I tell you what, this review of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was set to be entirely different until the last 15 minutes or so of the episode. Episode 4 of the show brought the Dora Milaje, comforting conversations, and a shocking act.
Bucky is Free and Sam is Good
Two quick hitters because these guys didn’t have the juiciest storylines. Seeing Bucky in Wakanda being free of the Hydra manipulation was a beautiful scene to start the episode. It was also nice to see Sam Wilson’s goodness on display talking with Karli, even if I do think they’re doing a bit too much to make him above the fray.
John Walker Pt 1 – Annoying Cap
Have you ever met a character that could not read a room the way John Walker can’t? He is like a bull in a China shop in every interact he has with every character. His unease with letting Sam Wilson talk to Karli results in him bum rushing the meeting and nearly ruining everything they came to solve. Then when the Dora Milaje show up he tries to reason with them like they’re friends, not the incredible warriors they are.
John Walker Pat 2 – Evil Cap
After being beat down by the Dora and feeling more dejected than he ever has, John ends up taking the serum, which has disastrous effects when during the course of a fight with the Flag Smashers, his friend Lamar gets killed. Unlike the previous man with the shield, John goes after one of the goons (who expressed being a fan of Cap) and bashes his head in, killing the man in broad daylight. The final shot of him holding the bloody shield is one of the more striking images the MCU has put on screen.
What is brilliant about this moment is it can be taken a myriad of ways. One is based in character. We’ve seen John constantly feel inadequate and having his best friend die in front of him would be enough to push most people over the edge. However, to be a hero means that you need to rise above petty emotions.
Furthermore, John Walker’s actions felt like an incredible mirror to America’s own. In this show you have a guy with the shield, who is supposed to be the best this country can offer, kill someone with everyone watching. America, post colonization, has a history of not only not minding their business in world affairs, but of hyping up its ideals only to act in a way that runs counter to them. For all the criticism I’ve had for certain parts of this show, this is the show’s strongest moment and I hope they can build upon it. It’s clear that not only is Sam gonna have to snatch that shield somehow but will now also have the burden of restoring it to a luster that it might not have now that it’s been used in an unspeakable act.
Odds and Ends
I hate that the first person of this main group to die had to be Lamar, but that’s also in line with this country. It takes the visible death of a Black person before many feel the need to jump in. Lamar didn’t quite help himself in the battle though.
Speaking of, how did John and Lamar get this far with out any discernible martial arts skills? Baby, these two are raggedy in a fight and aint got now kind of finesse or interesting moves.
I am already fascinated by the reactions to John and am praying Marvel will do everything in its power to show how wrong John was and punish him. You can even see by the reactions of certain fans (aka mostly white people) that they’re ready to excuse his behavior. Comic fans these days cannot see the forest for the trees sometimes and it’s incredibly disheartening. It’ll be up to the show to really hammer home what is supposed to be good.