Falcon and The Winter Soldier – New World Order Review

There’s a history in television of outgoing showrunners – the person or people who are the last word in the narrative flow and character development within a TV show – ending their run on the series with a major revelation or cliffhanger, thus forcing the new showrunner to figure a way out of a seemingly unsolvable situation. Think the kidnapping of Zoe Barlett at the end of season four of The West Wing (which marked the departure of creator and showrunner – and the official writer of all previous episodes of the show – Aaron Sorkin), or each season of Killing Eve (the series promotes a new showrunner from its writing staff each season). While the MCU films aren’t a television series, they function an awful lot like a serialized TV drama. And when the Russo brothers (the directors of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame) and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely completed their time in the MCU by bringing everyone back from the Blip, it’s clear they treated that plot point like an exiting showrunner: it served the purpose of the story they were telling, but it’s up to the next set of folks to figure out all the minutiae that comes with bringing back billions of people after five years away. Did people move on? Get married? Have new families? What’s the political picture? Alliances? Trade? Resources?

And sure, this is a superhero story, first and foremost, so the current GNP of the world’s most prosperous nations isn’t exactly something fans are clamoring to find out. But there are still a number of big ticket items that got pushed off for later in Endgame and Spiderman: Far From Home. We saw hints of what the Blip did to Monica Rambeau and SWORD in WandaVision, but that series had its own character-specific story to tell and the world outside of Westview wasn’t really part of the deal. Which means Falcon and The Winter Soldier will be the first MCU series to address some of those lingering questions – while also taking the time to let us learn more about these two supporting characters who will be shouldering a larger load as the MCU pushes through Phase Four. And the series is off to quite the start by centering it’s main antagonists – the Flag-Smashers – as a group of people who thought the world was better sans half the population and who want to return to that version of reality (there are a number of things I could say regarding how that line of thinking aligns all too well with how some other militant terrorist organizations believe, but I’m sure that will come up as we learn more about this group and their demands).

As with Wanda and Vision, I have to confess that I’m not a particularly big fan of either Bucky or Sam. I wasn’t a big Captain America person, and Falcon really only stood out to me when he was coming to the rescue with a fun wisecrack. But I was engaged and ended up caring a great deal about both Wanda and Vision by the end of their series, so I’m going into this show with an open mind and hopeful that I’ll find myself in a similar place regarding both Bucky and Sam when all is said and done.

With one episode in the books, well, I can’t say I’m all that more engaged with either character. In terms of character development, the episode served more as a refresher on just who these characters are – away from Steve Rogers, that is – than who they will become (although I think it’s not hard to guess what their arcs will be throughout the course of the series – I’ll get a bit more into that at the end of the review). Bucky remains guilt-ridden over the actions he took while he was a pawn of Hydra, and as a condition of his pardon he must spend time with a government-provided shrink (played by the excellent Amy Aquino, who I suspect is going to be a fan favorite when all is said and done with this show). Naturally, he’s bending the rules when it comes to making amends with those he harmed – and enacting revenge on those he helped to achieve evil. Sam, on the other hand, is still a gun for hire when the military needs his particular set of skills to help them out of a jam (although his suit is now so souped up it’s basically turned him into War Machine Jr.), and he’s still adjusting to how he fits into the superhero game and his family now that he’s returned from his five years away. Basically, we have two lost, but very powerful, men who don’t really know what their next move is. It’s the perfect set-up for a buddy action story!

And that’s essentially what we’re going to get with Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Two lost souls working together to stop the bad guys. The specter of Captain America will loom large over the series as well, with Sam making the choice in the premiere to hand over the shield Steve entrusted to him at the end of Endgame, only to find that someone else has been given the mantle. There’s a lot to unpack, both with the characters internal journeys (how does someone feel worthy of a place in society when they’ve done horrible things or have been failed by the same country they want to represent – the latter being a topic that will force the MCU to confront what might be uncomfortable racial tensions for some in the audience) and with how the Avengers fit into a post-Blip, post-Iron Man/Captain America world. As I’ve said before, it’s not a coincidence that Falcon and Winter Soldier were chosen to headline this series, as both will have large roles to play in the Avengers moving forward. And it’s a good thing to allow the audience the chance to have time to learn more about who they are in their own story. I just hope that, as with WandaVision, Falcon and The Winter Soldier turns out to be more than just an MCU film broken into weekly installments. The beauty of TV is that it allows us a chance to get to know characters and explore a story in a deeper, more intimate manner than with a film. Let’s hope Marvel doesn’t squander this opportunity.

Marvel Easter Eggs and Theories:

— First, I have to address Chekhov’s Shield. If Captain America’s shield is given away by Sam in episode one, he has to have it back by the finale. I suspect no one doubts that Sam’s main journey over the course of this series will be to figure out if he’s worthy to take on the mantle of Captain America. Sure, we have a new “Captain America” at the close of the episode (more on him in a minute), but Sam is going to become Cap before all is said and done. Why even make this series if that isn’t the goal.

— Similarly, Bucky needs to forgive himself for his actions by the end of the series and be ready to join the team – or else sacrifice himself to redeem himself. There’s no other way for this to end.

— Now, New Captain America. We’ll learn more about him as the story goes along, so I won’t get too deep in the weeds at this point, but he will apparently be John Walker, albeit a slightly different version than the U.S. Agent character from the comics. So, read up on that character with caution, as I suspect we’re going to see someone a bit different when it comes to his characterization in this series.

— Falcon’s military liaison Joaquin Torres has a comic counterpoint who, you guessed it, eventually becomes the new Falcon once Sam takes on the Captain America mantle. So, if things go the way I suspect, look for Torres to be your new Falcon in the MCU.

— Bucky’s list of amends seems to also be a list of those he wants revenge on, as H. Zemo appears on it. Oh, and what a coincidence! Helmet Zemo (you know, the bad guy from Captain America: Civil War) is set to appear on the series.

— The end credits imagery seems to hint at some interesting developments to come, including a reference to Mandipoor (which is primarily an X-Men locale in the comics, but definitely doesn’t mean mutants are on their way) and Power Broker, who is a comic character responsible for providing normal people with superhuman abilities. One of those folks? John Walker. Interesting that the Flag-Smasher bad guy seemed to have super strength as well. Just saying . . .