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agent carter - young peggy and whitney

This week we get to see the origin stories of both Agent Carter and Whitney Snow. A series of flashbacks detail some defining moments in their respective lives, revealing polar opposite upbringings. I feel that this was more in service to Whitney’s character than to Peggy’s, but both reveal some important context that explains why both women are who they are.

As a young girl, Peggy used to imagine herself as the knight in shining armor off to save the princess from the dragon. Already Peggy doesn’t adhere to the norms and expectations of a lady. But as we all know by the time we’re adults, enough of the world’s social conformity gets beaten into us as we get older. In Peggy’s case, her wedding ring represents a sort of compliance to what everyone expects a woman should do at her age. She even turns down a special agent position from the Special Operations Executive (SOE) because she is prioritizing her fiancée’s happiness over her own desire to serve queen and country in a far more exciting way than codebreaking.

The only person paying attention is Peggy’s older brother, Michael. He’s the only one who believes in Peggy’s abilities, that she’s not meant to be someone’s housewife. In fact, he’s the one who referred her to the SEO. But Peggy’s decision is final, she’s staying with Fred, her fiancée. Michael is disappointed that she won’t further her potential. We don’t get a lot of screen time of the two together, but we get the impression that Peggy and Michael are very close, and that Michael is Peggy’s support system. So his disappointment in her may hold a lot more weight than initially thought. When Michael dies on the battlefield, Peggy honors his memory by ditching her ring and joining the SEO.

agent-carter-204-1

Agnes Cully/Whitney Snow never had someone to positively reinforce her talents growing up. She was raised in a single parent household where her mother raised Agnes to believe that beauty is the only gift a woman can use to get by — her mother uses her own looks to hook a sugar daddy willing to support the both of them. Agnes’ interaction with the men we see bring frightening flashbacks to Jessica Jones and the villainous Kilgrave. Uncle Bud and a talent agent both tell Agnes to smile because they’ll look prettier. I immediately thought of Kilgrave when Uncle Bud first tells Agnes to smile. The Jessica Jones villain prefers his female victims smiling for his own sick pleasure. Kilgrave is an extreme reflection of what misogyny is. Agnes and Peggy both live in a world where the men are in control, and therefore are subject to the demand for subservient complacency from men. Peggy had Michael on her side to be whatever she wanted to be, but Agnes, as Whitney Snow, grew up with the impression that her pretty face is the only thing that will get her anywhere — this revelation comes immediately after receiving a rejection letter from the University of Oklahoma’s science program.

In present day, Whitney is battling with the dilemma of her starting to look “too old” for the camera. The impression we have of Hollywood today lends to the idea that anyone can become a person of their own choosing. Back in the day, it was very much the studio execs who got to call the shots. It was the talent agent who suggested that Agnes change her name to one as pretty as she is. But now she’s a middle-aged woman whose career is in danger. She has one of two choices, continue to work in an industry that doesn’t want her, or choose a path more fulfilling. Whitney ultimately chooses the latter, but in doing so, irritates the zero matter scar on her face even more.

Speaking of battling the male world with femininity, has anyone else noticed that Peggy has added more trousers to her wardrobe? Women wearing pants at that time was more of a statement, especially for those in the workforce. In Peggy’s case, her statement is that she’s a woman working in a man’s world and she isn’t going anywhere. Her dynamic color scheme helps her stand out as well. Peggy is definitely someone who doesn’t like standing out, even though she’s technically a spy who really should stay under the radar. Then again, this is Hollywood where everyone wants to stand out.

Gross.

Gross.

The rest of the story follows Peggy, Sousa, and Jarvis trying to eek out as much information about the members of the Arena Club as they can from Chadwick’s bodyguard, Rufus Hunt, whom they kidnapped. Peggy threatens Rufus with a shot of malaria to get him to talk. In reality, it’s just a dose of the really bad case of the cold. They get enough information for Sousa to call for a warrant, but just before the SSR can raid the Arena Club, Vernon Masters and his FBI buddies surprise the team with a mandatory audit. Apparently, the judge Sousa called alerted Masters of the SSR’s plans. Plan B: stage an escape for Rufus, and plant a recording device on him in hopes that he’ll go straight to Chadwick and Whitney and record damning evidence against them.

Rufus does exactly what they hoped he would do. However, instead of getting information about the Council of Nine’s plans, they discover that Whitney is more than just a pretty blonde with genius-level smarts. Whitney punishes Rufus’ mistakes by using her Zero Mater powers and absorbing him into herself. At this point, the length of her scar reaches from her temple to her the top of her jaw.

FINAL THOUGHTS: 

  • Where’s Rose and Ana? We need more women interacting and being cool together!
  • Jarvis referring to a koala in Stark’s animal sanctuary: “Its adorable appearance belies a vile temperament.”
  • Jarvis response after Peggy asks him if he’s okay after getting shot with a tranquilizer strong enough to take out a rhino: “Jarvelous!” Faints.
  • “That’s right, he did say ‘hidden door’ and ‘secret area.’ We’re dealing with odd rich men here who like that sort of thing.”
  • “We’re not going to torture you because we don’t have time.”
  • Or I have a man stashed in the boot.”
  • At the beginning of the episode, Peggy drops a glob of mayonnaise onto Whitney’s stolen plans for an efficient reactor. She never completely wipes it off. When they show the plans again, the smeared mayo is still there. G-R-O-S-S!

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Christina E. Janke

Christina is the co-host of “Intro to Geek” on Shauncastic and Editor-in-Chief at Agents of Geek. Her love of all things Mass Effect knows no bounds. She also carries an obsession with comic books, video games, and quirky television shows. Her heroes are Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Gail Simone. She hopes to be just like them when she grows up.