Agent Carter 2x03
For an episode with no Dottie, this was great! I mean, it was great in general. But I want more Dottie.
I do like our new villain though. I love the Hedy Lamarr references. I also really like the way the show presents the sexism she faces. The narrative doesn't claim that it's okay for her to be evil since she's discriminated against, but it also makes it clear that the fact that she's evil doesn't make the shitty way men treat her acceptable.
I enjoyed watching her manipulate her husband. She's such an expert at it. But even the fact that she has to play him is a reminder of her oppression. She's smarter than him, more ruthless than him. She should be running their evil empire, but instead she has to hide everything behind a veil of concern for him. What are the odds she kills him by the end of the season? What about odds she kills him by the halfway point?
I respect Frost's hired assassin though. If I had scene Peggy beating the shit out of that punching bag, I might have thought twice about trying to take her. I also, appreciate the writers' consistency, because while I'm not expert, I'm pretty sure we saw Jarvis use a judo throw.
Given how much Jarvis clearly responds to a life of heroics and derring-do, my dream is that he becomes one of SHIELD's first agents. Ana can work in R&D. She made that holster/garter!
Howard is kind of a human disaster, but I love him for it. Peggy treating him like he's a dog! Jarvis telling him, "You can't do anything" so matter-of-factly! Peggy and Jarvis would along swimmingly with Rhodey and Pepper.
Wow, it's like Thompson is actively trying to be the absolute worst. Though the fact that he's acting so ugly so quickly, and being called on it, makes me think that they are going to give him a redemption arc. I think if this were his villain origin story, the writers would tease it out. But if he's going to get redeemed, then they need to move things along quicker to have time for everything.
He's still sexistly belittling Peggy. Particularly when he condescendingly tells her that her emotions are clouding her judgement. Yes, he wanted her to shut up and agree with his version of events, but he wouldn't have said that to Sousa. And I really appreciate this. Because it's important that Thompson is still sexist. If he were to suddenly stop being sexist towards Peggy due to the events of season one, that would imply that the sexism was because Peggy just hadn't been awesome enough before. It's the fallacy of the exceptional woman. Thompson isn't sexist because of Peggy, he's sexist because of Thompson.
I find it interesting that Thompson denied watching the tape. Obviously, some of it is just ass covering, which Thompson excels at. But Thompson's not an idiot. He knows Peggy's instincts are good, and there were plenty of little clues even before he sees the newspaper Peggy told him about. I don't think Thompson's completely on board yet. He could go either way.
When Thompson said that the right thing was he he ever wanted to do, I believed him. I think he was telling the truth. However, I think he was telling the truth in the same way I'm telling the truth when I say I want to start weight training and get really fit. Yeah, I want to do that, but I don't, because I want to watch Netflix and eat donuts even more. It's not the things we want to do that define us, it's what we actually do.
I always thought Peggy was way too soft on Thompson in season one. Well... no more.
http://veleda-k.tumblr.com/post/138171974618
Peggy just dredged up Thompson's deepest secret, his greatest shame, something he's confided about only to her, and threw it in his face. And it was beautiful. Now, Sousa was right to reprimand her for it, because it was unprofessional. But it was also necessary. And, come on, Thompson telling Peggy that her delicate lady feelings are clouding her judgement isn't so freaking professional either.
Also, given this dialogue, I really enjoyed Vernon Masters buttering up Thompson by telling he deserves a medal for handing over the tape. I can't help but wonder if Thompson noticed too.
Let's be clear, I do not think Thompson is a good person. He continually behaves in a selfish, cowardly, bigoted way, and that makes him a selfish, cowardly, bigoted person. It's our actions that make us who we are. (The "continually" is important. Doing one bad thing doesn't make someone a bad person. A consistent pattern of behavior, however, very well might.) However, I think that he could become a good person. He has a conscience, he has doubts about the path he's on. Thompson is the living embodiment of "Look at your life! Look at your choices!"
And his choices certainly aren't making him happy. My heart is cold, black thing when it comes to Thompson, but even I felt sorry for him when he was inviting Sousa out for a drink and getting turned down. He really wants to connect with Sousa, and it hurts him a lot that it's not happening. Of course, part of Thompson's problem is that he doesn't understand consequences. He wants Sousa (and Peggy) to like him, but he keeps screwing with them. If he wants to be a better person and live a more fulfilling life, he's going to have to learn to see other people's points of views. My fear is that rather than taking this rejection as a lesson about where he needs to do better, he'll retreat more toward Master's and his crew, but hopefully not.
This review contains very little about Peggy and nothing about Wilkes, both of whom I enjoyed very much. I feel bad about that, but I just don't have any deep thoughts. Honestly, this review is mostly about Thompson. Well, he's interesting.
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