The last and by far most popular panel of the weekend, Hayley Atwell's Q&A session was also particularly action-packed, so I thought it deserved its own post.
For starters, not only did fans get Atwell, but Brett Dalton followed her into the room, surprising everyone by announcing he'd be moderating the panel. Having both of them there led to another fun element of the panel: a Dubsmash war tangent (more on that later).
Then there's what Atwell had to say herself. Through her answers to several questions, Atwell shared an incredibly articulate, strong message of female empowerment and pride. It was a running message throughout the panel and the audience loved her words of wisdom. And of course, when she wasn't talking about that, she was giving insight into her Marvel world and what she's experienced since becoming Agent Carter.
So without further ado, let's start with the...
Dubsmash war
For those of you who don't know — as I didn't until I looked it up at the end of the weekend —
there has been an ongoing Dubsmash — where you lip sync songs, mouth phrases, etc in a quick video — war between the cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the stars of Agent Carter (Atwell and James D'Arcy, who plays Jarvis). It started when S.H.I.E.L.D. did a "We are the Champions" video and Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson) called out Atwell by dressing as Agent Carter. Atwell and D'Arcy retaliated with two videos which included an appearance from Chris Evans.
Atwell even shared the whole back story to the Carter-Evans collaboration: She and D'Arcy saw the S.H.I.E.L.D. video, were so up in arms about it that they couldn't sleep. So the next day, they got Evans on board, flew to him in Atlanta from LA, shot it, then returned home that same day.
"By the end of the day, James and I were moody and tired but we were happy and proud of what we did, we thought we'd won it." said Atwell.
But the war has continued, and Dalton, who'd briefly discussed the war in his own panel, posted the latest S.H.I.E.L.D. installment from Clark Gregg and Chloe Bennett right on the spot in front of Atwell.
After some goofing off over that, Dalton asked an actual question and the real panel began.
Atwell's message about women
When asked whether she was surprised at anything in the script, she said that she felt listened to because a lot of the ideas she came up with throughout the creative process were included.
"There was definitely a feeling that I do have a voice," she said.
She then noted that she likes strong women, but said "I actually feel weird to say strong women because all women are strong."
When asked why she likes playing Agent Carter, she noted that Carter has a grace and elegance to her (whereas Atwell sees herself as a dork, and very silly). She later also said she thinks it's amazing that Carter is feminine and sexy but not overly sexualized.
When asked how she'd deal with the sexism Carter faces in her time period, Atwell said that sexism still exists, it's just more sophisticated — i.e. instead of getting tapped on the "arse" at work, they're getting sabotaged.
"Peggy is a modern day woman. She doesn't moan or [expletive], she just finds ways of being smarter, using her wit, warmth, intelligence and humor," said Atwell. "She knows her value so she doesn't have to shout it from the rooftop, she does it quietly which makes her a true hero."
On her relationship with the character of Angie, Atwell said, "it's rare you see two female character on screen not fighting... not spending a scene talking about a guy... just supporting and heisting each other."
On the fact that there has yet to be a Black Widow movie, Atwell noted that there is going to be a Captain Marvel film.
"It's past the due date but things are happening... Marvel took a risk with me and the show but they've fought to make it the best it can be... and I think it's just a matter of time before fans get what they want," said Atwell.
Finally, when Atwell was asked what her most grueling experience filming Carter has been, she said "grueling is not a word I'd use to describe any part of shooting Carter."
She then launched into a story about what she thinks grueling truly is: While working on a big theater production, she made a suggestion to help the director who was stuck on something. The director shut her down, but when a man made the same suggestion, the director agreed.
"That moment was such an obvious moment of prejudice," said Atwell.
When she confronted the director he said, "you're an actress, you're under 30, why would I listen to you?"
"It was such a moment of empowerment because it was so wrong, it made me stronger... so I'm actually grateful to that director because I came out of it stronger," said Atwell. "On Carter, I'm so well taken care of, it's been remarkable... and I think it shows because everyone is doing their best work."
That was the capstone of her female-empowerment message. These wonderful answers really struck a chord with the audience... who was also happy to hear what else Atwell had to say.
The rest of the conversation
Dalton: Did you know when you got the part of Peggy Carter for Captain America that it would have the life it does today?
"No, not at all, honestly all I cared about was getting to snog Chris Evans," she said, then adding that it's an honor and a privilege things have turned out that way, and thanking fans for loving Carter so much.
In response to a request for a Chris Evans impression...
Atwell said Evans just always grabs his boobs, throws his head back and laughs in photos and interviews — "he's probably drunk in them."
She later took credit for Evans' (apparently well-documented) boob thing, explaining that during an awards ceremony, she did it to Emma Thompson, whom she considers a matriarch in her life.
"She has lovely boobs," said Atwell. "So I like to think I'm the inspiration behind Chris's boob tic."
On if there were any script surprises...
Besides her strong-women message, she also mentioned a scene where she confronts Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper). She said it was something Cooper and her were really into.
In Captain America, Peggy and Steve never happened but in Carter, it's a lover she lost, so what happened off screen, did they consummate the relationship?
Atwell said she thinks they did because they were soul mates — Carter liked Steve before he was a hero. They both had obstacles in their lives to overcome, so they connected emotionally. Atwell then joked that Evans would say "Oh yeah, they totally did it."
Has S.H.I.E.L.D. upheld its original values?
"I have no idea. We're not there yet and I don't want to preempt it by giving my opinion," said Atwell. But she did hint that more of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s motives and agenda will be revealed in S.H.I.E.L.D. 's next season.
On who would win in a fight between Ward and Carter...
Dalton said, "thankfully we don't have to answer that since they're not in the same time."
Atwell said, "That's his way of saying he's terrified... no I think it would be even, I wouldn't want to embarrass you."
On her image now that she's become Carter...
"I don't know what people think of me," said Atwell. "I was aware of being type-cast but that didn't scare me... theater is most important to me so I'll always go back to that... and as long as I seek out varied characters, I think people will realize I'm not actually Peggy Carter."
Atwell then noted that in an upcoming West End Theatre play she portrays a character who is the antithesis of Peggy.
On anyone or thing that's inspired her...
She quoted Marianne Williamson — "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure..." explaining that the message is there's no purpose in shying away from things.
"That gave me the confidence to pursue my passion," said Atwell, also mentioning a quote from Mary Wollstonecraft.
Other things to note:
- There will be more interaction between Carter and Dottie, her nemesis next season.
-It really was Atwell singing in her scene in Cinderella.
-She'd like carter to use the heel of her shoe as a weapon more often.
-She'd like to work with Paul Rudd, of all the Marvel actors, because she's "a massive fan [of him] as a human being."
-Something she misses most about doing the Marvel movies is the people: Stanley Tucci and Chris Evans — "he's a dream."
-Her favorite Carter fight scene is the diner scene (episode 5) because Carter takes out a lot of people as jukebox music plays.
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The panel ended with two girls asking Atwell to hang with them at prom — Atwell said she would but can't make it because of work.
Oh and there was also one point in the panel where two girls taught Dalton and Atwell how to Irish step dance.
Like I said, it was a crazy panel, but that's what made it great, a perfect end to the weekend.