Agent Carter 1x01-1x02
That was wonderful in virtually every way, though one thing decidedly disturbs me. First, everything good.
This was simply beautiful to look at. The cinematography was excellent. So many striking images. The opening was stupendous, particularly paired with the music. And the fight scenes were great. I especially loved the one on top of the car near the end, as well as one other that I'll get to.
I like how unflinching the show is about portraying sexism. Not just in the way Peggy's colleagues treat her, but, for instance, portraying the fact that women were fired from their jobs so men could have said jobs. At the same time, I'm all too aware how much easier it is to present the 40's as sexist. It gives us room to pat ourselves on the back and congratulate ourselves for being so much more enlightened. Not that I think Agent Carter somehow had the responsibility to accurately portray 21st century sexism. Obviously, it's not set up for that. This is just the sort of thing I think about.
I actually appreciated the fact that Peggy's sexist colleagues weren't all portrayed as stupid bumblers. That would be the easy way. It's really easy and comforting to believe than only obviously evil or stupid people would ever be bigots. It doesn't work like that. Similarly, Peggy doesn't get revenge against them or get to deck them for disrespecting her. And that was the right decision as well. It doesn't work like that. But they did give us a moment of catharsis when Peggy threatened the rude, sexist diner patron with death by fork.
I admit though it's actually kind wearying for me to watch Peggy be disrespected time and time again. For whatever reason, I assumed this would be set after she and Howard started working on SHIELD, but I never really had any reason to think that. The thing is, while I believe that this version of Agent Carter has important things to say, I really would have liked to see a show in which Peggy is valued and admired for her skills and courage. Well, the creators say they haven't ruled out a second season. But it sort of brings up that eternal balancing act. The need to provide a mirror versus the need to provide relief and catharsis.
Also, Peggy gets to show off her cleverness in the way she manipulates her colleagues using their perception of her, like when she claims she's getting her period (not that she puts it so plainly, of course), and they all become terribly uncomfortable. I also have to note that Peggy's boss listened to her when they were checking the Roxxon employees. Not that that makes any of his other sexist behavior okay, but it's another reminder that this show treats people as people, a mix of good and bad.
I appreciated that while Peggy went undercover as blonde bombshell, she also went undercover as an uptight health inspector.
The characters who aren't terrible are utterly charming. I loved Jarvis in all his not-spyness. He and Peggy have some delightful interplay
I feel guilty about it, given that they both have canon future spouses, but I'm really shipping Peggy/Howard.
The were a bunch of little Easter eggs, many of which I probably missed. I definitely noticed when Peggy and Jarvis went to to talk to Anton Vanko. Also, I only know the Roxxon Corporation because they show up in the new Thor title. Like I said, I probably missed a bunch.
I actually found myself really fascinated by the scene in which the SSR agents beat a suspect. But what fascinated me wasn't that it happend, but how it was played, which is to say, that it was obviously meant to unnerve the audience and bring up values dissonance. Except... the characters on Agents of SHIELD have done things startlingly like that. And we're not meant to be horrified at them, but to find them justified. This sort of what I was getting at when I talked about addressing sexism in the 40's but being given an out in dealing with modern sexism. It's bad when those people in the past do it, but when we do it's all right.
I will now mention the brilliant bit that led to the best scene, and that is the Captain America Adventure Hour. I adored Peggy's hate face every time she had to listen to "Betty Carver" get captured. But that scene in which Peggy beat up a bad guy in time to fake Captain America beating up a fake Nazi was absolute genius. The whole two hours would have been worth it for that scene alone.
So, yes, I really enjoyed it. But I have to address what was missing. There was one character of color. One. And he was a villain who got killed. I heard that this show was going to be very white, and unfortunately I was not misled.
I do think that all to often creators think that period pieces exempt them from needing to including characters of color (or other marginalized groups, but right now we're talking about POC). After all, Black people hadn't been invented yet. But Marvel can't even use that shitty not-actually-an-excuse, because they have a Black/Latino club owner. (The actor is mixed race African American and Cuban.) And they killed him.
Yes, any characters of color would have to deal with discrimination, but if Agent Carter is willing to have an intelligent, capable female character and frankly address the sexism of the age, why couldn't they devote any time to race?
Look, I realize this is just the first episode. It's just that the MCU has a terrible track record with characters of color, and nothing I've heard about the production gives me any hope. Trust me, I'd be elated to be wrong.
I'm tired of having everything in half-measures. Agent Carter is a great show with strong representation... for white women. We can have more.
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