Amy Richau reviews the eighth and ninth episode of Agent Carter season 2…
This is the second week ABC has decided to double up on Agent Carter episodes as the second season comes to its close. Unfortunately episodes eight and nine ‘The Edge of Mystery’ and ‘A Little Song and Dance’ don’t really benefit from being put together. Both episodes however have their strong points. I’m hoping the decision to hasten the season finale isn’t a sign that ABC is getting ready to cancel Agent Carter, but the ratings are sure not helping the case for a third season.
The real success of these two episodes of Agent Carter is the focus on the relationships between the characters. This is not just a story about good guys chasing bad guys. There are some very interesting, and at times sad, moments motivating the characters in Agent Carter. The most tear jerking moments are the ones between Jarvis and his lovely wife Ana who is recovering from gun shots wounds courtesy of zero matter baddie Whitney Frost. This is the most vulnerable Jarvis audience members have ever seen, and Jarvis’ actions in ‘The Edge of Mystery’ are truly shocking.
But if Jarvis’ out of character moments don’t throw you for a loop, surely the behavior of some of the other Agent Carter characters will. Is Doctor Wilkes an innocent victim, a genius, a villain, a hero, or a coward? He’s kind of all of these things in episodes eight and nine which makes it hard to relate or even care about his character anymore. This is a huge disappointment to me as I enjoyed his character immensely in previous episodes.
In the battle to stop Whitney Frost it’s also hard to know exactly where SSR’s own Jack Thompson stands. Does he really only care about climbing the ladder of success or is he going to side with Peggy Carter and Agent Sousa when it really matters? I bet that we’ll get some answers or additional insight about Jack Thompson in the season finale, but I’m not so sure if we will get any kind of closure about Peggy Carter and Agent Sousa’s true feelings for each other. In the end I think the relationship between Peggy and Jarvis is the only relationship that is going to get much more in-depth attention. Their confrontation on a desert road was one of the strongest and most unexpected scenes in the entire series.
Overall episodes eight and nine work to bring all the characters together to stop Whitney Frost one way of the other, bringing enemies together to stop a power that could destroy them all. Some of the storylines have been a bit murky, but overall the show looks to deliver a satisfying finale next week. And what about that dreamy dance number? I thought it was completely out-of-place and odd – but I absolutely adored every second of it.
Amy Richau is a freelance entertainment and sports writer. Follow her on Twitter.
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Originally published February 24, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
