Peggy goes west, and adventure follows.

Agent Carter is back! The underrated Captain America spinoff has struggled a bit in the ratings but still managed to build a devoted fan base. A lot of the credit for that goes to its personable star, Haley Atwell, who's still in fine form in the season 2 premiere.

Loose Ends

I had expected them to draw out the pursuit of Dottie Underwood. Peggy's nemesis was last seen falling out of a window in the season 1 finale, so it was a surprise to see her back so soon.

The showdown between Peggy and Dottie opened the episode with a bang, setting the tone with a nice reminder of Peggy's capabilities and wit.

"Love the hat." - Peggy, to the unconscious Dottie, who had stolen her signature look.

Of course, Dottie didn't stay in custody long before being transferred (rescued?) by another department. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of her.

Doctor Handsome

Apparently when the producers created the character of Dr. Wilkes, they didn't know quite who he was and just called him Doctor Handsome. And while he is handsome, smart, and a generally nice guy - this whole "love at first sight" thing with Peggy felt very forced.

I actually wouldn't have minded a more slow-burn relationship between them, because Peggy and Wilkes do have a lot in common. They're both routinely underestimated and put down despite being the smartest person in the room. But the chemistry just didn't seem to match the pacing of the rapid-fire romance.

Speaking of chemistry, there's clearly still a spark between Peggy and Souza, and hints that perhaps something happened between them in the year between seasons.

"Sometimes a three-hour time difference feels like a lifetime." - Souza, with the worst excuse for not returning messages in the history of mankind.

His reaction when learning that Thompson had sent her as his extra 'manpower' was deliciously awkward, but Peggy took it pretty well considering. She even hit it off with Souza's new girlfriend. I fear that relationship is not long for this world, though, with Peggy back in the picture.

Dynamic Duo

The highlight of the premiere was the return of Peggy and Jarvis' partnership. The show handily resolves the question of why Jarvis would continue helping her now that they've cleared Howard's name.

"I am profoundly and exhaustively bored." - Jarvis, all but begging to tag along with Peggy.

As usual, Jarvis got the best lines, though at times the dialogue felt like the writers were working a little too hard to be witty. But the rest of it was so entertaining that I can forgive the few rough patches. I just love seeing these two together. (Not in a shipper sense, but in a BFF sense.)

Jarvis trying to prove his Judo skills to Peggy was hilarious, and I loved his wife's complete non-reaction to finding them sparring. Ana was another bright spot in the episode. Such a delightful contrast to Jarvis, and hopefully another anchor for Peggy.

To steal Peggy's words: they're fantastic.

Weird Science

The central mystery was a bit of a snoozer, involving a woman frozen in the lake in the middle of summer.

Tangental question: Just what is the "jurisdiction" of the SSR? "Crimes involving weird science and stuff"? Even in the Marvel universe, that seems like kind of a narrow purview for such a large number of agents.

Anyway, the plotline involving zero matter got off to a clunky start here. I couldn't point to anything specifically bad about the story, it just all felt a little hokey. Especially the scenes involving the sleazy detective.

Then again, I could say the same thing about those little glowy explosive balls from season 1. They proved to be just the tip of the iceberg for a very engaging storyline, and I'm thinking (hoping!) the same will be true here.

Ratings

• Princess Power:
• Overall:
• Bechdel Test: Pass

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