Whether you call it "Hayley Atwell Is My Queen," "The Peggy & Jarvis Are British Variety Hour," or "That Show That Got Chris Evans To Dubsmash," the facts are facts: Marvel's Agent Carter is back for Season 2. The ABC midseason series may be switching coasts, but the gang's all back for some old Hollywood adventures. In order to prepare for more, here's a recap of Agent Carter Season 1 to help us get on track when the show returns for more action and pincurls.
The series as a whole continues the story of the first Captain America movie with regards to those characters who weren't frozen in the ice for years. It deals with the origins of S.H.I.E.L.D. and incorporates many Marvel characters along the way. The difference is that Peggy Carter is the hero now instead of Steve Rogers, as well she should be.
After the war, she went back to New York and continued her job at the Strategic Science Reserve where she, like many women as soon as the men came home from fighting, was undervalued and underworked. However, Peggy Carter was destined to rise to the top, and Agent Carter Season 1 marked the next stage in her epic journey. Here are some other key things to remember.
Howard Stark's A Hot Mess
Peggy Carter was called to action by her eccentric old friend, who needed some help on the DL recovering technology that had been stolen. He assigned his butler, the original Jarvis, to help her. Thus, Peggy began working undercover for Stark to prove his innocence while her own coworkers at the SSR were looking to find Stark.
Peggy Was Board-ed
An interesting side plot in Season 1 revolved around Peggy's living situation. After her roommate was murdered, Agent Carter sought a safer home, and moved into a boarding home with a lot of (hella sexist) rules that actually added comedy more than anything else. She also grew closer to Angie, a waitress and aspiring star. At the end of the season, they were both kicked out of the building and ended up crashing in one of Howard Stark's spare homes.
Like A Black Widow, Baby
The second Dottie Underwood arrived on the scene, I knew something was up. Nobody's that earnest, not even in the 1940s. Sure enough, she was a Russian spy trained by the same people who would eventually train Natasha Romanov, also known as Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson's character in the MCU. Dottie was working for an evil organization called Leviathan, the Big Bad of Season 1.
She Learned To Let Go
My favorite scene in the whole season was a fight between Howard and Peggy (pictured earlier) in which they confronted their guilt and grief about Steve's apparent death. Captain America was important to them, and was holding them back in many ways, including emotionally. At the end of the season, both of them let go — Peggy literally let the last vial of Cap's blood go into the East River. This could open Peggy up to new romantic interests in Season. However, I will maintain that she didn't reject the my favorite sad puppy Daniel Sousa at the end of Season 1. He's the best and has a huge crush on Pegs, so watch what happens there. After all, the identity of Peggy's future husband is still up in the air.
The Winter (Soldier) Is Coming
Finally, in the Season 1 tag scene, a Marvel staple at this point, the evil Leviathan scientist Johann Fennhoff was sent to jail and met Hydra operative Arnim Zola, who was largely responsible for keeping the heads of the organization alive and infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades. Not only that, but both of these characters are likely responsible for the "creation" of the Winter Soldier, also known as Bucky Barnes. Could the show be planning on giving us a taste of Bucky's torturous past? Even if a cameo isn't possible, it's good to remember that Agent Carter is not isolated from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so whatever they have planned for Season 2 is sure to be exciting.
Images: Matt Kennedy/ABC; Giphy (2)
