HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!  Yes I'm late, but still, it's 2015, it's filled with great new shows and movies and everyone is just hoping no one remembers their New Year's Resolutions so they won't hold them up to it.

Part of why I wanted to wait to make this new post was because I didn't want to talk about any of the new shows out before I talked about Agent Carter because it featured so heavily in my last post. I didn't think it was fair to make all these assumptions about Agent Carter and not at least give it a chance. And I did give it a chance and here is what I thought about it.



Agent Carter picks up exactly where Captain America: The First Avenger left off. Cap just died and Peggy has to readjust to civilian life just like so many other returning vets. She's keeping her emotions close to her vest as she joins the S.S.R. but the only thing she's good for is being a secretary. The other guys are all cowboys and absolutely hate that there is a woman working with them, except for one who always tries to speak up for her. In the very first ten minutes of being there, they're lobbying sexist remarks towards her and asking her to make coffee and running to get lunch for everyone while the big boys run out and do actual police work.

It follows Carter as she's trying to prove herself as a good agent and Howard Stark comes up as a spy against the U.S. His "bad babies" are stolen, ideas he knows are good ideas but they are so diabolical, that he doesn't want anyone to get their hands on it. He asks Carter to help prove his innocence and he asks his servant, Jarvis, to help her.



Let me start this off by saying that most of my observations in my last post were not completely unfounded. It's a good show, it's a little campy and a little cheesy, and they keep hitting the nail on the head about her being a woman and how she'll never really be an agent compared to the guys because no one will let her. No one's really ready for it to happen, but we all know it does. But still. Hayley Atwell tries to do the best she can with the role she was given.

In the first episode she's getting herself out of tough situations, she can more than handle herself in a fight against like six big, bad guys, but in the end, her colleagues will never respect her which is why she agrees to help out Stark. There's no denying that she's a badass, but in the end, it's like they want you to know that despite never being equal, she's actually better than the men around her. Okay, we get it already. The men around her are starting to sound like broken tape recorders as they constantly tell her that she's a woman. Really? You mean her giant boobs and tight skirts didn't give her away?

And what's with that? If you look at her in the movie, she's no where near as busty as she is in the show. Minor annoyance, but still, it serves no purpose to the plot.

When they're not constantly reminding her that she can't play with the big boys, the show runners throw Carter into all kinds of death defying missions that picks up the show very well. No one's going to argue that Carter can kick butt. So when she actually does it, it's great to watch. I just wish she could do the same thing at her job. She just sits there and takes whatever they dish out. Which, according to the time period, she can really do nothing about. She can't complain because then they win, she can't prove them wrong, because no one will give her a chance. Still...........



The only truly bright spot is James D'Arcy as Jarvis. He is just absolutely wonderful and besides Carter, he's my favorite on the show. He's so British, polite, awkward, caring, and loyal and I just love him to pieces. First of all the name!! I cannot recall if Stark had a Jarvis in the movie, so don't quote me on this and feel free to correct me, but from my knowledge, he didn't, and he is just wonderful because it ties in with Tony and his automated Jarvis. So despite he and his dad having issues, he has a Jarvis as a sort of homage to his dad.

What I also liked was the role reversal in Jarvis. He's married and though we never see his wife, she calls to him from the other room. He handles cleaning off the table, washing the dishes, and making fancy desserts for her and it's so cute and great that he does that for her. Sure, you can say that he's a servant and he's used to it, but to you I say shut up, because James D'Arcy is perfect for it. He's tall, lanky, and has a sheepish quality to him that just draws you in. Sort of like a puppy. It's clear that he's attracted to Carter and she to him, but he's happily married and I swear, if this show took that route, I'd be disappointed. But already, you can tell that there's a great respect and a bond between them that gives it a nice dynamic between them.



There's also a nice spot for Chad Michael Murray who by some trick or some spell, looks younger than he did when he actually was young. How that happened, I don't know, but he does play an asshole on this show. An unnecessary one, but again, the time period.....



Howard Stark by Dominic Cooper is also a lovely addition when he pops in from time to time to shake things up and that's when things get funny. The movie focused so much on Cap which was understandable so in the show, we truly get to see his character and how close he and Tony are similar. They have to be, because that's a father and son, but we miss out on that whole dynamic in the Iron Man movies besides Tony spouting how distant and genius his father was, but how Tony resented him. We never actually get Howard's point of view towards his son because by this time, Howard is still too young to have Tony. But you see that they both chase women, both are brilliant and arrogant in that brilliance, but they also care. It's great to see and make all of these Avenger connections which is why I'm so in love with Marvel and how they connected all of these movies.



At first glance, it seemed like a no brainer right? The animated series always had the heroes knowing each other and working together, but the movies weren't. So when they started doing it, it's kind of like, "Why weren't they doing this sooner?" And that's probably why I'm so biased towards DC. Please don't get me started on that whole debate! Ha!

All in all, the show has a bunch of potential. It's a good show, but heavy on the cheese so if you're into that sort of thing, then by all means. I recommend you see this show. It's certainly no Agents of Shield, but it has it's old fashioned charms which is probably what it was trying to accomplish. I just wish they didn't make the whole thing a feminist debate. It's fine to throw it in there, but her gender shouldn't define her which is what I was trying to say in my last post. From the get go, from the very tag line to get you interested, they've made it a feminist debate and it sucks because the show suffers for it.

I do hope they get another season, I'm interested to see where it goes, but if they can bring in more Jarvis/Carter banter, Stark/Carter friction, and Carter kicking butt then I'm staying tuned in every Tuesday night!