Review

Coming off of WandaVision, I expected this show to be different and have a different feel given who the titular characters are. What I wasn’t totally expecting was the serious issues that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier would touch on. Of course, there are the big spectacles, the movie-level action sequences that are almost a must in this kind of project but the very grounded approach they took with characters’ lives outside of their hero work is just as important.

We first see Sam Wilson as a professional, at work, giving us a clear idea of what the paramilitary rescue operations he ran mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier were. As competent as he is, working for the military and his country; as impressive as what he accomplished and as admired he might be by the general public, at the end of the day he’s just a black soldier coming home who can’t really catch a break. That really stung because out of uniform, nobody seems to care. Maybe I’m reading too much into things but I don’t think I am, it’s very much implied.

Bucky is a mirror to Sam, one’s active duty while the other, Barnes, is retired but they’re both depicted as soldiers. The two have different sets of problems but both have troubles that many soldiers have. Barnes has PTSD and tries to live with what he did, and make amends. It’s not easy for him but he’s trying. They’ve done a great job making Bucky sound and act like an older man. It gives weight to his history as the Winter Soldier.

As for Captain America’s shield, I don’t know if Marvel is avoiding what I heard went on in the comics when Sam got the shield or if they’ve updated it. I mean nowadays the government wouldn’t straight up say that America is not ready for a black Captain America like the old comics did but they would “solve” that issue in a roundabout way. We’ll see as the show unfolds. The conversation Sam had in the museum with that other Avenger felt to me like a more experienced soldier trying to warn the younger one about what might happen.

The show does a good job of introducing us to the flag smashers, who seem to be the big threat to the show, however, the series remains a mystery. I am curious to see how the series develops, I might not do a weekly review but I most likely will review the season.

👉 Full season review

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