Note: There will be spoilers in our summary.
Recap
The episode begins with the Captain America radio show. It sounds as if they're reenacting the final moment between Cap and Peggy when his plane went down.
Peggy's with the SSR checking out the theater where the virus bomb went off. Sousa finds the canister and gets sprayed in the face. He starts to attack Agent Thompson and the others but is knocked out and cuffed. Dottie and the Doctor Ivchenko are driving away. They get pulled over. She pulls a gun on the officer when a police bulletin mentions their car.
Sousa wakes up cuffed to a hospital bed. He seems to be fine. The chemical unleashes a person's psychosis and makes them want to kill. They want to know what his target is. Howard Stark shows up and says he's the target. He agents are surprised that he managed to get in. They arrest him. Stark says he came back because of all the deaths. The gas is called "Midnight Oil." The government wanted a gas to catch the enemy off guard. It had more drastic results and he didn't want it used. Stark agrees to be bait for Ivchenko. It also comes out that Ivchenko's name is really Johann Fennhoff.
The radio announces Stark is back as Dottie and the doctor are about to steal a small plane. They decide to head back to where Stark is supposed to give a speech. Peggy doesn't want him to put his life at risk. She tells him he doesn't have to redeem himself. Stark wants to make it up to Peggy from their last encounter. During the speech, they announce all the charges against him have been dropped. Stark starts giving his speech when shots are fired from up above. Stark is put into a police car but it was a trap to grab him. The officer from before is being forced to deliver Stark to the doctor. Since it's V-E Day, Peggy figure they're going to hit Times Square with the rest of the gas.
It turns out Stark spent a weekend with Dottie six months earlier. He showed her another vault (with cars and a plane). The doctor blames Stark for Midnight Oil and the death of his brother and comrades. The doctor doesn't intend to kill Stark. He wants to make him suffer. The doctor starts his hypnosis bit on Stark. Peggy and the others arrive but Howard already took off in a plane. No one except Jarvis knows how to fly another plane to go after him. He's going to have to shoot Howard down.
Peggy searches for Dottie and the doctor. She finds them but Dottie knocks Peggy's gun away. Time to fight. Dottie grabs a bat and it looks like the fight is over. Peggy surprises Dottie and kicks her out a window. She gets on he radio to try to get Stark to stop. Susan gets the drop on the doctor. He figures Sousa won't shoot an unarmed man. He starts talking to him to distract him. He's trying to get Sousa to shoot Thompson. It looks like he's going to do it and then smacks the doctor in the face. He was wearing earplugs. Peggy can't get through to him. Jarvis asks if he should take the shot. She tells Jarvis not to shoot until she says. She keeps trying to get through to Stark. He says Project Rebirth was the only good thing he's done. She tells Howard Steve is gone. They have to move on. It worked.
Peggy goes to check on Dottie's body. Dottie is gone! There's a blood trail but she's still alive. The doctor is being taken into custody. They figure they haven't seen the last of Dottie.
At he office, everyone applauds when Peggy arrives. A senator arrives to thank Thompson for saving the day. He says he was just doing what needed to be done. Susan is outraged that Thompson is getting all he credit and not Peggy. She says she doesn't need anyone's approval. Susan asks her out for a drink (even though it's morning). She says another time, she has to meet a friend. Stark gives a house to Angie and Peggy. Jarvis tells her if she ever needs his services, he'd be honored to help. Howard is at the SSR, trying to get his stuff back. He wants to destroy everything. Jarvis gives Peggy Steve's blood. She takes it to a bridge and dumps it, saying goodbye.
The doctor is taken to a cell. His jaw is locked shut. His cellmate is Arnim Zola! He points out there are other ways they can communicate. Also, they're in the United States, the land of opportunity.
Thoughts
As the final episode of a short season, a lot has to be wrapped up. It's great to finally get some answers as to who targeted Stark and has been behind the whole mess he's been in. While at first it seemed a little sudden (and shocking) to have the other SSR agents discover what Peggy is capable of, it also removes the pretext for her having to act the way they saw her--incapable of doing things. It does make you wonder where things will go from here if the show returns for another season.
One of the big bombshells was the revelation that Ivchenko's real name was Johann Fennhoff. If you clicked on his name right there, or are simply aware of the character's real name, you know it's Doctor Faustus. That makes perfect sense and is pretty cool to see him brought into the Cinematic Universe. I've been wondering why they created a new character instead of using an existing one.
Probably the highlight was the fight between Peggy and Dottie. We all knew it was coming. In some ways, it felt the fight was a little short. Again, we had a lot to get through. It did seem Peggy was a little outmatched but that also makes sense. Dottie has had a lifetime of training. Peggy does show sometimes it's simply intelligence that wins out. She outsmarted Dottie.
What about Dottie surviving? Of course she has to survive. She made a great villain for Peggy. We want to see her come back and cause more problems for Peggy and the SSR.
Stark getting cleared helps move his story along. It seemed a little farfetched how quickly he became a wanted man. It was cool to see how deeply Jarvis feels towards Peggy now. And poor Sousa. He almost got to get a drink with Peggy.
Having Zola appear at the end was completely unexpected. We can only assume that at some point Zola and Faustus escape to help bring about the return of HYDRA.
As the last episode of the season, we had plenty of conclusions to the different story points. There were points during the season some plot points felt they were dragging but other areas could have thrived with more exploration and felt a little rushed. Things were tied up a little too neatly. Let's hope this isn't the last we see of Agent Carter. Bring on Season Two!