What a show The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is turning out to be, huh? Episode four has dropped, and it hits a ton of beats Marvel fans, MCU fans, and general action fans will enjoy. This week is the fallout of Bucky’s decision to employ Zemo in his plans. John Walker, Lemar Hoskins, and the Dora Milaje all descend upon our titular heroes looking for Baron Zemo. We also get a deeper look at Karli Morgenthau and her motivations, as well as some straight-up excellent fight scenes. If you have not watched this episode yet, go do that and come back. Spoilers ahead for this week’s Five Thoughts.
1. A means to an end
Baron Zemo is an excellent addition to this series, primarily due to his ability to be both a villain and helpful to Bucky and Sam. Episode three saw Zemo straight up kill a bunch of people. Not accidentally, or even humanly (whatever that would be). He was out there shooting people in the face and rocket launching lives away. At the same time, Sam and Buckey would literally be lost without him. Throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Zemo has proven to be the most calculating villain we have encountered. You could argue he is in the same league as Thanos, as they both accomplished their goals against the Avengers. His machinations are calculated and far-reaching. While Bucky claims to be using Zemo, we all knew from the moment his head lifted in that jail cell, Zemo was using our heroes. They were a means to Zemo’s end, and he keeps winning.
2. Sam’s strength has always been his heart
One of the strongest moments in episode four was Sam’s heart-to-heart conversation with Karli. Sam was able to disarm the “freedom fighter” by simply relating to her. He tapped into those old counseling skills and gave her a person on the opposition to relate to. Watching them discuss Karli’s actions was a compelling look into the mind of our series antagonist. I especially liked watching Karli’s guard lower as Sam genuinely looked to connect with her. Of course, John Walker, a.k.a Captain Antsy-Pants, ruined everything. That brief moment of human connection between Sam and Karli was a significant bit of acting on both actor’s parts. Sam has always been a loyal partner to Steve Rogers, to a fault, some would say. We may forget he’s like that because he’s genuinely a good man.
3. The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be
Yo. The Dora Milaje kicked the crap out of everyone in that plush villa. The show makes a point to have not Ayo whoop the ever-loving shit out of John Walker. Capping it off with a Steve Rogers style shield stomp recovery. The flex alone is worth watching several times. Walker’s stunned look after being entirely handled is fantastic. We haven’t seen the Dora Milaje in action up close since Black Panther, so this is an excellent refresher on how formidable a force they are.
Three Wakandan royal guards took out four dudes in a small room. One of them is a super-soldier with a metal arm. An arm that Ayo literally removed during the fight. I think John Walker put it best while sitting on his self-righteous ass. “They weren’t even super soldiers.” Ahahaha, hilarious defeat. Did anyone notice Sam took a bunch of hits to the arms and legs with a vibranium spear and survived? He has normal human bones. That would have put my frail ass in tirage for sure.
4. Bye Battlestar. We hardly knew ya
I don’t know why I am even remotely surprised Lemar died. Sidekicks are fodder for heroes (and villains) to strengthen their resolve. He didn’t have much to do but massage John’s ego and hang off the side of a helicopter that one time. That’s more than I can say for most sidekicks. It would have been nice to learn a little more about who Lemar Hoskins was or why he calls himself Battlestar to begin with. There is a whole scene we haven’t witnessed of John and Lemar having their roles as the new Captain America and Bucky explained to them. There is still time to do some flashbacks and clarify why Lemar is even here. So far, he feels, or felt, a lot like a walking catalyst.
Continued below5. The Shield: starring John Walker
The episode ends with a strong, striking visual of Captain America holding a bloody shield. An instrument of defense turned into a murder weapon. We’ve seen the shield cracked in defiance of a tyrant. We’ve seen it used to save countless lives. Now here we are, looking at it covered in a beaten man’s blood. If there was ever a picture to demonstrate how not Captain America Walker is, I think it’s that one.
It’s certainly not a good look for America after all the hoopla about bringing on Walker to pick up Steve Roger’s mantle. We now have a juiced-up egomaniac running around with a symbol of hope, bashing people’s faces in with it. I am looking forward to seeing how they rip that shield out of his crazy, crazy hands.
The wrap-up
We have another fantastic episode in the books. So much action to enjoy and plot reveals to sift through. Wakanda whoops everyone in a fist/spear fight, and John Walker finally goes all” U.S. Agent” on someone’s ass. My last note of the episode was “this show is good,” and I stand by that. Every week, the ante is upped, and we are treated to some great storytelling and character development (Battlestar notwithstanding). The Falcon and The Winter Soldier benefits from a six-episode run, packing in a lot of story into each episode and giving the fans a lot of chew on each weekend. Sam Wilson now has two episodes to prove he can wield Cap’s shield like a hero. Hopefully, that means lots of Sam being awesome and potentially flying around with Rhodey again. Next week comes repercussions for Walker. Maybe a court-martial? Who knows? Until next week, folks.
R.I.P Battlestar. You were a guy, and we will never forget things.
Noteables:
- The activation codewords even work in another language. That means Bucky hears the words, translates them in his head, and becomes the Winter Soldier. Effectively activating himself. Way to go, dipshit.
- This show has some genuinely charming moments. The Zemo head tilt gag was great.
- Hey John, don’t put your hands on a woman. Doing it to a Dora Milaje just increases your chances of getting your shit beat in, but good
- When will villains learn, all that flippy bullshit during a fight will get you punched in the mouth really fucking hard
- Sheesh, Flag-Smashers is very much a stupid name, and I hate it every time I hear it. It has a hyphen for Bucky’s sake.
