Agent Carter Season 1 Review

Two episodes of the first season of “Agent Carter” were provided for review purposes prior to broadcast.

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I want to preface this review by saying that Agent Carter is now my second-favorite thing that Marvel Studios has made, second only to Guardians of the Galaxy. We’re only two hours into the new seven-part series, but it’s just that good.

The show is, quite simply, what we hoped Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be before it was released: a fun new glimpse at a corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we wouldn’t be able to witness on the big screen. While S.H.I.E.L.D. has struggled since the beginning to justify its own existence (something it’s thankfully done now, half of the way through its second season), Agent Carter succeeds in doing so in the opening moments, and continues to do so throughout the duration of its two-hour premiere.

Agent Carter exists in a rather unique place in the MCU. While the main Avengers storylines explore present-day superhero drama, and Guardians takes that premise to the far reaches of space, Agent Carter goes back in time by seventy years, just after the presumed death of Steve Rogers and, as such, the events of Captain America: The First Avenger. 

Because of this, the show is not hindered by what’s currently happening in the MCU – something that’s plagued S.H.I.E.L.D. since the very beginning. Instead, it can gracefully and excitedly pave its own path, and act as more of a companion piece and even prequel to the rest of the Marvel franchises. This is something the series accomplishes in spades in just the first two episodes, and I cannot wait to tune into the rest of the show. In fact, I found myself wishing that this was one of the upcoming Netflix series rather than a syndicated series. This has “binge watch” written all over it.