Agent Carter 1.03 “Time and Tide”

“Tide and Time.” Or, plot teasing part 3: Tease harder.

Here there be spoilers.

Due to bad timing (something I’m good at) and, well, actually that’s all the excuse I have for not blogging about episodes 1&2. The short version is I was disappointed that it was a two-episode premier, rather than the “two hour premier” that we were promised. But whatever, semantics. Nothing but semantics.

Moving right along then…

First thing I noticed is no one is talking about the photo of sexy blond Carter (Hayley Atwell). This bodes ill methinks. I just know that shit is gonna come back to bite her later on. Of course the focus was on the license plate found in that big ball of former city block. This brings the ever-charming Jarvis (James D’Arcy) under suspicion. Or more suspicion rather. Luckily he’s saved by Carter with a paperwork technicality that rivals how Freddy Kruger beat the rap. If that sounds critical, it’s because it is. I really feel he could have been bailed out some better way, but whatever. The point was the suspense-building in the moment, not the resolution of the moment itself.

I also like the inclusion of new Stark tech. At first I was afraid they were going to stretch out the implosion bomb thingie for the entire mini-series. On the other hand, a series about rounding up all Stark’s missing gizmo’s is a tad reminiscent of Lilo & Stitch the series. After this episode I’ll say they did right. One suspenseful Easter egg hunt would get dull sooner rather than later.

Oh yeah, there was a minor fight scene with some nameless thug muscle. I would have preferred that Jarvis save the day, but we mustn’t forget who got the name billing. At least he helped in the fight.

As far as character development, we learned Jarvis was a bad boy, but he did it for heartstring-plucking reasons, so it may as well not have been added at all. He doesn’t need a lot of backstory to me. He’s the charming, kick-ass when required butler sidekick. That’s more than I really need in a sidekick, thank you very much. But gods bless you for trying, Marvel.

Agent Carter showed us her feminine side (had to happen eventually). This was a nice change actually, and showed she is just a human who gets overwhelmed, and feels the consequences of her actions.

I didn’t like the assassin killing the only witness to Carter’s involvement in the Gadget raid. It’s almost like someone is covering her ass. Which isn’t an impossibility now that I think about it. Hmmmm.

Unfortunately we have to wait two weeks for the next installment. But I am looking forward to it!