First of all, let's take a moment to appreciate Hayley Atwell. In general. Because she is a beautiful cinnamon roll who is too good for this world. Blessed Be and Amen. Now, let's appreciate specificallly that Hayley Atwell publicly endorses Cartinelli (she also reacted very positively to being told that Steve Rogers is considered bisexual by a large swath of the fandom). Hayley Atwell is the LEAD ACTOR on Agent Carter. She IS Agent Carter! That she is endorsing a same-sex ship for her character is HUGE. Here is (some of) the evidence:
Here is the appropriate response to this news:
So imagine my surprise when some of the reactions I saw were totally NOT celebratory or happy! What is *that* about? Here are some of the common responses I saw and my responses to them:
1. Why can’t two women just be friends???
Me: You mean like 99% of female characters on TV? Where is all this over-saturation of bi and lesbian representation you’re seeing that I can’t seem to find? Hook a sister up!
2. Why does she have to be with anyone? She should be alone!
Me: So you would rather Peggy be utterly alone, no romantic love in her life at all, rather than see her in a same-sex romance? Even though you call yourself a fan of the character and presumably want her to be happy? Okay.
3. She should be single and “play the field”!
Me: Yes. “Playing the field” totally sounds like the Peggy Carter we know.
4. Angie isn’t interesting enough/written with enough depth to be in a canon pair!
Me: Um. I have said this about so many M/F ships, it’s like a permanent crease on my soul. A boy and girl can literally just accidentally catch each other’s eyes from across a crowded room and immediately a ship the size of the Titanic is launched by the fandom, but Angie can be Peggy’s only friend/support person who is constantly drawing her out of herself, offering her emotional support (and housing!), making her smile and laugh and lying to federal agents to protect her, no questions asked…but it’s not enough to base a relationship on? Okay.
5. What about Jarvis/Peggy! Or Peggy/Some Dude!
Me: Bruh. Look. James D'Arcy and Hayley Atwell have GREAT chemistry and they are both very easy on the eyes. No lie. But in terms of an official canon ship? Jarvis is MARRIED and that is NOT going to happen. You’d rather ship Peggy with a MARRIED man who is obviously super in love with his WIFE than consider Cartinelli? Or ship her with actual trash can Agent “Fedora” Thompson than Angie? Do you actually hate Peggy Carter? Tell the truth. And while I actually like Agent Sousa, him being a Nice Guy doesn’t make him a good match for Peggy. Especially after the sh*t he pulled in the last two episodes of the season.
*JUST ADMIT THAT THIS IS ABOUT PEGGY BEING WITH A GIRL. ADMIT THAT YOU AREN’T OKAY WITH THAT. THAT YOU WOULD RATHER SEE ANYTHING ELSE *BUT* THESE TWO PRETTY AND WELL-COIFFED LADIES MAKING OUT.
*Own up to your internal biases/homophobia*
