After the impressive and successful season of WandaVision, I had high hopes for my two favourite MCU characters to come out of the Captain America trilogy and I was not disappointed. Like the former, this series picks up in the months after Avengers: Endgame, with those remaining living through the fallout of those events on a personal level as well as in regard to their superhero lives. But if you were hoping that Sam and Bucky would be partnered already, you'll be disappointed as they don't make any contact with one another. The episode goes about showing the audience where the two characters paths have led and setting up the foundation for what will lead to them teaming up again.
The tone of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's opening scene feels a lot like the first action sequence in Captain America: The Winter Soldier - it mirrors the scene from the film as he is being briefed on a mission the same way Steve was on a plane before jumping out of it. He seems to be on a mission to rescue an American soldier. The entire action sequence and rescue has a similar superhero military-political thriller feel to it that Falcon's introductory film had and I think it seems to be the tone that the rest of the season will carry.
We immediately get the chance to see the upgrades and redesigns the Falcon suit has gone through since Endgame. Where the colours and design of the suit was more grey, clunky and electric, it is now coloured in red, white and blue and has a much more sleek design with more capabilities. Sam's uncertainty in using the Captain America shield is evident from the start with one of the suit upgrades as he uses his wing's upgraded function to turn into a shield rather than taking it on the mission. It's given away to the museum with the rest of the Captain America display we've seen before, with a nice cameo from Rhodey who obviously doesn't think it's a good idea. It's also good to see that Redwing is still in use and a key component in Falcon's armour.
When it comes to any form of fiction with characters that make appearances across multiple instalments, I always like seeing later iterations where it shows how much they have progressed from their experience and skill developed. Here we see Sam doing the kind of things he did in the army before meeting Steve Rogers so he did already have that skill set but the action sequence at the start of this episode felt like a combination of his military skills and what he learned during his years as an Avenger. When a character's history is combined like that, everything you have seen them do before becomes a lot more worthwhile. A prime example I like to refer to is in The Avengers when they discover what Thor can do with his hammer against Captain America's shield and directing a bolt of lightning at Iron Man's suit eventually being used with practised confidence in the fight against Thanos in Endgame.
Unless they're relevant to a plot in a movie, you don't get the chance toe to expand much into a supporting character's personal relationships beyond the main character, you may just get small hints of it. With a television series, you can delve further into that and so we get to see Sam spend time with his sister, Sarah, and nephews who didn't disappear as he did after the Snap. And so you get a view of another character trying to adjust to life after 5 years of not being around though it was merely seconds for him. You can see him try to hold on to something important from his life that maybe he can control whether or not it stays in his life which is the family boat that Sarah wants to sell. This is something I found was done really well in the Marvel Netflix shows and I'm glad to see being done in Disney+ Marvel shows, the small day to day after-effects of these big movie size fights on regular people.
We don't see Bucky until a third into the episode but we don't see him as he is straight away. As with Sam, we jump straight into an action sequence with him but there's something slightly off about it. He's grabbing people through walls with his metal arm, throwing knives at his targets aiming to kill and wears the mask that covers the bottom half of his face. This resembles the Winter Soldier that was brainwashed by Hydra, not the Bucky Barnes seen in the films after he escapes Hydra. As he wakes from a nightmare, we find that Bucky's reintroduction into society has been going to government-mandated therapy to make sure he won't be becoming the Winter Soldier again. Interestingly, he is trying to get passed the things he did by making amends, by rectifying the things he did that made Hydra more powerful. It's a great way of bringing the Bucky Barnes from The First Avenger into the present.
The life he has carved out for himself seems to be one of anonymity, trying to lead a quiet life which makes sense considering his history. He isn't open about who he is, using a bad circulation excuse for always having his gloves on, allowing people to think he's joking when he honestly responds with his age as 106 years old. One of the relationships he has developed seems like one that could have happened by chance but you find is more intentional on his part as it relates heavily to his nightmare of the Winter Soldier's past misdeeds. You can see that this particular one weighs heavily on him because of the relationships he has cultivated.
Though Sam gave Captain America's shield to the museum, by the end of the episode we see it is in use again. A politician has squealed a desperate cry to have someone to be a symbol of hope again and introduces a new Captain America. And this guy seems like all he is meant to be is what Steve was before he threw himself into some actual fighting in World War II - a mascot for the real fighters, someone who just promoted an ideology and plays the part of being a hero rather than actually being one. More a celebrity and face of campaigns than anything.
Reasons to Recommend:
- The effects Endgame had on everyone, regular citizens and heroes who disappeared for the 5 years
- Seeing Bucky and Sam start on their own paths separate from each other for now and not attached to Steve Rogers' story
- An introduction to potential foes that seem to have super soldier-like abilities that seem to be a fast-approaching plot element for the season
- Looks like it's going to be a key element of where these two characters are headed in future MCU instalments
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