Review: Marvel's "The Falcon And The Winter Soldier" Episodes 2-3

While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode one suffered from some pacing issues and an over reliance on world building, episodes two and three had none of those problems. “The Star-Spangled Man” deftly weaves the backstory of John Walker, aka the *NEW* Captain America, with Sam Wilson’s search for The Flag-Smashers and it turned out to be everything that ardent MCU fans were looking for. Meanwhile, episode 3, “Power Broker”, moves the plot forward regarding the Flag-Smashers and how they got ahold of the super soldier serum in the first place. This is also the first episode to feature Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo, and it does a nice job of fleshing the backstory of the character out and making him more than the one-note villain he was in Civil War, even if that one-note was fantastic. These episodes have the perfect mix of action, humor and heart that elevate them above the first entry and mark them as some of the best storytelling Marvel has ever done.

The crux of the episodes, as was expected, was the dynamic between Bucky and Sam. While these two have been “friendly” in the past, it was clear that they didn’t much care for each other and that the only real link between them was Steve Rogers. With that man gone, it makes sense that the pair would drift apart, with only the sullying, in their opinion, of Cap’s memory bringing them back together.

Bucky is stoically furious about the US government naming a successor to the moniker of Captain America, while Sam seems more disappointed in the decision. This leads to a clash of philosophy that leads to a blow up in a therapist’s office when the duo decide to work together, if only until their predicament with Walker and the Flag-Smashers is through.

Things get further exacerbated when Bucky takes it upon himself to break Baron Zemo out of prison to lead the through the underbelly of Madripoor in search of answers about the super soldier serum. All the while, though, Bucky and Sam are leery of each other, even with the nefarious Zemo added to the mix. Even so, the pair cannot help but be protective of the other, such as when Sam worries that a bar room brawl was too much for the psychologically tortured Winter Soldier to endure. It’s clear that they care about each other, even if it’s wrapped up in a lot of enmity. The link that Steve Rogers bound them with stronger than either of them realize.

The best element of these two episodes, though, had to be seeing the evolution of Sharon Carter. When she was first introduced in the Captain America films, she was a little overshadowed by the legacy of her family, and somewhat unfair comparisons between her and Black Widow, especially in The Winter Soldier. In these episodes, though, she is a far more complete character, with her own motivations. It’s also interesting to see that her choices cost her so much. She’s not an Avenger and didn’t have a direct hand in saving the world, and therefor she didn’t get a get out of jail free card. She’s become embittered against the country that shunned her for doing the right thing, even though she desperately wants to return.

Beyond the relationships and the interesting character turns, the overall world of the MCU has gotten expanded by these episodes, specifically in relation to the blip and what that meant for humanity. Much like how S.W.O.R.D. and the renegade Director Hayward filled in some gaps about the five years between the snaps, the arc of the Flag-Smashers, as well as Sharon Carter and the events of the episodes, provide a lot of necessary knowledge. It’s much more comprehensive that what was given in Spider-Man: Far From Home, and the real weight of what happened settles within the story.

Overall, these episodes strike a delicate balance between heart and action, comedy and drama, and it does so while keeping audiences on the edges of their seat. This is exactly the kind of storytelling that audiences have come to expect from Marvel, and there is indeed nothing wrong with sticking to the formula. The one drawback is, especially in the third episode, John Walker’s story takes a bit of a backseat. But as the story was so revelatory, in regard to the super solider serum, and there was such a focus on Zemo and Carter, the showrunners had to trim the fat somewhere. That small gripe aside, these episodes established a lot of the foundation that Marvel is going to build off of, not only in this series, but in the MCU going forward.