The truth may be stranger than fiction in Marvel’s Agent Carter. In just a month’s time, our title heroine’s been betrayed, bamboozled, and forced to play dumb in front of her day-to-day coworkers. When duty calls behind enemy lines, it’s the Howling Commandoes to the rescue of two American scientists and, of course, one Peggy Carter. It’s international intrigue at home and abroad that brought out the best and worst in our heroes this week, but in The Iron Ceiling, no one is ever the hero they seem.
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From the start, The Iron Ceiling holds nothing back bringing, as I’m sure has already been spoiled elsewhere, Marvel’s deadly “Red Room” to life. In its first minutes, we see Russian schoolchildren being taught American culture, learning English from old Disney movies under watchful eyes. In that time, we see two girls share a lunch and fight to the death, one of which we’re shown is none other than Peggy’s own next-door neighbor, Dottie. That Snow White should be used in service of a story about little girls being trained as killers tiptoes the line between a shameless plug and a clever period piece, but it’s use here is logical enough that I can forgive Marvel’s Disney ownership.
Yes, as eagle-eye watchers no doubt anticipated, it’s Dottie who proves the unlikely star of the episode – if not the series’ greatest threat. She’s not just a pistol-packing femme fatale alone. She’s also an assassin eyeing our friendly neighborhood SSR agents from the confines of her little miss America disguise. Her handcuffed bedtime routine was a provocative layer to her traumatic childhood and the word “stalker” might accurately describe her obsessive rummaging through Peggy’s past, mirror conversation and all. It’s a stretch that our 33-year-old girl next-door was raised in a program founded not long after World War I, but I can forgive that in favor of giving Dottie our series antagonist.
From the looks of it, Russia’s been training girls like this for a long time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe too; maybe as long as a certain Natasha Romanov’s been alive. It’s rather curious, though, how a program about training young girls to kill people doesn’t seem to rattle our commandoes more than it does – at least two commandos are killed for it. And we still don’t know quite how our elusive “Leviathan” agents were involved. It’s uncertain what the program’s done by the time of The Iron Ceiling, and I suppose we may yet get more on it when Peggy and company head back in the states.
The Iron Ceiling also does a bang-up job in upending the dynamics Peggy has with Dooley, Thompson and Sousa, in so short of a series and everything seems to be falling into place. That failure is driving Dooley to look into the idea of Howard Stark’s innocence is gratifying for the integrity of his character, but it’s just as nice he’s still scratching his chin wary of a setup. It’s disappointing that such a shrewd actor as Smallville’s Lionel Luther, John Glover, is given little more than a cameo here, but I’m liable to appreciate his presence in just about anything. Sousa finally cracking the mystery of Peggy’s off-hours activities should also put some pressure on the series going forward as he decides just what he’ll do about ratting out a friend.
The biggest surprise this week, however came from our very own Agent Thompson. He’s a war hero with a Navy Cross, and a cocky, tough-as-nails, man’s man. Except once he’s back in the field, he’s a man unnerved by parachuting out of a plane or holding the line under enemy fire. Deep down, he’s a coward who faked friendly fire as kills. Living up to the legend may be the heavy heart the series carries with it, and it’s commendable that Agent Carter’s remained self-aware of such beneath all the bravado.
It’s a bit of a shame that Dum Dum Dugan’s the lone commando of Captain America: The First Avenger to return this week. Granted, he and silly named peers like Pinky Pinkerton and Junior Juniper aren’t much more than stock characters, but Neal McDonough seems to be having a ball playing Dum Dum and his genuine rapport with his old pal, Peggy, is a pleasant addition. The two feel right at home swapping war stories and I’ll admit I was amused about how a lady too shy to show a bare shoulder is willing to swear and enjoys a drink with the guys.
Another thrilling chapter in what’s quickly becoming a very strong series, The Iron Ceiling‘s arguably Agent Carter’s finest hour yet. At last, we got to see Peggy come into her own in the field and our vicious introduction to the Black Widow program was marvelously done. The sky’s the limit for Agent Carter and The Iron Ceiling shot it up to the next level. It only worries me when it’ll all come falling down for our heroine.
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Marvel’s Agent Carter airs Monday nights at 8/7 Central on ABC. Catch all the latest episodes on ABC.com and all the latest reviews at BagoGames.