AGENT CARTER: “SNAFU” {Roundtable}

Just this one and the finale, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of questions to ask and situations to ponder.

1. A round robin interrogation means that all the men think that Howard Stark is still the big bad, but as soon as it gets to Cap’s blood, Peggy clams up. Why do you think that Jarvis set up Howard rather than letting Peggy get all the SSR men to her side?

Rueben: I think he was honest when he said he panicked. I doubt that Stark had any idea what was going on with Peggy, and he was just trying to save her.

Liz: Because Howard needed to take some responsibility for his actions and Jarvis meant to make sure that he did, even if he wasn’t actually there. That’s what I think.

Louise: Jarvis makes a great fall guy, intentional or not, and he’ll always be doing a job for Howard no matter how low it seems. I think he knows that and he knows what Peggy needs so Jarvis will sell out whoever needs to be taken down for one very larger good.

2. Is Peggy accurate in her assessment that all the men in the office only look at her with their reports, their coffee or their lunch? How did the moment where she revealed Cap’s blood turn the tide, if at all?

Rueben: Considering that it is 1946 in the show, of course, they only see Peggy as the “go to” girl for their lunch order, coffee and reports. That was typical back then; but given the esteem of Captain America at that time, I honestly believe that anything associated with him would stem the tide. I’m not saying that kind of behavior is acceptable, but it was the status quo in 1946.

Liz: Oh yes, I think that she pegged (no pun!) them all and it even made a couple of them squirm a bit because they new she was right. The moment she told them what was in the vial was the turning point because every man in that room knew the history of Cap and Peggy. There’s no way Peggy could lie about that. Her feelings are still pretty raw.

Louise: It was all spot on assessment – and far better than I think any of them give to her – and for that I’ll always appreciate her work in the SSR. I think all the men trusted her more once she used Captain America’s name, but only because they’re loyal to a fault and Steve’s about as wholesome and perfect as could be.

3. We had a Dottie vs Souza fight, but how does it compare to what you want to see from Peggy vs Dottie?

Rueben: I think Souza held his own as much as possible against Dottie, but their fight is going to pale in comparison to what Peggy is going to do to Dottie. Then again, Dottie is an extremely formidable foe and Peggy is going to have to literally pull out all the punches.

Liz: I am not sure Peggy can win this one, although I could see her coming up with something really smart that finally defeats Dottie. Dottie is rigorously trained and brought up as a killing machine, but Peggy is also combat trained and she uses her brain more. That’s something that killing machines don’t do well. It would be a good match, that’s for sure.

Louise: I want Peggy to win the fight with Dottie next week, but I don’t know if she can. Dottie doesn’t mess around.

4. Jarvis is not cut out for field work, but he tries, right? How do you think he should best be used by Stark and Peggy?

Rueben: I honestly think there is more to Jarvis than meets the eye; we just haven’t seen it yet. For now he is simply being used as the comic foil. He deserves to have one really good “stand-up” to all of them scene.

Liz: Jarvis is a good answer man. He knows all of Stark’s inventions, even if he doesn’t know exactly how they all work. He knows Stark too, the good and the not so good.

Louise: Maybe because I love the disembodied voice of JARVIS so much, but I think Jarvis is meant to be eyes and ears for Peggy and Howard.

5. The episode really lives up to the name of the episode. What was the biggest of all the SNAFUs to you in the episode? (SNAFU – in the safe for work way translates to Situation Normal: All Fouled Up.)

Rueben: The whole situation with Captain Dooley; that was just totally messed up and totally unexpected. He didn’t deserve to have that happen to him. That being said, I can’t wait to see that damn Russian doctor taken down for what he did.

Liz: The biggest SNAFU for me was Dooley’s exit. I totally did not see that coming. I mean, it was clear that Ivchenko was going to use him to get what he wanted, but to kill him like that was a surprise to me. I have to be honest though, I wasn’t too sad to see him go. However, it was nice that in the end he recognized Peggy’s value, even calling her ‘my girl’.

Louise: Just to make it three-for-three, Dooley’s death and how he was manipulated. But, someone had to be a sacrifice to get the rest of SSR to Peggy’s side.

6. Favorite moment?

Rueben: It wasn’t a big moment, but I rather enjoyed Peggy and Jarvis working together with that table to smash the mirror. It was quite comical and held, although briefly, to add a small amount of levity to the whole episode.

Liz: Ah, the best moment was when Jarvis and Peggy were going to break the glass. Classic comedy at its best.

Louise: But unlike before, I think watching Dottie set up that death scene in the theatre was creepy and awesome at the same time. Blame all the Battlestar Galactica for scenes in theatres and stuff.

7. Rate the episode, 1-5 red hats, with 5 being excellent and 1 being a major fail.

Rueben: I would give this episode 4 red hats simply because it has me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I can only imagine what next week’s finale will be like.

Liz: I’ll give this one 4 red hats. Dottie and Ivchenko got away so easily and that doesn’t make me happy.

Louise: 4 red hats for creepy factors alone.

Agent Carter airs Tuesdays at 9 PM Eastern/8 PM Central on ABC.