History YMMV / AgentCarter

** Thanks to ''Film/AntMan'' establishing Howard and Peggy would work with the original Ant-Man and Wasp, its also became fairly popular to assume that Peggy and Janet were close friends [[spoiler: before the latter disappeared]].

* EarWorm: The super catchy musical number in Season 2, Episode 9. It's a throwback to 1940s Hollywood musicals and every bit of an EarWorm as songs from that era.

** It seems there's quite a split with audience reaction to the show's handling of the era's sexism. Some feel it's slapped on too thick to the point of being Anvilicious, while others feel it's justified given the era, and praise the show for also demonstrating that sexism isn't always men against women (given the deconstruction of Thompson's 'manly-man' persona and Miriam Fry's FemaleMisogynist and misandrist leanings). There's also those who feel the show sometimes dips into playing into the same sexist tropes they're trying to criticize.
*** The Second Season decides to dive into the era's racism as well, showing the difficulties a black man faces in breaking into a 'white man's career' like physics. On the one hand, it fits well with the above, brings in a well-developed, well-acted character as a likable LoveInterest for Peggy and shows the writers aren't ''just'' focused on the plights of women, but on the other hand, it's ''still'' just as unsubtle, and in-spite of that, some fans feared they would [[spoiler: kill the black guy off after he disappeared in the Zero Matter explosion]]. In the end,[[spoiler: the next episode shows him to be very much alive, although invisible and intangible from the zero matter explosion.]]

** In the context of the greater MCU, Edwin Jarvis has become this as he became [[spoiler: the first TV character to show up in the movies in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.]]

** In the context of the greater MCU, Edwin Jarvis has become this as he became [[spoiler: the first TV character to show up in the movies in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.

*** The Second Season decides to dive into the era's racism as well, showing the difficulties a black man faces in breaking into a 'white man's career' like physics. On the one hand, it fits well with the above, brings in a well-developed, well-acted character as a likable LoveInterest for Peggy and shows the writers aren't ''just'' focused on the plights of women, but on the other hand, it's ''still'' just as unsubtle, and in-spite of that, some fans feared they would [[spoiler: kill the black guy off after he disappeared in the Zero Matter explosion]], something that ''every'' TV series Marvel has produced has done. In the end,[[spoiler: the next episode shows him to be very much alive, although invisible and intangible from the zero matter explosion.]]

** After the first season attracted a lot of criticism for its conspicuous lack of black characters in defiance of how diverse New York's population in the 1940s actually was, Season 2 finally did cast the black Reggie Austin as Jason Wilkes... and [[{{Irony}} moved the setting to Los Angeles]].

** [[TheDon Johnny Manfredi]], [[spoiler: Whitney Frost]]'s AffablyEvil [[TheMafia Mafia]] boyfriend, who steals practically every scene he appears in due to a combination of being a badass, [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]], [[CardCarryingVillain unrepentant]] Mafia don and [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes genuinely]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming adorable]] with his [[MadLove equally crazy]] girlfriend.

* HeReallyCanAct: James D'Arcy as Edwin Jarvis was always one of the most enjoyable aspects of the show as the comic relief, but following [[spoiler:Ana being gunned down by Whitney in episode 7 of season 2]] we get to see him deliver a stellar dramatic performance as he [[spoiler:grieves over his wife's injury, especially when it is not known whether or not she'll survive. Then it turns out she will survive, but there are... [[LawOfInverseFertility complications.]]]]

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: A UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood Golden Age of Hollywood]]-style musical number plays at the start of the Season 2 penultimate episode after Peggy is knocked out and captured. It MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: A UsefulNotes/GoldenAgeOfHollywood-style musical number plays at the start of the Season 2 penultimate episode after Peggy is knocked out and captured. It MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Howard was hardly a Scrappy, but it can be frustrating to know in Season 1 that for all of his geniuses, he's not only a (somewhat) deconstructed InsufferableGenius but also a WalkingDisasterArea whose inventions cause nothing but many deaths. Not to mention he also manipulated Peggy, one of the very few persons who trust him, to retrieve Steve Rogers' blood so he (supposedly) could make a profit out of it. Other than that, he also made fun of US Senate in the first episode to the point that Dooley was frustrated that Howard was really [[NotHelpingYourCase not helping his case]] while treating the whole thing like a joke, as well as showing LackOfEmpathy by mocking SSR office's security while the agents are mourning for Dooley's death and ''then'' belittling SSR scientists for apparently mistreating his inventions (in reality, he distracted them so he can steal the aforementioned Steve's blood, which Peggy gave to the SSR to gain their trust in the previous episode, for himself). Come Season 2, Howard is more helpful, resourceful, useful, and being comedic in more appropriate way.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Howard was hardly a Scrappy, but it can be frustrating to know in Season 1 that for all of his geniuses, he's not only a (somewhat) deconstructed InsufferableGenius but also a WalkingDisasterAea whose inventions cause nothing but many deaths. Not to mention that he was also making fun of US Senate in the first episode to the point that Dooley was frustrated that Howard was really [[NotHelpingYourCase not helping his case]] while treating the whole thing like a joke, as well as showing lack of empathy by mocking SSR office's security while the agents are mourning for Dooley's death and ''then'' belittling SSR scientists for apparently mistreating his inventions. Other than that, he also manipulated Peggy, one of the very few persons who trust him, to retrieve Steve Rogers' blood so he (supposedly) could make a profit out of it. Come Season 2, Howard is more helpful, resourceful, useful, and being comedic in more appropriate way.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: A GoldenAgeOfHollywood-style musical number plays at the start of the Season 2 penultimate episode after Peggy is knocked out and captured. It MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext.

** In general, the show does a lot to tackle issues of privilege and discrimination, showcasing and deconstructing the ways women, people of color, and paraplegic individuals have been marginalized and mistreated in our past, while also showing other elements of DoubleStandard issues present in society (even elements that affect white men, as seen when discussing MenAreTheExpendableGender and Miriam Fry's cynical look at male sexuality). As noted in many reviews, the handling of these characters and issues has made the show stand out compared to most works of fiction (compare ''The First Avenger'' and its more idealistic look on history), while also passing the BechdelTest, the Oracle Test, and similar fiction checklists, a rarity for works of this genre.

** [[TheDon Johnny Manfredi]], [[spoiler: Whitney Frost]]'s AffablyEvil [[TheMafia Mafia]] boyfriend, who steals practically every scene he appears in due to a combination of being a badass, [[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]] [[CardCarryingVillain unrepentant]] Mafia don and [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes genuinely]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming adorable]] with his [[MadLove equally crazy]] girlfriend.

** Whitney Frost may be an evil genius, but few people can help but sympathize with her when shown all the sexist crap she has to put up with while on the set of a movie. [[spoiler: The scene in which she discovers her newfound powers is a particularly good example.]] Her backstory helps making it even worse, as it echoes Peggy's and show just how much she hates being reduced to "just being a pretty face".

** If you know ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon, Howard Stark's inventions [[GoneHorriblyWrong Going Horribly Wrong]] so often makes him look like a DarkerAndEdgier, HotterAndSexier version of Doctor Bacterio.

%%** "I know my value."

*** The Second season decides to dive into the era's racism as well, showing the difficulties a black man faces in breaking into a 'white man's career' like physics. On the one hand, it fits well with the above, brings in a well-developed, well-acted character as a likable LoveInterest for Peggy and shows the writers aren't ''just'' focused on the plights of women, but on the other hand, it's ''still'' just as unsubtle, and in-spite of that, some fans feared they would [[spoiler: kill the black guy off after he disappeared in the Zero Matter explosion]], something that ''every'' TV series Marvel has produced has done. In the end,[[spoiler: the next episode shows him to be very much alive, although invisible and intangible from the zero matter explosion.]]

** Ana Jarvis, who was a popular source of Fanon in the first season, is introduced properly in the second, where she proceeds to be a total GenkiGirl who bonds quickly with Peggy, shows no jealousy towards her, is extremely affectionate to everyone (especially her husband), and basically steal almost any scene she's in. It helps that she's also really adorable.

* FandomRivalry: To its sister show ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''. Asking which shows is better or which shows deserve the renewal more can all lead to {{Flame War}}s. The revelation of the friction between Marvel movie and TV divisions and the amount of Marvel studio (the movie division) involved in ''Agent Carter'' have led to some considered it to be a direct shot fired at Marvel Tv division.

** Peggy is irritated by her counterpart on the Captain America radio show being reduced to a DamselInDistress nurse. And in Season 2, her SecondLove grows apart from her...by dating a nurse.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The general reaction to Whitney Frost prior to the second season starting, due to her being InNameOnly to her comic book counterpart, Madame Masque. A major source of contention was the fact they chose to use her due to the lack of female villains and decided to introduce one, but chose to change the character so much that she no longer resembles her comic self (who is a ''very'' popular Iron Man villain, and one of his most iconic), raising the question as to why they didn't either create a new villain or use a character who resembled what they had in mind. As a result, its unlikely a more 'traditional' Madame Masque will appear, unless they make her a LegacyCharacter.

** In general, the show does a lot to tackle issues of privilege and discrimination, showcasing and deconstructing the ways women, people of color, and paraplegic individuals have been marginalized and mistreated in our past, while also showing other elements of DoubleStandard issues present in society (even elements that effect white men, as seen when discussing MenAreTheExpendableGender and Miriam Fry's cynical look at male sexuality). As noted in many reviews, the handling of these characters and issues has made the show stand out compared to most works of fiction (compare ''The First Avenger'' and its more idealistic look on history), while also passing the BechdelTest, the Oracle Test, and similar fiction checklists, a rarity for works of this genre.

'''Nurse Carver''': Oh, no, it's the Nazis! ...[[LampshadeHanging Again!]]

* CrossCulturalKerfluffle: Australian audiences found it difficult to take [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_Oil Midnight Oil]] seriously, as it's also [[AGoodNameForARockBand the name of a rock band]].

** The way how Rufus Hunt effortlessly assasinated two SSR Agents who were about to transport Jane Scott's corpse. It ''should'''ve been safe to assume that they're just SSR Scientists without combat capabilities (since they do exist in the agency), and thus had no sufficiency for self-defense. But then Sousa ''had'' to make a point that [[InformedAbility one of them was a marine with three tours while the other one had black belt]], making their deaths fell into {{Narm}} territory.