Snafu Review

You'd think agents at a top secret spy agency would be trained in resisting hypnotism. This is the second time Ivchenko has hypnotized an agent for Leviathan's agenda. Even if the training wasn't standard, you'd think the station chief would be good enough at his job to recognize that he was being hypnotized or at least have some inkling of resistance. At least Dooley managed to recognize it after the fact and warn the other agents to be careful around the psychologist.

I'm guessing Leviathan is planning on releasing the crazy gas into the crowd at the press conference in this week's episode. Based on the promo photos, there's going to be some sort of press conference in the street that goes wrong. I'm guessing Dottie is going to shoot at it, then Ivchenko is going to release the gas to add to the panic on the street. I'm still not sure what they're endgame is, though. Ivchenko said Leviathan was created to ensure the Soviet Union's superiority over the world, but it seems like attacking US soil like that would just trigger World War III. This story takes place less than a year after the end of WWII, so Europe isn't really ready for another war yet. However, with this many troops left over after the war, it would be relatively easy to mobilize. The thing is, if Stalin wants a war, there are far easier ways of starting one than a covert attack on New York City.

I'm pretty sure that Leviathan actually planned to Ivchenko to get taken by the SSR. They sent that message with the coordinates of the base and a bit that made it look like Howard Stark was guilty of something. Leviathan must have determined that their agent had been killed and his equipment fallen into the hands of the SSR. They knew that the SSR was pursuing Howard, so they sent a message to them that made it look like Howard was selling military equipment. They then evacuated the base of most personnel, and let Ivchenko be captured so he could infiltrate the SSR and hypnotize their agents. The girl on the base must have been an accident. They wouldn't want the SSR to know they were training young girls, so she must have snuck away from the evacuation to stay at what had become her home.

What happened to Angie? Last we saw her, Peggy had just been taken and she was investigating Dottie's room. Dottie had apparently left in a hurry, probably off to some Leviathan safe house. Hopefully she'll figure out there's something up with Dottie and steer clear of her if she comes back. Maybe she'll even tip Peggy off to something about Dottie that will lead the SSR to her. I just don't want anything to happen to her before she has a chance to hook up with Peggy. I really ship them.