SPOILERS AHOY!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!
The season finale of Marvel’s Agent Carter’s second season has come and gone and while it tied up storyline elements that were introduced this season, as well as followed-up on ones from season one (I am looking at you, Peggy Carter and Daniel Sousa!), it left us with a lot to think about that is really too much to be included in a review article – so look for at least one subsequent speculation article at a later date.
The best news is that Peggy Carter and her friends – which I will affectionately always think of as “Team Carter” – (thank you, Dubsmashwars) all live, even Chief Thompson. Michele Fazekas points out to Natalie Abrams in an Entertainment Weekly interview that “[the writers] did not kill off Jack Thompson, we shot Jack Thompson.” He was shot point blank in the chest, but he’s alive for now.
Instead of going over everything in this episode (because again, like I said above, there are some elements that will need further exploration), I am going to give you my favorite things that occurred in “Hollywood Ending”:
1. Edwin Jarvis and Howard Stark
The interactions between these two really made the night for me. Can we all agree that they get the best lines, whether they are bantering together or with Peggy? The humorous introduction into the episode – literally driving in and running over Whitney Frost – while felt a little over the top (especially as evident by Howard’s tone), seemed to fit the context of the eccentric movie producer/director that Howard is at the moment. He always has been a little over the top. The mustard scene is also quite memorable.
I also enjoyed the interplay between Howard, Peggy, and Jarvis when Howard is talking to Peggy and Wilkes and remarks that Peggy’s life is always getting threatened. Jarvis responds by giving Howard a hard look, to which Howard replies, “I’m just saying, maybe the problem is you,” to Peggy. This was some serious commentary coming from the comic relief, but it is quite astute.
2. Malibu, Arc Reactors and Science Bros
The breakfast table scene with Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, and Jason Wilkes, after Zero Matter and Whitney Frost have been dealt with, is one of my favorites in the entire episode. There are seeds here of things to come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Howard mentions about land he has in Malibu for a facility that he is employing Jason Wilkes to work at. True Believers would recognize that land as being the Stark Industries Los Angeles plant that was seen in the Iron Man films. It seems that Howard got his first inkling of the arc reactor (which was his modus operandi for the LA plant) while in Peru. This would make sense because Whitney Frost, it seems, got him thinking about clean energy (and remember: back in “Better Angels”, the last episode Howard was in, you can see a glimpse of the smaller arc reactor design in Howard’s lab.)
There is fun chemistry between Howard and Jason. The two seem to really get along well – despite how they are both crazy-smart and have inflating egos – as witnessed earlier in the episode by Edwin Jarvis and Peggy Carter. I am delighted that Jason Wilkes made it out alive this season–unlike his Tales of Suspense counterpart.
3. Tragic Love
Joseph Manfredi is so incredibly charmed by Whitney Frost – even after her sanity is no longer intact. He tells his Nona that when Whitney came back into his life, “it was like a ray of sunshine. Now it’s a ray of garbage.” He’s not going to abandon her, even after she has been put in confinement and is having hallucinations involving her late husband Calvin Chadwick. The love sickness Manfredi has for Whitney is a twist on the typical romance because it is the man who is perusing this amazingly brilliant woman, but she isn’t necessarily returning his affections because she’s interested in something greater. The expression Manfredi makes when he sees Frost at the very end is all too heartbreaking. Despite how Manfredi is a murderer and a thug, the fact that he is still in love with a woman who is unlikely to be able to receive any help makes me very sad for him. Good job to Ken Marino for breaking my heart.
4. Team Carter
Team Carter is seriously on point this episode! I’m really in love with the scene where everyone is making the rift generator. We see Howard flirting with Rose (where Howard falls really flat), Wilkes apologizing to Sousa and saying why he threatened Peggy (Wilkes admits that he did it because he knew Sousa would fold). Peggy asking Jarvis about how Ana is, to which he says that they had “a good cry about what will never be but then she’s back to her optimistic and lovely self and far stronger than I could ever be” to which Peggy replies, “You sell yourself short, Mr. Jarvis. You may be the strongest of us all.” The interplays were short, but dynamic and offered character reflection and growth. The icing on the cake here is when Thompson comes in, says he isn’t a scientist but would like to help. What does Peggy do? Make him take the dinner orders! Another nod to a regular occurrence of season one. It wasn’t done in a back-handed way to Thompson, but gave him something to do to be useful to the team. Thompson proves very useful indeed when soon after ordering he discovers that the Arena Club pin is actually a key.
Team Carter ends up on top when they overtake Whitney Frost, but it still takes the whole team to turn off the rift generator. Each member of the team contributes in a way that is definitive of their character – and these actions cement certain things in Peggy’s mind at least.
5. The Jarvises and Peggy Carter
Oh Peggy. You thought Ana and Edwin wouldn’t notice if you left? You really don’t know your impact on people! There’s a very sweet interaction between Peggy and Ana where Peggy seems like she might start to cry. She didn’t know if Ana wanted to see her after what Ana just went through. But Ana, while optimistic, is really the realist between her and her husband. Ana tells Peggy, “I am home and I am safe and I am with a man that I adore, who is in one piece.” I get the impression that the Jarvises are always working for each other’s best interest, either knowingly or not. While Mr. Jarvis sulks inside the house because Peggy has a cab coming, Ana makes a plea to Peggy to allow him to take her to the airport instead, to which Peggy agrees, just when Mr. Jarvis comes flying back out of the house to pick up Peggy’s bags. The excitement of Mr. Jarvis is palatable.
When they go on the road, Mr. Jarvis and Peggy have a wonderful exchange about California and Mr. Jarvis gives her a great word of wisdom and gentle advice: perhaps she just needs one compelling reason to stay. The exchange between the Jarvises and Peggy is what got me the most excited this season. If we do see a Season 3, my hope is there will be more conversations between the three of them to come!
Well there you have it: Agent Carter‘s second season has come to a close. What were your favorite moments from “Hollywood Ending”? What was your take away from the episode, and those nods to things to come? Stay with The Marvel Report as we report on some of our theories and thoughts on Agent Carter‘s second season and report on season three news.