Join us each week as we review the latest episode of AGENT CARTER. Warning: the following review contains major spoilers for the newest episode of the show.
Episode 6: "A Sin To Err"
Synopsis: Peggy discovers the shocking truth about Leviathan but doesn't realize that her true enemies are even closer than she imagined. Meanwhile, Souza is close to confirming the truth about Peggy and may just put her in the crosshairs of the SSR.
Recap: With no cold open this week, things get started with a flashback to 1944 as new SSR ally Dr. Ivchenko relates what he knows about Leviathan. Ivchenko, rescued during the Howling Commandos mission last week, is pressed by Peggy about the training facility they discovered in Russia. Dooley pulls her aside when Ivchenko says female agents were vital because they were often overlooked and could slide under the radar. Peggy believes that these female agents could have killed Ray Krzeminski but Dooley finds her theory thin but allows Peggy to investigate whether such an agent could have manipulated Howard Stark.
Peggy meets with Jarvis at the Automat and they discuss Stark's involvement with the latest events but Stark has been out of contact for a while. Peggy requests contact information for the women Stark would have been with around the time of his vault robbery, looking for potential suspects. At the same time, Dottie Underwood arrives at a dental office for a job interview. The dentist makes some snide comments and Dottie locks the door, her face slack and determined. Agent Sousa visits a prisoner as he tries to determine if the mysterious woman from the photographs could actually be Peggy and he confirms it.
Peggy and Jarvis visit a jeweler who has a list of diamond bracelets made for each of Howard Stark's lady friends (the bracelet is known as the Stark Special. Nice.). Peggy crosses off all well known socialites and actresses, including Ginger Rogers. At the dentist's office, Dottie attacks the doctor when he tries to feel her up, taking the drill to his face. Peggy and Jarvis hunt down each of the remaining women on the list, checking their wrists for scars from being handcuffed to the bed as they saw in the Leviathan facility.
Dooley asks Ivchenko about the Stark blueprints but he insists he knows nothing. The two take a break and share a drink. Ivchenko deduces issues at the Dooley home based on seeing blanket, toothbrush, and an overturned photo in his office. Dooley doesn't give him any information about his relationships though. Back at the dentist's office, we see Dottie take aim with a rifle through the window, aiming right at Dooley's office and at Ivchenko. But, instead of shooting, Dottie uses the sight to signal to Ivchenko who is actually a Leviathan agent. He signals in return that he needs more time to locate Stark's item but directs Dottie to kill Peggy Carter.
Visiting the last name on the Stark list, Peggy finds the apartment cleared out but the remnants of handcuffs on the headboard of the bed. The two go on their own leads to try and find the girl. Back at SSR, Dooley tells Ivchenko about his wife cheating on him which is why he is shacked up at the office. An agent asks Thompson about how much time Dooley spends with Ivchenko but Thompson says the boss knows what he is doing. As Ivchenko talks, he rotates his ring and seems to be hypnotizing the chief but they are interrupted by Sousa who says he has urgent news.
Jarvis and Peggy reconvene at the Automat but quickly realize the place is crawling with SSR agents. Jarvis blocks the door and Peggy takes out the agents before sneaking out the back. Thompson is waiting with gun in hand revealing all of the evidence Sousa had uncovered and demands she come in for questioning. Peggy knocks him out and tells Jarvis she needs to get Steve Rogers' blood from The Griffith. Sousa shows up next but lets Peggy go. She apologizes to him and says there is more what is going on than he knows. Peggy Carter is now a fugitive.
Sousa and Thompson go after Carter at The Griffith while Ivchenko is placed into a conference room with an SSR agent. Ivchenko begins to psychoanalyze the agent and lulls him into staring at his ring, using the same hypnosis trick. Peggy sneaks into her apartment to retrieve the vial of blood but hears the SSR coming down the hall. She quickly goes out the window and hides on the ledge. With no easy escape, Peggy walks along the ledge to the next room. Angie is questioned by the SSR and fakes a sob story about a sick grandmother. Angie bursts into tears which gets Thompson and Sousa out the door more quickly. Convinced she is still close by, Sousa initiates a canvas of the building. Back at the SSR, Ivchenko learns the location of Stark's machines via his hypnotized agent but also that only Dooley can get into the lab due to the lockdown. Ivchenko sends the agent off to walk in front of a truck, killing himself, and allows the Russian agent to escape.
Angie arranges a car to help Peggy get out of New York. The two say their goodbyes and Peggy quickly leaves. As she descends the stairs, she runs into Dottie who pretends to be worried about her housemate. Dottie says goodbye and kisses Peggy, which activates a sleepping drug. As she steadies herself, Peggy sees the handcuff scars on Dottie's wrist before collapsing to the floor. Just before she passes out, she sees Dottie open a switchblade. Before she can act, Thompson and Sousa arrive and Dottie says she just found Peggy this way. The agents cuff Peggy and take her in.
In front of Dooley, Peggy insists she can explain. Back at The Griffith, Angie goes to call Dottie down for dinner but instead finds her room cleaned out completely. In the interview room at SSR headquarters, Sousa pulls out the vial of Rogers' blood and the photo of Peggy. Dooley tells him not to take it easy on her because she is a girl.
Marvel Cinematic Universe References: None this week.
Review: With only two more episodes left, things are beginning to come to a head. This was a nice build-up as all of the pieces begin to fall into place. Leviathan is beginning to shape up as a nice successor to HYDRA while every supporting character is given a good amount to do this week. It is nice to see that the showrunners are not afraid to throw everything at this season in case there won't be a season two but are not setting up too many plot threads that will be left hanging in two weeks time. There were virtually no Marvel references this week. Instead, we got a tightly crafted episode with noir undertones that still retained the pulpy tone that makes AGENT CARTER so much fun to watch.
Episode Grade:
Next on AGENT CARTER: "Snafu" airs February 17th, 2015: Peggy is cornered and more vulnerable than ever as Leviathan makes their move against her. As the SSR zeroes in on Howard Stark, they may pay the ultimate price as they find their true enemy is closer than they realized.