TV Review: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Well, after Avengers: Endgame, we knew Steve Rogers’ time as Captain America was at an end but the fight to fill the big shoes he left behind is told in the 6 episode event ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ with all episodes available right now to stream on Disney+. The show follows, if you couldn’t guess, Sam Wilson (The Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier) as they attempt to prevent an extreme activist group called The Flag Smashers from doing more harm to their own cause and the people they are trying to help than good. But that isn’t their only issue as the new Captain America, chosen by the government, is causing a few issues too. I am warning you now: this series will not just hit you in the feels, it will run your feelings over with a freight train then reverse over your feelings to make sure it didn’t miss. There is a lot to sit down and unpack from this series and please consider this your spoiler warning so enjoy the trailer and then we’ll get down to the nitty gritty.

Actors and Casting

Naturally, our two lead actors are Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes who are very good as the odd couple/buddy cop pairing. Personally, I think all the interviews they’ve done together over the course of their Marvel careers were like an audition for this series. We see both Mackie and Stan have some really big moments throughout the series that show what capable actors they are but it was Marvel newcomers Wyatt Russell, Carl Lumbly and Erin Kellyman that made this series amazing. Wyatt Russell appears as John Walker, the ‘new’ Captain America who later takes up his proper title of ‘US Agent’. John Walker is hugely flawed and easy to hate thanks to Russell’s subtleties in his acting and left me, as a huge fan of Captain America, traumatised after Episode 4. If you watch closely throughout the series, you can even see twitches and fidgets Russell included that can be seen as an indication towards Walker’s mental state. Carl Lumbly makes his appearance as Isaiah Bradley, a name that would be very familiar to comic book readers from a run called Truth: Red, White and Black. Nearly every scene Lumbly appears in stirs up some strong emotions and we, as viewers, see the repercussions of the injustices and mistreatment Isaiah experienced due to the harsh experimentation he was forced into and he was also imprisoned for saving prisoners of war which was something Steve Rogers did and was congratulated for. The final newcomer is the leader of the Flag Smashers, Karli Morgenthau, portrayed by Erin Kellyman. Erin really stood out in her role as leading radical, Karli, and really held her own in serious scenes with Mackie and Stan. She sold her belief in the cause Karli was fighting for and that’s what really matters. A lot can be said for returning MCU alums. Emily Van Camp does well in her role as Sharon Carter though it doesn’t seem huge in the series and seems to be building towards future projects. Florence Kasumba returns as Ayo of the Dora Milaje and is even more done with Bucky’s nonsense than ever which I love her for. And all of the kudos to Daniel Brühl who somehow made Baron Zemo, who generally should be disliked, into a fan favourite by dad dancing and being the most relatable person on-screen at times.

Parallels, Callbacks and “I Understood That Reference!”

The level of detail in this series is phenomenal and I am quite literally going to point out my favourites and leave it at that otherwise I’ll be here all day. Musical callbacks brought in by composer Henry Jackman reference multiple Marvel movie scores that are used to underpin specific scenes. We also have the fantastic parallels between Civil War’s final fight (Steve and Bucky vs Tony) and the fight at the start of episode five (Bucky and Sam vs John Walker) but the shield is picked up, rather than dropped, in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We even have a subtle reference to a joke made by actors Stan and Mackie (where Stan states that Bucky “can’t even walk through a metal detector” because of his arm) in episode six as, when Bucky enters the building under attack, the metal detector doesn’t go off after he goes through it so Bucky CAN walk through the metal detector. You’ve also the wonderful moment when Karli tells Sam to stay down much like Tony said to Steve in Civil War; now a lot of people expected Sam to say ‘I can do this all day’ but instead our new Captain America refuses to fight his opponent (which could be seen as a minor callback to Steve refusing to fight a certain super soldier in Winter Soldier) showing that Sam is more than aware of when he needs to fight and when he needs to talk.

Favourite Moment With No Context (Obvious Spoiler Alert)

Sam: We should do something.

Bucky: Looking strong John!

Themes

Throughout the season, topics of discussion that are typical of Marvel movies are brought to the forefront including race and discrimination, to name but a very small few, and, for those who claimed and are still claiming that it wasn’t that deep, of course it was that deep. To say that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier did not discuss the themes of race, racism, racial profiling, prejudice and so much more is a down right lie. Some people may claim that there are no applicable messages in Marvel created shows and movies but more often than not Marvel holds a mirror up to the world and points out humanity’s fatal flaws and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is no different.

As Stan Lee said, “Marvel has always been, and will always be a reflection of the world right outside our window. That world may change and evolve, but the one thing that will never change is the way we tell our stories of heroism. Those stories have room from everyone, regardless of their race, gender, religion or colour of their skin. The only things we don’t have room for are hatred, intolerance and bigotry. That man next to you is your brother. That woman over there, she’s your sister. And that kid walking by, hey, who knows he may have the proportionate strength of a spider. We’re all part of one big family, the human family, and we all come together in the body of Marvel. You’re part of the Marvel Universe that moves ever upwards and onwards to greater glory. In other words: Excelsior!” (R.I.P. Stan, we still miss you!) Marvel is, and probably always will be, a commentary on our own reality.

Reactions and Thoughts

Overall, I preferred The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to Wandavision and the themes dealt with throughout the series really hit hard. There were no kiddie gloves in this series when it came to the serious topics. I have two issues that really only cropped up in the last episode 1) the reveal of Sharon Carter as The Power Broker creates a bit of a plot hole and kind of goes against almost everything Sharon stood for when we previously encountered her and 2) the very rushed, almost redemption arc that occurred for John Walker, however, some can argue that maybe Walker was just doing what he thought was good and not really redeeming himself, just prioritizing. But aside from that, most importantly, we got the all important moment and comic book accurate new Captain America, Sam Wilson. Sam’s new suit gives serious angel vibes, which is very fitting for an Avenger, and has callbacks to various suits that Steve wore. This includes the logo on Sam’s chest with the stripes more resembling wings than it’s Winter Soldier suit counterpart worn by Steve and the one stripe missing from Sam’s suit may symbolise the one army man who is not in this series that was in Winter Soldier. All the callbacks in this series are symbols of the legacy that Steve left behind and, by the end of the series, we see a Sam Wilson that feels ready and prepared to take up that legacy and carry it on. We also could have been set up to get a new Falcon in the form of Joaquin Torres and I really hope he makes an appearance in later MCU TV series or films. Perhaps the most meaningful moment of the series was Sam’s first big speech as Captain America:

“I’m a black man carrying the stars and stripes. Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people out there who are going to hate me for it.”

This is not only a call back to the very prominent themes of this series but it also shows that Sam is no longer going to reject his new role; he will be a Captain America that everyone can be proud of. Now, what I would like to know about that speech is if he wrote that down first or was it off the top of his head. (Did you understand that reference? 😉 )

But the best news of all, to come out of this series, is that “Captain America and the Winter Soldier will return” with a movie already announced and the showrunner of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Malcolm Spellman, writing the fourth instalment of the Captain America series.