[Warning: Spoilers ahead for Tuesday’s Agent Carter season finale, “Valediction.”]
Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwel) is ready to move on.
After defeating former friend Black Widow Bridget Regan) and managing to capture Dr. Faustus (Ralph Brown), Peggy left her desk at SSR, unsure if she’ll return. Whatever the case, she’ll be doing living in a lavish apartment provided by Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) in recognition of clearing his name.
In a moving scene, Jarvis (James D’Arcy) presented Peggy with the last remaining sample of Captain America’s (Chris Evans) blood, the same blood Howard tricked her into stealing earlier in the season.
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Peggy poured the blood into the river as a final act of mourning Captain America, whom she loved deeply. Speaking of Cap, the final shot revealed that Faustus would be sharing a cell with Captain America: The First Avenger villainZ ola (Toby Jones), who appeared as an A.I. in the 2014 sequel and was a key architect of the Winter Soldier program.
The series will now give way to Agents of SHIELD in ABC’s Tuesday 9 p.m. timeslot, with a second season still in question. Co-showrunners Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas have maintained that in future seasons, they would like to trace Peggy’s adventures throughout the decades.
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In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Butters and Fazekas reveal what they’ve learned for season two, what that final Marvel Cinematic Universe connection means and who they definitely need back for more episodes.
The final scene reveals that Captain America villain Zola in prison with Faustus. Is it safe to say he’ll be in season two?
Fazekas: He isn’t necessarily coming back. That scene wasn’t saying that Toby Jones is going to be the big villain of season two or anything. It was just recognizing that this is the start of the Winter Soldier program.
Butters: It was another way to tie it into the MCU, which we were lucky to have a lot of leeway with.
What sort of feedback did you get from Marvel on the show. How was it received internally?
Fazekas: They seemed to be very happy with it. We didn’t get very many notes, which we took as a good sign.
How do you feel about the ratings?
Butters: We were glad our little show attracted the audience it did in eight episodes.
Fazekas: This isn’t a secret, but the TV business has changed. People don’t watch shows the night of as much. If you look at the delayed viewing numbers, it almost doubles the night of ratings.
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What have you learned from this season that you would bring to season two?
Butters: More Peggy and Jarvis. They are the heart of the series.
There’s a lot of affection between them in the scene when Jarvis gives her Steve’s blood. What was getting that right like?
Fazekas: That is possibly the favorite thing we wrote. They clearly love each other and they don’t want to stop having adventures together. They are sad to be parting.
Peggy pours out his blood into the river. Is she finally done mourning him and ready to move on?
Fazekas: That’s what this season is about — not only Peggy letting go, but other people letting go as well and becoming who they are meant to be, good or bad.
Butters: We see Thompson (Chad Michael Murray) choosing to embrace his bad side when he takes credit for Peggy’s work.
There’s a hint Peggy is open to the idea of dating Sousa (Enver Gjokaj).
Fazekas: He took such a big risk asking her out. And what I love is he put his crutches to the side when he did it. He stood up without them and put himself out there.
Butters: And there’s a smile from Peggy. It let’s you know she is open to the idea of going on a date in the future, not necessarily with Sousa, but with someone. She’s moving forward.
Email: Aaron.Couch@THR.com
Twitter: @AaronCouch
