From strictly a viewer standpoint, the fact that Agent Carter got her own mini-series shows how popular the character is. She was meant to be just a simple character who was a love interest to Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger. Albeit one who can kick butt, take names, and show how epic women can be.

A one-shot later, and fans were begging for an Agent Carter series. Lo and behold, we got one. One that not only would give us what we wanted, but also take a more focused approach to storytelling by having the season be eight episodes. Despite all of this though, it’s incredibly unclear whether Agent Carter will indeed get a second season. This to me, is heartbreaking.

Why? Cause I love this series. Not because it’s a great action romp that also happens to be a period piece. Or because it’s another Marvel series that’ll no doubt lead to numerous spinoffs, including possible appearances in video games…though somehow that does sound appealing. After all, video games are awesome, and Marvel does have a good track record with video games, especially recently. No, I like Agent Carter because of the characters, and what they’re doing with the world they’re in.

So here today, I’m listing 5 reasons Agent Carter should get a second season. There are more for the record, but I’m trying to keep it simple.

1. Hayley Atwell is Rocking It As Peggy Carter.

I figured I might as well start out with the obvious. Ms. Hayley Atwell is absolutely killing it as Agent Peggy Carter. It should be noted that she loves this character as much as we do! And you can tell that in almost every scene. Furthermore, her portrayal as Peggy is spot on with what we expect. She’s NOT a damsel in distress, but neither is she a boat-rocker per se. She’s straightforward, persistent, willing to show her skills at the drop of the hat, and most important, is willing to do what is right. Even if it doesn’t benefit her in the end.

It would’ve been so easy to make Peggy like say…Agent May from Agents of Shield. A warrior woman who barely expresses herself. Instead, we got a more well rounded character who we can both cheer on and sympathize with every time she appears on screen. That’s hard to do at times.

A favorite scene of mine was in the pilot, where her roommate got killed by the Leviathan assassin, and short after dispatching the goons, Peggy broke down and cried. Her later line, “the people I love seem to die around me” showed the sadness and conflict within her. That was beautiful, and showed just what kind of person Peggy is. Yeah, she’s tough, but she still has a heart. This was personified in the season finale (Read the review here!) in the incredibly moving scene where she truly let go of Steve Rogers.

I could go on at length about the epicness of Carter herself. But that would take a long time, so I’ll move on. Hopefully though, these few paragraphs show that this character us much than a lead character in a series. She’s a character that we care about.

2. Not Afraid To Take From Both Past And Future

I’ve heard a lot of people say that Agent Carter is somewhat pointless because they know how it “ends”. More-or-less meaning Captain America: The Winter Soldier. That is both true and incredibly false. Yes, we may know how Shield ends, but that’s a long time from where Peggy is. She’s still in the 40’s, whereas Shield ends roughly 60-70 years later depending on “when” Winter Soldier technically takes place. That’s a lot of leeway.

Which leads to one of the fun parts of the show, taking from the past and future, and putting them in the present. Yes, they can only do certain things, but that still leaves them with a lot to work with. Easter Eggs and name drops aside, the show is still very much tapped into the Marvel Universe.

Look no further than the Howling Commandos, or the “introduction” of the Black Widow program. The former may not have been surprising (as the team worked with Peggy in Captain America), but the second was certainly a shock.

Agent Carter as a series has an opportunity to take parts of the Marvel universe that other movies and shows won’t use and put them in their show. Leviathan is a great example of that. I doubt after Hydra that they would’ve brought in Leviathan to the movies, so why not use it now? Faustus was another great example. He’s a Captain America villain in the comics, but one that wasn’t…popular enough to probably get his own movie. Yet here, in Agent Carter, he got to get the spotlight he wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

If more seasons are greenlit, more characters both known and obscure can get the attention they deserve, all the while not having to worry too much about conflicting with the MCU. There’s lot of potential here, why waste it?

3. We Can Witness The Rise of Shield

As if to counter the argument made above, future seasons of Agent Carter can focus on the true rise of Shield. With the SSR growing in terms of both popularity and being tasked with big missions, it wouldn’t be too far to suggest that Howard Stark (who I’ll get too soon) pulls strings to get the SSR rebuilt into Shield.

What’s the big deal? You may be asking? Well, as I said before, it’s a LONG time before the fall of Shield, and it certainly wasn’t built overnight. At least not into the global peacekeeping force we associate Shield with being. How did they get that powerful? How did they get such influence? What threats did they neutralize to show the world they can protect it? These questions can be answered in future seasons. Yes, with eight episodes, they’ll probably be brief. But you’d be surprised what you can do in eight episodes if you write them well enough.

Now true, the writers have noted that the One-Shot of Agent Carter is seen as the “end” of the series. But they also noted how that will get tough as the seasons go on. In fact, you could say it’s not cannon anymore, because Stark was surprised by what Peggy did in the one-shot. Why would he be that way if HE was the one who not so long ago asked her to be a double agent? Futhermore, she had to STEAL that mission in order to show her worth. Everyone at the SSR (yes, even Thompson) knows she can do the work. So why does she need to steal the assignment? Exactly. It wouldn’t be the first time history has been rewritten for a show. Now to be fair, they can spend another season, or maybe two with the SSR. But the rise of Shield may make for a more compelling story down the line.

Also though, this’ll give us some insight into how Howard and Peggy influenced the agency both in staff and in technology. As we saw in Winter Soldier, they were praised as the heads of Shield, but were they always on the same page? How many times did they butt heads in regards to how to do things? This intrigue and more can be fun to watch as the seasons and years go on. Cause as the writers have pointed out, future seasons will happen in different years of the show. Thus furthering the idea that Shield is growing and becoming more influential. Though they’re not the only group that will be growing…

4. And We Can Witness The Rise of Hydra

Ok, this one may be cheating. But the idea is there for the picking. The Winter Soldier noted how Shield took Hydra scientists and added them to their ranks. Yes, it helped Shield grow, but it also helped Hydra.

This could be a game changing arc for the series. As it could lead to the eventual death of Howard and Maria Stark. Stark could suspect something about the scientists, and investigate what’s going on. All the while keeping Peggy and the others in the dark. Then, as the season draws to a close, he prepares his move to expose them…only for them to catch on, and kill the Stark’s.

Now yes, this is another forgone conclusion that Howard will die. But what happens before and after will be an event worth watching. How will Peggy react after losing another person so close to her? What of Jarvis (don’t worry, I didn’t forget him)? Or the young Tony Stark? He’ll have been born at this point in time. What becomes of him?

True, they’ll have to be careful with how it’s done, but if done right? This could be a defining arc in the series. Lest we forget, one of the favorite arcs of the Clone Wars cartoon was later on in the series, when the Jedi came REALLY close to discovering they were played. Only to be duped once again in the end. If it can happen to the Jedi, why not Shield?

And let’s not forget…we just saw Armin Zola in the finale…

5. Who Knows What Future Characters Will Be Introduced?

One of the absolute joys this season was seeing the interactions between Peggy, Howard, and Jarvis. Jarvis especially was a nice treat to fans who wondered if the man ever existed at all. The return of Howard Stark really helped continue the continuity of the movies and one-shot. These three brought life to a show that had…questionable other characters. I note in my reviews how I hated the way Peggy was treated by virtually every man NOT named Howard Stark or Jarvis. Yes, Sousa treated her nice too in a way.

With Peggy now being able to show her skills, and get the credit she rightfully deserves, the other characters will no doubt help bring this show to a more…modern tone. But of what new characters we’ll meet?

If Shield does come alive in the next season, or even season 3, we’ll have to meet new characters that could definitely add more fun, mystery, and danger to the series. Dottie’s inclusion was a jaw dropper. The return of the Howling Commandos was a nice touch. Who’s next? I don’t know! But it’s fun to speculate!

Could they delve deeper into the history of Shield and bring characters from the comic here? Will they delve into the past of Marvel comics and bring other obscure characters to light? As I’ve said numerous times, the potential is there, they just need to capitalize on it.

Oh, and there’s also the question of Peggy’s husband…

Whoever may come, it’s an opportunity to expand the cast in more ways than one, and shed the weight of having to act like they needed to in Season 1.

In the end, if not already obvious, I love Agent Carter. It’s a fun series, with some great leads, great dialogue, and plenty of potential to go forward. It may be up to Marvel and ABC to decide whether it gets renewed, but WE can help with that! So let’s let our voices be heard!

Let Agent Carter continue! We love Peggy, we don’t want to see her go. #PleaseDontGoPeggy!