Mark Watches ‘Agent Carter’- S01E04 – The Blitzkrieg Button

In the fourth episode of the first season of Agent Carter, WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Agent Carter.

I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS. SO MANY OF THEM.

The Smugglers

Okay, I’m a little confused about what unfolds at the beginning of this episode. The smugglers in the cold open work for Mink, but they were hired by…Stark? Jarvis? And they were hired to bring Stark over in a shipping container? And they attacked the smugglers so they wouldn’t have to pay for Stark? Even though Stark would be paying for himself? Or not? Isn’t Stark a multi-millionaire? Wouldn’t $150,000 not matter that much to him? WHAT WAS THE PLAN HERE, I’M SO CONFUSED???

I just don’t understand why there was such a complex system in place to get Stark into the country, and I don’t know why they’d involve a smuggler like Mink, who is clearly NOT A GOOD PERSON AT ALL. Where did Mink get that gun? WHY IS HE HERE AT ALL?

Ernst Mueller

That’s about the only thing I didn’t understand in “The Blitzkrieg Button.” I think otherwise, this is a thrilling episode full of a number of important story beats and character notes, and I REALLY NEED TO KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON. Let’s start first with Dooley’s trip to Nuremberg, which makes the season’s arc even more mysterious. I expected that Dooley wouldn’t get the answer he expected from Mueller, but I also wasn’t ready for him to offer Mueller an “escape” from prison, either. Granted, it was all a trick for information, but STILL. Shit, Dooley’s a lot more ambitious than I thought, but I should have realized that he was going to be that way after Krzeminski’s death. He’s now more determined than ever to pin this all on Howard Stark, and the information he and Thompson uncover? It’s not looking good.

But what the hell happened in Finow??? Mueller came upon dead Russians there. What killed them? The Leviathan? Did he then use those bodies for some sort of experiment, or did the men killed recently merely assume the identities of the dead at Finow???

Daniel Sousa

Look, I hate Thompson like I have not hated a fictional character in ages, but I appreciated that Thompson acknowledged that Sousa did some good police work here. I also like the idea that Sousa is simply not mean enough to be the kind of agent that Thompson is. That doesn’t mean he’s useless or worthless because he was able to recognize a witness when no one else did.

I still hate Thompson, though. I feel the need to keep reiterating that.

Errands

I’m just so pleased that this show is giving Peggy the space to assert herself when she needs to. This show goes from one damning scene – where Thompson opines freely about the sad state of Peggy’s gender – to another that shows us Peggy’s place within a world where she’s often treated as if she can only exist in relation to a man. That’s how Thompson views her, and it’s the obvious declaration. Not so obvious? Even Howard Stark tries to pull a fast one on Peggy, to cast her as nothing more than an errand girl who must fetch his priceless artifacts for him. It doesn’t matter that he may have had good intentions or that he might be telling the truth about what he wants to use Steve Rogers’ blood for, because in the end, he lied to Peggy. He treated her like a delicate daughter who couldn’t handle the hard emotional truths of her life. Which is condescending and infuriating! As I said before, the script for “The Blitzkrieg Button” gives Peggy the space to fight back against that, and I’m grateful for that. Hell, even Jarvis has to own up to the fact that he was a part of this. And I hope that means neither of these men will take advantage of her again.

Dottie

WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK. WHO THE FUCK IS SHE. WHAT IS SHE DOING. WHAT THE HELL, YOU CAN’T DROP SOMETHING LIKE THAT ON ME AND THEN NOT ADDRESS IT FOR THE REST OF THE EPISODE.

WHAT THE HELL.

The Typewriter

For what it’s worth, this is one of those rare episodes of television where I was so transfixed by what was going on that I wasn’t even aware that forty minutes had passed. It’s a doozy of a thriller, offering up one great sequence after another. There are so many variables at work that I’m constantly worried one of them will set off a chain reaction of awful. Will S.S.R. find out about Peggy? Will Stark get caught? WHAT IS THE LEVIATHAN? Who the hell is Dottie?

I just love that closing image of the typewriter, its keys pressed down as if a ghost is sitting at Dooley’s desk. WHAT MESSAGE IS BEING SENT? Do the people on the other side not know that their agent is dead??? I WANT THE NEXT EPISODE RIGHT NOW.

The video for “The Blitzkrieg Button” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

Mark Links Stuff

I am now on Patreon!!! MANY SURPRISES ARE IN STORE FOR YOU IF YOU SUPPORT ME.
– I will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates / Appearances page.
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be season 1 of Agent Carter, seasons 1 & 2 of The 100, Death Note, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards series will replace the Emelan books.
- Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook! I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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