1946: New York City.
Peggy Carter has just lost the love of her life, Steve Rogers – Captain America. She works herself to the bone for the S.S.R. (Strategic Scientific Reserve) – the precursor to S.H.I.E.L.D – while regularly being unnoticed by her superiors and those she is investigating. Unnoticed by most, except fellow agent Daniel Sousa and Howard Stark. Being unnoticed is an advantage to Carter, allowing her to go undercover and learn secrets nobody else is able to find.
Marvel’s Agent Carter tells the story of Peggy Carter’s fight to be recognized as an equal in post-war America after having worked alongside her male counterparts, both in combat and strategic operations. During the war she fought alongside the 107th – The Howling Commandos – and helped Captain America defeat Red Skull during the war. Since then she was promoted to the S.S.R. with the help of a good word from Howard Stark. Being a woman in a man’s job however, this doesn’t help her reputation when she is seen as nothing more than a secretary with connections to a man convicted of selling secrets to the Russians. In working to clear Howard Stark’s name, Peggy goes undercover to investigate the group that stole Stark’s inventions: Leviathan.
Despite the apparent sexism and segregation in the workplace in this story, this show is important for many reasons, not the least of which is how much better these factors are portrayed in this period drama than they are in present-day reality. In a time without the Internet, and the only major media outlets for celebrity gossip being daily newspapers and pre-film news reels, the sexualization of women has not completely arisen in the world. While women are still in the workplace post-war, these jobs have shifted to more secretarial roles and those like Peggy are often ignored for their skills. All the while, however, every female on this show is treated with more respect than you would find from the average person today.
A wonderful example of this is Jarvis, Stark’s butler. Jarvis takes care of his wife and does not expect her to do every piece of housework as is often the “norm.” In addition to his regular butler duties for Stark, Jarvis washes and folds his wife’s laundry, gardens, and still makes sure to be home before 9:00 to spend time with her – “7:00 Sherry, 8:00 Benny Goodman, 9:00 Bed.” He understands his position in the world, but also sees that he is just as capable of doing these tasks, therefore he should.
In a world where the stars of the #1 movie in the theater are a woman and a black man, while the daily news shows nothing but angry criticisms, race shootings, political outrage toward groups of people, and continued wage differences between sexes, seeing a world where such issues are barely considered is a fresh thought.
Other shows recently have tried to tackle this issue as well, but do not seem to cover it as well. Shows like Supergirl and Jessica Jones star strong women in roles that promote standing up for oneself. Supergirl is a positive role model for young girls who dream to being a super hero. Jessica Jones breaks away from her past and the horrible events that haunt her to start her own detective agency. While these are excellent shows with stories I hate to miss, both characters have superpowers and often rely on the supernatural to accomplish goals.
What I really enjoy about the show goes far beyond even this. Peggy Carter is a brighter version of Maxwell Smart, knowledgeable on all wartime code-breaking and undercover work. With hidden gadgets in her purse, some of which come from Stark Enterprises, she can do more than even James Bond could conceive during the Cold War. Every time I see her walk into the elevator at the phone company, I imagine there are multiple elevators in the floors below (which there could be, given what we saw in Winter Solder). Along with Agent Sousa who, injured during the war, relies on a crutch to get places but is able to aim and fire at a moment’s notice without being hindered, these two are the average person’s spies for how easily they accomplish their goals with very little.
Season 2 starts this Tuesday (January 19, 9 p.m.) with a 2-hour premier. While last season was set in New York, a staple for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this year’s story will take place in Los Angeles at S.S.R’s west-coast location and involve a homicide at Isodyne Energy. While I am unsure about the change in locale, the fact that all of the previous season’s characters are returning will surely be a pleasant surprise.
If you are not caught up with Season 1 yet, or just want to rewatch the whole story like I recently did, it is available for free On Demand on ABC’s website.