Review: Marvel's "The Falcon And The Winter Soldier" Episodes 4-6

The legacy of Captain America weighed heavy on the back half of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Specifically, the various characters, from John Walker and Bucky, even to Baron Zemo, seemed focused on what it meant for someone to carry on that name in the modern era. And while that was the driving force of the episodes, it also facilitated all of the various storylines, from the angered Wakandans to Isaiah Bradley’s frustration at his unfair treatment as an early super soldier, to coalesce in explosive and extremely entertaining fashion.

The most notable plot had to be John Walker’s transformation from revered soldier doing his best to live up to the legacy of Steve Rogers to bloodthirsty super soldier murdering a disarmed enemy combatant, and then back a little to misguided hero. The series, up to that point, had done well in depicting John Walker as a man teetering on the edge. It was clear, from the very start, that he took being Captain America just as seriously as Steve Rogers ever did, but he was also keenly aware that he’d be constantly compared to the man who came before, and that he’d likely be seen as lesser. The stress of that comparison, and his ultimate failure to truly live up to the legacy place on his shoulders, is what really caused his break into temporary supervillain territory.

The point of the character in the series, and in the MCU at large, was to illustrate the tremendous pressure that anyone named Captain America would be under, but also to reinforce the preeminent trait that the person with the shield needs to exemplify, especially when compared to Sam Wilson. Simply put, Walker, as he’s shown in the show, is as good a soldier as anyone could hope for. But Captain America needs to be more than just a good soldier, he needs to be a good man, just like Dr. Erskine said back in The First Avenger when Steve asked why he was chosen.

But Walker wasn’t destined to stay in the dark for long, as the forces behind the series wanted to make it clear that he was a good man, and truly a hero, even if he made some mistakes along the way. In the final episode, “One World, One People”, he showed up for the final confrontation with The Flag-Smashers, and while his overall goal was to get revenge for his friend, Battlestar, when push came to shove and he had to choose between getting his vengeance and save a truckload of hostages, Walker made the right decision, cast off his battered shield and pulled the truck back to safety.

And though his efforts were quickly undone, this moment goes to show that Walker isn’t truly a villain and only ever wanted to serve country and be a hero. However, it’s his coda at the end of the episode that plants him in a somewhat gray area, as he gets a new suit and is christened with his comic moniker, U.S. Agent, by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. So, while he definitely wants to be a good guy, and he’s shown that he can do right when given the chance, his future is anything but certain, given that his strings are going to be pulled by someone less than trustworthy, though he’ll be naïve to that, likely until its too late.

Moreover, John Walker’s plot was the perfect foil for both Bucky and Sam and really provided some nice contrast to their internal struggles over the loss of their friend, Steve Rogers, and the responsibility of carrying on in his name. While Walker was consumed with living up to the legend, Bucky and Sam only wanted to honor the man and his memory, they just were at odds over how to do that. Sam was content to let his friend rest after a lifetime of strife, while Bucky felt the shield should be wielded and remain a symbol of freedom. However, the truth was they were each living in the shadow of Steve Rogers and were content to stay there. It made them feel more connected with Steve, who might actually still be around as the old man seen in the final moments of Endgame.

But even if that’s true, the old man isn’t really the friend that went back in time and came back, so even if they strike up a relationship with the current version, it won’t make up for what the lost. For Bucky and Sam it was all about coming to terms with this truth and allowing their memories to rest. In Sam’s case, that meant embracing what Steve saw in him and acknowledging that becoming the new Captain America didn’t erase his friend, it was an homage. And for Bucky, he had to realize that his worth wasn’t defined by the man he was and the goodness that Steve saw in him was honest and present, he just had to acknowledge it for himself and put in the work to be the man that Steve always knew he was.

And while the defining the legacy of captain America in the future of the MCU was the driving force behind the whole series, and provided most of the context for the show, what made things really interesting was the subtle infusion of socio and geopolitical conflicts. For starters, the show did a great job of showcasing the effects of Thanos’s snap, as well as the reemergence of all those who got dusted. The world became a different place in the five years have the population was gone and when they came back, there were a lot of complications that none of the Avengers really thought about in the heat of the moment during their battles with Thanos. As such, there was no reintegration plan, so a lot of people essentially became refugees, waiting on world governments to figure out what to do with them.

The Flag-Smashers with Karli Morgenthau as their leader were a direct result of the public unrest amongst in the world over governmental failure to solve the problems at hand. And Morgenthau, even if her methods were extreme, was in the right, continuing on with the Marvel’s trend of allowing their villains to have the moral high ground. And the best thing about the Flag-Smashers arc is that, even though it got stopped, and for good, thanks to some timely interference by an imprisoned Baron Zemo, it led to real change in the MCU. Sam, who’d finally accepted his role as Captain America, didn’t let the philosophy of the Flag-Smashers fall away with her demise. Instead, he held the people in charge accountable for forcing someone like Morgenthau to stand up and take action.

That moment, and that the epic speech that Sam gave to a worldwide televised audience in the MCU, illustrated exactly where he stood as Captain America, and both poignantly honored the memory of Steve Rogers and set a distinction for who Sam was going to be carrying the shield. He couldn’t be the man Steve was, but that was okay. Sam acknowledging that being a black man and also Captain America was going to be complicated and was never going to please everyone, but that wasn’t his job and he proved, once again, that he was the perfect successor to the shield.

While the final episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier did have some small snags, such as letting Morgenthau’s arc fall away a little toward the end and relying too heavily on antiquated villain tactics, as well as forgetting about Sharon Carter for longer than really made sense within the context of the story, these are small gripes amidst what has to be some of Marvel’s most nuanced and though-provoking storytelling to date.