‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Review

In comparison to Wandavison, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier appeared to be a standard piece of Marvel content. At times, that can be true, but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier manages to go past the Marvel tropes and be a series that has a level of relevance to our world. It does have plenty of exciting action sequences but is able to give the action stakes by blending it within a political landscape. 

Premise

After being handed the shield by Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) has to figure out where he belongs in a world without Captain America. Similarly, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) is also figuring out where he stands after finally being freed from being controlled as the Winter Soldier. 

When the two teams up to take down a group of radical super-soldiers, they each must deal with the harsh truths of reality while also figuring out a way to best honor the legacy that Steve Rogers left behind. 

A strong character study

Easily the strength of this series is the arcs that both characters go through, especially Sam. Sam’s journey into accepting the responsibility given to him by Steve is fascinating and perfectly understandable. Not only does he feel like he may not deserve it, but he knows that there are many political implications to him picking up the shield. 

Learning more about Sam’s origins, which included his sister, his nephews, and their business in New Orleans, adds a level to Sam’s character that we haven’t seen before. It’s also great to see Marvel exploring these characters more by bringing us closer into their lives. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, when we met Hawkeye’s family, it made Hawkeye a more likable character and one that fans cared about a lot more despite being a secondary character. 

Bucky is still haunted by his time as the Winter Soldier and is trying to make amends with many of the people he either worked with or hurt. There’s a specific storyline we follow with Bucky where he’s trying to work up the courage to give closure to a man whose son he killed. It also looks at his connection to Wakanda, where he was finally freed. Bucky’s arc doesn’t receive the same amount of closure as Sam, but it still does a good job at setting up where Bucky goes from here. 

One character who becomes more likable in this show is Zemo, the main villain from Captain America: Civil War. While he doesn’t become a good guy in this show, there is much more humanity given to his character. You understand more why he feels the way he does towards superheroes and the symbols they become. He’s also surprisingly funny in this show with Daniel Bruhl giving him a ton of charisma. 

A great storyline in this series surrounds a new character, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), a soldier who is given the mantle of Captain America briefly. Walker is an intriguing anti-hero as he has a strong urge to do good, but his ego & short-tempered nature often get in the way of doing what’s right. He’s a rogue Captain America who establishes the idea that the symbol means nothing without the right person to represent it. 

Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) also makes a return, last seen in Captain America: Civil War. The series makes an interesting decision with her character that didn’t work for me. There’s a plot twist involving Sharon that you can see coming from miles away. However, she is given the opportunity to be a badass in a few scenes. 

Tackles political issues head-on

What sets this show apart from other Marvel projects is how it reflects modern America. It would be extremely naive to give Sam the mantle of Captain America without dealing with the racial factors and the show explores it well. Sam looks at America’s history and the complicated relationship that black Americans have with the stars and stripes. 

Since Sam is a soldier, the show explores how even black soldiers are not treated the same as white soldiers once they return home. The character of Isaiah Bradley in this series gives Sam great insight into why a black Captain America could be considered problematic by many people. It makes Sam’s final decision regarding the shield really satisfying and fitting for the hero he is. 

Weak villains

Where this show suffers is its villains. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier definitely wants to focus on Sam & Bucky’s journey and their growing bond, however, they have to find a way to progress the story. The way they do this is rather weak. The group, known as the Flagsmashers, aren’t very threatening and their motivations are unclear.

Their main motivation is that life for them during the five years where half of the population was gone was much better than how life is now. Unfortunately, not enough time is devoted to what life was like for them during those five years for me to relate to their mission.  It’s also not clear what their endgame is. 

The series tries to paint the Flagsmasher’s leader, Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman), as a sympathetic character. However, she commits too many acts of violence to draw any sympathy from me. She doesn’t come off as truly evil, but her evil acts outweigh any sort of goodwill she conveys. 

Final verdict

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is another win for Marvel. Similar to Wandavision, this series shows the benefits of television by devoting more time to giving developed arcs to characters who haven’t received as much attention yet. It has lots of great action that is easy to be invested in since we care about all of the characters involved. 

Unfortunately, the side stories that aren’t focused on growing our main characters are forgettable. I was way more interested in Sam & Bucky’s personal stories than I was in the grander stakes of trying to stop the Flagsmashers. Where the show’s strengths lie are in its grounded nature and how many of our own issues, involving politics and race, mesh with the MCU. It’s not always subtle, but it’s good to see a superhero project that deals with these types of problems. 

It’s not clear whether this is the only season as a Captain America 4 has been greenlit by Marvel. If there is going to be another season, then I look forward to seeing Bucky and Sam team up once more. 

Final score: 8/10