Favorite Characters: Edwin Jarvis (Agent Carter)

I don’t know if the uptight, possibly-tweedy Brit who can throw down surprisingly well when necessary is an actual archetype for genre shows or if it’s mainly Whedon and Whedon-adjacent shows that make me think that (see also, to varying degrees, Rupert Giles, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Adele DeWitt, and Jemma Simmons.)  Regardless, Jarvis is a top-shelf example of this potential archetype – my love for him is strong and abiding (a few Jarvis-related spoilers.)

The long-suffering butler of Howard Stark, Jarvis is essentially gifted to Peggy when Howard recruits her to find his stolen inventions and clear his name.  He’s offered up as a tireless gopher for Peggy, the extent of his services knowing no bounds.  Having spent years in Howard’s employ, tidying up after the genius playboy’s assorted scandals and sexploits, Jarvis comes by these intentions honestly and is ready to do anything and everything Peggy needs him to.

The slight hitch, of course, is that Peggy is in full-on lone-wolf mode and doesn’t want him for anything.  Her first reluctant foray into asking for his assistance isn’t really helped by his desire to keep up his usual domestic routine with his wife, leading Peggy to question whether Jarvis is really committed and/or cut out for this.  To be sure, there are a few early-stage scheduling conflicts along these lines, and Jarvis tuts a bit when the secret spy stuff gets in the way of laundry, cooking, or the wireless program he and his wife enjoy in the evenings, but really, any objections on his part are short-lived.

The truth is, however much it inconveniences him, Jarvis is incredibly eager to help Peggy in any way he can.  Not that he doesn’t mend Howard’s zippers and wash the sexy costumes worn by Howard’s overnight guests – with consummate professionalism but a witheringly-dry world-weariness.  But he wants to do more.  He wants to do something exciting and complicated and dangerous, he wants to help keep the world safe from the unsavory people who’ve gotten their hands on Howard’s weapons, and he wants to support Peggy in her mission.

And once she begins to let him in, Jarvis very willingly obliges in his oh-so-British way.  Whether he’s called on to drive a getaway car, handle volatilely lethal materials, or back Peggy up in a fight, he gets the job done.  What’s more, he’s a wonderful source of emotional support for Peggy, encouraging her to allow herself to lean on others when she needs to.  I love how much he admires her for her strength, ingenuity and bravery, but that he’s also aware of how human she is and isn’t afraid to speak up when he sees her going down a needlessly-reckless path; even knowing that she’s likely to brush off his concerns, he still makes himself heard.

And finally, Ana, in addition to be a fab character in her own right, tells us so much about Jarvis.  I love that she’s not a “female Jarvis” and has such a different temperament than him – and that, rather than be stuffy about it and fret about decorum, he loves that about her.  I love that he risked his (former) military career to get Ana out of German-occupied Europe, doesn’t make excuses about the treason charge that resulted from it, and puts up with Howard’s antics in part because of his gratitude for Howard’s help in saving her.  When he’s relating these events to Peggy, who realizes, “She was Jewish,” I absolutely love the quiet, utterly sincere smile he gives as he replies, “Still is, I’m happy to say.”  What a beautiful moment.

Relationship Spotlight: Peggy Carter & Edwin Jarvis (Agent Carter)

Another great Marvel friendship here – this one doesn’t even need superpowers to be awesome.  It’s too bad that Peggy and Steve didn’t get their dance, but if she’s going to be kicking ass and taking names somewhere without him, I’m glad she has Jarvis to back her up.

The unwanted sidekick who ultimately proves themselves invaluable is a tried-and-true archetype, and Jarvis (not to be confused with  J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark’s intelligent computer system) fits the bill.  When Peggy agrees to help Howard recover his stolen inventions, she’s in a fairly solitary place.  She’s still privately grieving Steve’s loss, and she’s silently seething at the way the SSR treats her like a secretary and wastes her skills as an agent.  She’s not in the mood for a tagalong, and she’s very insistent about handling things herself.  The last thing she wants is Howard’s butler, Jarvis, foisted upon her to help with her secret mission.

And at first glance, Jarvis doesn’t seem like he’d be much help even if Peggy did want it.  He doesn’t give off the air of being made for the field, and he’s used to a routine and neatness that belies the grime and unpredictability of spy work.  It’s understandable that Peggy would look at him and only see a stuffed shirt.  However, Jarvis isn’t just anyone’s butler – he’s Howard Stark’s butler, which inevitably means that he’s dealt with grime and unpredictability plenty of times.  And, as ill-suited as he seems for the task, he’s more than willing to do whatever will help Peggy in any way he can.  Not that he’s a spy extraordinaire, but he’s hard-working, fastidious, loyal, and extremely eager, all of which are good qualities to have in a pinch.

So, slowly, they start to become partners.  It’s still definitely a hero-sidekick type of situation – Jarvis never condescends to Peggy, which is a major point in his favor – but Peggy comes to value Jarvis’s support.  As she fights for her worth, she recognizes Jarvis’s as well, learning to appreciate a punctual get-away driver, a, extra pair of eyes applied to a problem, and someone who has her back when things get dicey.  She doesn’t always show that appreciation very well, partly because it’s hard for her to open up to someone again (albeit 100% platonically) and partly because, like most Marvel heroes, she doesn’t always listen to other people’s advice as well as she should.  Over the course of the (too-short) series, they come to mean a lot to each other.  They don’t always see eye-to-eye, and when they fight, it’s hard, because each knows how to get to the other, but when it really matters, they’re always there for each other.

One of my favorite scenes on the show comes early in season 1, when Peggy recovers Howard’s weapons cache and immediately begins planning her victory walk through the SSR offices, proving what she can do once and for all to those self-important misogynists.  Jarvis, though, realizes she can’t do this because they’ve been carrying out their investigation in secret, counter to the one the SSR is running.  When he tells her as much, she brushes him off, too caught up in relishing the chance to finally be recognized as the incredible agent she is, and so he starts in with the tough love.  Taking on the role of her superiors, he starts bombarding her with questions, and Peggy is forced to accept his point – that there’s no agency-sanctioned explanation for her actions or her discovery, and that, as much as it kills her to do it, she has to call in an anonymous tip and let another (male) agent take the credit for what she’s done.  Jarvis is tough but honest in getting her to see this, as well as empathetic in seeing what she has to sacrifice.  I enjoyed these two before that scene, but this is when I knew I loved them.