THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER: Episode 2 Review

If the first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier gave us a rendition of Bucky's and Sam's trying to navigate life after being blipped back into the world and defeating Thanos, the second one throws us right in the middle of the action.

John Walker, aka the new Captain America, doesn' seem too bad initially. maybe he is just a off-the-charts strong guy with heart, handpicked to be the face of someone else's scheme. He certainly receives the same treatment Steve did in 40s, with the band playing a rendition of the same song, The Star-Spangled Man, which was played as war propaganda. Even Walker mentioning "guts" is a nod to the first Captain America film.

As the episode progresses, he gets incredibly annoying. that's what Wyatt Russell does best though, isn' it? No offense, but he really nails the stupidly good-looking and dickish dude trope (see: Table 19, 22 Jump Street). John Walker is not so much like Cap, he shoots people, doesn't just play defense, and doesn't have that gentlemanly appeal. Is that enough to hate him? The Internet seems to think so. I'll hold back for now; it was always going to be impossible to fill Steve's shoes, and he was always going to be disliked. We'll see if his attitude hides something more, or if it's just him being arrogant and naive.

What struck me most about this episode is how political it got. Perhaps the most political Marvel got to this day. It's not just a pretend corrupt organisation or government, it's a black person being stopped on the street for no good reason. And this it's incredibly topical. Sure it's a little on the nose, however, I've never felt so pulled back into reality by an MCU movie as I did in this scene.

Isaiah is also introduced as a black supersoldier back in the '50s. I do find it interesting that the series is finally going to tackle to topic of supersoldiers, as they got introduced back in Civil War. Isaiah wasn't one of the people experimented with in Siberia, but part of another goverment ploy which singled out 300 black men (as I assume it wasn't as high stakes to experiment on them). He's full of contempt and right now that's his narrative. I wish we'll delve more into his story and that he wln't just be used as a vicimised character, dealing with his trauma, but rather a realised person who will own up to his identity.

What;s interesting is that Zemo hates supersoldiers. Hates them. He freed a whole lot of them in Siberia so that they could just die. So I'm wondering, is he actually going to be the villain at this point? Or are Falcon and Winter Soldier going to begrudgingly team up with him? This turn of events would explore a gray moral area, a very DC point of view where antiheroes take centre stage. I think it could happen, as Bucky is already an anti-hero himself.

Speaking of identity, as we see Sam struggling with taking up the shield, in this episode Bucky really doesn't hold back when it comes to show his disappointment. His obsession with Steve Rogers is getting a little out of hand in my opinion (thank God he's in therapy right? ), which leads me to thinking, is he simply disappointed in Sam or is he disappointed he didn't get picked to be the new Cap? He's Steve oldest friend, and he's been through hell after all. To fair, I don't think Bucky would be that petty, and I think he acknowledges that Sam is more righteous, unproblematic and the man for the job. It doesn't mean it can't sting a little!

The two do have a good dynamic and bounce off each other very well. The Gandalf joke - "I read the Hobbit when it came out. In 1937", just really, really tickled me.

Bucky still remains my favourite, I like how they managed to find funny moment within a very shadowy character. We all thought he was going to perform a Superhero Landing TM as he jumps of the plane without a parachute. Now they are really going with the joke of the dramatic pose shot from above TM.

As for the flag smashers, I am not too impressed thus far. The girl seemed to be a kind of a leader to them but nothing is too set in stone for now. I think we still need to identify a clear antagonist.

What I am looking forward to in the next episodes

1. To finally see Sharon!? She does get name-dropped in this episode so hopefully we are getting close.
2. To find out who the actual villain is. So far the Falg Smashers don't seem that threatening
3. For Bucky to accept Sam is deserving of the shield, and in turn help him to realise it himself.
4. To cool it with the bromance tension! I get it, they both lost their best friend and have unresolved issues. It would be cool to see them help each other fix their broken lives without all the angst.
5. MORE YORI