Marvel's Agent Carter Season 2 Finale Review: Hollywood Ending
Christine Laskodi
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Agent Carter has closed the case on her second season.
In what felt like a rushed and anti-climatic finale, Peggy and her team successfully rid the world of Zero Matter and she finally made a choice in the love triangle that's existed throughout the season.
Peggy's life is always getting threatened...I'm just saying, maybe the problem is you.
Howard Stark
I really wanted to love Marvel's Agent Carter Season 2 Episode 10, especially after a season of build up surrounding Whitney Frost, Zero Matter, Vernon and Jack's dirty deals, and what Jason Wilkes may or may not have the power to do.
Yet all through the hour, all I kept thinking to myself was, "That's it? That seemed too easy."
All that it took was a well-timed visit from Howard Stark combined with the help of Joseph Manfredi, and Peggy had everything she needed to get rid of Zero Matter, cure Whitney, and close the case on Isodyne Energy.
I think we all have something in common. We're worried about Whitney.
Joseph
Whitney Frost. I'm so disappointed in what this villain ended up being for Agent Carter.
Where Season 1's Dottie Underwood was a charismatic villain that I almost categorize as an anti-hero, Whitney Frost ended up being a dud, really.
While Whitney was excellent at times, with incredible powers of Zero Matter that aided her to obliterate her foes, she ultimately was a victim of the very thing that made her excellent.
Whitney, in this finale, wasn't much of a foe at all.
Consumed by wanting more Zero Matter, she was driven crazy by the black substance.
Most of the time in which Whitney Frost was on screen, she looked wide-eyed and harrowed, like a mad woman. She wasn't doing anything truly threatening, she really just wanted to focus on her math equations.
I'm going to open a new door and this time it's going to stay open.
Whitney
To me, a finale should include a big climax where our heroine goes toe to toe with the villain of the season, much like the fight we saw in Marvel's Agent Carter Season 1 between Peggy and Dottie, and the emotional climax between Peggy and Howard as he tried to recreate a mission he'd already finished.
Watching Whitney Frost wander in and get her Zero Matter sucked away by the machine that Howard Stark invented felt like an empty win.
The big action of the finale surrounded Daniel, sacrificing himself and nearly getting sucked into the anti-Zero Matter cloud, which was noble.
But to me, the second season of Agent Carter deserved a better ending than to have the team essentially play tug of war with a giant black cloud in the sky.
You're a good man, Jack. I know that.
Peggy
Our other big villain this season was Vernon Masters and the game he and Jack seemed to be playing together against Peggy and Daniel.
We can assume that Vernon was decimated when the Zero Matter exploded from Jason in the factory.
I say "assume" because we never actually see what happens to Vernon. Whitney is frying him with her Zero Matter powers until Jason enters the room and explodes, and afterward we see both Whitney and Jason...but Vernon is nowhere to be found, and no one seemed to care.
And as for Jack, well, he pulled so many double crosses over the last few episodes that I couldn't quite keep straight if he ended up being a good guy or not, or if his opportunistic ways got the better of him.
Peggy cleared it up for me when she forgave Jack for his side deals and reminded him that ultimately, he's still the Jack Thompson we loved long ago, and that he IS a good man.
Jack proved that Peggy was right when he agreed to take the dinner orders, for a change.
Jack: I'm not a scientist but I'm here to help.
Peggy: How about collecting the dinner orders?
How about that for a full-circle moment?
Jack also discovered that the pins that each Council member had served a dual purpose as a key, a secret that he wasted no time in sharing with Peggy.
What do they open? That's a question we may never get an answer to, as it's not looking as though Agent Carter will see a third season.
Jack also met quite a shocking ending in the final moments of the finale when someone shot (and seemingly murdered) him in his hotel room, stealing the supposed fake file he had on Peggy.
That's a story I'll be sad to not have closure on, possibly.
You sell yourself short Mr. Jarvis. You are the strongest of us all.
Peggy
Jarvis, once again, is the MVP of Agent Carter, providing the laugh out loud moments that were most needed in what was overall a bit of a lackluster finale.
Whether he was delivering mustard while being held hostage, making jokes about male egos with Peggy, or saving the day by recalling Howard's many inventions, Jarvis was easily the star of the hour.
And naturally, he and Peggy have the most important and heartfelt talk that ultimately drives Peggy to make a choice about her personal life.
I've said it before and I'll continue to be a broken record. Jarvis and Peggy's friendship is one of the most unique on television.
They are family, at their core. They seem to know each other better than anyone else, they share an honest intimacy that no other friendship has, and they never fail to come through for each other.
If only all shows could write platonic male and female friendships with the same thought and care that Jarvis and Peggy are written together, we'd see so many more incredible moments on our television screens.
I'm glad we got to work together again.
Daniel (to Peggy)
This season, Agent Carter's love life was a main focus as she was torn between the love that she already felt for Daniel and the new attraction she felt toward Jason, who until only recently was non-corporeal and unable to even touch Peggy.
While Jason was a perfect match for Peggy in numerous ways, ultimately, Peggy made the decision to follow her heart and find the only reason she really needed to stay in Los Angeles, permanently.
And longtime fans of Peggy and Daniel rejoiced as the two finally shared their first kiss, a very different ending than Marvel's Agent Carter Season 1 Episode 8, where Peggy turned Daniel down for a date.
Was their union a surprise? Not really.
There's been a number of hints along the way that suggest that Daniel is the future husband that Peggy talks about in Captain America: Winter Soldier.
But was their union satisfying? Absolutely.
Peggy has put her own life on the back burner over and over again as she rescues those around her from danger. She deserves to have some happiness of her own.
Would I like to see Agent Carter come back for a third season and another story? If I'm being honest, I think Peggy's story could safely end here, with her happy ending seemingly intact.
What did you think of Peggy's "Hollywood Ending" TV Fanatics? Did the finale leave you satisfied? Would you like to see a third season? Sound off in the comments below!
Missed a moment? Want to see it all unfold again? You can relive every moment of Season 2 and watch Marvel's Agent Carter online right here at TV Fanatic!
