So I dropped an initial article about my first impressions off the pilot for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but now since it’s out, I wanted to dig into some more specifics that I felt deserved some more thoughts.
Can you make a show critiquing the military industrial complex if you also glorify it? One of the reasons superheroes work so well is them trying to work around the law but putting Sam right back in the military (apparently not for money??) is an interesting choice. So much of Steve’s story was his ultimate rejection of the government in favor of his personal ideals, how does Sam manage with this? That opening sequence was so rah rah military and American flag came out of the screen.
LOVED the stuff with Sam and his sister, which presented a more human look at life after the blip than any other MCU property. Adepero Oduye is a phenomenal actress and seeing her and Mackie go toe to toe was lovely. That scene with the bank was really fascinating for how it tracked for both of their journeys. Also what is the purpose of being an Avenger if you can’t even qualify for a loan?
I jokingly told my roommate I feel like Kevin Feige has a burner account on Twitter and he saw folks talking about Bucky potentially being queer and said not today! Bucky’s date with the bartender definitely felt like a decisive choice to make, especially when there would have been smarter ways to have revealed this information than in a date gone wrong. Consider him returning home with the old man after dinner and seeing the shrine, that would have felt more genuine than this date turned exposition dump.
While I found Bucky’s storyline more compelling, this moment made it also feel the most contrived. Bucky Barnes clearly is in dire need of more extensive therapy so seeing him even entertain anything romantic was strange. I always want to be sensitive to these types of storylines as part of healing for people with trauma could be romantic. However, it felt very Derek Hale of Teen Wolf to do this, giving a troubled character something romantic that takes them away from what the audience thinks they should be doing.
Speaking of Bucky, the way his scenes are shot compared to Sam’s are nice in their differences, but rather showy. I can’t wait for these two to be in scenes together as they have great chemistry but I need some visually interesting stuff for Sam too. Although I must say my favorite shot of the episode was Bucky in therapy with that wall of trees at his back. Hysterical!
I don’t know if the show did quite enough to make that new Captain America ending feel super significant. Like it is significant in the world of the show but I definitely thought there would be more or have it be a bigger moment cause that ceremony was rinky dink chile. Was the Capital Building unavailable? Why would the president not be the one to announce this?
What did you think of the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier?
Will briefly state that this Episode of this TV show does not glorify the military industrial complex.
In my humble opinion you are making some huge assumptions about where the story may be going, and your assumptions are probably wrong. Respectfully.