simulate breaking bones. Overall, Agent Carter does a great job of capturing the look and feel of the world in 1946, which is key to its success, and both Peggy and the show have a clear objective: to clear Stark's name (what else is he hiding?) and recover the formula used to make nitramene, a dangerous explosive, from who or what the Leviathan is. In the end, though, it'll be the day-to-day action involving Peggy being Peggy that will keep viewers tuning in.

CASE FILES

– In my head, Fonseca is undercover as her Nikita character, who I'm assuming has just discovered time-travel. No one is going to convince me otherwise. Also, I really hope Angie doesn't turn out to be evil or something.

– This show is great for playing "Hey, it's that guy!" That was Bubbles from The Wire (Andre Royo) as club owner Spider Raymond, and Ray Wise as the owner of the factory. But the best cameo came from Super Troopers' Farva (Kevin Heffernan) as the asshole in the diner where Angie worked. I kept waiting for him to ask for a liter a cola.

– I was worried Agent Carter would make us suffer through a lot of Stark, but it looks like he'll remain mostly off-screen, which is probably a smart call. I don't think Cooper is all that great in large doses; he's more effective in brief scenes where he can recite a few quips and be done. And in pictures that don't require him to speak.

– Is it 1946 or 2015? Peggy used lady problems as an excuse to get out of work.

– Peggy STAPLED a guy in the face. I like Peggy.

– Would you listen to a Captain America adventure radio show today? What if it was a podcast? Marvel, please contact me because I have some ideas.