REVIEW: Agent Carter "Hollywood Ending"
Finally. I say that word a lot, but it’s serious here. That’s the only word I can use to describe my emotions regarding the show as a whole. The season’s had a lot of ups, but it’s also reminded me why I’ve never really cared about the show. Now with zero matter, interdimensional portals, and worst of all, love triangles, the show became more of something I’m not sure. Will this episode actually live up to a “Hollywood Ending”? We’ll find out.
Why on earth do we have to go back sixty seconds ago? Isn’t that what the previously on’s are for? A few seconds in, and we’ve already started in the negative side. Following the zero matter explosion, Peggy, Sousa, and Thompson explore the building and find Wilkes surrounding by piles of the zero matter. While Wilkes seems to have returned to normal completely, the zero matter then migrates to Frost. The three escape with Wilkes thanks to a perfectly timed car and cameo by Howard Stark ramming down Frost. This show’s easily the most light-hearted of the Marvel series, so there are obviously more funny moments. But I have to admit I thought this was easily one of the funniest part of the series. At least thirty seconds of humor needs to be rewarded.
Back at Stark’s mansion, the group analyze Wilkes to find him clean and begin developing a new Gamma Cannon to stop Frost. Meanwhile, Manfredi’s starting to have doubts in Frost’s new crazy attitude and writings on the wall (which is apparently an off-sign in any decade) and goes to an old friend to help him out: Howard Stark. This is so random and implausible and there’s no way this would have happened had this had more than ten episodes. Nevertheless, it’s still more believable than anything they’ve done with Thompson.
Manfredi helps Peggy and Sousa sneak into Frost’s room to find her sketches in planning to reopen the zero matter portal which goes surprisingly well, barring Sousa making a little addition to her formula. I can’t tell whether or not that’s smart or stupid in this context, but I suppose it’s smarter than having Stark, Samberly, and Wilkes arguing over what to call the new cannon. Eventually, thanks to Peggy, they come up with a plan to try and prevent the portal to open, lure Frost into a wide and empty area, and separate the zero matter from Frost and send it back utilizing the Rift Generator. Of course Peggy came up with it. It’s almost as cool as Gamma Cannon.
The group settle out a few other issues such as how Ana took the news, Sousa and Wilkes’s reconciliation, and Thompson finding a secret key in Vernon Masters’ old Arena club pin before testing out the Rift Generator in opening a portal. It’s at this point I realize, oh my goodness, so much has happened, and we only have less than twenty minutes left of plot. Is that really how I used to view these episodes? It’s honestly a relief and makes this episode surprisingly more enjoyable.
The group waits for Frost by the rift in the universe as Thompson actually turns in the Arena Club key to Peggy. She’s a good person. She deserves it. In what is one of the less climactic and probably the worst special effects moments, the machine works in both sucking the zero matter out of Frost and pulling it back through the rift. You think for a seasonal villain it would have been a little bit harder to beat her. The trouble’s not over yet since the rift grows unstable and can only be stopped by shutting down the machine near the gaping hole. In the midst of the group arguing who should sacrifice themselves, Sousa leaps to the chance and risks his life.
I don’t really understand, but there was something…off about the scene. Maybe it was the fact that the score was so low or that I’ve seen better special effects, but for some reason, Skye pushing the quinjet into the ocean in the season finale felt more real than this. Fortunately, they manage to seal the rift by detonating the Gamma Cannon in Stark’s hover car by plunging it into the hole. That’s how they win.
On slightly less impressive notes, Frost locked up finally gone off the deep end by hallucinating her dead husband, and Peggy starts debating whether or not to go back to New York. If it wasn’t for the fact that Angie is still once again ignored, I would agree with Peggy since LA has Jarvis. Of course, since this is a Hollywood ending after all, Peggy finishes her season story kissing Sousa set to an old-time love song. It might actually be a Hollywood ending since the season really ends with an unknown man shooting Thompson and taking his file. Well, I’m actually surprised. That takes guts to finally kill someone people didn’t care about. Take notes SHIELD.
In all honesty, this was a more exciting episode of the season, but nothing that screams season (or series) finale. I’ve seen good finales, and each of the Netflix shows or SHIELD finales had a sense or urgency or finality. Even the season one finale had some emotion with Peggy saying goodbye to Steve. This episode felt like it just happened. I can’t really say I’m disappointed since the expectations were pretty low in the beginning. Goodbye Agent Carter. It’s been a Tuesday.
