Agent Carter: Season 1

After my Marvel movie review marathon last month, I would have thought I would take a break from it. I was wrong. ABC's Agent Carter had been on my radar and watch list for ages. Peggy Carter  was introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger as the headstrong SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve) Agent who was brainy, bold and beautiful. At first meeting, Peggy proved that she could hold her own in a man's world. She was also the only person who could identify with Steve Rogers about constantly being judged on appearances and, of course, eventually became his love interest. 

Peggy Carter was an immediate favorite with audiences and fans as she was represented as a capable and intelligent woman and was still unashamedly feminine. Hence the reason Steve Rogers fell in love with her and also why she is deemed to be an exemplary role model for girls and women. Marvel really did the franchise a favor when they decided to do a series about Agent Peggy Carter (which is actually a spin-off from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) and tell the story of a women who gained independence during the war and must now resign herself to a life of being treated as a second class citizen in the workforce. 

Agent Peggy Carter☆

☆A year after the end of WWII and Peggy Carter is now navigating her life through New York City where she is still employed as an SSR agent. During the war, Peggy was valued for her insight, calm, nerve and unwavering loyalty when the bombs were falling, shots were being fired and the enemy was never too far away. Now, it's peace time and the world wants women to go back to the home and let the men go back to their jobs. While Peggy still holds the title agent, her work in Europe is virtually nonexistent to the men in the office and she has been relegated to serving coffee, answering phones and picking up lunch.

☆Peggy finds this to be humiliating, but bears it quietly. Her public relationship with Captain America causes controversy as well, making some of the men wonder if she just slept her way to the top. However, Peggy has learned that she doesn't need the opinions or the approval of the men in the office to know her worth as an agent. Fortunately for her, there is still one man who remembers her work during the war. 

☆Howard Stark, genius inventor and also her close friend has found himself in trouble with the government and has gone into hiding. He needs Peggy to clear his name. In trying to help Howard, Peggy uncovers information about an underground Russian operation that has begun to infiltrate the United States.

Edwin Jarvis☆

☆ Howard Star's pragmatic butler whom he entrusts to Peggy as an ally. It's a bumpy start between Peggy and the old-fashioned butler, but Jarvis stays by her side no matter the situation, even if he may not agree with her. Jarvis' loyalty to Howard and eventually to Peggy makes him a remarkable friend and confidante. 

Agent Jack Thompson☆

☆ A war hero from the Pacific Theater, Jack Thompson is an exemplary agent in the SSR, while also being arrogant and chauvinistic. In spite of his confidant exterior, Jack hides many demons from his time during the war. Although he's hailed as a hero to the eyes of Americans, Jack has been living a lie and his disclosure of the truth may cost him and his fellow agents their lives. 

Agent Daniel Sousa☆

☆ Although a good agent, former war veteran, Daniel Sousa, has his hands full working in the SSR with a crippled leg. Unfortunately Daniel is mocked and humiliated for his injury, even though he is still capable of doing his job. However, this gives him a great deal of empathy when he sees Peggy being treated in the same manner simply because she's a woman. Daniel's warmth and kindness are oftentimes the only rewards that Peggy gets in the office and she never underestimates Daniel's talent in the field.

Howard Stark☆

☆While his inventions helped the allies win the war, they are now putting Stark on the fast track to treason and prison. Howard's weapons are somehow falling into the hands of his enemies and he needs Peggy to act as a double agent both in private and at work. Still a philandering playboy, Howard is desperate to right the wrongs he has done while still trying to move on from the war and the grief of losing his Steve Rogers, whom he considers he greatest creation. 

☆Agent Carter isn't meant to be a serious watch. It's hokey and fun; it's a show that takes place in a comic book universe, so the crazier and more unrealistic the better. That being said, the show did also reveal the horrible treatment of women when men returned from overseas. During the war, women had finally gained some independence when they entered the workforce. Now, they are just seen as pretty objects to be either harassed or ignored. That was just the social attitude at the time and the men were products of it. Yet, it wasn't just women that suffered. Veterans like Daniel are treated to have little value solely based on a physical injury. 

☆The show brought an equal amount of attention to the prejudices that all men and women faced, but was certainly magnified after the war. Peggy quietly takes what is unjustly handed to her, while still being able to successfully do her job better than any man at the SSR. Jack suffers from PTSD, Daniel is essentially a cripple, but both men are extremely intelligent and capable at their jobs. I enjoyed the reality that Agent Carter conveyed even in a fantasy universe.