“Publically revealing these items won’t clear Mr. Stark’s name. They’ll only place you under suspicion along with him. If you wish to clear Mr. Stark’s name, you must do so from the shadows.”
- Jarvis
Now that we are in the thick of things, we get a little voice over from Peggy giving us a recap thus far without it being a “previously on” segment which I really liked. While Peggy adjusts to her new living situation (including a guy trying to climb up the side of the building to visit a girl in 3F, Thompson and his gang are searching the hotel where Mr. Brannis supposedly was staying (James Frain’s character that is). They tear apart some furniture and find some cash and various passports with different names on them. They take it back to the chief and Thompson reveals that he learned that the real Brannis died in Germany two years previous. He also gets assigned to show the faces on the passports to his contacts in Moscow (apparently they aren’t Mr. Fake Brannis). Sousa pops by to let them know that the bumper and license plate they pulled from the debris of the implosion belonged to Howard Stark but it’s not likely he was driving, being on the run and all. I can just tell this isn’t going to end well for Jarvis, poor old chap.
Peggy goes to pay Jarvis a visit to share her latest theory inspired by her bitchy landlady) that if they can figure out how the thieves got into Stark’s vault, they might be closer to finding out where they went with all of Stark’s various inventions. Clearly, she’s not working on the assumption that Fake Brannis and the other guy in the truck were the real thieves. Anyway, they barely have a chance to chat about the dismal weather on the night in question and Jarvis’ susceptibility to sleep via candle light and rain, than Thompson and Sousa show up. Jarvis tries to shoo them away by telling them about the missing car report he filed several days ago linked to the car with the missing bumper but they are rather insistent on taking him down for questioning. Like I said, he’s in for a bad time poor guy. Peggy gets to the office in time to see some of the interrogation and she and we learn some not so flattering details about Jarvis’ past. He was charged but not convicted of treason and dishonorably discharged from the British military. Thompson threatens to deport Jarvis and his wife if he doesn’t cooperate and give up himself and Stark. Peggy does a little sleight of hand to nab the “lost” police report and then pops by with it, claiming she accidentally took it within earshot of Jarvis as the chief is about to go interrogate Jarvis some more. It’s a close call and boy does it get Peggy reamed out by the chief. I understand why she did it and I think she’s tougher than any of those jackasses give her credit for, but getting a dressing down by a superior is never a fun experience.
She’s not particularly in a chatty mood when Angie stops by to gossip about her crappy day and only getting 50 cents in tips. Angie takes it personally and storms off, even after they meet newcomer Dotty (played by Bridget Reagan of Legend of the Seeker and White Collar fame). I can’t get a real feel for her yet but I can guess there’s more to her than just a pretty ballet dancer. Somehow, Peggy ducks out of the building and avoids curfew so she and Jarvis can go back to investigating the thief’s exit plan. This involves repelling down the giant hole in the floor and into the sewers. While they search the sewers for where the water from the thunderstorm would have carried Brannis, we learn the truth behind Jarvis’ treason charge and his dismissal from the military. He was in Budapest before the war where he met Ana, his wife. She was Jewish and while his superior had letters of transit that would have allowed her to safely get to allied soil, his superior refused to sign them. It wasn’t bad enough that Jarvis forged his superiors name on a document, but he filed them and that’s what did him in. Of course the treason charge was dropped immediately and thanks to Stark’s interference and influence, Jarvis and Ana got out of that mess intact. I suppose that’s a good thing, even if Mrs. Jarvis doesn’t know what her husband is presently doing for his employer.
They make it to the end of the sewer and spot a boat with the symbol Brannis drew on the side of it and on some crates. But it looks like the boat is being watched, though it’s not clear who is doing the watching. I’m pretty sure it’s not SSR yet, although Thompson did learn that the other guy in the truck was using the name of another dead guy from Germany. Interesting. They also surmise that the typewriter is actually a long range communication device (though I’m guessing not quite as long-range as to cross dimensions). I have to say I do really like the serialized aspect of this show, especially since it’s only 8 episodes. It keeps the plot moving and engaged the whole time (much like the first season of Sleepy Hollow). And I still adore the Peggy and Jarvis dynamic. Things get a little tense between our duo though once they actually locate the missing inventions (including a device that was meant to be used for back massage that causes crushing involuntary muscle spasms and breaks bones). Peggy is dying to call it in and get the credit so all the misogynistic prats in her office will finally respect her. But after some rapid fire questioning from Jarvis, no doubt meant to mimic her colleagues, she realizes she can’t do it because it will only put her in the crosshairs; so she has Jarvis call since Sousa is working and give him the tip. Jarvis does a passable New York accent and then dashes off.
Unfortunately, I have a feeling Peggy is going to cut it very close to missing her co-workers when she turns around a big burly guy rushes her. It takes both her and Jarvis to take the guy down (though Peggy does hold her own quite well). They get away before Sousa shows up and he does take the credit for finding the inventions but he’s got a bad feeling about the whole thing. He has a reason to be worried because at a railroad crossing someone rear-ends the car with the guy who got beat up (and his arm broken with one of Stark’s inventions) and both he and the annoying SSR agent get shot, hit man style. Peggy’s upset by the news when she goes into work the next day and ends up venting to Angie at the diner. I’m most worried about Sousa getting onto what really happened because it’s clear he likes Peggy and is a good guy. I’d be sad to see them come to blows. But the mystery continues and I can’t wait for the next new episode.
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