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Agent Carter: Bridge and Tunnel

"Whatever happened to a nice cup of tea and a civilised interrogation?"

Seeing as this episode mostly centred around Peggy and Jarvis' continued pursuit of James Frain and his milk truck of doom, all the while avoiding Peggy's fellow S.S.R. agents and Colleen's killer (who is is simply called 'Green Suit'), 'Bridge and Tunnel' felt a lot like an extension of the pilot (which is maybe why they aired back to back). As such, it didn't really offer much in terms of plot progression.

With Brannis now dead, Peggy is no closer to finding Stark's missing weapons or who stole them. We didn't learn much more about Leviathan other than it is a group rather than a person and it is somehow connected to some doodle Brannis made before he croaked. But at least Peggy was able to avenge Colleen's murder by pinning Green Suit to the milk truck of doom (using his signature move against him) as it went speeding off a cliff and then imploded.

Colleen's death has pushed Peggy into isolation mode, causing her to reject Jarvis' help and Angie's offers to move into her building so they can be neighbours. Peggy sees this as protecting them, believing that she is better off completing this mission on her own. But she really can't. As capable as she is, Peggy is not superhuman, and even if she were, Jarvis reminds her that even superheroes need help and support. Not just the practical support that Jarvis offers, but also the emotional support that she gets from Angie's friendship.

One of my favourite parts of the episode was the Captain America radio show. It was a perfect parody of adventure serials from the golden age of radio that transformed our heroine into Betty Carver, a triage nurse and constant damsel in distress. Understandably, Peggy was not a fan. So it was immensely gratifying when the show played in the background as Peggy took down Brannis' accomplice, Betty's cries for Captain America's help wonderfully contrasting with Peggy's thorough ass-kicking.

This episode also continued to show that this show will be a lot darker than expected. Green Suit was ruthless in his pursuit of Leet, murdering not just gangsters, but their wives as well. At the same time, we saw that even the good guys were not adverse to using extreme methods to get the results they wanted as Van Ert was beaten by Thompson. Mind you, I did love that Dooley actually gave Van Ert a choice between a carrot or a stick.


Intel and Assets

--After going blonde bombshell in the previous episode, this one saw Peggy don a lab coat and glasses and impersonate "Ruth Barton, City of New York Health Department". I hope undercover Peggy becomes a regular fixture.

--In the comics, Leviathan was like a Soviet version of HYDRA.

--Surely, Ray Wise has to have a bigger role to play later on? You don't hire an actor like him just for a few exposition scenes.

--If you're not following Hayley Atwell on Twitter, do so this instant. If not you will miss out on gems like this:



--Who in their right mind would name someone 'Leet'?

--Are we ever going to meet Mrs Jarvis or is she going to be a Maris?

Hugh Jones: "I didn't know our government had such good taste in secretaries. What's your name, darling?"
Peggy: "Agent!"

Jarvis: “Your line of work requires support. People who care about your well-being, who’ll be there to stitch up your wounds.”
Peggy: “If I allow people to get close to me, I’m putting them in danger.”
Jarvis: “So your solution is to remove yourself from the world you wish to protect? Where’s the sense in that?”

Angie: "Hi, Mary. That's Mary, she's a legal secretary at Goldman, Kitzberg and Holloway. Evelyn! Evelyn's a lounge singer at a club in midtown. Hi, Sarah. That's Sarah, she's a slut."

Jarvis: “There is not a man or woman, no matter how fit he or she may be, who is capable of carrying the entire world on their shoulders.”
Peggy: “Steve was.”
Jarvis: “From what Mr Stark has told me, Captain Rogers relied heavily on you. For courage, strategy and moral guidance. You were his support. Your desire to help others is noble. But I doubt you’ll find much success unless you allow others to help you.”

Three out of four milk trucks of doom.
---
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011. More Mark Greig.

3 comments:

  1. I felt this built on and improved upon the already good first episode. I equally loved the parallel scenes between the radio show and the actual action sequence, with sound effects to boot! Peggy impersonating a diary inspector was wonderful, including her kicking the tire of a truck then stating someone need to put air in the tire with hilarious exasperation.

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  2. I wonder, do they always keep a carrot and a stick in the office or did they just happen to have those there? Was that carrot someone's lunch that day?

    Also, did anyone else think of Sydney Bristow when Peggy first appeared in a blond wig? I thought they looked very much alike.

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  3. Enjoying this show and Hayley Atwell very much. A couple of things from this ep - Peggy's response of 'Agent' to 'What's your name, darling?' reminded me of Tony Stark's comment about Coulson - 'Phil? His first name is Agent!' or something along those lines.

    Also, anyone enjoying the Cap radio show should really check out the Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast, especially the "Jefferson Reid, Ace American" and "Amelia Earhartt, Fearless Flyer" sections, where they battle Nazis, and which are parodies in this vein ('Dirty Krauts!' being a favoured catchphrase). In fact, it's all brilliant, with many great actors featuring (including James Urbaniak, the unfortunate Van Ert of this episode, and Nathan Fillion as Jefferson Reid).

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