Agent Carter: The Iron Ceiling
February 4, 2015 2:11 AM - Season 1, Episode 5 - Subscribe
Peggy finally goes on a tactical mission in the field and calls on some old friends from the war to help.
In 1937 Russia, young girls are handcuffed to their beds at night. When they awaken, they are shown films, taught lessons and trained in lethal combat. Jumping forward to 1946, we see that Dottie Underwood was one of the young girls kept at this brutal boarding school. She gets advice from Peggy on how to best experience New York, not to mention America. This is just before Dottie steals Peggy’s room key.
Jarvis tries to make things right with Peggy, who is having none of it. Back at the SSR offices, the race is on to decipher the message that came in on the recently-seized typewriter machine. Peggy cracks the code in no time at all. She writes out map coordinates. There’s mention of Leviathan, a covert Russian organization according to Dooley. The rest of the message suggests Howard Stark is selling weapons to the Russians. The only way Peggy can go on an overseas mission is if she can deliver 107th Regiment. She can. The Howling Commandos will meet them at the Russian border.
Thompson, Peggy and the rest of the team do a night jump to meet up with the Howling Commandos. They are: Dum-Dum Dugan, Happy Sam Sawyer, Junior Juniper and Pinky Pinkerton. Peggy gives Dugan a bottle of bourbon from her own private stash back in the States. She reveals her feeling that Leviathan is drawing them in for a trap. Of course, that’s why they have guns. Later that night, Thompson tells the tale of how he earned his Navy Cross. His story earns him the respect of the Howling Commandos.
Peggy and a few of the commandos infiltrate the boarding school that was used back when Dottie was a young girl. The films they watched there were filled with subliminal messages like “instill fear.” A child’s cry is heard in the distance. Dum-Dum approaches the little girl. She seems innocent enough until she stabs him in the chest. Most of the knife caught Dum-Dum’s protective vest. Agent Li isn’t so lucky. He’s dead from the gunshot the young girl fired with Dum-Dum’s gun. The little girl escapes. Peggy is pretty sure Leviathan has been alerted to their presence.
The team finds two prisoners in a cell. One of the men being held captive is a brilliant engineer. The other is a psychiatrist who keeps him grounded and sane. The weapon Leviathan wants him to build alters the behavior of light waves. The prisoners are released. Escape is going to be tricky, as the team is pinned down. There are several casualties and fatalities. The genius engineer is shot dead by his shrink when he tries to negotiate an escape with the bad guys. Peggy calls for an exit plan from Dum-Dum as Thompson freezes under pressure.
BAM! A side wall is leveled. Looks like Dum-Dum came through with that exit plan. Peggy orders everyone out. Thompson is still frozen in fear. Peggy snaps him out of it. She’s a force to be reckoned with gunning down the bad guys as the rest of the team files into the escape truck. Peggy is right behind them. She leaps into the back of the truck as it speeds away. Later, Peggy bids adieu to her Howling Commando pals. She’s taking the psychiatrist back to the States. Much to Dum-Dum’s dismay, the doc is taking the bourbon along for the ride.
On the plane, Thompson is feeling bad for freezing under pressure. He admits to Peggy that his Navy cross came because he killed a team of enemy soldiers who were coming to surrender. He didn’t realize it until it was too late. Everyone believes he’s something he isn’t. Thompson says he’s been trying to tell the truth since he returned home from the war. Peggy offers him some comfort by letting him know that he just did.
Dooley continues to dig for answers on the Russian massacre from a battle that never took place. He learns that Howard Stark was there for the cleanup. He took a swing at a recently-deceased general. Stark then walked away from big contract with the army. There’s more to the story, but whoever knows the rest is keeping it to secret. Dooley seeks some answers from Jarvis. He’s just looking to get to the truth.
Sousa notices small marks on Peggy’s shoulder. They look like healed gunshot wounds. They look like the mark on the shoulder of the mystery blonde he’s been trying to identify in a photo. In other news, Dottie breaks into Peggy’s place. She finds hidden photos of Howard Stark’s inventions. She swipes one photo and takes note of another. It’s of Steve Rogers. Dottie sets it in front of a mirror as she does her best Peggy Carter impersonation. She then leaves the apartment making sure that it won’t look like anyone was ever there. Back in her place, Dottie handcuffs herself to her bed just like she had to do as a child. This is how she sleeps at night.
Back at the SSR offices, Thompson briefs Dooley on Agent Li’s death and the acquirement of intel as to Leviathan’s end game. The doctor they brought back with them doesn’t believe Howard Stark is a traitor. Neither does Peggy. Thompson still believes Stark is involved. As for Peggy, she’s actually invited out for drinks with the boys. Sousa stays behind. He’s still wondering what to make out of the connection between the blonde in the photo and Agent Peggy Carter. (synopsis from ABC.com)
In 1937 Russia, young girls are handcuffed to their beds at night. When they awaken, they are shown films, taught lessons and trained in lethal combat. Jumping forward to 1946, we see that Dottie Underwood was one of the young girls kept at this brutal boarding school. She gets advice from Peggy on how to best experience New York, not to mention America. This is just before Dottie steals Peggy’s room key.
Jarvis tries to make things right with Peggy, who is having none of it. Back at the SSR offices, the race is on to decipher the message that came in on the recently-seized typewriter machine. Peggy cracks the code in no time at all. She writes out map coordinates. There’s mention of Leviathan, a covert Russian organization according to Dooley. The rest of the message suggests Howard Stark is selling weapons to the Russians. The only way Peggy can go on an overseas mission is if she can deliver 107th Regiment. She can. The Howling Commandos will meet them at the Russian border.
Thompson, Peggy and the rest of the team do a night jump to meet up with the Howling Commandos. They are: Dum-Dum Dugan, Happy Sam Sawyer, Junior Juniper and Pinky Pinkerton. Peggy gives Dugan a bottle of bourbon from her own private stash back in the States. She reveals her feeling that Leviathan is drawing them in for a trap. Of course, that’s why they have guns. Later that night, Thompson tells the tale of how he earned his Navy Cross. His story earns him the respect of the Howling Commandos.
Peggy and a few of the commandos infiltrate the boarding school that was used back when Dottie was a young girl. The films they watched there were filled with subliminal messages like “instill fear.” A child’s cry is heard in the distance. Dum-Dum approaches the little girl. She seems innocent enough until she stabs him in the chest. Most of the knife caught Dum-Dum’s protective vest. Agent Li isn’t so lucky. He’s dead from the gunshot the young girl fired with Dum-Dum’s gun. The little girl escapes. Peggy is pretty sure Leviathan has been alerted to their presence.
The team finds two prisoners in a cell. One of the men being held captive is a brilliant engineer. The other is a psychiatrist who keeps him grounded and sane. The weapon Leviathan wants him to build alters the behavior of light waves. The prisoners are released. Escape is going to be tricky, as the team is pinned down. There are several casualties and fatalities. The genius engineer is shot dead by his shrink when he tries to negotiate an escape with the bad guys. Peggy calls for an exit plan from Dum-Dum as Thompson freezes under pressure.
BAM! A side wall is leveled. Looks like Dum-Dum came through with that exit plan. Peggy orders everyone out. Thompson is still frozen in fear. Peggy snaps him out of it. She’s a force to be reckoned with gunning down the bad guys as the rest of the team files into the escape truck. Peggy is right behind them. She leaps into the back of the truck as it speeds away. Later, Peggy bids adieu to her Howling Commando pals. She’s taking the psychiatrist back to the States. Much to Dum-Dum’s dismay, the doc is taking the bourbon along for the ride.
On the plane, Thompson is feeling bad for freezing under pressure. He admits to Peggy that his Navy cross came because he killed a team of enemy soldiers who were coming to surrender. He didn’t realize it until it was too late. Everyone believes he’s something he isn’t. Thompson says he’s been trying to tell the truth since he returned home from the war. Peggy offers him some comfort by letting him know that he just did.
Dooley continues to dig for answers on the Russian massacre from a battle that never took place. He learns that Howard Stark was there for the cleanup. He took a swing at a recently-deceased general. Stark then walked away from big contract with the army. There’s more to the story, but whoever knows the rest is keeping it to secret. Dooley seeks some answers from Jarvis. He’s just looking to get to the truth.
Sousa notices small marks on Peggy’s shoulder. They look like healed gunshot wounds. They look like the mark on the shoulder of the mystery blonde he’s been trying to identify in a photo. In other news, Dottie breaks into Peggy’s place. She finds hidden photos of Howard Stark’s inventions. She swipes one photo and takes note of another. It’s of Steve Rogers. Dottie sets it in front of a mirror as she does her best Peggy Carter impersonation. She then leaves the apartment making sure that it won’t look like anyone was ever there. Back in her place, Dottie handcuffs herself to her bed just like she had to do as a child. This is how she sleeps at night.
Back at the SSR offices, Thompson briefs Dooley on Agent Li’s death and the acquirement of intel as to Leviathan’s end game. The doctor they brought back with them doesn’t believe Howard Stark is a traitor. Neither does Peggy. Thompson still believes Stark is involved. As for Peggy, she’s actually invited out for drinks with the boys. Sousa stays behind. He’s still wondering what to make out of the connection between the blonde in the photo and Agent Peggy Carter. (synopsis from ABC.com)
Soooooo much good stuff in this episode, the series is really kicking it up now.
Peggy lying in the truck and saying "I hate you all," while smiling and basking in praise was priceless. PRICELESS.
If a t-shirt isn't made that says "Do as Peggy says," Marvel is missing out on a lot of money.
More thoughts later.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:33 AM on February 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
Peggy lying in the truck and saying "I hate you all," while smiling and basking in praise was priceless. PRICELESS.
If a t-shirt isn't made that says "Do as Peggy says," Marvel is missing out on a lot of money.
More thoughts later.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:33 AM on February 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
While I understand it was part of Dottie's backstory and all, I really, really, really didn't need to see a child breaking the neck and killing another child, especially as a fucking training exercise. Call it a personal trigger, if you will, but that early scene really put me off for a good part of the episode.
I've noticed a definite uptick over the course of the past year or so in the level of brutality visited upon, and by, women on network tv shows. I don't know why it bothers me so, but it does, and this child-on-child scene last night really disturbed me.
Otherwise, it was another good episode, I guess. Though, it does seem to be heading down an overly-familiar path, with our heroine (at least according to the preview for next week) becoming a wanted fugitive on the run.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:35 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've noticed a definite uptick over the course of the past year or so in the level of brutality visited upon, and by, women on network tv shows. I don't know why it bothers me so, but it does, and this child-on-child scene last night really disturbed me.
Otherwise, it was another good episode, I guess. Though, it does seem to be heading down an overly-familiar path, with our heroine (at least according to the preview for next week) becoming a wanted fugitive on the run.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:35 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
"I really, really, really didn't need to see a child breaking the neck and killing another child..."
But they did carefully edit out the line "I'm your prostitute..." from Lykke Li's "Get Some".
Regarding Dottie -- Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish called it last week.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 6:58 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
But they did carefully edit out the line "I'm your prostitute..." from Lykke Li's "Get Some".
Regarding Dottie -- Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish called it last week.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 6:58 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish called it last week.
Has it be confirmed in the show that Dottie is Yelena Belova?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:24 AM on February 4, 2015
Has it be confirmed in the show that Dottie is Yelena Belova?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:24 AM on February 4, 2015
I wish writers wouldn't just jargon things up when they don't understand what they're saying. Oh did you try a one time pad? You mean the thing that would make decrypting this essentially impossible? They could have furthered Peggy's display of knowledge by having her say that XYZPDQ often employs simple Caesar ciphers and then the rest of that would have made sense.
Never mind that we have already seen the typewriter output text in plain unencrypted English. I can wave that away by saying it was an attempt to set a trap that wasn't too obvious (though as traps go that was pretty neglected and ineffective)
posted by phearlez at 7:40 AM on February 4, 2015 [11 favorites]
Never mind that we have already seen the typewriter output text in plain unencrypted English. I can wave that away by saying it was an attempt to set a trap that wasn't too obvious (though as traps go that was pretty neglected and ineffective)
posted by phearlez at 7:40 AM on February 4, 2015 [11 favorites]
No, but between her specific background story and her signature Black Widow moves last week, it seems pretty likely, doesn't it?
Quoting myself: "But they did carefully edit out the line 'I'm your prostitute...' from Lykke Li's 'Get Some '."
Oh, wait, sorry -- got this confused with the other superhero TV show I watched last night (Flash).
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 7:40 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Quoting myself: "But they did carefully edit out the line 'I'm your prostitute...' from Lykke Li's 'Get Some '."
Oh, wait, sorry -- got this confused with the other superhero TV show I watched last night (Flash).
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 7:40 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wish writers wouldn't just jargon things up when they don't understand what they're saying. Oh did you try a one time pad? You mean the thing that would make decrypting this essentially impossible?
Yeah, but the point was that Peggy has more experience and knowledge, so that was telegraphed. Pesky facts just get in the way!
Never mind that we have already seen the typewriter output text in plain unencrypted English. I can wave that away by saying it was an attempt to set a trap that wasn't too obvious (though as traps go that was pretty neglected and ineffective)
Explain it as the agent has signed in, so plain english was ok in that scene, but without the sign-in then yeah, it comes over as encrypted
No, but between her specific background story and her signature Black Widow moves last week, it seems pretty likely, doesn't it?
Sure, just trying to figure out if I missed something in the episode that specifically said it was her. I think the show runners have said who Dottie is, but I've specifically avoided that information.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:48 AM on February 4, 2015
Yeah, but the point was that Peggy has more experience and knowledge, so that was telegraphed. Pesky facts just get in the way!
Never mind that we have already seen the typewriter output text in plain unencrypted English. I can wave that away by saying it was an attempt to set a trap that wasn't too obvious (though as traps go that was pretty neglected and ineffective)
Explain it as the agent has signed in, so plain english was ok in that scene, but without the sign-in then yeah, it comes over as encrypted
No, but between her specific background story and her signature Black Widow moves last week, it seems pretty likely, doesn't it?
Sure, just trying to figure out if I missed something in the episode that specifically said it was her. I think the show runners have said who Dottie is, but I've specifically avoided that information.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:48 AM on February 4, 2015
Oh did you try a one time pad? You mean the thing that would make decrypting this essentially impossible?
The US and British were able to decrypt some one-time pad traffic from the Soviet Union during and right after the war because the Soviets were using bad protocol. (Regardless, that scene with Peggy annoyed me also).
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:49 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
The US and British were able to decrypt some one-time pad traffic from the Soviet Union during and right after the war because the Soviets were using bad protocol. (Regardless, that scene with Peggy annoyed me also).
posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:49 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
Sure, just trying to figure out if I missed something in the episode that specifically said it was her. I think the show runners have said who Dottie is, but I've specifically avoided that information.
Naw, I don't think there was a moment where a spotlight landed on the answer to who Dottie's true Russian identity is.
The training program definitely was messed up, involving a dual use of Snow White to teach children English while feeding them subliminal messages, and of course, the killing of the loser. I did wonder, how far did the program go in that regard? Was the fact that there was only one girl left in the factory/training school indicative that they have the girls fight and kill until only the strongest is left? The scene with that girl was doubly tense, as we knew that she wasn't an ordinary girl, but one that had been ruthlessly trained, all the while our heroes approached her as any would be wont to do.
Dottie searching through Carter's apartment. When she sat down at the mirror and mimicked Peggy, did that kind of imply that Dottie had pretty much lost all her own identity? Or was it simply that she wanted to pretend to be Captain America's girlfriend for a brief moment? (Is scrawny Steve still recognizable to most folks?) The fact that she handcuffed herself for bed indicated to me that what she was made by the Russians was who she now was, and could not be comfortable without falling back on that identity before falling asleep. That is, she couldn't sleep as Dottie, but only as the "Black Widow," assassin.
As an aside, we got the training clip for her that some have been wanting for Carter. Also, am I the only one who wants to believe that Carter had setup another tell in case someone came into her room other than the string on the lock?
The Howlin' Commandos were great.
Am I over paranoid thinking that the Russian psychologist could be bad news for the SSR?
Souza and Carter. Confrontation city coming up shortly. Gotta love, though, your female hero is outed by the scars from her bullet wounds.
Final tid bit, but I loved it when Jarvis consciously stopped himself from doing his tell, when he lied to the chief.
posted by Atreides at 8:08 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
Naw, I don't think there was a moment where a spotlight landed on the answer to who Dottie's true Russian identity is.
The training program definitely was messed up, involving a dual use of Snow White to teach children English while feeding them subliminal messages, and of course, the killing of the loser. I did wonder, how far did the program go in that regard? Was the fact that there was only one girl left in the factory/training school indicative that they have the girls fight and kill until only the strongest is left? The scene with that girl was doubly tense, as we knew that she wasn't an ordinary girl, but one that had been ruthlessly trained, all the while our heroes approached her as any would be wont to do.
Dottie searching through Carter's apartment. When she sat down at the mirror and mimicked Peggy, did that kind of imply that Dottie had pretty much lost all her own identity? Or was it simply that she wanted to pretend to be Captain America's girlfriend for a brief moment? (Is scrawny Steve still recognizable to most folks?) The fact that she handcuffed herself for bed indicated to me that what she was made by the Russians was who she now was, and could not be comfortable without falling back on that identity before falling asleep. That is, she couldn't sleep as Dottie, but only as the "Black Widow," assassin.
As an aside, we got the training clip for her that some have been wanting for Carter. Also, am I the only one who wants to believe that Carter had setup another tell in case someone came into her room other than the string on the lock?
The Howlin' Commandos were great.
Am I over paranoid thinking that the Russian psychologist could be bad news for the SSR?
Souza and Carter. Confrontation city coming up shortly. Gotta love, though, your female hero is outed by the scars from her bullet wounds.
Final tid bit, but I loved it when Jarvis consciously stopped himself from doing his tell, when he lied to the chief.
posted by Atreides at 8:08 AM on February 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
Overall, a good episode. I too was annoyed by the "one time pad" comment, because even having a basic knowledge of cryptography, I know that means something hard to break. I get that they need to show Carter as hyper-competent next to everyone, but still...
I liked that they showed Carter becoming accepted and recognized by the rest of the office at the same time as Sousa starts unraveling the fact that she's the mystery woman who has been interfering in the Stark investigation; it plays off the fact that the audience started the season liking Sousa and disliking Thompson; now Sousa is becoming the threat to Carter while Thompson - while still in many ways a jerk - has become more humanized and accepting of Peggy.
posted by nubs at 8:17 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I liked that they showed Carter becoming accepted and recognized by the rest of the office at the same time as Sousa starts unraveling the fact that she's the mystery woman who has been interfering in the Stark investigation; it plays off the fact that the audience started the season liking Sousa and disliking Thompson; now Sousa is becoming the threat to Carter while Thompson - while still in many ways a jerk - has become more humanized and accepting of Peggy.
posted by nubs at 8:17 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure that "oops, I was a war criminal" is a great traumatic background storyline.
posted by kmz at 10:13 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by kmz at 10:13 AM on February 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
...Also, am I the only one who wants to believe that Carter had setup another tell in case someone came into her room other than the string on the lock?
Heck, no. Carter's been shown to be very observant and intelligent. I'll be disappointed if she doesn't catch this.
Am I over paranoid thinking that the Russian psychologist could be bad news for the SSR?
I would think not. Otherwise why did Leviathan even want to lure them there? I mean, if it was a trap, what did it accomplish? If it wasn't a trap, where was the buyer of weapons?
posted by idb at 11:16 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Heck, no. Carter's been shown to be very observant and intelligent. I'll be disappointed if she doesn't catch this.
Am I over paranoid thinking that the Russian psychologist could be bad news for the SSR?
I would think not. Otherwise why did Leviathan even want to lure them there? I mean, if it was a trap, what did it accomplish? If it wasn't a trap, where was the buyer of weapons?
posted by idb at 11:16 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Here's a recap, with pictures!
Just an all around great episode. Peggy comes into her own as agent, gaining the respect of peers, and we get to see all the reasons why she's awesome. Solid leader, smart, experienced and driven. Which is important, 'cause she's fighting battles on several fronts.
One, there's the sexism fight, which she just demolishes left and right this episode. She's clearly the most capable agent in the office, a point that Chief Dooley is starting to realize. It was interesting watching him wrestle with his own bias. He knows Peggy should be on the mission, if not leading it, but he's still struggling with her being a woman. So he moves the bar for her and she just shatters without a sweat. He's pleased that she did and impressed and I suspect not too surprised. But he still felt he had to raise that bar.
Two, there's the fight within herself, over whether to trust Stark and Jarvis. She knows she probably should, but her own feelings are getting in the way and she's struggling to get over them. She needs time and not to see either of them a while, before being willing to have anything but pure anger towards them.
Three, the fights on the battlefield are easy. She's spent three years all over Europe during WWII and the fighting is almost her natural element. It's all the things that come before and after the fight that are difficult.
Am I over paranoid thinking that the Russian psychologist could be bad news for the SSR?
Nope. I suspect the good doctor may the actual genius here and the crazed doctor was just a stooge. Now one with access to SSR's labs and all those wonderful Stark toys.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:21 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Just an all around great episode. Peggy comes into her own as agent, gaining the respect of peers, and we get to see all the reasons why she's awesome. Solid leader, smart, experienced and driven. Which is important, 'cause she's fighting battles on several fronts.
One, there's the sexism fight, which she just demolishes left and right this episode. She's clearly the most capable agent in the office, a point that Chief Dooley is starting to realize. It was interesting watching him wrestle with his own bias. He knows Peggy should be on the mission, if not leading it, but he's still struggling with her being a woman. So he moves the bar for her and she just shatters without a sweat. He's pleased that she did and impressed and I suspect not too surprised. But he still felt he had to raise that bar.
Two, there's the fight within herself, over whether to trust Stark and Jarvis. She knows she probably should, but her own feelings are getting in the way and she's struggling to get over them. She needs time and not to see either of them a while, before being willing to have anything but pure anger towards them.
Three, the fights on the battlefield are easy. She's spent three years all over Europe during WWII and the fighting is almost her natural element. It's all the things that come before and after the fight that are difficult.
Am I over paranoid thinking that the Russian psychologist could be bad news for the SSR?
Nope. I suspect the good doctor may the actual genius here and the crazed doctor was just a stooge. Now one with access to SSR's labs and all those wonderful Stark toys.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:21 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I lost a bet on this one. I was sure (hoping?) that after going out in the field with SSR agents, and them seeing the Howlin' Commandos (war heroes to the agents) taking orders and 'yes-boss'ing to Peggy, and her taking out whole squads singlehanded and so on, there would be a scene like this back at the office:
'Well, there's a lot of intel to go over you brought back from Russia, this'll take a while. Somebody should go out and pick up some sandwiches and coffee.' Thompson looks at Peggy. Peggy Looks at Thompson. Look continues for a couple beats. Peggy says 'Ham and Swiss on Rye for me, please, thanks.' and sits down. Thompson puts on his hat, says 'Yes, boss' and goes out to pick up lunch. BOOM! Go make ME a sandwich!
posted by bartleby at 11:23 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
'Well, there's a lot of intel to go over you brought back from Russia, this'll take a while. Somebody should go out and pick up some sandwiches and coffee.' Thompson looks at Peggy. Peggy Looks at Thompson. Look continues for a couple beats. Peggy says 'Ham and Swiss on Rye for me, please, thanks.' and sits down. Thompson puts on his hat, says 'Yes, boss' and goes out to pick up lunch. BOOM! Go make ME a sandwich!
posted by bartleby at 11:23 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Peggy seems more like Turkey and Swiss on a baguette.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:31 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:31 AM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, I'm wondering if the girls sleeping cuffed to their beds (and Dottie grown up) is less about preventing escapes or anything, and more about the training and programming is so intense that a) they don't want anyone getting up and murdering everyone in their sleep b) THE NIGHTMARES! OMG THE NIGHTMARES! c) for grown-up Dottie, it's become like a blankie - "I grew up in an indoctrination camp, now I just can't sleep well without a glass of warm milk and handcuffing myself to the bed, pshaw".
I don't know if it's the acting-like-an assassin-acting-like-she's-Dottie, or intentional for the character, or just that they have Bridget Regan's blonde wig on too tight, but Dottie's got some serious crazy eyes. I feel like the handcuffs are a sign that she's keeping a lot bottled up; I can't wait for her to come unwound and see her chew up some scenery, brutal-crazy-villain style.
posted by bartleby at 11:34 AM on February 4, 2015
I don't know if it's the acting-like-an assassin-acting-like-she's-Dottie, or intentional for the character, or just that they have Bridget Regan's blonde wig on too tight, but Dottie's got some serious crazy eyes. I feel like the handcuffs are a sign that she's keeping a lot bottled up; I can't wait for her to come unwound and see her chew up some scenery, brutal-crazy-villain style.
posted by bartleby at 11:34 AM on February 4, 2015
every time Peggy fires an automatic weapon an angel gets its wings
posted by The Whelk at 12:33 PM on February 4, 2015 [12 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 12:33 PM on February 4, 2015 [12 favorites]
The US and British were able to decrypt some one-time pad traffic from the Soviet Union during and right after the war because the Soviets were using bad protocol. (Regardless, that scene with Peggy annoyed me also).
Sure. They could have used that fact and reworked the scene to actually make sense. Not just by not misusing OTPs, but by not implying that she did frequency analysis in about 3 seconds in her head.
Oh well. At least we got a Turing name-drop.
posted by phearlez at 2:23 PM on February 4, 2015
Sure. They could have used that fact and reworked the scene to actually make sense. Not just by not misusing OTPs, but by not implying that she did frequency analysis in about 3 seconds in her head.
Oh well. At least we got a Turing name-drop.
posted by phearlez at 2:23 PM on February 4, 2015
Hey, remember when, after the first episode, I said I wanted Agent Carter/Bletchley Circle crossover fanfic. With a couple of lines of dialogue, this episode made my dream MCU-canon lickety split.
That's basically this show in a nutshell..
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:40 PM on February 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
That's basically this show in a nutshell..
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:40 PM on February 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
I've noticed a definite uptick over the course of the past year or so in the level of brutality visited upon, and by, women on network tv shows.
I don't know, my problem with this line of thinking (especially in the context of this episode of this show) is that, if you decide it's unacceptable to ever depict violence towards women on network TV, what you end up with is people pitching shows like Agent Carter to the networks and being turned down because the Standards And Practices doesn't like it, or because it opens the network up to complaints.
I'm easily triggered by depictions of rape, incest, and abuse in media. I stopped watching The Sopranos back in the day because I just couldn't watch another stripper get beaten. I think the vast majority of rapes in virtually any media are gratuitous.
But when you start saying that nobody who lacks a Y chromosome is allowed to fight, or to die, or to come to any bodily harm, you dilute the argument against gratuitous depictions of abuse. And, again, you just make it way easier for the gatekeepers to decide never to tell women-centric stories or create strong female characters.
posted by Sara C. at 2:52 PM on February 4, 2015
I don't know, my problem with this line of thinking (especially in the context of this episode of this show) is that, if you decide it's unacceptable to ever depict violence towards women on network TV, what you end up with is people pitching shows like Agent Carter to the networks and being turned down because the Standards And Practices doesn't like it, or because it opens the network up to complaints.
I'm easily triggered by depictions of rape, incest, and abuse in media. I stopped watching The Sopranos back in the day because I just couldn't watch another stripper get beaten. I think the vast majority of rapes in virtually any media are gratuitous.
But when you start saying that nobody who lacks a Y chromosome is allowed to fight, or to die, or to come to any bodily harm, you dilute the argument against gratuitous depictions of abuse. And, again, you just make it way easier for the gatekeepers to decide never to tell women-centric stories or create strong female characters.
posted by Sara C. at 2:52 PM on February 4, 2015
But when you start saying that nobody who lacks a Y chromosome is allowed to fight, or to die, or to come to any bodily harm, you dilute the argument against gratuitous depictions of abuse.
Good thing nobody's said that then.
posted by kmz at 3:05 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Good thing nobody's said that then.
posted by kmz at 3:05 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I don't really understand what "brutality visited upon, and by, women" means in the context of Agent Carter if we're not just talking about garden variety "women who do fighty things".
There was no abuse depicted anywhere in this episode, or anywhere in any episode of Agent Carter.
Aside from the abuse implied by taking girls away from their families and training them to be assassins, but again, if those types of plotlines are disallowed on account of the victims being female, very quickly we get to a media where women are simply not ever allowed to do anything interesting for fear that someone will take offense.
Would anyone have made the same complaint about a boarding school where boys are indoctrinated into becoming assassins? Do people regularly complain about plotlines that depict, for example, military academies or boot camp?
posted by Sara C. at 3:12 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
There was no abuse depicted anywhere in this episode, or anywhere in any episode of Agent Carter.
Aside from the abuse implied by taking girls away from their families and training them to be assassins, but again, if those types of plotlines are disallowed on account of the victims being female, very quickly we get to a media where women are simply not ever allowed to do anything interesting for fear that someone will take offense.
Would anyone have made the same complaint about a boarding school where boys are indoctrinated into becoming assassins? Do people regularly complain about plotlines that depict, for example, military academies or boot camp?
posted by Sara C. at 3:12 PM on February 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm probably a monster, but I straight up laughed when Baby Dottie killed the little girl. I laughed when Mason Verger drank those orphan tears on Hannibal, too! It's...you know...a little over the top. I dunno, this could just be me.
I just...wish this show were...bigger. I feel like the show and I agree that Peggy Carter is awesome and deserves awesome stuff to do. What I cannot grasp is why the show would choose to make its central conflict Peggy Carter vs. the D-Bags Who Won't Let Her Do Anything Awesome EVER, and not, I don't know, Peggy Carter vs. Baron Blood, Nazi Vampire. This show would be just as easy to produce
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:00 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I just...wish this show were...bigger. I feel like the show and I agree that Peggy Carter is awesome and deserves awesome stuff to do. What I cannot grasp is why the show would choose to make its central conflict Peggy Carter vs. the D-Bags Who Won't Let Her Do Anything Awesome EVER, and not, I don't know, Peggy Carter vs. Baron Blood, Nazi Vampire. This show would be just as easy to produce
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:00 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I was amused to see that the Russians are using Chuck Jones cartoons to indoctrinate their super assassins.
posted by Aznable at 4:04 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by Aznable at 4:04 PM on February 4, 2015
Yeah, I was all pumped for the founding of ShIELd, this is more .....smaller ? Like it opened up nicely in this episode but it does feel like we spend a lot of time in cramped sets?
posted by The Whelk at 4:20 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by The Whelk at 4:20 PM on February 4, 2015
Yes, that was totally the Red Room. Dottie isn't necessarily Yelena (although that's got to be the most likely name for her) but she is definitely a Black Widow. Every one of those girls was, that's what the Red Room is for.
HOWLING COMMANDOS YES. More specifically DUM DUM DUGAN/PEGGY BRO-DOWN FUCK YEAH. While I like the Agent Carter Punches Patriarchy theme of the show it's nice to watch her actually be comfortable for a change. Hopefully there will be more of that going forward -- or at least she'll be uncomfortable because she's covering up her work with Stark instead of because of workplace sexism. Don't hit the reset button, writers.
The cut on the neck-breaking was so abrupt that I didn't realize the other girl died until now because I glanced away from the TV.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:46 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
HOWLING COMMANDOS YES. More specifically DUM DUM DUGAN/PEGGY BRO-DOWN FUCK YEAH. While I like the Agent Carter Punches Patriarchy theme of the show it's nice to watch her actually be comfortable for a change. Hopefully there will be more of that going forward -- or at least she'll be uncomfortable because she's covering up her work with Stark instead of because of workplace sexism. Don't hit the reset button, writers.
The cut on the neck-breaking was so abrupt that I didn't realize the other girl died until now because I glanced away from the TV.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:46 PM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
There was no abuse depicted anywhere in this episode, or anywhere in any episode of Agent Carter.
You don't consider a child killing another child abuse?
Would anyone have made the same complaint about a boarding school where boys are indoctrinated into becoming assassins?
There's a large gulf between "indoctrination" (which can be creatively depicted effectively in myriad ways) and showing children killing other children as part of a class.
Maybe it's that I don't read comic books. But, sorry, I don't find this sort of thing entertaining, and certainly not funny.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:26 PM on February 4, 2015
You don't consider a child killing another child abuse?
Would anyone have made the same complaint about a boarding school where boys are indoctrinated into becoming assassins?
There's a large gulf between "indoctrination" (which can be creatively depicted effectively in myriad ways) and showing children killing other children as part of a class.
Maybe it's that I don't read comic books. But, sorry, I don't find this sort of thing entertaining, and certainly not funny.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:26 PM on February 4, 2015
Yeah, I was all pumped for the founding of ShIELd, this is more .....smaller ?
Three more episodes to go and the plot seems to be speeding up. So maybe they'll end there? Ratings haven't been great, so this might be all we see of Agent Carter on her own. The slow build probably didn't help the ratings.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:27 PM on February 4, 2015
Three more episodes to go and the plot seems to be speeding up. So maybe they'll end there? Ratings haven't been great, so this might be all we see of Agent Carter on her own. The slow build probably didn't help the ratings.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:27 PM on February 4, 2015
The real beauty of this show is that Marvel can trot out another limited vintage series each year for the next decade or two, and as long as they can keep the quality and charm up, they can supplement the backstories of any tale they want to tell.
posted by Catblack at 7:29 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by Catblack at 7:29 PM on February 4, 2015
The pacing does make me think it'll play better as a three episode at a time binge
posted by The Whelk at 7:32 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by The Whelk at 7:32 PM on February 4, 2015
> Hey, remember when, after the first episode, I said I wanted Agent Carter/Bletchley Circle crossover fanfic.
I was on a plane for much of the day, and the airplane satellite TV was down for a lot of it so it was a good thing I'd boughten this ep to watch again, and ALSO thanks to whichever previous thread where someone mentioned Nancy Wake - someone who's been on my radar for a while - I also had a book on the kindle about SOE, so I rewatched the ep and then was reading the book (this one, at the moment, if anyone has more recs please to rec) and now I have a headful of tragic and fascinating backstory for my new favorite fictional character.
I'd love for there to be another season, but honestly, if they keep this momentum and style and stop here with Agent Carter, that would be okay, too. Quit while ahead and all that.
posted by rtha at 7:33 PM on February 4, 2015
I was on a plane for much of the day, and the airplane satellite TV was down for a lot of it so it was a good thing I'd boughten this ep to watch again, and ALSO thanks to whichever previous thread where someone mentioned Nancy Wake - someone who's been on my radar for a while - I also had a book on the kindle about SOE, so I rewatched the ep and then was reading the book (this one, at the moment, if anyone has more recs please to rec) and now I have a headful of tragic and fascinating backstory for my new favorite fictional character.
I'd love for there to be another season, but honestly, if they keep this momentum and style and stop here with Agent Carter, that would be okay, too. Quit while ahead and all that.
posted by rtha at 7:33 PM on February 4, 2015
That link is borked, rtha, so we don't know what book you're talking about.
posted by phearlez at 8:15 PM on February 4, 2015
posted by phearlez at 8:15 PM on February 4, 2015
When she sat down at the mirror and mimicked Peggy, did that kind of imply that Dottie had pretty much lost all her own identity? Or was it simply that she wanted to pretend to be Captain America's girlfriend for a brief moment?
My assumption was that she's (ultimately) planning to off Peggy and assume her identity. I'm predicting that she will be successful enough at pretending to be Peggy while doing some stuff that when she finally gets caught, some of Peggy's bad behavior will be attributed to the Russian spy which will help clear Peggy's soon-to-be-tarnished name.
Am I over paranoid thinking that the Russian psychologist could be bad news for the SSR?
Oh, hell no. Although it's entirely possible he's HYDRA, in which case he might well continue maintaining his cover as being an invaluable help to the good guys for...well, up until Winter Soldier takes place (by which time he'd presumably have died of old age, but not before giving a lot of secretly-HYDRA-applicants-to-SHIELD top marks on their psych evaluations). But given that his attempt to talk down his nutty cohort showed him as being more "hypnotist" than "therapist", if he decides to cause trouble up-front he could cause a LOT of trouble.
The show has been a slow build, but I think they were stuck in an awkward spot - you want to write a story that is basically complete unto itself in 8 episodes, but you also don't want to write yourself out of the possibility of getting renewed. So your eight-episode arc can't be "Peggy founds SHIELD and everyone lives happily ever after", and I am totally sympathetic to that, but it does feel like something's missing. Maybe it's just that it's a little too episodic in structure for the plot they wrote, or vice versa, but either way it just feels a little off to me; I mean you can only introduce so many new villains-of-the-week via surprise doublecross or mysterious plot twist before your overall plot is just too twisted to ever untangle. It's gonna be kind of hard to evaluate the quality of the show until they wrap up the story, though - right now there are a lot of parts that don't quite hang together for me but I'm willing to wait and see where it goes and if it gets more cohesive by the end.
posted by mstokes650 at 9:28 PM on February 4, 2015
My assumption was that she's (ultimately) planning to off Peggy and assume her identity. I'm predicting that she will be successful enough at pretending to be Peggy while doing some stuff that when she finally gets caught, some of Peggy's bad behavior will be attributed to the Russian spy which will help clear Peggy's soon-to-be-tarnished name.
Am I over paranoid thinking that the Russian psychologist could be bad news for the SSR?
Oh, hell no. Although it's entirely possible he's HYDRA, in which case he might well continue maintaining his cover as being an invaluable help to the good guys for...well, up until Winter Soldier takes place (by which time he'd presumably have died of old age, but not before giving a lot of secretly-HYDRA-applicants-to-SHIELD top marks on their psych evaluations). But given that his attempt to talk down his nutty cohort showed him as being more "hypnotist" than "therapist", if he decides to cause trouble up-front he could cause a LOT of trouble.
The show has been a slow build, but I think they were stuck in an awkward spot - you want to write a story that is basically complete unto itself in 8 episodes, but you also don't want to write yourself out of the possibility of getting renewed. So your eight-episode arc can't be "Peggy founds SHIELD and everyone lives happily ever after", and I am totally sympathetic to that, but it does feel like something's missing. Maybe it's just that it's a little too episodic in structure for the plot they wrote, or vice versa, but either way it just feels a little off to me; I mean you can only introduce so many new villains-of-the-week via surprise doublecross or mysterious plot twist before your overall plot is just too twisted to ever untangle. It's gonna be kind of hard to evaluate the quality of the show until they wrap up the story, though - right now there are a lot of parts that don't quite hang together for me but I'm willing to wait and see where it goes and if it gets more cohesive by the end.
posted by mstokes650 at 9:28 PM on February 4, 2015
Bridget Regan is so freaking creepy as Dottie, I had NO idea she is also Rose on Jane the Virgin until I read it somewhere. I'm not even watching very many shows at the moment; apparently a wig is all I need to have no clue who someone is.
Loved seeing Carter's camaraderie with her old pals, much fun to see another side of her, especially a loosened-up one.
The Russian "forest" was the cheapest set I've ever seen on TV. Like, a handful of obviously fake trees sprayed with flocking from the dollar store. Damn, show, where's your budget?
posted by missmary6 at 9:28 PM on February 4, 2015
Loved seeing Carter's camaraderie with her old pals, much fun to see another side of her, especially a loosened-up one.
The Russian "forest" was the cheapest set I've ever seen on TV. Like, a handful of obviously fake trees sprayed with flocking from the dollar store. Damn, show, where's your budget?
posted by missmary6 at 9:28 PM on February 4, 2015
when the russian scientist guy was talking about light particle and wave stuff I thought "Oh! Repulsor tech!" but then I remembered there was apparently a lead in comic about Carter in the 50s tracking down RAY GUN TECHNOLOGY and now I think it's ray guns.
Cause it ties into the Avengers thing on using alien tech to make energy weapons.
posted by The Whelk at 10:15 PM on February 4, 2015
Cause it ties into the Avengers thing on using alien tech to make energy weapons.
posted by The Whelk at 10:15 PM on February 4, 2015
Oops. The borked link book is called Flames in the Field.
posted by rtha at 3:17 AM on February 5, 2015
posted by rtha at 3:17 AM on February 5, 2015
Agent Carter's adept handling of gender and disability politics set up an expectation that the show would handle its depictions of violence in a similarly complex and interesting way. While I'm glad that there haven't been many more jokes about police brutality, I still have yet to understand what the show is trying to say about violence, other than that it is a comic book trope and that female characters are just as capable at dispensing it as men.
posted by The White Hat at 4:47 AM on February 5, 2015
posted by The White Hat at 4:47 AM on February 5, 2015
Not much to say overall beyond that this was a fantastic episode in general.
What I cannot grasp is why the show would choose to make its central conflict Peggy Carter vs. the D-Bags Who Won't Let Her Do Anything Awesome EVER, and not, I don't know, Peggy Carter vs. Baron Blood, Nazi Vampire.
Given the, I'm assuming, incredibly classified nature of what Peggy was doing during the war, and also just on a general structural level, I think it makes all the sense in the world to have her start out in this first season as someone who needs to prove herself to a bunch of nimrods.
Peggy Carter vs Nazi Vampire can be season two.
(I know the ratings haven't been great for this, but for the love of god, please make more of it.)
posted by sparkletone at 9:15 AM on February 5, 2015
What I cannot grasp is why the show would choose to make its central conflict Peggy Carter vs. the D-Bags Who Won't Let Her Do Anything Awesome EVER, and not, I don't know, Peggy Carter vs. Baron Blood, Nazi Vampire.
Given the, I'm assuming, incredibly classified nature of what Peggy was doing during the war, and also just on a general structural level, I think it makes all the sense in the world to have her start out in this first season as someone who needs to prove herself to a bunch of nimrods.
Peggy Carter vs Nazi Vampire can be season two.
(I know the ratings haven't been great for this, but for the love of god, please make more of it.)
posted by sparkletone at 9:15 AM on February 5, 2015
kittens for breakfast: ... Peggy Carter vs. Baron Blood, Nazi Vampire ...
I would love if "Baron Blood" was Deacon from What We Do in the Shadows. Mostly, I want more of WWDitS.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:40 AM on February 5, 2015
I would love if "Baron Blood" was Deacon from What We Do in the Shadows. Mostly, I want more of WWDitS.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:40 AM on February 5, 2015
I loved the role-reversal in camp fire scene and how a very relaxed Peggy showed Thompson how graciously a member of the in-group might treat an outsider. She asked for his Navy Cross story to give him a chance at acceptance into the group - and he knew it.
posted by klarck at 5:58 PM on February 5, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by klarck at 5:58 PM on February 5, 2015 [5 favorites]
There's a large gulf between "indoctrination" (which can be creatively depicted effectively in myriad ways) and showing children killing other children as part of a class.
Maybe it's that I don't read comic books. But, sorry, I don't find this sort of thing entertaining, and certainly not funny.
Fair enough. Everyone has buttons they don't want pushed when they're being entertained. I thought it was an effective way to communicate the brutality of the school quickly - the problem with subtler treatment is that you need more time, and they obviously wanted to spend that time on other elements of the episode.
posted by AdamCSnider at 12:08 AM on February 6, 2015
Maybe it's that I don't read comic books. But, sorry, I don't find this sort of thing entertaining, and certainly not funny.
Fair enough. Everyone has buttons they don't want pushed when they're being entertained. I thought it was an effective way to communicate the brutality of the school quickly - the problem with subtler treatment is that you need more time, and they obviously wanted to spend that time on other elements of the episode.
posted by AdamCSnider at 12:08 AM on February 6, 2015
Personally, I also loved the way Peggy shrugged off the "you have to depend on us, because your co-workers will never respect you and never will" bullshit from Jarvis.
posted by AdamCSnider at 12:17 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by AdamCSnider at 12:17 AM on February 6, 2015 [1 favorite]
After the extremely dramatic reaction to Krzemenski's murder it was a bit jarring to see (or not see) the reaction to the deaths of Agent Li and Junior Juniper.
Of course I realize that the show can't screech to a halt every time a red shirt gets knocked off, but some sort of recognition wouldn't hurt.
(I'm nitpicking. I liked the episode over all.)
posted by brundlefly at 9:26 AM on February 9, 2015
Of course I realize that the show can't screech to a halt every time a red shirt gets knocked off, but some sort of recognition wouldn't hurt.
(I'm nitpicking. I liked the episode over all.)
posted by brundlefly at 9:26 AM on February 9, 2015
This week on Agent Carter: Can Peggy's misogynist co-workers get the fuck out of her way so she can save the world already?
(Actually, this is every week on this show. And at our house, we are loving it.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:18 AM on February 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Actually, this is every week on this show. And at our house, we are loving it.)
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:18 AM on February 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
The neck-breaking training exercise was hard for me to watch too, since I'm a mom now and Bad Things happening to children is super dicey territory. But I thought the whole point of that scene was to demonstrate how stone-cold (and therefore dangerous) Dottie is -- wasn't the victim the girl we'd previously seen sharing her stolen bun? Brr.
posted by trunk muffins at 1:39 PM on February 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by trunk muffins at 1:39 PM on February 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
That mustache!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:40 PM on February 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:40 PM on February 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Noting down here that "Good work, Carter" sounds just like "Good, work harder.")
posted by nobody at 9:14 AM on March 1, 2015
posted by nobody at 9:14 AM on March 1, 2015
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Recaps
Various BS
The Mary Sue
I think bartleby called it regarding Dottie, in the last thread.
posted by rtha at 5:01 AM on February 4, 2015 [2 favorites]