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Why “Marvel’s Agent Carter” Needs A Second Season

By Christina Roberts

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Television is a ratings game. If a show isn’t garnering the right ratings, enough ratings, whatever other ratings networks look at, a show gets canned before you know it. Think Arrested Development or Pushing Daisies—no matter how much the critics praise something, the ratings just weren’t there. Revivals happen, of course, but they are few and far between.

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Then there are those strange cases where fan dedication has gotten TV shows another season or two even despite falling numbers, like Chuck. Or, if you want to take it a step further, fan dedication has revived beloved characters, like Agent Coulson, and given the world a television show, like Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.

And there are some shows that have low ratings and high critic praise, but those “low” ratings are just high enough to garner multiple seasons. Parks and Recreation lasted seven seasons because any other new comedy that NBC pushed had worse ratings than Parks. Likewise, 30 Rock was never a stellar ratings success, same with Community. This is only naming television shows that I personally watch(ed), too; I know there are other examples, but let’s keep the list short.

Marvel’s Agent Carter has not pulled in the numbers like Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, but most critics agree that it’s what SHIELD could have been right from the start of season one. It has a crazy-dedicated fan base that clamors for each new episode. The short episode order keeps things moving at a brisk pace and rarely does a dull moment show up on screen.

I want a second season of Agent Carter. I know I’m not alone in that want. It’s not that Agent Carter ended on a huge cliffhanger; since it was only ever marketed as a miniseries, producers/writers seemed to know not to leave too many plots lingering. They did, however, leave just enough of them to warrant the desire for a second season.

There’s Dottie Underwood, mysteriously gone from Howard Stark’s vault after being kicked out a window and landing below on the wing of a plane. Did she swipe anything on her way out? Is she headed back to Russia to consult with Leviathan now that Doctor Ivchenko/Fenhoff is imprisoned? Will she have any influence over the rest of the Black Widow program, say, having a hand in training Natasha Romanoff in forty-odd years?

The Marvel Easter eggs could be endless. It would be like JK Rowling writing a prequel to Harry Potter, focusing on the Marauders and the battle against Voldemort pre-The Sorcerer’s Stone. Show how Howard Stark rebuilds his empire after the smearing campaign against his name this season. Show how the SSR runs under Agent Thompson, who now knows not to underestimate Peggy Carter. Jump forward to the early 1950s when the SSR is running smoothly, Agent Carter given better reign over what cases she chooses. Show why there is a need for Howard Stark to create SHIELD in the first place.

And would it be too hard to ask to get a mention or two of the Winter Soldier? There would be no need to see Sebastian Stan reprise the role (unless he really wants to, and let’s face it, he played the Mad Hatter on Once Upon A Time, so Agent Carter would be a step up quality-wise). But mentions of an assassin having a hand in some huge fiasco or someone catching a glimpse of a metal arm at a crime scene would make for a lot of fun speculation.

It’s not just the Marvel aspects that warrant another season, but the actors themselves. Chad Michael Murray as Agent Thompson shows you what kind of tortured soul the agent really has; he straddles that line between complete, self-absorbed jerk and broken man who hates to reveal his true nature. Enver Gjokaj as Agent Sousa shows what it’s like to come back to a world that feels guilty about what you went through to protect the country. He’s at the bottom of the totem pole at the SSR and proves just how broken and alone one can be after a war.

James D’Arcy perfectly encompasses exactly what you would expect from a Stark-employed butler. Slightly uptight, play-by-the-rules type guy with a penchant for tweaking those rules for those he is assigned to help while keeping his personal and professional lives separate. His dynamic with Agent Carter creates something akin to the movie couples of the Golden Age. He comes to trust Agent Carter and grow a friendship with her, culminating in him going behind Stark’s back to (spoiler alert!) return Steve Rogers’ blood to her, knowing she is the only person who knows what to do with it.

And Hayley Atwell… If you’ve followed along with my reviews during this first season, you know I’m constantly praising her performance as Peggy Carter. It’s not just me–Agents of SHIELD writers and Joss Whedon have written scenes for her in things solely because of what she brings to the character. Strong-willed, undeterred, and always ready to complete the mission before her, Atwell’s Peggy Carter is a force to be reckoned with in so many different regards.

And since you’ve heard me gush enough about her, I’ll sum it up with a quote by Chris Evans from Collider:

"There was a scene in Captain America where she comes into the bar in the red dress.  We did this scene and we must have done this scene….the coverage on Hayley.  She came in the red dress and she tells me a little about dancing or whatever.  We must have done that – I’m not joking – about 15 times.  The only reason is because [director] Joe [Johnston] would come in and give Hayley a new direction every time and every time she crushed it.  The things she was doing…every take I was like, “How is this girl doing something new, different, and great in every single time?”  I think Joe was just having fun watching an amazing actress be great.  She is phenomenal."

If Agent Carter doesn’t happen to get renewed for a second season, it won’t be the end of the world. We were lucky enough to get one season of high-stakes storytelling and some background on a side-character from one of the first MCU movies.

But Agent Carter–and all of these characters–deserve more than just eight episodes.

Next: See how Agent Carter ended: our recap of Valediction

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