Another week means another Falcon and Winter Solder (FWS) episode review, with spoilers! Four episodes in and just two more to go and there will be a lot to wrap up in those last two hours. Sam and Bucky have been using Baron Zemo to help them track down Karli and the Flag Smashers with an assist from former SHIELD agent Sharon Carter. They keep getting closer, but we know that both the new Captain America and now the Wakanda version of Seal Team 6 (the Dora Milaje) is hot on their trail. Let’s jump right into the episode - spoilers ahead!
Shades of Grey
As the series has progressed, Sam is clearly the moral center of the show. While he may not have taken up the shield, he is clearly Cap’s successor when it comes to having a sense of right and wrong, even when it isn’t always cut and dried. This struggle with right and wrong and potentially doing the wrong thing for the right reason is a key aspect of the show and a core element of several characters’ stories.
Sam - He believes that the Flag Smasher’s belief that many people have been unfairly ground down by the return of half the world’s population is justified. But, he also knows that their methods have gone too far.
Bucky - As he struggles with how to make amends for what he did as The Winter Soldier, we see him evolving as a character, looking to identify his place in the post Endgame world.
Karli - As the leader of the Flag Smashers and a super-soldier, Karli seems to want to do the right thing for the world. But, whether she can see it or not, she believes that the end justifies the means and killing people is simply part of the mission.
Zemo - We all know Zemo is a villain. But, he has his own code and reason for being, that the world doesn’t need more super-soldiers and other superheroes. He will also go to any lengths to get rid of the existing super-soldiers, as he believes that their power corrupts them. He may recognize that Steve Rogers was able to maintain his moral code even after becoming enhanced, but he doesn’t think anyone else can. We’re not sure what this means for Bucky, in Zemo’s plans.
John Walker - From the beginning, we’ve been given conflicting visions of John Walker (aka Captain America). He’s a decorated military hero, seems to care about people and his country, and wants to do the right thing. But, we learn he isn’t proud of what he did to earn those medals, feels inferior to the original Captain America, and has a ruthless streak to achieve his goals, which he thinks are just.
Each of these characters is likely to learn some hard lessons about their decisions and the repercussions before the end of episode 6.
Wakanda Forever
The episode kicks off with a flashback to when Bucky was officially deprogrammed as the Winter Soldier by Ayo of the Dora Milaje (and presumably Shuri). We know that Bucky spent two (ish) years in Wakanda following the events of Captain America: Civil War, during which time he had the influence of Hydra removed from his mind. Now Ayo has followed Bucky and wants him to hand over Zemo. Bucky is clear that Zemo is just a means to an end and Ayo gives him 8 hours to get the info he needs before they come for Zemo themselves.
If you didn’t already love the Dora Mlaje from Black Panther, Infinity War and Endgame, you get more reasons here. There is a great battle scene when those 8 hours are up and they arrive at Zemo’s safehouse to take him back. Their first meeting with the new Captain America goes about how you would expect from a group that trained and fought with the real Cap. They give him an appraisal and he comes up short. They also have a fantastic hand-to-hand combat sequence with New Cap and his sidekick Lemar Hoskins (Battlestar), where the Wakandans easily take them both down with ease. We even see one member of the Dora Milaje pick up the shield and note how it settles into place on her arm like it belongs. We’ve never gotten that feeling about Walker. He knows it too, as he notes that the Wakandans aren’t even super-soldiers and yet they so easily defeated the ‘heroes’. This is a key moment for New Cap, as he has secretly grabbed the last remaining vial of the super-soldier serum. He later asks his partner whether he would take the serum himself if he could. Battlestar said he would since all power does is “make a person more themselves” not actually change them. That is obviously some pretty serious foreshadowing.
Definitely Not My Cap
We eventually get to a confrontation where Karli had split Sam and Bucky off from New Cap and Battlestar, in order to take out the new symbol of the government - Cap. When Sam and Bucky get wind of the plan, they head off to help New Cap and his partner. In the ensuing fight, we first learn that New Cap has taken the serum since he is easily the match of various Flag Smasher super-soldiers. We knew this was coming, but the payoff is still an important part of the series and in Walker’s character evolution. He has decided that the only way to compete with super-powered beings is to become enhanced, no matter the consequences.
Well, those consequences come fast. Battlestar is killed by Karli in the fight, possibly unintentionally, as she seems surprised and somewhat disturbed by his death. For New Cap, this is really the final straw. Whatever restraint he might have shown previously is gone. He flies into a super-soldier rage, chasing down one of the Flag Smashers in a public square. He then gives us one of the most disturbing, if not unexpected, moment in the MCU as he uses Captain America’s shield to beat the terrorist to death, in full public view with cell-phone cameras recording every second. The final image of him standing with the blood-soaked shield on his arm is chilling.
At this point, we have no question that New Cap is DEFINITELY #NotMyCap. While we understand his anger and thirst for revenge, we know that Steve Rogers (or Sam Wilson) would never have let it go so far.
What’s Next?
- So many questions and plot points to wrap up before the finale ends.
- Can Walker continue being Captain America after episode 4?
- Who exactly is the Power Broker we keep hearing about?
- What will Zemo do in the end?
- Will the Flag Smashers be stopped?
- Will Sam take up the shield?
Stay Tuned!
