REVIEW -- The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Disney+ Exclusive)

Episodes 1-6

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is an American television miniseries created by Malcolm Spellman for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics characters Sam Wilson / Falcon and Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. The events of the series take place after the film Avengers: Endgame (2019). The series was produced by Marvel Studios, with Spellman serving as head writer and Kari Skogland directing.

Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie reprise their respective roles as Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson from the film series. Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Danny Ramirez, Georges St-Pierre, Adepero Oduye, Don Cheadle, Daniel Brühl, Emily VanCamp, Florence Kasumba, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus also star. By September 2018, Marvel Studios was developing a number of limited series for Disney+, centered on supporting characters from the MCU films such as Wilson and Barnes. Spellman was hired in October, and chose to focus on the racial issues raised by Wilson being handed Captain America's shield at the end of Endgame. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was confirmed in April 2019, and Skogland was hired the next month. Filming began in October 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia, before moving to the Czech Republic in March 2020. Production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed in Atlanta in September before wrapping in the Czech Republic in October.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered on March 19, 2021, and ran for six episodes until April 23. It is part of Phase Four of the MCU. A fourth Captain America film is in development as a continuation of the series.

** Note: Header Banner made by djhaxx over on DeviantArt. **

Premise

Six months after being handed the mantle of Captain America at the end of Avengers: Endgame (2019), Sam Wilson teams up with Bucky Barnes in a worldwide adventure that tests their abilities and their patience.

Cast and characters

• Sebastian Stan as James "Bucky" Barnes / Winter Soldier / White Wolf

• Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon / Captain America

• Wyatt Russell as John Walker / Captain America / U.S. Agent

• Erin Kellyman as Karli Morgenthau

• Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres

• Georges St-Pierre as Georges Batroc

• Adepero Oduye as Sarah Wilson

• Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes

• Daniel Brühl as Helmut Zemo

• Emily VanCamp as Sharon Carter / Power Broker

• Florence Kasumba as Ayo

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine

Recurring members of the Flag Smashers include Desmond Chiam as Dovich, Dani Deetté as Gigi, Indya Bussey as DeeDee, Renes Rivera as Lennox, Tyler Dean Flores as Diego, and Noah Mills as Nico. Also recurring are Amy Aquino as Christina Raynor, Barnes' therapist; Chase River McGee and Aaron Haynes as Sam Wilson's nephews Cass and AJ; Alphie Hyorth as a U.S. senator and its representative in the Global Repatriation Council (GRC); Clé Bennett as Lemar Hoskins / Battlestar, a sergeant major in the U.S. Army and Walker's Captain America strike force partner; Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, an African-American Korean War veteran and super soldier who was imprisoned and experimented on for 30 years; Elijah Richardson as Isaiah's grandson Eli Bradley; and Gabrielle Byndloss as Olivia Walker, John's wife.

Additional guest stars include Ken Takemoto as Yori Nakajima, the father of one of the Winter Soldier's victims; Miki Ishikawa as Leah, a waitress who has a date with Barnes; Ness Bautista as Matias, member of the Flag Smashers; Neal Kodinsky as Rudy, a supporter of the Flag Smashers; Veronica Falcón as Donya Madani, Morgenthau's adoptive mother; Olli Haaskivi as Wilfred Nagel, scientist who had recreated the Super Soldier Serum; Nicholas Pryor as Oeznik, Zemo's butler; Janeshia Adams-Ginyard and Zola Williams as Nomble and Yama, respectively, members of the Dora Milaje; and Salem Murphy and Jane Rumbaua as Lacont and Ayla Perez, representatives of the GRC from India and the Philippines, respectively. Sara Haines makes a cameo appearance as herself.

Episode Summaries

Episode 1: "New World Order"

Six months after half of all life returned from the Blip,^[b] Sam Wilson stops Georges Batroc and the terrorist group LAF, who have hijacked a plane and taken a hostage over Tunisia, with support from U.S. Air Force first lieutenant Joaquin Torres. Wilson, who was given the mantle of Captain America by Steve Rogers, struggles with this idea and decides to give Rogers' shield to the U.S. government for a museum display. Bucky Barnes, who was recently pardoned, attends government-mandated therapy, where he discusses his attempts to make amends for his time as a brainwashed assassin, the Winter Soldier. Torres investigates another terrorist group, the Flag Smashers, who believe life was better during the Blip. Torres is injured by a member of the group with superhuman strength when he witnesses them rob a bank in Switzerland. He later informs Wilson of this, who has been attempting to help his reluctant sister Sarah with the family fishing business in Delacroix, Louisiana. The government soon announces a new Captain America, John Walker.

Episode 2: "The Star-Spangled Man"

Walker appears on Good Morning America and reveals his desire to live up to Rogers' mantle. Barnes tells Wilson that he should have kept the shield before accompanying him to Munich, where the Flag Smashers and their leader Karli Morgenthau are stealing a shipment of medicine. Wilson and Barnes attack the group, but the terrorists are all super soldiers and overpower the pair. Walker and Lemar Hoskins arrive to help, but the Flag Smashers escape. Walker wants to work with Barnes and Wilson, but they refuse. Traveling to Baltimore, Barnes introduces Wilson to Isaiah Bradley, a veteran super soldier who fought the Winter Soldier in the Korean War. However, Bradley refuses to help them uncover information about additional super soldiers due to being imprisoned and experimented on by the U.S. government and Hydra for 30 years. Barnes is arrested for missing a therapy appointment, but Walker has him released. Barnes and Wilson again refuse to work with Walker, and Barnes suggests to Wilson that they visit the imprisoned Helmut Zemo.

Episode 3: "Power Broker"

Zemo offers to help stop the Flag Smashers, so Barnes orchestrates a prison riot to help him escape prison. They travel to Madripoor, a criminal sanctuary city-island run by the mysterious Power Broker. High-ranking criminal Selby reveals that the Power Broker hired former Hydra scientist Dr. Wilfred Nagel to recreate the Super Soldier Serum. Selby is killed when Wilson's identity is exposed, and every bounty hunter in Madripoor targets Wilson, Barnes, and Zemo. Sharon Carter, who has been living as a fugitive on the island, saves the trio and directs them to Nagel's lab. They learn that he created twenty doses of the serum, which Morgenthau stole. The bounty hunters attack them, and Zemo kills Nagel in the chaos before finding a getaway vehicle. Carter stays behind and Wilson promises to get her pardoned. The Flag Smashers raid and bomb a Global Repatriation Council (GRC) storage facility in Lithuania while Zemo, Barnes, and Wilson search for them in Latvia. Barnes is confronted by Ayo, a member of Wakanda's Dora Milaje.

Episode 4: "The Whole World Is Watching"

Ayo gives Barnes eight hours to use Zemo before the Wakandans take him, as Zemo killed their king T'Chaka. Zemo helps find Morgenthau at a funeral for her adoptive mother, where Walker and Hoskins intercept them. Wilson speaks with Morgenthau alone and attempts to persuade her to end the violence, but an impatient Walker intervenes, and a fight ensues. Zemo destroys most of the serum before he is apprehended by Walker, who secretly takes the last vial. Ayo and the Dora Milaje come for Zemo, but Walker refuses to hand him over. In the ensuing fight, the Dora Milaje humiliate Walker while Zemo escapes. Morgenthau threatens Sarah, forcing Wilson to meet with her to attempt to persuade him to join her. Walker and Hoskins engage other members of the Flag Smashers, leading to another fight in which Morgenthau accidentally kills Hoskins. Enraged by his friend's death and having taken the serum, Walker uses the shield to kill one of the Flag Smashers in front of horrified bystanders, who film his actions.

Episode 5: "Truth"

Wilson and Barnes demand the shield from Walker, leading to a fight in which Walker destroys Wilson's wingsuit. Wilson and Barnes take the shield, breaking Walker's arm. Barnes finds Zemo in Sokovia and hands him over to the Dora Milaje, while Walker receives an other than honorable discharge and is stripped of his title as Captain America. Afterward, Walker is approached by Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Wilson leaves the damaged wingsuit with Torres and visits Bradley, who states his belief that a Black man cannot, and should not, be Captain America. Wilson returns home and helps fix the family boat, with assistance from several locals and Barnes, who delivers a briefcase from the Wakandans to Wilson. Barnes and Wilson train with the shield and agree to move on from their pasts and work together. The Flag Smashers plan an attack on a GRC conference in New York City and are joined by Batroc, who Carter has secretly hired. In a mid-credits scene, Walker builds a new shield from scrap metal and his war medals.

Episode 6: "One World, One People"

Wearing a new Captain America uniform and flight suit from the Wakandans, Wilson flies to New York to stop the Flag Smashers' attack with the help of Barnes, Carter, and Walker. Carter accidentally reveals that she is the Power Broker to Batroc and kills him while Wilson attempts to reason with Morgenthau before Carter kills her as well. Wilson convinces the GRC to postpone the forced relocation of displaced people that Morgenthau died fighting for and instead make efforts to help them. The remaining serum-enhanced Flag Smashers are caught by Barnes and Walker and sent to the Raft, but they are killed by Zemo's butler, Oeznik, en route. De Fontaine gives Walker a new uniform and codename: U.S. Agent. Barnes makes amends with everyone he hurt or enabled as the Winter Soldier while Wilson has a memorial dedicated to Bradley added to the Captain America museum exhibit. In a mid-credits scene, after receiving a full pardon, Carter rejoins the CIA and intends to use this access to sell government secrets and resources.

The Verdict:

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier runs for 6 episodes with a runtime of roughly 45-55 minutes per episode. That makes this series slightly longer than the first MCU original series that debuted on Disney+, WandaVision, despite a shorter season of episodes.

Characters

I'm going to prelude each character section with some memorable quotes (if applicable) for that character before getting into my thoughts about them over the course of this series.

Sam Wilson / The Falcon / Captain America (later)

Sam Wilson: The world has been forever changed. A few months ago, billions of people reappeared after five years away, sending the world into turmoil. We need new heroes. Ones suited for the times we're in. Symbols are nothing without the women and men that give them meaning. And this thing...

[holds up the shield]

Sam Wilson: I don't know if there's ever been a greater symbol. But it's more about the man who propped it up, and he's gone. So today we honor Steve's legacy. But also, we look to the future. So, thank you, Captain America. But this belongs to you.

[the shield is then placed in a glass box to be displayed in a museum with Steve's suit]

James Rhodes: Crazy that nobody's going to be carrying the shield.

Sam Wilson: Hey, we went for seventy years without anybody carrying it when Steve was on ice. So I think we'll be alright.

James Rhodes: That was a different time, Sam.

James Rhodes: I see you're going to make me ask. Why didn't you take up the mantle?

Sam Wilson: When Steve first told me about the shield, the first words I said were, "It feels like it belongs to someone else." That someone else is Steve.

James Rhodes: The world's a crazy place right now. People are... Well, nobody's stable. Allies are now enemies. Alliances are all torn apart. The world's broken. Everybody's just looking for somebody to fix it.

Majority of this series centers around Sam Wilson coping with the fallout from the events of Avengers: Endgame, where an elderly Steve Rogers passed on the shield and responsibilities of being Captain America to Sam Wilson. At the start of the series, Sam doesn't even give it a second thought to give the shield up for it could be honored within the Captain America memorial exhibit at the museum. That level of responsibility to be a symbol for this country - namely one that doesn't have a favorable history of supporting African-Americans in general - is a heavy burden to one man, especially one of color to bear. I thought this narrative did a great job of echoing the comics storyline that inspired this direction for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sam continues to do what he's done before as an Avenger, catching the bad guys while working outside of the confines of the Sokovia Accords. He wants to do the right thing, whether its stopping the next big threat to global peace or simply helping his sister Sarah with their family fishing business. On the surface, it seems like Sam is running away from responsibility when in reality, it is the burden of bearing that mantle of Captain America was taken from him before he even had the chance to even properly accept it. Anyone, especially a black man, would be instantly ridiculed for picking up that shield and calling themselves Captain America if they couldn't hold a candle to Steve Rogers'. It was already one strike against Sam that he didn't have any powers, but another when he wasn't the poster boy that America was used to representing that image of America's best.

I know that a lot of people are going to frown on this show because it was "too woke" in its political messages and conversations about race, but this is something that really needed to be touched upon, especially in 2021.

The subplot about keeping the Wilson family fishing business alive by restoring their parents' boat wasn't vital to the narrative, but it offered the opportunity to shed a light on struggles that people of color deal with on a daily basis. Sam Wilson was made painfully aware of these issues too. He's saved the world on several occasions as a member of the Avengers, but when it came for any dealings for his family's future and well-being, he was instantly frowned upon for the color of his skin. The bank scene really resonated with a lot of people, me included, seeing that Sam and his sister were turned down for a loan to help their family business. Sam's sister was estranged single mother while the bank looked at Sam's credentials as if he was another stereotypical, unemployed man of color looking for a free handout and treated them both as such. After that episode aired with that scene, people were mad and rightfully so - because it was REAL LIFE.

While I love the comedic moments and occasional humor scattered throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point, but when they hit these moments of actual realism that parallels reality in our own day to day lives, they knock it out of the park. It's easy to get caught up in the escapism and fantasy worlds of these films and genre as a whole provides, but at the same time, we have to realize that they have to deal with some real life issues as well. That was a strong point in WandaVision as well where that series highlighted Wanda's journey with coping with her own anguish and grief following the events of the Infinity Saga. I said it in my review of WandaVision as well and I'll repeat myself here - anyone that has gone through what these characters have experienced throughout the entire course of the Infinity Saga have to have a metric ton of psychological scarring from everything that transpired. These people are NOT okay. Case in point? Sam Wilson has the weight and burden of being a man of color baring Steve Rogers' legacy on his shoulders, but Bucky Barnes has his own share of problems...

Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier (formerly) / White Wolf (unofficially)

Bucky Barnes finds himself at a crossroads in this film. He has been completely pardoned for his crimes that he committed as the brainwashed Winter Soldier while under the control of both HYDRA and Zemo, but he hasn't forgiven himself yet, hence why he has been undergoing government-endorsed therapy sessions. He's been going around making amends to all of the people that he has hurt while acting as the Winter Soldier, but hasn't gotten the nerve to confess to his newfound friend that he killed his son during one of his missions. It's was even more heartbreaking that we didn't even get to see his reaction in the final episode when Bucky finally has the courage to do it. I felt that these moments of humanity - i.e. coming to grips to his past - were Bucky's defining moments in this series.

Dr. Raynor: Alright, James, why does Sam aggravate you? And don't say something childish.

Bucky Barnes: Why did you give up that shield?

Sam Wilson: Why are you making such a big deal out of something that has nothing to do with you?

Bucky Barnes: Steve believed in you. He trusted you. He gave you that shield for a reason. That shield, that is everything he stood for. That is his legacy. He gave you that shield, and you threw it away like it was nothing.

Sam Wilson: Shut up.

Bucky Barnes: So maybe he was wrong about you. And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me.

Sam Wilson: [to Bucky] Maybe this is something you or Steve will never understand. But can you accept that I did what I thought was right?

I felt that this scene was one of the best moments in the entire show. It shows both Sam and Bucky at their most vulnerable. Sebastian Stan/Buck Barnes' natural "buddy cop/90's action movie" chemistry with Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson/Falcon was just the icing on the cake that makes scenes like this work perfectly.

Sam Wilson: Maybe I made a mistake.

Bucky Barnes: You did.

Sam Wilson: Yeah. Maybe I shouldn't have put it in a museum. Maybe I should have destroyed it.

Bucky Barnes: Look, that shield represents a lot of things to a lot of people, including me. The world is upside down, and we need a new Cap. And it ain't going to be Walker. So before you destroy it, I'm going to take it from him myself.

My biggest issue with Bucky in this series is that it seems like this show downplays his powers in a sense. He should be on the same par of physical power - with or without the cyborg arm - as Steve Rogers as he was injected with a variant of the Super Soldier serum that slows down his aging and provides him with heightened strength and agility. Instead, it seems like he's struggling just as much, if not more so than Sam Wilson - who doesn't have any powers at all - in majority of the fight sequences in this series. It's really inconsistent when you look at some of the fights at the first part of this series then look at the series finale where he really makes his few fights with the Flag Smashers look trivial in comparison. I understand that they have to depower him a little in terms of the writing (DC Comics does this ALL the time with Superman over the years across non-comic book mediums) to make these threats provide some sort of a challenge, but it sticks out like sore thumb too on the inconsistency. In the first encounter with the Flag Smashers, Bucky's getting his ass handed to him by these people but in the finale, he's tossing them around like rag dolls.

On the other hand, one could possibly explain this simply as Bucky having a mental block or showing a sense of restraint that he didn't have when he was operating as the Winter Soldier. As the Winter Soldier, he executed his missions with a cold, relentless "all or nothing" mindset in terms of using his razor-sharp combat prowess along his powers with lethal procession. After having his HYDRA brainwashing/programming removed by the Wakandans, Bucky has to rely on his on own personal judgment and self-control in terms of how effectively he uses his powers. He could have the same complex that Superman in the DC Animated Universe once explained that he felt that he had to treat the entire world around him as if it was made of cardboard, making sure at all times that he doesn't break something or someone from the sheer amount of power at his disposal. As a result, he depowers (in terms of placing mental restrains/limitations on his powers) himself in a sense to face his adversaries on a level playing field. Even that is a bit of a stretch as Bucky isn't that powerful of a character. It's not like he's on the same scale of destructive potential as his fellow Avengers, such as the Scarlet Witch or the Hulk.

Sarah Wilson

This is Sarah's first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I thought it made perfect sense to give Sam someone waiting for him at home that was outside of his lifeline of friends and allies within the Avengers. He needed someone to make him more relatable instead of this normal guy without any superpowers that is surrounded by the extraordinary people that consist of the Avengers with their various powers and special abilities. His sister is that same family that made Clint Barton/Hawkeye relatable in Avengers: Age of Ultron when his family was introduced. Thankfully, this revelation doesn't come out of left field like that reveal was in this series.

I hope this series isn't the last time we see Sarah either as it seemed like they were hinting around that Bucky was flirting with her.

Sharon Carter / Power Broker (later)

Sam Wilson: Look, I'm sorry I didn't call. But after The Blip and the chaos, I just...

Sharon Carter: Look, you know the whole hero thing is a joke, right? I mean, the way you gave up that shield, deep down, you must know it's all hypocrisy.

Zemo: He knows. And not so deep down.

Sharon Carter: By the way, how is the new Cap?

Bucky Barnes: Don't get me started.

Sharon Carter: Please. You buy into all that stars and stripes bullshit. Before you were his pet psychopath, you were Mr. America! Cap's best friend.

Bucky Barnes: Wow. She's kind of awful now.

This is the first time that we've been re-introduced to Sharon Carter since the events of Captain America: Civil War. I still think it's pretty weird that Rogers kissed who could possibly be his own niece now that he reunited with Peggy Carter following the events of Avengers: Endgame. I'm trying so hard to forget about that but at the same time, it's not Emily Van Camp who wrote that into that film's script, so I'm not going to hold that against her.

Sharon comes back into the fold with a chip on her shoulder - and rightfully so - after the events of Captain America: Civil War, where she was painted as a criminal for assisting Captain America/Steve Rogers to prove Bucky Barnes' innocence. In the years that followed, she was completely blackballed by the CIA despite her loyalty to her country following HYDRA being exposed of lurking within SHIELD. She felt betrayed, so she took refuge in the outlaw country of Madripoor. It's shocking to see that Sharon's combat training as a SHIELD agent hasn't dulled in the least in the years that followed, but at the same time, I had to remind myself that she had to be extremely formidable in combat if she was assigned by Nick Fury to personally keep an eye (and protect if necessary) on Captain America/Steve Rogers under the guise of his neighbor.

Even Ray Charles could see the reveal coming about Sharon Carter being the Power Broker after Sam, Bucky, and Zemo arrived in Madripoor. It was far too convenient with Sharon's array of newfound connections in this new, unknown territory. I didn't see this reveal as a negative though. A lot of fans are quick to paint Sharon as a villain in this post-Blip MCU, but I see this reveal working to Sharon's benefit as I see this role working for her much like how the position of the Shadow Broker worked for Liara in the Mass Effect video game series. In that series, Liara assumes the role of the Shadow Broker to use those connections to further assist Commander Shepard and his allies on their quest to save the universe from the threat of the Reapers. Much like the Power Broker, the role of the Shadow Broker puts Liara in charge of a lot of shady business transactions and dealings, but at the same time, it's an information goldmine. If Sharon Carter is inheriting a similar role in the MCU, then I could see her position doing more good for the heroes in the MCU than hindering their activities, especially the ones that operate outside of the world's governments much like Sam and Bucky have been in this show.

Karli Morgenthau & the Flag Smashers

Karli Morgenthau: [to the other Super Soldiers] We're not playing no more. We can't let these assholes who were put back in power after The Blip win. The GRC care more about the people who came back than the ones who never left. We got a glimpse of how things could be. I need to know that you're all committed, because after tomorrow, there's no going back.

From Comic Book Resources:

When viewers were introduced to Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, she was the leader of the Flag Smashers, a group of people with the goal of returning the world back to the way it was during the Blip. Over the course of the series, her history was never fully explained, but it was established that the cause she fought for was born from the struggles she endured before and after half of the population was brought back.

At a young age, Karli was orphaned and alone, until she taken was in by a woman named Donya Madani. Donya helped her and many others who were alone or displaced during the Blip and gave them a home. But when the Blip was reversed and half the population returned, the world's governments were tasked with the difficult decision to send those who survived the Blip to relocation camps around the world.

These camps were not up to snuff and forced large groups of people into small areas where they were supposed to be taken care of by the Global Repatriation Council (GRC). Instead, they were given little to no supplies, and eventually, sickness overcame Mama Donya. To combat this injustice, Karli and a small group of refugees created the Flag Smashers. Together, they worked with Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) in Madripoor. Through Carter, Karli learned how to survive in the streets.

Under the alias the Power Broker, Carter was able to recreate the Super Soldier Serum with Dr. Wilfred Nagel (Olli Haaskivi). The serum erased any physical changes while granting the user the same abilities as Steve Rogers. Morgenthau stole a small collection of the serum and administered it to herself and her fellow Flag Smashers. With the power to take the fight to their enemies, Karli and the Flag Smashers did just that.

The group started small and amassed followers through QR codes and various social media outlets. They began stealing money from Swiss banks and supplies from the GRC, building a reputation of being modern-day Robin Hoods. However, following the death of Mama Donya, Karli crossed the line, killing innocents in a GRC supply depot with a car bomb. Even though her cause had now claimed multiple lives, people still believed in the Flag Smashers. This was evidenced in Season 1, Episode 5, "Truth," where Karli activated a small army in the middle of a New York City park.

A recent interview with Kellyman revealed that Morgenthau was only 19 when the events of the series took place. This meant that through the formative years of her childhood, she experienced hardship that no one should ever have to endure. This helped build an animosity toward governments that led to the creation of the Flag Smashers. Karli's history filled with hardship created a person with a desire for a better world, but also anger that made her retaliate in dangerous ways, which ultimately led to her death.

For those who don't know, Karli is a gender-swap of the villain from Marvel Comics named the Flag-Smasher that was introduced into the MCU to fit into this narrative.

At the start of the series, I wanted to get behind Karli as a legitimate threat in this series but as the series rolled on, it was pretty obvious that the Flag Smashers were merely a plot device and filler here just to have someone for Sam and Bucky to go up against. Karli's case started out noble as if they were a modern day spin of Robin Hood and his merry men, but quickly turned into radical terrorists on a whim, seemingly without rhyme or reason. It comes off so suddenly that you could even see it in the rest of the Flag Smashers' expressions on their faces in the last two episodes that even they weren't even completely on board with Karli's plan(s).

It's obvious that the Flag Smashers are merely here in this series as a throwaway antagonist to give Sam, Bucky, and Walker to fight against as the common foe among their own individual emotional journeys throughout this series. Karli was merely a sacrificial lamb to justify Sam's journey into fully stepping into the role as the new Captain America while Walker was ruled out as completely unfit for the job in the resolution of this ordeal.

Karli is the type of character that may die off here in the MCU physically, but I think her act as a martyr to her cause will continue to have ripples in the MCU going forward. After all, she said it herself. She was prepared to die for her cause and boldly predicted that none of them would survive the climax in the final episode. The only thing that mattered was that her message was delivered loud and clear - despite the fact that her message was pretty vague for the bulk of this series. Fortunately for her, it was but the new Captain America brought it to the table in a more civilized manner to the government officials. Otherwise, her death would have been all for nothing.

A lot of people have pointed out that she is eerily identical to her character in Solo: A Star Wars Story in terms of the vagueness of her "message" and motivations for her rebellion. I can't help but see that too after finding out that she played the same character in that film.

On a side note, I found it hilarious that neither SHIELD nor HYDRA had the original Super Soldier formula on file somewhere, despite it being used on Steve Rogers, Red Skull (a variant of sorts), and the Winter Soldier - along with his successors who Zemo killed in Civil War. You're telling me that it took this long for someone to reverse engineer the formula and somehow allowed it to fall into the hands of a dozen or so random civilians? I seriously doubt that we're going to hear the end of someone having their hands on that formula when you could easily reverse engineer it from someone's blood who has it in their system - i.e. Steve Rogers (assuming wherever his corpse is), Bucky Barnes, one of the many corpses of Karli and the Flag Smashers, or even John Walker himself.

Baron Helmut Zemo

Zemo: [to Sam] You don't know what it's like to be locked in a cell. Oh. That's right. You do.

Zemo: You must have really looked up to Steve. But I realized something when I met him. The danger with people like him, America's Super Soldiers, is that we put them on pedestals.

Sam Wilson: Watch your step, Zemo.

Zemo: They become symbols. Icons. And then we start to forget about their flaws. From there, cities fly, innocent people die. Movements are formed, wars are fought. You remember that, right? As a young soldier sent to Germany to stop a mad icon. Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull?

After seeing the trailers for this series, I was highly anticipating Zemo's comics-accurate costume debut and he didn't disappoint in that regard at all. Daniel Bruhl is still excellent in this role as he reprises the character from Captain America: Civil War. Zemo still has his radical ideologies and principles against super-powered people in general, but we get to see a more light-hearted side from him at times here too. He's not so serious as he was in Captain America: Civil War.

Bucky is the one to bring him into this conflict with the Flag Smashers to help find any further leads. His escape is what brought the ire of the Dora Milaje into recapturing him for his crimes against Wakanda.

Zemo choosing not to get one of the vials with the Super Soldier formula was really intriguing to me as I was prepared for him to gain powers in some capacity in this series. Instead, this series served as a platform to show that he was already a pretty skilled combatant when necessary, even without powers. In the weeks following the conclusion of this series, I got to thinking and I came to a conclusion about Zemo. He makes for the perfect arch nemesis for the new Captain America in Sam Wilson. Sam never wanted to work with him in the first place and didn't trust nor tolerate his methods since Bucky got him out of jail. Without powers, both Sam and Zemo are on a level playing field if they were to cross paths again. Zemo is in jail again for now, but given how the events that ended this series played out, I seriously doubt that he will be there for long.

I was very happy to see Zemo make his comics accurate costume debut in this series too. Let's hope that this isn't the first and last time that we see him don his family's iconic purple mask. When I saw him first pop up in the trailers that led up to this series' debut, I thought we were going to be treated with him being the primary antagonist pulling the strings behind the Flag Smashers when he wasn't affiliated with them in any capacity.

John Walker / Captain America / US Agent (later)

John Walker: I've been a captain before, obviously, but this is different. Everybody in the world expects me to be something. And I don't want to fail them.

John Walker: Don't get me wrong, this has been great. It's been great. But it's been a lot of handshakes, a lot of suits, a lot of speeches, and senator meetings. I just want to do the job.

Lemar: This is the job, John. All of it is. Star-spangled man with a plan and all that. It's always been in the job description.

John Walker: Look, here's the thing. I'm not Tony Stark. I'm not Dr. Banner. Okay? I don't have the flashiest gadgets. I don't have super strength. But what I do have is guts. Something Captain America always had, always needs to have, and I'm going to need every ounce of it. Because I got big shoes to fill.

John Walker: I get the attitude, I do. You didn't think that the shield was going to end up here. I get it, Bucky. And I'm not trying to be Steve. I'm not trying to replace Steve. I'm just trying to be the best Captain America I can be. That's it. It'd be a whole lot easier if I had Cap's wingman on my side.

Sam Wilson: It's always that last line.

John Walker was a character that I knew a lot of people were going to hate and instantly paint as a villain the moment he was introduced as the new Captain America, seemingly to "replace" Steve Rogers after Sam Wilson returned the shield to the American government. It's pretty messed up that this show encourages this mindset with both Sam and Bucky not even giving the guy a fair chance. To be fair though, he had it coming from his smug attitude and condescending nature towards them. For me, he was the MCU equivalent of Henry Peter Gyrick's affirmative action ruling on the Avengers in the comics canon that forced the team to add the Falcon to their group in the sense that he was shoehorned into a situation by the government that wasn't discussed by Rogers' former teammates and colleagues prior. Of course, this method completely avoids the conversation(s) about diversity that the comics brought up in that situation, but Walker's nomination as the new symbol for America brought up more conversations about race in general. This decision to put another prominent white man into the position of power to represent America in a post-Snap/Blip world is pretty telling, even for the fictional setting of the MCU, hence why it raised a lot of eyebrows among the heroes in this series.

John Walker meant well, but this entire series skewed him into a villain right off the bat. The viewers knew that he wasn't the right choice for inheriting the shield, not to mention about representing America - that's something we could debate until we're all blue in the face. If he truly becomes a villain or rather an anti-hero after palling around with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, he already has the fuel to keep that fire burning - both with the death of Lemar Hoskins at the hands of the Flag Smashers along with both Falcon and the Winter Soldier - plus many others - not embracing the idea of him being Rogers' successor. As the U.S. Agent, he can follow by his own rules and serve his own brand of justice as he sees fit. That's going to be another interesting foil that could throw a wrench into the rocky road of acceptance for the new Captain America (Sam Wilson) in the near-future. I honestly don't want to see him join the Avengers down the road. If Fontaine is planting the seeds for a HYDRA revival post-Blip, then I would love to see him in the role of HYDRA Captain America instead of a revived Steve Rogers.

A part of me felt bad for Walker as no one in this series, except for Lemar Hoskins and his own wife, really gave him a fair chance at holding a candle to Steve Rogers' legacy. Everyone else made it feel like he was poor successor right out of the gate. The action in this series really didn't do him any favors in that regard either - at least not until he got a dose of his own share of the Super Soldier serum (stolen from the Flag Smashers). From the moment when he is introduced, I felt like this show was setting him up for failure. He was a decorated soldier and athlete. On paper, he was more than qualified for the job, but he was missing Steve Rogers' uncanny ability to connect and resonate with people. That's one trait that you don't get from the Super Soldier serum.

I saw a lot of people on social media (and continue to do so) comparing him to The Boys' Homelander. Walker's good deeds weren't an act/publicity stunt nor was he raised by Nazis in some corporate power play to control the world's economies. He's nowhere as mentally diluted as that character so let's just stop kidding ourselves with that comparison.

Was it just me, but did it feel like that Walker's character was being painted to have the same psychological issues as Will Simpson (Nuke in the comics) from Jessica Jones? They both end up taking experimental drugs to enhance their combat prowess to their own detriments with the titular heroes having to put them down for their own safety - at least temporarily until they come to their senses. They wrote this dude's story arc this season like people haven't seen the Netflix shows and it came off really odd to me in that regard.

Speaking of the Marvel Netflix shows, it makes me sad hearing the name "Walker" and we won't get to see anymore of Mary Walker from Iron Fist Season 2 any time soon. I'm begging Marvel Studios not to let the Marvel Netflix actors and actresses' talents go to waste. Rehire them for some of these Disney+ exclusives and future Marvel Studios projects.

Lemar Hoskins / Battlestar

Simply put, Battlestar is Walker's moral compass. We are introduced to him as Walker's sidekick or rather partner after he takes up the shield and was named the new Captain America by the American government.

I was glad that the MCU wisely avoided all of the controversies surrounding his codename and simply called him Battlestar in this continuity. No need to open Pandora's box if it's not necessary to the plot. We can thank the late Dwayne McDuffie from removing the negative connotations of referring to Walker's side-kicks as "bucks".

Hoskins kept Walker emotionally grounded in his new role until he was accidentally killed by the leader of the Flag Smashers. Hoskins' death was the thing that drove Walker over the edge and to crumble under the pressure of trying to live up as Steve Rogers' successor. Walker couldn't even bring himself to tell Hoskins' family the truth concerning the circumstances of Hoskins' own demise. I can't help but wonder if that is going to come into play down the road.

Ayo (Dora Milaje)

Ayo is the second-in-command of Wakanda's Dora Milaje that followed Bucky Barnes to Latvia to confront him about handing Zemo over. Ayo and the Dora Milaje beat the holy hell out of Sam Wilson, Barnes, John Walker, and Lemar Hoskins with Zemo using the chaos to escape. I wish that Ayo's influence on Bucky's time in Wakanda was shown in this series as it would have been a pivotal piece of his recovery process if audiences were able to see how Wakandan science were able to undo HYDRA's brainwashing process on him prior to the events of Avengers: Infinity War. People tend to forget that the last time we saw Bucky in his right frame of mind was in Captain America: Civil War. At the end of that film, he was put on ice again in Wakanda before Steve Rogers came back to get him for the Battle of Wakanda in Infinity War. We really didn't see what happened to him during the events of Black Panther and Ant-Man and The Wasp. Much like Sam Wilson, he got Snapped so we didn't get to see much from him until the final moments in Endgame, so there's some gaps that needed to be filled in both (Sam and Bucky) of their lives. It's obvious that he's made some sort of connection with the Dora Milaje and has earned their respect, so it wouldn't do them any harm in enlightening viewers of what happened during that time.

In Sam's case, like who wouldn't want to see that stuff from Sam, Steve Rogers, Black Widow, and Scarlet Witch on the run between the events of Civil War and Infinity War?

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine

This character is portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Her comics history has her revealed to be a Russian mole that infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. early on before taking over the role of Madame Hydra for some time following the alleged death of the original Madame Hydra, Viper. In this continuity, HYDRA already has been revealed to have been lurking within SHIELD from the very start, so it wouldn't make much sense to slot that character into that role when HYDRA's past activities are already public knowledge.

She comes off as a shady individual and I think that HYDRA has reemerged following events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. HYDRA could be replenishing their resources and looking for assets and noteworthy agents to send into the field to do their bidding. Alternatively, Fontaine could be recruiting members for the Soviet espionage group called Leviathan as well, but I'm holding my breath on that one as we will more likely see that organization pop up in Black Widow's solo film in July. (Edit: We didn't...)

We don't get enough to think either way about Fontaine other than the fact that she's definitely someone who I wouldn't trust, especially when she came out of the blue and knew so much about John Walker and his exploits - including obtaining that super soldier serum for himself. She was another casualty that would have benefited from getting a little more fleshed out with another episode instead of the finale/final episode being so rushed.

Isaiah Bradley

Isaiah Bradley: I took half that metal arm in that fight in Goyang, but I see he's managed to grow it back. I just wanted to see if he got the arm back. Or if he'd come to kill me.

Bucky Barnes: I'm not a killer anymore.

Isaiah Bradley: You think you can wake up one day and decide who you want to be? It doesn't work like that. Well, maybe it does for folks like you.

Isaiah Bradley: [referring to the shield] Leave it covered. Them stars and stripes don't mean nothing good to me.

Sam Wilson: I need to understand.

Isaiah Bradley: You understand. Every Black man does. Whether you want to deny it or not.

Sam Wilson: Don't do that bitter, old man thing with me.

Isaiah Bradley: If you ain't bitter, you're blind.

Sam Wilson: What went wrong?

Isaiah Bradley: I used to be like you. Until I opened my eyes, until I saw men in the Red Tails, the famous three-three-two, fight for this country, only to come home to find crosses burned on their lawn.

Sam Wilson: But you were a Super Soldier like Steve. You could've been the next...

Isaiah Bradley: The next? What? Huh? Blonde hair, blue eyes, stars and stripes? The entire world's been chasing that great white hope since he first go dosed with that serum.

Sam Wilson: Steve did not put you in jail.

[after explaining other soldiers like him were given different versions of the serum]

Isaiah Bradley: It wasn't long before it was only me left. And what did I get for saving their lives? For the next thirty years, they experimented on me, trying to figure out why the serum worked.

Sam Wilson: We got to do something. We got to tell somebody.

Isaiah Bradley: No. Leave me dead. My name is buried.

Sam Wilson: But the world's different now. I know people.

Isaiah Bradley: You think things are different? You think times are different? You think I wouldn't be dead in a day if you brought me out? You want me to believe jail was my fault because you got that white man's shield. They were worried my story might get out. So, they erased me. My history. But they've been doing that for five hundred years. Pledge allegiance to that, my brother.

Isaiah Bradley exists in this series as tragic reminder of the treatment of African-Americans in the MCU's world, whether they are powered or just ordinary people. Simply put, his inclusion raises the much-needed conversation of racism in America. Bradley's mindset parallels the real-life mindset for a lot of people within the black community in this country. They have seen the worst that this country has done to the African-American community throughout their lives and experienced it first-hand and have absolutely no hope that things could change for the better. It's a scary reality to ignore, especially when police are still in the news even as I writing this article concerning reports of their ongoing crimes of killing innocent black people. Why would Bradley want to put himself or anyone in his family in the public eye to share a similar fate to silence him for good?

For as much as that happens in the MCU, especially in the Marvel Netflix shows, I can't blame the guy. On top of that, as a black man myself, I share his same sentiment. There's not a single day I don't worry about myself or one of my family members being racially profiled on a whim and getting killed for the color of my skin.

Bradley was here for all of the ugly things that the American government (while HYDRA was still lurking within both that government and SHIELD) did while Steve Rogers was on ice. He may have fought bravely to defend this country, but the country didn't love him back because he wasn't born with the "right" skin color that the American government wanted to represent them during Steve Rogers' absence while he was frozen in ice. Instead, he and his comrades were seen as sacrificial lambs and guinea pigs until they could isolate the process that made the Super Soldier Serum work and crown their own "champion" within their own image.

Closing Thoughts

Much like WandaVision before it, I thought The Falcon & The Winter Soldier was worth the watch for the most part, but it's far from perfect. I thought Episodes 3, 4, and 5 were the strongest out of the six episode season order and I felt that this series could have benefited from one or two more episodes to tie up loose ends in the finale. The last episode felt so rushed, especially in regard of the final confrontation against the Flag Smashers. This show could have benefited greatly with a simple scene capturing the moment where Sam opens the suitcase from Wakanda and we got to see his reaction to seeing the new costume for the first time instead of him just showing up at the scene of the final battle with it on. An additional episode or two would have alleviated the issue where the last episode felt so rushed from racing to the finish line. There were far too many moments in the final episode that felt so rushed that would have benefited highly from just having a few more minutes to breathe, such as Bucky's confession to his friend about the death of his son or more time with Sam Wilson and his sister following the time and effort they put into reviving their parents' failing fishing business. I know that Marvel Studios has announced that Captain America 4, featuring most of the cast from this series, will return for that film, but it would not have killed them to spend another episode or two to wrap up these nagging storylines and themes.

I should mention that my personal favorite takeaway from this series was the inclusion/introduction of Madripoor into the MCU. That opens the doors on a lot more characters to come out of this lawless nation, including but not limited to Wolverine and the rest of the X-Men as several of their members and affiliations have ties to the country and not to mention HYDRA, if the MCU wanted to revive that organization post-Blip. For me, Madripoor represents as the first major bread crumb towards introducing the X-Men into the MCU proper down the road.

I think that we're going to get a proper explanation or rather introduction to the Leviathan espionage group in the upcoming Black Widow film to fill in the gaps of where Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine came from, along with who Sharon Carter has been doing business following the events of Captain America: Civil War. It just seems like that would be the film to fill the gaps in a sense with a lot of this international espionage/spy thriller action these characters thrive within this corner of the MCU.

I have to address Sam Wilson's new costume too. From the start of this series, I had it in the back of my mind that they were going to use his Captain America costume from the All-New, All-Different line of Marvel Comics that faced a lot of pushback and left many old and new Marvel Comics fans divided on their reception of this new direction for a lot of the established characters in the comics continuity. Steve Rogers had stepped down after being depowered and passed the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson, much like how Rogers did in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame. For me, that was all well and good as this was change that brought up a lot of controversial, political conversations to Marvel Comics that were really needed to be conveyed to readers at the time. Disney and Marvel Studios are doing the same thing here and it's going to take some time before people warm up to Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson in this role, but I'm not going to lie. When he revealed the new costume in the final episode, I cringed...

Before people roast me over the coals for my reaction, hear me out. Look at the three images above.

In the middle, the comics version of Sam's Captain America costume has the color bright and vibrant as Steve Rogers. That shit never looked good on Chris Evans when they went with that for the first Captain America film and even worse in the original Avengers film. By the time Captain America: The Winter Soldier came around, they dulled out the colors for it doesn't look as "in your face" or rather, intense, in a real life setting. Now compare that with the two images of Sam's costume. In my own defense, my initial reception to the costume was from the lighting on the last episode. Even though the scenes were shot at night, the suit still came off looking too bright to me, but seeing these promotional shots of the full costume after the fact, I'm completely fine with it. I think over time they will come up with a more "streamlined" look for it, much like Rogers' own costume by the time Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame rolled around. The Hot Toys version (on the right) really knocks it out of the park though, much like the one they did for Scarlet Witch's new costume from the finale of WandaVision. The colors are dulled out a bit and entire costume from the wings to the outfit together just checks all of the right boxes.

Watch It or Don't Bother?

Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes' buddy cop dynamic makes this adventure that you don't want to miss, despite some narrative hiccups along the way. I vote to definitely give this a watch as it's easier to digest than WandaVision. It's a proper return to form in terms of what we have come to expect out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of the proper balance of action and storytelling. My biggest gripe with this mini-series is that they had the platform to do so much more with this and merely did just enough to leave fans asking for more. A lot more could have been done with this series to establish the post-Blip MCU functions for ordinary people. They scratched the surface of that with the Flag-Smashers, but it didn't go far enough in terms of that, along with more conversations about race and social tensions rising in not just America but around the world - a topic that parallels modern times. I understand that there's going to be critics that think that this series was "too woke" for its own good and see that as a turn-off, but that was the point for the change in the comics continuity as well. Sam Wilson taking up the mantle of Captain America represented a change not for the Avengers, but a change that America, along with the rest of the world, would have to take together to reshape the world for the better. This series laid out the groundwork for that - and it's for Marvel Studios to continue on this course to ensure that its a success. Besides, if you fail to realize that comics and better yet, the superheroes themselves, are reflections of the societies that originate from. If you can't handle modern day significance and metaphors for our society as a whole, then maybe a lot of this stuff isn't for you to begin with.