In the second episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Agent Carter,\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>Peggy gains an ally in Wilkes, and they both try to save evidence from Isodyne. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Agent Carter<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot to like in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A View in the Dark,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I have no problem admitting how thrilling the climax was. But season two is doing this\u00c2\u00a0thing<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m having trouble putting my finger on, so bear with me as I try to use this review to figure it out. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clearly a huge, world-reaching conspiracy at foot here, one most likely organized by the weird council we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re introduced to here. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to be who Jack\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mentor was referencing, right? And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like a shadowy cabal of old white dudes is an unbelievable source of power in the government. WELCOME TO AMERICAN HISTORY. The show also adds a heavy dose of science fiction with Zero Matter, a seemingly otherworldly substance that can swallow up anything as it devours all energy around it.<\/p>\n
These things add context to what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve already seen. Now we know why Isodyne has been so secretive, why Jack may need to be wary of his job, why Whitney Frost is a bigger character than we though, and why Jane Scott died. I do love a good conspiracy thriller, so that aspect of\u00c2\u00a0Agent Carter<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is satisfying me. But for some reason, the show can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to figure out if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a thriller or a slapstick comedy, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 weird. I say \u00e2\u20ac\u0153weird\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like season one had\u00c2\u00a0no\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>comedic elements in it. It very much did! The rapport between Jarvis and Peggy always had a humorous element to it. But at times, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A View in the Dark\u00e2\u20ac\u009d pushes the humor past an infrequent staple and into the territory of the actual tone of the episode. That feels jarring because this story is dark as hell, and the humor isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t here to lighten the load; it feels\u00c2\u00a0distracting<\/i>.<\/p>\n
I feel like a party pooper even saying that, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want a grimdark show by any means, and I love that\u00c2\u00a0Agent Carter\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>can be playful. But while the show is barreling towards the horrifying ramifications of Zero Matter, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure I want to exit the Thriller Highway for Hijinks, you know? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just looking for a better balance, and maybe this is the only time that this happens. In hindsight, I might even feel better about this episode! Hell, the humor\u00c2\u00a0does<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0give me a chance to catch a meaningful glimpse of the Jarvis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship and what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like.<\/p>\n
Look, this could all be rendered moot in an episode or two. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hesitant to complain much about the lovely introduction of Wilkes, the natural progression of his attraction to Peggy, and then his unceremonious death. Part of me wonders if Wilkes (and the scene in the Dunbar Hotel) was in part a response to the immense outpouring of criticism for how white the first season was. Which\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 good! Showrunners and producers actually listening to feedback! Hell, we saw more black people in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A View in the Dark\u00e2\u20ac\u009d than in the entirety of season one! Plus, Wilkes is a sweetheart, and I think this episode mostly exonerates him in my mind. He knew what he was working on, but he was coy and secretive with Peggy because of what Isodyne did for him. They\u00c2\u00a0hired<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0him, and they were the only company in Los Angeles willing to hire a black man. So, in Wilkes, we have a character that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unmistakably black, whose blackness matters to his portrayal but isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the sole focus of it, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pushed as a romantic option for Peggy.<\/p>\n
Great! Awesome! And then he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s killed, and I was ready to trot out the same tired complaint that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been making for what seems like ages: you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t count a character as representation if they die. You can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t!\u00c2\u00a0However:<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Whitney Frost is alive at the end of this episode, impossibly so. Now, if Wilkes stays dead, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get a suitable amount of ire from me about the willingness of showrunners to kill of black characters but revive or keep white characters alive, often for the same fates. But I am clinging to a small bit of hope that\u00c2\u00a0both<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0characters survived the Zero Matter. What if it manifests differently in Wilkes? What if he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s suffering the same effects, but deals with it differently? Is a person doomed if they absorb Zero Matter? Why did Jane Scott freeze to death when she came into contact with it, but Whitney did not?<\/p>\n
LOTS OF QUESTIONS. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m eager to find out the answers to them!<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A View in the Dark\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b> In the second episode of the second season of\u00c2\u00a0Agent Carter,\u00c2\u00a0Peggy gains an ally in Wilkes, and they both try to save evidence from Isodyne. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Agent Carter.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[641],"tags":[642],"class_list":["post-5748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agent-carter","tag-mark-watches-agent-carter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5748\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"