The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is here. Marvel’s second entry into their burgeoning streaming series. The series picks up six months after Steve Rogers handed over the Captain America shield to Sam Wilson. Sam is wrestling with the weight of responsibility that comes with wielding Cap’s shield, while Bucky, the titular Winter Soldier, is having a hard time integrating back into civilian life. The first episode doesn’t dive right into the buddy cop nature of the show but acts as a refresher course for fans and the uninitiated. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier truly feels like a continuation of the Captain America Saga and a nice companion to Captain America: Winter Soldier. Time for some thoughts. Five, to be exact. Spoilers ahead, for the uninitiated.
1. Sure is a lot of murder on display
There is a lot of bad guy murder on display throughout the first episode. Hell, there is just a lot of murder in general. While discussing the series premiere, a few people noted the henchmen’s very overt deaths in the opening. All at the hands of the future Captain America Sam Wilson. We have not seen the marvel heroes take human lives on screen. It’s usually some CGI monster getting decimated or an enhanced threat like Killmonger getting the “last resort” treatment. In the case of Captain America: The First Avenger, a lot of the killing is implied since Cap was shooting and blowing up a bunch of nazis, but you never really see the deed done. Here, you watch Sam chuck some poor idiot into a full-ass mountain. Jarring.
2. Is there a more qualified person to be Captain America than Sam?
Sam handing the shield over to the Smithsonian Museum is an exciting scene. It’s Sam’s way of both preserving the legacy of his friend Steve Roger’s while simultaneously skirting his responsibility to wield that symbol. By the end of the episode, we see the shield get passed on to a “new” Captain America in John Walker, but we don’t know anything about that guy. If we were to choose a new Cap solely based on resumes, is there a more deserving candidate than Sam? He’s been a consistently selfless hero in the MCU and fights all enemies with little more than metal wings and hopes and dreams. He embodies the moras of Steve all those years before the super-soldier serum came into play. He’s a good man trying to make the world better.
3. Bucky’s new story is intriguing.
After Bucky’s sojourn in Wakanda, we lost touch with the character. The Infinity War films used Bucky as a set piece and less like a character. Very few scenes and even fewer lines of dialogue. These Marvel streaming series are a chance to catch up with characters we haven’t spent a ton of time with (see: WandaVision) or brand new characters who will make an impact in the MCU later (hello Monica Rambeau). In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we get to check in on Bucky and really dive into the character’s complex nature. He is a 106-year-old man with 90 years of dirty deeds under his belt. To top it off, he’s Captain America meets the Manchurian Candidate. Spooky stuff. How do you integrate someone like that back into society? Following Bucky’s journey to self-forgiveness as he tries to make amends with those he has hurt or “helped” along the way is a fascinating story to tell.
4. Someone is still working on the Super Soldier Serum
The hefty masked fellow who raids the German bank is clearly more than just on Whey Protein. There is some form of Super Soldier serum coursing through his veins. No regular person can kick a full-grown man across a street. The closest I have seen is Uncle Phil chucking Jazz clear across the Banks’ front patio. The question is, who is supplying the Flag-Smashers (and Flag-Smasher) with the serum. We know Baron Zemo is at play in this series, and he did have intimate knowledge of the Winter Soldier program. My money is on him being the superpower benefactor.
5. “You better take a look at this” cliche
Sam’s sister pulls the “You better look at this.” move and cut on the news for Sam to watch. At that moment, a “Breaking News” bulletin is in progress with no information as to what said “Breaking News” will be. Why does Sam need to watch this? Oh wait, a new Captain America is announced a minute later, and he has Steve’s shield. The one Sam gave up? Yup, that one. Go back and watch Sam’s sister. Watch her face. She knows what’s about to be said. I ask you, how? All that being said, they certainly did Sam dirty. I wonder how long it was in that glass case before they strapped it to this new fella’s arm. Sam probably didn’t even make it out of the museum before it was polished and given to the U.S. Agent.
Continued belowThe wrap-up
Episode one of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is in the bag and served as a refresher course to the world of Captain America, Falcon, and Winter Soldier. Our titular heroes haven’t had any screen time together yet, but we know from past films they have some pretty decent chemistry. Returning characters like Rhodey and Batroc are excellent touches that help flesh out the world of the series. The Captain America arm of the MCU has been bathed in geopolitical intrigue and superhero spy action. That leaves this series with some pretty big shoes to fill. There won’t be any sitcom openings here. It’s all action-adventure with your favorite winged hero and his metal-armed soldier pal.
Notables:
- Sam is told to be subtle in his opening mission. Is a flying Black man with wings considered subtle these days? I have been locked in my house for a year, I am genuinely asking.
- Is Redwing like Alexa or SIRI? It seems to do a lot with very little information given.
- A huge welcome back to Georges Batroc. His presence is a great tether to Captain America: Winter Solider. Plus, it’s always good to see George St. Pierre.
- I wonder if Old Man Cap will make an appearance. They never clearly state his fate, and it’s only been six months since the shield handoff.
- The banker stating Sam had no income for five years is some high-tier nonsense. He was probably thought all the snapped away folks were hiding somewhere.
