Jarvis (James D'Arcy) will have some major explaining to do on Tuesday's Agent Carter.
The loyal butler to Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) betrayed Peggy (Hayley Atwell) in a big way last week, when he knowingly helped his boss manipulate her into stealing a vial of Captain America's (Chris Evans) blood. Howard had Peggy believe she was stealing a dangerous weapon, but his plan was to recover Cap's blood and use it to further medical research (and make a healthy profit, of course).
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It was quite a blow to Peggy, who had a romantic relationship with Cap during World War II, and had grown to consider Jarvis a close confidant. D'Arcy says Jarvis is in a "nightmare situation" when the episode begins.
"He was definitely aware of Stark's plan. What he had not accounted for was he would suddenly discover loyalties in another direction," D'Arcy tells The Hollywood Reporter. "They meet up and have a blazing row."
Tuesday's episode is to feature a direct tie-in to 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, which introduced Peggy Carter to the screen. The Howling Commandos are making an appearance, and while in the comics and in the film they were under the command of Captain America, this time Peggy will be taking the lead.
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"Peggy gets her own operation and that's a big deal considering where we've come from," says D'Arcy. "Jarvis is slightly instrumental to that in the beginning, not perhaps in the most obvious ways, but he challenges her to really explore what she really wants."
Jarvis has become the surprise breakout character in Agent Carter, with the onscreen chemistry between D'Arcy and Atwell much talked about among fans of the show. Atwell and showrunners Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters have expressed hopes for future seasons to explore Peggy's adventures throughout different decades. What would that mean for Jarvis' role in these adventures?
The Iron Man films have already established that Jarvis remains with Howard Stark and ends up playing a role in little Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) upbringing, as Tony's A.I. is named after Jarvis. D'Arcy suggests that perhaps Jarvis could take a vacation to join Peggy on future adventures.
"I'm not sure if he can take a sabbatical, but there are so many permutations that could get them back together," says D'Arcy. "One of the things Marvel is really, really good at is managing to weave the various threads of their universe together without making too many jumps in logic, but also making it satisfying."
Agent Carter airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.
Email: Aaron.Couch@THR.com
Twitter: @AaronCouch
