The most important part of the fourth episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was not the continuation of Sam and Bucky's investigation of the Super Soldier serum alongside Baron Zemo, or even the arrival of the Dora Milaje to recapture the latter. This episode fleshed out the main two antagonists of the series, exploiting their vulnerabilities, their strengths and how dangerous they could be. We see just how deep Karli Morgenthau's belief in her cause runs and how desperate John Walker is to live up to the legacy of the Captain America shield.
The episode immediately starts with showing us Bucky shortly before the Battle of Wakanda coming to the end of his healing and becoming free of the Winter Soldier brainwashing. The gravity of this scene, Bucky's emotions spilling over realising he is free of the trigger words, goes to show just how important his meeting with Ayo of the Dora Milaje is, how important the Wakandans have become to him. It gives more weight to her demand that Bucky hand over Baron Zemo, more so when he finds that they can disable his vibranium arm indicating that maybe they didn't believe he was entirely free of the Hydra brainwashing or that he could lose being worthy of it.
I was glad to see that Sharon Carter was still around and not just a single episode appearance. With some shows, appearances like hers often feel quick and cameo-like, the character is referred to as helping out but is never seen on screen again. I was glad to see that after they redeemed the treatment of her character in episode 3, they still had her actively involved with Sam and Bucky's mission in this episode rather than push her to an off-screen form of aid.
Though we get a lot of Bucky's history being referred to in the show, this time we get more of Sam's history. But not military - his experience as a trauma counsellor for soldiers. He understands that Karli is grieving and that maybe taking the chance to talk to her could help in some way. This kind of angle isn't often taken in action and superhero television shows or movies, it's often fight first talk later. The films and the show up to this point have shown Sam to be quite level headed in just about any situation compared to a lot of the MCU's heroes, he's one of the few that thinks first, punches later. The interactions that follow with Karli and Sam are powerful because you get the first civil conversations between two characters who have opposing views on how to deal with the state of the world but can easily understand one another. Here is what's admirable about Sam - he never condemns her for what she says, no matter how bad it sounds because he makes the efforts to understand her, to put himself in her shoes and all those whose lives had changed during the Blip and after. This definitely went strongly in the way of making the audience understand how people could be so easily sympathetic to her cause and join it. I think it could have gone quite far if it wasn't for John Walker's superiority/inferiority complex making him the punches first person. And, unfortunately, that leads to Zemo missing a vial of Super Soldier serum when he destroys them all.
Though the insight we get into Karli's character is in a way quite positive, it is the opposite for John Walker. As per usual, he and Lemar Hoskins show up when it is incredibly inconvenient and get in the way of Sam and Bucky's mission. But every bit of their involvement goes into showing how taking the role of Captain America is making John Walker feel inferior to his pre-decessor and his partners, how it's putting him on a darker path. Every time he gets put down by a Super Soldier, he's pissed off he doesn't have that kind of strength. Ayo and the Dora Milaje easily overpower him with their training alone and he feels inferior because they did it without Super Soldier serum. In fact, in that very scene he sounds like a certain someone who passed away the day this episode came out (the "pointy sticks" line - I guess that was ironically timed). This desperation to be stronger goes far - when he sees the Super Soldier serum all spilled on the floor, it seemed like bad news, I wouldn't have put it passed him to try and scoop up what he could for himself. It looks more dire when he finds a vial intact, I had no doubt he would take it.
It's been known since Captain America: The First Avenger that the Super Soldier serum amplifies what is already in a person. Johann Schmidt had hate and a lust for power which became amplified with the serum, making him the Red Skull. Steve Rogers was a kind and good person that wanted someone to look out for the little guy and that was amplified with the serum. John Walker has an intense inferiority complex, acting like others must respect him because of the new position he holds but knowing that he does not measure up to Steve Rogers as Captain America. Amplify that with the growing anger issues? You get someone who will go to any lengths to get the respect he feels he is owed. By the end, prompted by an immediate tragedy, John Walker's madness begins to resemble that of The Boys' Homelander - the all American hero who is prone to fits of bloody and murderous rage. It'll be interesting to see what follows after the crowd of people witness to this with a phone recording in every hand.
Reasons to Recommend:
- The Dora Milaje
- More fleshed out Karli Morgenthau, an antagonist whose cause is right in her heart
- Deranged Captain America
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