TV Show Review

TV Review: AGENT CARTER: Season 1, Episode 4: The Blitzkrieg Button [ABC]

Dominic Cooper Hayley Atwell James Darcy Stan Lee

ABCs Agent Carter The Blitzkrieg Button TV Show Review. Agent Carter: Season 1 Episode 4: The Blitzkrieg Button is an uneven yet intriguing episode that takes great strides in emphasizing the shows ties to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Blitzkrieg Button marks the halfway point of Agent Carter and although the series has been a fun ride so far, it is clearly time for events on the show to pick up the pace and intensify. The Blitzkrieg Button episode moved along at a slower pace than previous installments in the series and contained a lot more humor. Despite The Blitzkrieg Button’s uneven tone the episode made huge strides in moving the series plot forward by introducing a valuable piece of information that ties the Agent Carter to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Advertisement
 

The Blitzkrieg Button kicked off with the notably erudite Jarvis (James D’Arcy) consorting with a group of thuggish smugglers. In keeping with Peggy (Hayley Atwell) and Jarvis’s brief track record, things did not go according to plan and the duo had to resort to fisticuffs in order to retrieve their smuggled goods. The show took quite a swerve when the object being smuggled was not a piece of Howard Stark’s stolen technology but Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) himself. Following the previous episode’s death of Krzeminski (Kyle Bornheimer), the SSR began intensifying their manhunt for the on the lamb Stark and Peggy had no choice but to take him in. Howard then tasks Peggy with cataloging his stolen technology that the SSR recovered, until Peggy grows suspicious that the real reason for Starks return is far more insidious.

The Blitzkrieg Button diverged from the eastablished template of the previous episodes by constantly shifting in tone and not offering a major action set piece. The only thing more surprising than Stark’s return halfway into the season is that his character and Peggy formed an odd-couple style comedy duo. Seeing Howard step out of a young ladies’ room, all disheveled and with lipstick marks all over his face was a sight right out of a loony tunes cartoon.

The last two episodes of Agent Carter have done a much better job of depicting the SSR team as competent agents. Agent Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) asking Peggy why she sticks with her job was the closest that the show has come to an SSR agent acknowledging Peggy is too good to take so much of their crap. Thompson hatefully telling Peggy that no man will ever respect her was the most realistic portrayal of sexism on the series thus far and as disheartening as it was to hear, it carried far more impact than having the men send Peggy for another lunch run. This episode seemed to take its darkest turn when Chief Dooley (Shea Whigham) offered Colonel Mueller (Jack Conley) a cyanide pill as an escape from prison, which ultimately became a hilarious gag after he offered one of the “pills” to someone else as a mint.

The reveal that Howard sent Peggy after Steve Roger’s blood was huge. After watching Howard spend the first 30-minutes of the show embracing the role of billionaire playboy, seeing him solemnly explain himself to Peggy was a meaningful display of his angst and regret (at least as much as Howard is capable of showing). The emotional confrontation between Peggy and Howard occurred at the point in the episode where the show normally has an action set piece and the exchange between the two stubborn characters carried just as much impact as one of Peggy’s fistfights. Even though this week didn’t feature any huge explosions or fights atop of milk trucks, we were granted with an exciting yet brief reveal that Dottie (Bridget Regan) is not just a dancer from Iowa.

Episode 4 of Agent Carter was a perfect example of a show losing focus in the commonly unsteady narrative no man’s right in the middle of episodes 1 and 8. Despite its odd pacing, the episode still found ways to leave the audience with some compelling mysteries such as who is Dottie working for and what was the message coming through on the type-writer in the episode’s closing moments? Peggy recovering Steve Roger’s blood and the secret soldier serum that comes along with it is a shocking reveal and certainly raises the stakes on the series  as the blood will surely act as a beacon that will attract every power hungry madman in the Marvel universe.

Final Thoughts:

Jarvis made it through last week’s interrogation with the cold resolve of a killer but revealed the world’s worst tell when lying to Peggy. Was the show being inconsistent with his character or did poor old Jarvis just have too much respect for Peggy?

Is it just me or did Dottie’s takedown of Mr. Mink (Gregory Sporleder) seem very “Black Widow-esque”?

Is Peggy planning on wall papering that gaping hole where she stashed the blood? Wouldn’t a super spy in search of Captain America’s blood check behind a painting first?

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of Agent Carter below in the comments section. For more Agent Carter news, images and video visit our Agent Carter Page, our Agent Carter Google+ Page and subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ or “like” us on Facebook for quick updates.

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Victor Stiff

Born and raised in Toronto, Victor has spent the past decade using his love and knowledge of the city to highlight and promote significant cultural events such as TIFF, The IIIFA awards, and the Anokhi Gala. He is an avid reader of Sci-fi and Horror and constantly sits through indie film marathons in rabid anticipation of the genre’s next great film auteurs. He also contributes sci-fi and fantasy movie reviews to www.zone-six.net
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend