SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers of ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.‘
Just as the world was piecing together the last episode of “WandaVison,” Disney Plus is at it again with another Marvel series that is leaving viewers wanting more.
Directed by Kari Skogland and written by Malcolm Spellman, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” follows the famous duo of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), on a global journey that tests their patience and abilities to work together.
Premiering on March 19, the first episode showed a well-needed side of Wilson and Barnes. Taking place after the Blip, viewers see Captain America’s shield, which was given to Wilson by Steve Rogers himself in “Avengers: Endgame,” being handed over to the U.S. government and placed on display. Little did he know, the government would then take the shield and create a new Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell).
On the other hand, the recently pardoned Barnes is seeking out government-mandated therapy after struggling with making amends for his time as the Winter Soldier, where he was essentially a brainwashed killing machine.
While Wilson and Barnes are dealing with the aftermath, a group known as the Flag Smashers, is popping up across Europe; exhibiting their beliefs about how life was better before the Blip.
As the episodes go on, viewers see Wilson and Barnes trying to track down the leader of the Flag Smashers, Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman), with help from Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl), who Barnes busted out of prison.
Just as the trio is getting closer to catching Morgenthau, Walker and his partner, Lemar Hoskins (Clé Bennett), repeatedly intercept their missions. Walker soon starts to doubt his abilities as Captain America and decides to take Super Soldier Serum, making him a powerful threat.
During an attempt to catch the Flag Smashers, Walker’s partner is killed. Due to the anger of seeing his friend die and having taken the serum, Walker kills a member of the Flag Smashers with the shield in front of the public, who film the the entire event.
In the fifth episode, Walker is facing the consequences of his actions, in which he is stripped of being Captain America. Wilson then has possession of the shield, but thinks to pass it along to Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), one of the first black Super Soldiers. Bradley begins to tell Wilson the story of how he received the same serum as Rogers and completed heroic missions just like him, but was treated like a criminal and locked away in prison to be experimented on; whereas Rogers was celebrated as a war hero. After hearing Bradley’s story, Wilson faces the dilemma of becoming Captain America as a black man.
Upon reflection, Wilson decides to head back home to help his sister with fixing up their family boat. Wilson soon becomes accompanied by Barnes and the duo agree to move on from their pasts and work together moving forward. They then begin to train with the shield.
However, to stir things up even more, in the post credit scene, viewers see Walker creating a new shield of his own, leaving us all wonder what he will try to do next.
In the final episode, the Flag Smashers are planning an attack to stop a crucial vote from the GRC happening, a vote that will force the relocation of displaced people due to the Blip. Wilson flies into the scene decked out in his new Captain America suit as Barnes and Walker joins him. Morgenthau ends up being killed by Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), a character who helped out Wilson and Barnes earlier in the series. In the finale she is revealed to be the Power Broker, in which she is responsible to the recruiting and selling the services of Super Villains. After Morgenthau’s death, Wilson tries to reason with the GRC into postponing the vote.
The ending shows Walker being newly named as the U.S. Agent, while Barnes makes amends with all of the people he hurt in the past while being the Winter Soldier as Wilson shows Bradley a memorial dedicated to him in the Captain America museum exhibit. The final moments of the show include Wilson and Barnes back in Louisiana enjoying the company of Wilson’s family.
Something worth noting as well is that during the credits, instead of it saying “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” it changed to “Captain America and the Winter Soldier.”
Many fans on Twitter are expressing their excitement about the finale.
Share your thoughts about the series on Twitter by tweeting @VALLEYMag.
2 Comments