When I learned about this show, I immediately thought it was a fantastic idea and I have to admit it doesn’t disappoint. A non-superhero in a world of superheroes and super-villains being effective and kicking ass. I have to admit I have a real soft spot for those kinds of characters.
Anyway, we pick up Peggy Carter’s, the former love interest of Captain America, life in the US in the late 40s post WWII. She’s working in a US agency called the SSR. Compared to her activity in The First Avenger she seems to be demoted. She’s working for a bunch of jackasses who think she is best utilized by filing papers, answering phones and getting coffee. Frankly, I don’t see the transition from film to this show happening this way, but I can tell why they did it: They wanted to demonstrate the severely different gender roles in the workplace in that time period. A LOT of time and dialogue is spent demonstrating this, and where there are points where I think “Alright I get it, let’s move along” the precise point is that there is no “moving along” for women working at the SSR despite their capability. So for those bothered by this element of the setting I kind of think they should just suck it up and deal because so far the story is quite engaging.
Highlights are cool spy gadgets, mutilated bad guys, and the reason why the MCU is so magical, the consistent ongoing storyline with the appearance of Howard Stark.
On with the booze:
The SSR goes to a swanky event to talk to an arms dealer and agent Carter precedes them separately under cover to get to the man before they do. Swanky events usually mean drinking. First of all, there are drinks of various kinds all through the scene, too many to count, too varied to describe. Specific items drinks we can point to: Peggy Carter is accosted by a drunk man with a rocks glass and a couple fingers of brown liquid…no idea what it is…I’m calling it bourbon. We meet him early so that later she can use him as a decoy to hide in plain site…his intoxicated condition, of course, makes him worthy of being the fool.
Also, at one point we can see a waiter enter the room with a tray and two cocktails with what looks like olive garnishes. I’m calling them Martinis.- Back at her apartment she has to “defuse” a volatile substance with a selection of household products. She knows exactly what items contain the compounds she needs to make the substance inert and we see her pull a series of bottles off of the shelf. One of them is “Scudder’s Bourbon Whiskey.” In her bathroom there is a tense moment as she mixes the ingredients and applies them to deactivate the glowing ball of fury. Crisis averted she uses the final ingredient, the Scudder’s Bourbon Whiskey to pour herself a short glass. Comic relief.If anyone can find me some Scudder’s Bourbon Whiskey, I will send you some Black Liver Project schwag.
- Finally, last scene in the episode is purely spoken. Stark’s butler Edwin Jarvis is on the phone instructing Stark how to make a Martini, based on the description, a very dry Martini. “swish the glass with the vermouth, tip it out, THEN add the gin.”
