Now that the series has concluded, I`m going to weight in. I have mixed feelings towards this eight-part mini-series: I really like most of the ideas, but the execution could definitely be improved upon.
Firstly, what I did enjoy (and there was a lot):
James D`Arcy as Edwin Jarvis: This is probably my favorite part of the series. It`s a well rounded character with virtues, flaws, both strong and vulnerable moments and great interaction with the rest of the cast. He grew over the course of the 8 episodes while also remaining true to his original persona, and James D`Arcy very fun performance also provided the perfect comic relief for a series like this.
Chad Michael Murray as Jack Thompson: Thompson is a great idea of a complex character. He`s a very competent SSR officer whose past is a fraud, and thus he feels the need to be recognized for any good work he does now. And he`s very well constructed as well: just like Jarvis, he had virtues, flaws, both strong and vulnerable moments, and a very definite personality. Murray fits wonderfully in the 40s time-piece, and it`s a credit to his charm that he still comes across as a likable character, even though he starts out as a *****e.
Shea Whigham as Roger Dooley: Dooley is the flip-side to Thompson. While both were introduced as mere *****es and later revealed to have some nobility in them, Dooley is quite simplistic when compared to Thompson. At the end of the day, he is just the 40s version of the everyman/familyman. His final moments managed to be quite emotional, with his coming-home tragic illusion giving us one last insight into the character. Whigham, like Murray, also fits very well with the 40s setting.
Howard Stark: It was great to see him again, and in such a prominent role. The last moments of the series being dedicated to his and Peggy`s feelings for Cap, illusion included, was a stroke of genius by the showrunners. If the series does continue, I would like to see his transition from the playboy we see here to the settled-down Walt Disney-like persona we see in IM2 (that`s the Howard Stark I prefer).
The return of the Howling commandos was also a great treat (especially Neal McDonough and Leonard Roberts), as was seeing Arnim Zola in the final scene. Toby Jones is always good in the role, and he`s been a huge teamplayer for Marvel Studios so far, so I`m excited to see him again.
Honorable mentions to Lyndsy Fonseca (Angie) and Meagen Fay (Ms Fry), who were great in their roles, even though they never really had much to do (And what was up with Howard letting Angie stay in his house? Does he even know Angie?).
The set design was also stunning, and I really like the little ways they came up of showing us the 40s lifestyle.
Last but not least, the mystery was compelling, even though the conclusion was quite anti-climatic.
For what I did not like:
Peggy Carter: unfortunately, the series` lead character isn`t nearly as interesting as the supporting ones. Peggy is what no main character should ever come close of being: a Mary Sue. She`s smarter, stronger, wiser, more intelligent, better prepared and better looking than everyone else, which is a huge problem, since it makes the character virtually an unbelievable person. You can`t have one character triumph over the others in every single aspect of life, it just doesn`t happen. Everyone has flaws, everyone is eventually wrong, and everyone is eventually outsmarted. It`s just nature. Peggy has a serious case of "I-was-right-all-along", and even when events allow for interpretation that she could be wrong, the series never addresses that. It`s everyone-should-have-listened-to-Peggy show, even moreso than with Jack Bauer in 24. At least there the character was allowed to screw up royally from time to time, and suffer the consequences. It`s a shame, really, because Hayley Atwell really delivers when she has the right material. That last scene in the bridge was very good, as was her desperation in talking with Howard in the last act.
Enver Gjokaj as Daniel Souza: This is what could have been an interesting character. His backstory is interesting, and his feelings towards the office and Peggy being a result of how he views himself due to injury is a brilliant idea for a character, but this is totally undone by execution. The script never gives us anything about him, we know nothing about him except for what I mentioned. Gjokaj does nothing to elevate the character too, he is as bland as they come.
The villains: this is another case of poor execution. The idea of having Doctor Faustus as the main antagonist and Black Widow operatives as his minions is very threatening and very intriguing, but this comes apart before complete fruition. Doctor Faustus is a shadow of his comic-book self, and Dottie comes across as just another thug. The last confrontation was also completely anticlimatic: we knew that Peggy would win a Dottie vs Peggy fight, and we knew Howard, Jarvis and Peggy would all survive the finale. The only characters whose fate was up in the air were Thompson and Sousa, and while their confrontation with Doctor Faustus was more interesting, I would have liked a more sinister approach.
The pacing: How on Earth, with only 8 episodes, does this still feels stretched? The whole plot could have easily been compressed into five-six episodes, and nothing important would have been lost.
The conclusion to the mystery also comes off as uninteresting: Corporate Big Bad Leviathan never even factors into the plot, it was all Ivchenko with one sole Black Widow operative. The anger-inducing-gas was a very boring finale, since we obviously know New York is still there in the future, and we`ve seen that gas in plenty of other series/movies.
The gadget design: while the sets look great, Stark`s inventions look as cheesy as anything they could have come up with. It`s definitely not a practical design, and nothing they would have come up with in the 40s. This is also true for that machine-gun-like revolver, which fired way more shots at a time than what it could have plausibly held. This is actually a problem that carries over from CA: TFA, since HYDRA`s tech in that movie also looked ridiculous (although that was intentional there).
Besides all of that, there were also plenty of missed opportunities to properly develop its characters that were completely overlooked: just for one simple example, take Peggy`s journey throughout the season: if this season was about her letting Cap go, we should have seen more of her clinging onto Cap in the beginning of the season, or Steve`s blood should have been a larger part of the villains` plans.
Another example: Dooley had a very close relationship with Thompson. Why don`t we get an insight on Thompson on the aftermath of Dooley`s sacrifice? Perhaps him calling Dooley`s family?
On a sidenote, they wasted James Frain! He`s a great actor, I was sorry to see him go from the MCU so soon.
Anyway, I still had a good time, and I would still like a second season (especially if Zola is involved). I would just hope that the show would focus more on its characters than on making Peggy look good. I see many have enjoyed the season, so perhaps it`s just down to personal opinion.
The show's hypnotism guy *is* Faustus, aka 
