To Whom it May Concern,
I would like to start off by saying thank you. Thank you for giving us two seasons worth of this amazing female character headlining a show that we have come to cherish. Thank you for making her relatable, for making her human and for making her kick ass like the best of the boys. Thank you for lines like “I know my value” and “Do as Peggy says.” Thank you for casting the abundant talent such as Hayley Atwell, Lyndsy Fonseca, Bridget Reagan, Wynn Everett, Lesley Boone, Lotte Verbeek and so many others. Thank you for giving us more than just a television show, but a moral compass to live our own lives by. Most importantly, thank you for giving Agent Peggy Carter a shot.
I have had the question posed to me many times over the last year, ‘why do you like Agent Carter?’ My answers always vary because there are too many reasons to list in a quick conversation, but ultimately it comes down to the line that I hear most quoted from season one of the series, “I know my value.” I have met many friends since I began watching Agent Carter and cosplaying Agent Carter that have regaled me with stories of just how much that line, this character and this show meant to them while they went through X, Y, or Z. Peggy Carter has made the women of the world sit up and say to themselves, “I know my value” which, pun fully intended, is more valuable than you can imagine. We live in a world that tells us how we should be, how we should act, how we should dress and that we are worth nothing without a pretty face. The mainstream media beats us over the head with it the moment we are old enough to comprehend the difference between girls and boys. And why should there be a difference? Why should there be ‘girl’ toys and ‘boy’ toys or ‘girl’ colors and ‘boy’ colors? Why are we put into a box by society when all we want is to be ourselves outside of that box and beyond our reach?
This season of Agent Carter has put some serious issues that women face just there: in our faces. We watched this season (SPOILER WARNING) in a flash back as Peggy was placed inside the box of a ‘perfect lady’ by her mother and by 1930’s-1940’s society when what she really wanted, who she really was, was to have adventures of her own, on her own terms. How many of us are put into a box by society, our families and the world around us when what we really want is to create our own adventure that we call life? If you wanted your show to say something, it has said something huge: “Ladies, know your value.” The sexism, the racial issues, the friendships, all of these are secondary to the importance of knowing and loving oneself. Peggy Carter is flawed just like every other woman on this planet. She has fears, she loves, she hates, and she messes up. She is every woman.
Now let me touch on the other important issues that the wonderfully talented creators of your show, Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, have put on the screen. Firstly, outside of the good vs. evil struggle, no women are in competition with each other. In a world where women constantly try to one-up each other to get ahead, it is refreshing to see two women able to be friends or colleagues and do nothing but lift each other up and support each other. Whether you know if or not, we the fans take that to heart. Communities have formed on the internet that bring like-minded women (and men) together from across the globe because of our mutual admiration, love and respect for Agent Carter. We strive to be more like her, to treat each other the same way that she treats other women. Not once has she looked down at another woman because she chose to be a waitress, a phone operator or a nurse like society told them to and that in itself is stunning.
Secondly, we’ve seen an increase in the diversity of the show. Last season there was a lack of much diversity and we the fans were so pleased to see that change this season. The way that it was handled was perfect and making our girl Peggy stand up for what is right, angrily and very strongly, in the face of the social issues of the time just made us love her more. Having a man of color be a love interest for her and to make her colorblind was brilliant and touched on our own social and diversity issues going on at this very moment in time. Your show so smartly puts these issues right in our faces and makes us realize we aren’t really all that different than we were 70 years ago and that is a problem we need to strive to change. We need to be colorblind and gender-blind like our best girl Peggy.
The importance of a television show may seem trivial to some, but is it any less an art form than theatre, music, literature or painting? A song can inspire, live theatre can cause an uprising, paintings move the soul. So can television. Television shows like your show are so important whether the so-called ‘numbers’ are there or not. The big picture that Agent Carter is creating is important. Young women, older women, women of a certain age, teenage girls and young girls all need a heroine like Peggy Carter. We need to know that knowing our value, standing up for what we feel is right and having our own mind are things to be nurtured, not hindered or squeezed into the societal box. Agent Carter tells us that this is acceptable. If there was ever a reason for a show to be on and kept on TV, the future of our young women is it.
Please give this beautiful show another season. Keep it in the same season slot that it is in, lessen the episodes if you must, but, I beg you, give us a third season. Give Agent Peggy Carter another shot and allow the women of the world to know their value for a third year in a row.
Sincerely yours,
Cate B.
It's All Geek To Me 