In Hollywood, it’s customary to go out with a bang, and Agent Carter took that a little bit too literally in their season two finale. We got to see some tying up of loose ends although some questions remained unanswered. There was a kiss, a shooting, and a mental institution. It was a lot packed into one resolution episode, and we are here to recap what worked, what didn’t work and begin our prayer circle for a Season 3 pickup.

The Good

The Return of Howard Stark

Now if you have been reading these reviews regularly you would know that I love me some Howard Stark. There’s something about this character and the way Dominic Cooper portrays him that brings the show some much needed extra spice (similar to Dottie). His questionable actions, coupled with his innuendoes, and undying respect for Peggy, just makes even more endearing.

One of the strongest parts of Agent Carter has been their characterization, the actors move so fluidly as their characters that you feel as they are one, especially Hayley Atwell as Peggy, James D’Arcy as Jarvis, and Dominic as Howard. Captain America: The First Avenger and Agent Carter has taken Howard Stark from the cold, severe father as played by John Slattery in the Iron Man films and Ant Man, to someone much like his son, Tony, which makes me curious as to what changes him. Was it the impact of SHIELD? Will we ever get this story? There’s another idea for a one-shot Marvel.

Peggy and Daniel’s kiss

Here’s something that shippers have been waiting for for a long time – the eventual kiss between Peggy and Daniel Sousa. Their timing was never right, through most of the first season while Daniel was interested in Peggy, the wound of Steve Roger’s death was still fresh in Peggy’s heart and she was not keen on starting something new. However in season two when Peggy was finally ready to try something with Daniel, he moved to Los Angeles and got engaged to Violet.

After Daniel and Violet’s breakup there were a few ‘almost’ moments between Peggy and Daniel, there was that almost kiss that Dottie interrupted, the one Thompson interrupted etc. But luckily we were saved from this becoming another one of Peggy’s almost romances, when she bit the bullet at the end of the episode and kissed, culminating in a make-out session that we could all cheer for.

The Supporting Characters

Whereas in the first season when Peggy did most of her spying undercover with only the support of Jarvis, this year she had a full squad around her. From Dr. Samberly to Rose to Ana Jarvis, the supporting characters really shone this season.

Peggy is a great character and she intoxicates the people around her, that even you as an audience member feel as if you’d be keen to climb out of your warm bed and crawl through a vent if she asked you to. This season showed great interactions between all the characters but also helped to depict that Peggy’s respect is earned, she puts effort in her relationships with people, she doesn’t just expect their undying loyalty.

The Bad

The Resolution Of Whitney Frost And Zero Matter

I was a big fan of the Whitney Frost storyline when it began, it was set up well, her character was interesting, and it had a lot of potential. But after this week’s episode, I can’t help but be disappointed at the outcome of this storyline.

They made Whitney out to be a true threat to Peggy and co, that even Dottie feared her, but in the end she was so simply thwarted by just having the S.S.R. team cheat and steal Whitney’s ideas and then they use it to open the portal to the zero matter dimension, in hopes that they can joosh it back out of our universe.

They manage to succeed, with minimal effort, unless you count Samberly being knocked out, and Sousa almost being sucked into the dark hole (how many of us actually thought that was a threat?), and they just nicely plonked Whitney Frost in a mental institution where she hallucinated about her dead husband.

It felt too rushed, too neatly tied up, too quickly resolved. For something that was built up so much, I felt kind of underwhelmed, not like the epic take down at the end of Season one.

Jason Wilkes

I feel like every review is me complaining about the characterization of Jason Wilkes, and sadly guys, this week is no different. Jason kind of gets a redemption arc, where we blame the zero matter for everything that he did (including pull a gun on Peggy) and he takes himself out of the race for her heart – leaving Daniel Sousa as her only suitor.

Once again, neatly tying things up. Howard Stark even gave him a job at one of his facilities, so there’s no need to worry about Jason.

I once again felt that Jason Wilkes was stuck into the series in order to give in some diversity, and that they didn’t really know what to do with him. Was he good? Was he bad? Was he a real contender for Peggy’s heart? Or was he just a distraction?

The Cliffhanger

So the episode ended with Jack Thompson getting ready to go back to New York when an unseen person shoots him and steals Peggy’s file. The last shot is of a bleeding Jack on the floor. So is he really dead? Or is he Jon Snow dead? We will only know if Agent Carter is renewed for a third season.

Last Minute Notes

• Does the little makeout session mean that Peggy is staying in Hollywood with Sousa? What about Angie?
• Who hired Dottie to steal that Area Club pin?
• What does the Arena Club key open?
• I read in a comment that M. Carter could stand for Michael Carter instead of Margaret Carter in Peggy’s file.
• Is Howard’s movie ever going to be made?
• PLEASE ABC GIVE US A THIRD SEASON! If only just to see how SHIELD is created and how HYDRA begins.