AGENT CARTER: “Valediction” {Roundtable}

And here we are at the finale, which gave us so many satisfying endings and then raised some rather evil questions in turn.

1. Jarvis is so wasted as the straight man, agree or disagree?

Rueben: Disagree, he wasn’t just the straight man, he helped add a little comic relief when needed or was used an, unjustly, punching bag; but through it all he did as he was asked: to help Peggy and be her right arm man for good. He really proved his worth in the end when he went after Howard in that plane. That took guts.

Liz: I don’t think Jarvis was supposed to be a straight man. He was supposed to aid and support Peggy when she needed him to and he remained loyal to that purpose.

Louise: I’m neutral on this. I love the moments when he’s all business and no joking around, but I also love the ways in which he did add levity into a show that’s very serious at its heart. Basically I’d love to see Jarvis not have to worry about what he does or why he does it and just be. If he did that, I think we’d get a great idea of the guy that raised Tony to understand the disembodied voice of J.A.R.V.I.S.

2. Stupid heroic acts seem to run in the Stark family. What did you make of Howard’s plan to draw out Dottie and her doctor “friend”?

Rueben: Those very stupid heroic acts by the Stark family always seem to work out in the end even though there are always crazy, near disaster events before the surmised conclusions come to light. I think Howard had a good idea to draw them out because they obviously needed to catch them, but good ideas don’t always led to perfect endings. Thankfully, to an extent, this one did.

Liz: I think it was typical Howard Stark. He’s very arrogant and admittedly so. Because of that he will always underestimate the enemy. That being said, I think he really did want to pay for his mistakes. The deaths of all those men in Finnow haunted him. Also, I found the parallel to Tony Stark’s reality check in the first Ironman movie, fun!

Louise: I think that all Starks have a martyr complex at some point, but it made some amount of sense given everything that he knew the Soviets wanted with him and his technology. I’d almost wish it hadn’t been so key to what Peggy was doing in this series, but if it had to happen, I hope it means that in season two there’s less about Howard’s stupid ideas.

3. So Howard fell under the Russian’s spell. Do you think that for a show about Peggy Carter that Stark needed so much rehabilitation and focus? (Don’t pardon that pun.)

Rueben: I think since Peggy was working the entire time to clear his name that there had to be focus on Howard to bring that storyline to a close. And since they start SHIELD together there had to be that solidifying moment, right?

Liz: To end this storyline, yes! Stark had hired her to clear his name and she did. But it wasn’t going to go down smoothly, that would have been boring. Also, I think Howard’s rehabilitation is the first step toward the idea of creating S.H.I.E.L.D.

Louise: Like I said before, I’d rather the show be about her rather than her working with another man, but it happens to be what the MCU throws our way.

4. Were you disappointed with the Dottie vs Peggy fight in the end? Or was that not nearly as unsatisfying as what happened at the end of the episode?

Let’s watch that scene again before discussing it.

Rueben: Not at all because we know that Dottie has trained her entire life and would be able to over-power Peggy, getting in some mighty serious wounds to Peggy – that baseball bat! – but I had a feeling as the fight progressed that Peggy was going to use ingenuity rather than training to outsmart Dottie. As soon as that window broke, though, it was almost too apparent what was going to happen, but I have to admit that I didn’t see it coming when Peggy realized that Dottie made it out. The further adventures of Peggy Carter are going to be great where chasing her down are concerned.

Liz: I was not disappointed at all in the fight between the women or the final scene. The fight went down pretty much as I thought it would, with Dottie keeping the upper hand and Peggy defeating her through some accidental, last- minute, thing. It was nicely done.

And the final scene with Dr. Zola perfectly connected Agent Carter with the Hydra seeds being planted even before S.H.I.E.L.D. was born, just as he told Steve and Natasha in “The Winter Soldier”.

Louise: I wanted more – more like the fight between Steve and the Winter Soldier in Captain America: The Winter Soldier – but it wasn’t so bad. Given how awesome Dottie was before that, I craved to have it play out like all good MCU fight scenes.

5. Favorite moment of the episode?

Rueben: I have to admit that I really liked the showdown between the Russian doctor, Thompson and Souza. Just when it appeared that the doctor had hypnotized Souza to shoot Thompson, Souza punches him and pulls out the earplugs he was using. Great move and a good one-upmanship on Thompson, who didn’t think of that idea.

Liz: My favorite moment was when Peggy told Souza, “I know my value. Anyone else’s opinion doesn’t matter.” That is exactly why I loved this show, this character and the writers. And it perfectly explains why Nice Girls TV exists. For characters like Peggy Carter.

Louise: It’s not one, but any time Peggy took control and stood up for herself. Given the time, they were great to watch, especially when the men all started to defer to her and her understanding of the situations.

6. Favorite moment of the series?

Rueben: I have to agree with Liz that it was great to see Peggy in the field with the Howling Commandos. If the network decides to bring Agent Carter back for season 2 (and I really think they should because there is SO much more they can explore), then they need to include these courageous guys and have Peggy in the field more with them.

Liz: My favorite series moment will always be seeing Peggy reunited once again with her Howling Commandos.

Louise: Howling Commandos. No questions asked.

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

Rueben: Since it was a very well done finale, I’ll finally give 5 red hats to this episode because it brought the entire “clear Howard Stark’s name” to a close, catching the doctor, Souza prevailing – although none of them getting the credit but Thompson (figures) while Peggy’s foe got away allowing for an opening to season two. Great job!

Liz: I’m going to give this episode 5 red hats, without shame. They wrapped up the storyline beautifully. They tied in more Captain America, even contrasting the scene with Peggy on the radio with Howard, just like in “The Avengers” with Steve. And even though Thompson took all the credit for everything, he will never disrespect Peggy Carter ever again. I truly hope they bring her back for a second season. I’d like to see more of Peggy, Jarvis, Howard and even the SSR boys. I’d like to see the point where Howard and Peggy birth S.H.I.E.L.D.

Louise: 5 red hats, but I’d almost say 4 and a half because of Zola arriving in the tag. I can’t handle knowing what I know about the MCU movies and that together.