After two incredibly solid episodes Agent Carter shows no signs of letting up this week with “Time and Tide.” Which saw the SSR closing in on Peggy’s one-woman mission to clear Howard Stark’s name. It was an episode lighter on action, with a little less flash, and a lot more character development.
I didn’t expect the breakneck pace of the last two episodes to continue on for the whole season. The slower developments of this week led us deeper into the backstory of one Edwin Jarvis as he was cornered by the Strategic Scientific Reserve officers and forced to answer for his murky past. It was a telling piece of interrogation and a tense moment that showed just how far Peggy was willing to go to save Howard and consequently herself.
This week did a lot to humanize the SSR. Which at times felt a little like a bumbling group of wise cracking morons last week. I suppose it was a great way to demonstrate the sense of entitlement that comes with the job, but now when things are starting to really get tense we’re shown that they’re really good at their job. Something we didn’t really get enough of in the first two episodes.
Elsewhere the episode seemed a little unfocused. We were introduced to Peggy’s new living arrangements and suffice to say they are a little unorthodox by today’s standards. She’s in a house for women supervised by an overbearing den mother who will not protect promiscuous women. Sure, it’s another source of tension for the show, but it didn’t really do much for me or Peggy’s character. The only development I can see coming out of this is the eventual close relationship Peggy is forming with Angie. Since Peggy can’t protect her secrets and keep close friends this only spells disaster for their friendship.
Peggy and Edwin had some real standout moments this week as they infiltrated a Leviathan stronghold. As we learn more about Jarvis’ character it’s hard to tell how often he’s telling the truth. James D’Arcy is an absolute delight week after week, and I can’t really tell what his true motives are in all this. Which makes for even more fantastic drama. His revelation of what he did for his wife was heartfelt and did a lot to humanize this already fantastic character.
So this week ultimately straddled the line between plot filler and character drama. We didn’t really get anywhere in the overarching story, but I feel as if we know our characters much better than ever before. Sadly it’s the price we pay for the third episode, but hopefully it doesn’t set the tone for the remainder of the middle weeks. There is far too little time here to waste.
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the final collection of scenes. Last week many of you took issue with my article reflecting on the lack of stakes within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I found the ending to address this head on. These are very human people we’re dealing with in a fantastic world. They’re hardly ready for any sorts of insanity their world will blossom into with the likes of Iron Man and Thor, but tonight reminded me of that mortality I’m looking for. The moment wasn’t perfect, but it was at least shocking enough for me to sit up and take notice. There may be more casualties, and despite knowing the future of the MCU this show can still surprise us in a variety of ways.