Agent Carter - Season 2

[RJDiogenes]

The season two pickup was a bit of a miracle, so I doubt we'll get any more, unless they add it to their Netflix group-- but that's their dark and gritty bunch, so I don't think Agent Carter would fit the vibe.

So, Agent Carter seems to be quite durable. She avoided a broken back and fractured skull, and shrugged off getting impaled pretty easily. Maybe she's an Inhuman.

I did like Rose and Aloysius, or whatever his name was, but I think they went a little overboard with the attempts at humor this time around. The brain-damaged tech bumping off the walls, the Roxxon guy getting multiple memory wipes, and the slapstick atom bomb caper, among other things, were a bit too broad-- whoever wrote this sure must have wished they were writing a comedy. I guess they can't all be classics.

But we did get some developments with Wilkes. The little bit of dark matter made him solidify for a bit, but now he seems to have been drawn away.

My DVR cut off right after Whitney Frost grabbed her husband by the throat, can somebody give me a summary of what happened after?

He sneakily made a phone call to summon an emergency meeting of the council while Whitney was sleeping.

And then Wilkes disappeared altogether, drawn away apparently by the call of zero matter.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

There's always Netflix...

I don't it'll air as an original programing on Netflix. Its strength is that it's a midseason replacement. Meaning it only has to do well enough to beat some other show (or no show) after you take into account production cost. In other words, it has lower expectations I'm not sure Netflix would have.

A lot of people have wanted their shows to go to Netflix, but it's quite rare for that to happen (particularly right away).

 

[Booji]

I lol'd when I saw who was playing Manfredi. I kept expecting him to exclaim "I want to dip my balls in it!"

 

[John Clark]

For me, it'll be a shame if it's cancelled. I enjoyed the first season and though we're only two into the second, I'm really enjoying that so far.

 

[Marsden]

Mock me if you like, I was really scared Peggy wasn't going to make it.

I mean, with so many things like LMDs and clones and even resurrections, with or without intervention by aliens or gods, I though she might just be dead, for a bit.


And not even for tax purposes.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Mock, mock.

It did seriously cross my mind for a minute that they were foreshadowing her being an Inhuman, but I don't think they will go that route. And I hope they don't.

 

[DEWLine]

I doubt they'll ever go that route. Either MCU or comics version.

 

[MarsWeeps]

I was hoping for an Agent Carter - Season 3.

Me too. I don't understand the decline in ratings, I really like the show (OK, Haley Atwell), I hope somehow we get a 3rd season.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Me too. I don't understand the decline in ratings, I really like the show (OK, Haley Atwell), I hope somehow we get a 3rd season.

My theory is that a lot of people are just going to binge watch it, when it's done.
Was my original plan, too.
Though I caved, but in my instance it makes no difference either way.
It's problematic if people whose viewing habits are actually counted do it that way.
I think the show actually works better with binge watching and more people who are not tuning in because of that agree.

 

[MarsWeeps]

My theory is that a lot of people are just going to binge watch it, when it's done.

I agree, the whole ratings system needs an overhaul to account for modern day streaming. But...not all shows are immediately available to binge watch. Netflix is usually behind a year or so in TV seasons. Hulu plus, in many cases, only have the last 5 shows available for new stuff. Many times I've had to go to Amazon and pay for several episodes to "fill in the gaps" on episodes that I've missed that aren't available on Netflix or Hulu. I also use captioning due to hearing loss so it's essential I find a streaming service with captions.

 

[DEWLine]

Also suspecting binge-watching plans as being at the root of any ratings drop this year.
Living in Canada, I wonder about PVRs and services such as Crave.

 

[Gaith]

Me too. I don't understand the decline in ratings, I really like the show (OK, Haley Atwell), I hope somehow we get a 3rd season.

I like the show fine, but it does feel pretty inessential. We already know that Peggy and Howard will co-found SHIELD, that Peggy'll get married, and that history will play out roughly the same as our own. (I guess we don't know for sure that Jarvis'll be around long enough for Tony to remember him, but that too seems likely.) Whereas we can always hope, even if it doesn't seem all that likely, that Coulson's crew will play a key if minor role in one of the MCU features at some point. And while Atwell is of course very likable and easy on the eyes, she still doesn't have much of a character, and her screen presence remains blandly hyper-competent and sexless, as evidenced by her walking off that fall that should absolutely have cracked her skull or severed her spine; May, Simmons and Daisy are all much more complex. (AC's soft-focus photography and candy-color scheme doesn't help much, either.) The show is a perfectly pleasant addition to the MCU, and the Peggy/Jarvis banter is indeed gold, but I can't really say I'll miss the show if this is indeed the end.

... Did anyone else get BttF 2 deja vu when she and the scientist guy were on the run? The tunnel the car chase went through looked exactly like the one Marty hoverboarded through, and the small neighborhood they ended up in felt a lot like Hill Valley. I'm not sure that they were filming in Courthouse Square, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.

 

[Christopher]

I like the show fine, but it does feel pretty inessential. We already know that Peggy and Howard will co-found SHIELD, that Peggy'll get married, and that history will play out roughly the same as our own. (I guess we don't know for sure that Jarvis'll be around long enough for Tony to remember him, but that too seems likely.) Whereas we can always hope, even if it doesn't seem all that likely, that Coulson's crew will play a key if minor role in one of the MCU features at some point.

How do you define "inessential?" Does a show have to contribute to a larger continuity to have any worth at all? Can't it just be enjoyable on its own merits? Continuity among different films and shows is a nice bonus on top of the enjoyment of the individual works. But the important thing is to enjoy the work itself while you're watching or reading it. It's not good to get so preoccupied with what it will lead to in the future that you forget to enjoy it in the moment.

I don't care if this show has a payoff in the larger MCU. We already know its payoffs. What matters is that it's cool to see more of Peggy Carter in her prime, and period pieces are fun, and kickass action heroines are fun and worthwhile to have. And Peggy and Jarvis make a great double act.

And while Atwell is of course very likable and easy on the eyes, she still doesn't have much of a character, and her screen presence remains blandly hyper-competent and sexless, as evidenced by her walking off that fall that should absolutely have cracked her skull or severed her spine;

"Absolutely?" There are plenty of factors that can go into one's ability to survive a fall. It was only a fall of a story or so. She's fit and trained and therefore knows how to take a fall, how to relax her muscles and position her body for it. She landed on her back, which would distribute the force of impact over her body.

And where does "sexless" fit into that sentence? Even aside from the fact that it's obviously false, given her strong attraction to Dr. Wilkes, what does her ability to survive a fall have to do with her sex life?

... Did anyone else get BttF 2 deja vu when she and the scientist guy were on the run? The tunnel the car chase went through looked exactly like the one Marty hoverboarded through, and the small neighborhood they ended up in felt a lot like Hill Valley. I'm not sure that they were filming in Courthouse Square, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.

Unlikely, since that's at Universal Studios, while this show is filmed at Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Burbank Studios. But I suppose a lot of backlots use similar design sensibilities, since they're meant to be generic.

 

[Gaith]

How do you define "inessential?" Does a show have to contribute to a larger continuity to have any worth at all? Can't it just be enjoyable on its own merits?

I meant with regards to my viewing schedule. AoS feels like an ongoing adventure I'd be silly to skip; whereas AC is pleasant, but not particularly memorable or exciting. I don't think Peggy's likely to spend a few months on an alien world, for instance.

It was only a fall of a story or so. She's fit and trained and therefore knows how to take a fall, how to relax her muscles and position her body for it. She landed on her back, which would distribute the force of impact over her body.

And where does "sexless" fit into that sentence? Even aside from the fact that it's obviously false, given her strong attraction to Dr. Wilkes, what does her ability to survive a fall have to do with her sex life?

I merged two separate sentences for brevity there, but it looked like a 20-30-ft fall to me, and even if she was perfectly limp when she landed on her back, I'd think the concussion alone would certainly kill her - that's what I meant about blandly competent. As for the sexless remark, I said that about her screen presence, not the literal character. Sure, the character is obviously attracted to Wilkes, but I don't find their chemistry too compelling.

Unlikely, since that's at Universal Studios, while this show is filmed at Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Burbank Studios. But I suppose a lot of backlots use similar design sensibilities, since they're meant to be generic.

Unless I'm mistaken, studios work out such deals from time to time, as when Voyager shot their WW2 two-parter on the Universal backlot. But that's neither here nor there, I guess.

 

[Star Wolf]

How do you define "inessential?" Does a show have to contribute to a larger continuity to have any worth at all? Can't it just be enjoyable on its own merits? Continuity among different films and shows is a nice bonus on top of the enjoyment of the individual works. But the important thing is to enjoy the work itself while you're watching or reading it. It's not good to get so preoccupied with what it will lead to in the future that you forget to enjoy it in the moment.

I don't care if this show has a payoff in the larger MCU. We already know its payoffs. What matters is that it's cool to see more of Peggy Carter in her prime, and period pieces are fun, and kickass action heroines are fun and worthwhile to have. And Peggy and Jarvis make a great double act.
.

That is where the disconnect is, to the hard core MCU fan the show only exist as an adjunct to the greater whole and it needs to play its role in the universe and they suspect that without the link the second miniseries never would have come as well as the Agents of SHIELD not surviving the pre Winter Soldier doldrums. Secondarily you have the comic book fan but that space is getting real crowded. With the Flarrowverse, Supergirl, Gotham, iZombie....even Heroes sharing the space. And for those who don't care in a nerd sense at all it has to compete with Black-ish

 

[Christopher]

That is where the disconnect is, to the hard core MCU fan the show only exist as an adjunct to the greater whole and it needs to play its role in the universe...

I wish people would stop pretending they can generalize about fandoms. No fandom is monolithic. I'm a fan of the MCU, and I don't consider the show to be "only... an adjunct." The whole wouldn't exist without its parts.

I mean, heck, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and the other Netflix shows contribute nothing to the films; they stand on their own as a separate branch of the universe. But that doesn't make them less worthwhile in their own right. The continuity enhances them, regardless of what they contribute to it in turn. A shared universe is merely a foundation for telling stories. It enriches the individual stories by giving them a larger pool of ideas and story threads to draw on. The whole exists to serve the parts, not the other way around.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I have pretty much no interest at all in the Marvel movies. I just watch Agent Carter because it's a fantastically well-done historical espionage adventure. I don't even care much about its connection to Agents of SHIELD. And, despite the recycling of names, I don't feel any real connection to Marvel Comics from either of them.

 

[Forbin]

People can survive 20-30 -foot falls. It's just unlikely they'd be up and about and adventuring again 30 minutes later with no more than a "fiddle-dee-dee".

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

People can survive 20-30 -foot falls. It's just unlikely they'd be up and about and adventuring again 30 minutes later with no more than a "fiddle-dee-dee".

Just ask Bucky.

 

[JD]

I don't have a problem with her surviving the fall, but I definitely think she should have been more seriously hurt.
Rose and the scientist guy were a lot of fun.