Yeah, that.
Also, she clearly doesn't work for the CIA, and hasn't since she engaged in treason during Civil War. If she were undercover and the treason/lack of pardon was a cover, there would have been no big "here's your pardon" ceremony, because the disavowal would have never been real in the first place. That scene, where she was granted her pardon, is pretty darn concrete confirmation that she really was dropped by the US government completely in the aftermath of Civil War, disavowed and a wanted traitor.
I mean, she's clearly talking about stealing "prototype weapons" and the like. Not really CIA territory, usually. I'll grant that SHIELD's potentially over, but SWORD is clearly around, and who knows what other shadowy alphabet agencies are in the mix.
Also, they didn't offer her back her old job. They said her prior agency might even have openings she could seek out. Not really the same thing; she may use her connections to get herself into a more lucrative position from here.
But my central point remains; the US government has repeatedly and nearly without exception done the wrong thing. They supported Hydra's survival and reconstruction within SHIELD, even if unaware. They supported the Sokovia Accords, which were authoritarian abuses of human rights. They're the ones who disavowed Carter and left her out to dry. And in this particular show, were the ones who experimented on Bradley and his fellow soldiers like animals, and who tried to repeat the same failures of the '40s by selecting Walker to be Captain America.
The only real positive action by the US government in the entire MCU was letting Nick Fury create the Avengers. And that's more down to Fury, since he didn't exactly get a ton of support for the project until after he'd proven it a success in their first real outing.
The US government, in the MCU, is more generally on the side of the villains of these stories. Hell, just look at the Iron Man villains, the primary ones at least; Stane, Hammer, and Killian. All three are tech moguls, all three are working on government weapons contracts (at least, I definitely know Stane and Hammer were), and Tony's big origin moment was his recognition of the harm his collaborations with the US government had wreaked.
This show was the first time the anti-US-government subthread has really become a primary thread, but it's a thread that's been deeply woven through almost all the MCU.
Nah, in the comics, he tries to play like he does have the serum in him until it's revealed he doesn't when he gets his ass handed to him. Then he eventually gets the serum via blood transfusion with his grandfather. Apparently it doesn't pass on unless I'm mistaken by any other person who has a serum and have children.
Just don't reply to me. Please. If you can help it.