The Falcon and The Winter Soldier – Truth Review

Here’s a lesson for all future MCU TV series: If a two-minute appearance by a well-known guest star can change the face of your show, elevating the energy level and making your audience perk up and take notice, more so than any action scene or character beat before or after, there’s a foundational issue with your series. Because that’s exactly what happened during the two minutes Julia Louis-Dreyfus, eight-time Emmy Award winning actress, appeared on screen as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (more on her as a character at the end of the piece). For the first time in the series, a character popped – she was the central focus of the scene and I instantly wanted to know more about her. Sure, some of that is due to Louis-Dreyfus being that strong of an actor, but there was an energy to Val that has been missing from every single other character throughout the series. She knew who she was, she was having fun, and she was in control. It was Tony Stark-type energy. And boy, has The Falcon and The Winter Soldier been missing that.

As for the rest of the episode, it felt incredibly disjointed. With Bucky and Sam sidelined by the government (who continues to bungle the quest to capture Karli with incredible ineptitude), the series shifts back into an attempt at character development. We get speeches from both characters, telling us exactly why they don’t think they’re worthy of their Avenger roles. Sam’s ambivalence over assuming the Captain America mantle isn’t just self-doubt (although there is some there). Rather, it stems from the systemic racism that remains all too prevalent within America (not that the MCU would ever couch it in those exact terms). If we’re only fifty years removed from a time when the government would inject a Black man with the Super Soldier Serum and then jail him to cover up their actions, why should Sam trust that the government wouldn’t burn him as well? And what about the greater American public? Could they handle a Black Captain America? Well, I suspect we’re about to find out – because you and I both know that’s a suit in the Wakanda case.

And then there’s Bucky, whose arc has been the least defined of our dynamic duo. Did we really get through this whole series only for Bucky to realize – thanks to a perfectly timed bro chat with Sam – that he needs to provide closure to those who suffered from his Winter Solider actions, not simply avenge his wrongs? Because that was glaringly obvious from the start of the series. And I think we all know just what he’s going to be doing in the series finale – hanging out with his elderly friend and finally telling him how his son died. Bonus points that it will happen in NYC, where Karli and the Flag Smashers are about to stage a coup within the UN.

Last week, I wrote a lot about how the series has utterly failed the character of Karli by failing to provide any coherent motivation for her actions – particularly for the out of left field escalation in violence in episode three – and it was glaringly obvious once again that the show wasn’t really all that interested in creating a complex and interesting villain this week. Another piece of advice for you aspiring screenwriters out there: If you have your villain confronted by a colleague about their seemingly unmotivated escalation in violence, their response shouldn’t be “Haven’t you heard? We’re the villains.” I’m sure it was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, or at least not be treated seriously. But my god, what lazy writing. The entire episode was already full of instances where writer Dalan Mussan opted to tell us key pieces of information rather than show us (a hallmark of weak or lazy writing), but refusing to take the time to really interrogate the actions of your show’s central villain? Boy, what a wasted opportunity.

And then there’s the fall of John Walker. Another character who could have been given additional depth in the wake of his murderous outburst, but who Mussan and the writers decided was better off as a two-dimensional character. Sure, we were all but assured that Walker will be back at some point down the line (I’ll have more on just how that will likely come about at the end of the review), but we could have used a bit more about who this man is and why he can’t take responsibility for his actions. We know he’s always been a hot head, but he’s now been presented as someone without any sense of personal responsibility. That’s a terrifying thing for someone with his abilities to have, and I would have liked to better understand where that entitlement came from. He’s a decorated soldier, he genuinely wanted to serve his country, he loved his friend dearly. What’s the disconnect? What made him into a hit first, ask questions later kind of guy? It wasn’t just the death of Lemar. There’s something else there. I wish the series would have taken the time to show us more about John Walker before sidelining him until his next appearance.

And that’s ultimately what I think the legacy of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will be: A series of missed opportunities to provide some real depth to key Avengers, while also building up a key future villain. Instead, we were presented with surface development and a show that was more concerned with trying to bring the action sequences of the films to the small screen (and it wasn’t all that successful there, either). We have one more episode left, which should really just be tying up the remaining loose threads of the story (stopping Karli, Bucky apologizing for his past, Sam putting on the suit) and not about telling more story. I’m disappointed in what we got from the series, but hey, at least we have more Julia Louis-Dreyfus to look forward to down the road.

Marvel Easter Eggs

— So, who exactly is Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine? Well, that depends on who you ask. In the comics, she’s a Russian spy (like another character who has a big prequel film set to drop this summer – perhaps Val might make an appearance there?) who hooks up with Nick Fury for awhile. She also becomes Madame HYDRA. Basically, she’s a SHIELD Agent for much of her time in the comics until she’s revealed to be a Russian sleeper agent. Except for a stretch when she’s being impersonated by a Skrull. You know, like Nick Fury is at the moment. And that arc is part of the Secret Invasion comic arc. Which is set to become a Disney+ series soon. So…I would keep an eye out for her making an appearance there as well.

— Now, what’s the deal with John Walker moving forward. We saw him crafting his own Captain America shield in the mid-credit sequence, which clearly means we haven’t see the last of him in the MCU. And, considering the Contessa handed him her card and told him to wait for her call, well, I think we can assume she’s going to be putting a team together down the line for her own means (assuming she isn’t a Skrull at this time – which is also a big assumption considering the upcoming MCU story). So, is John Walker being set-up to become one of the Thunderbolts (aka Marvel’s version of the Suicide Squad – without the suicide – that has villains taking on other villains…and oca)? We have two of the traditional Thunderbolts already on the game board with Zemo and Georges Batroc (the bad guy from the premiere that Sharon called up this week to get into Karli’s good graces), so it’s totally possible. My best guess is yup, they’re looking to set-up a Thunderbolts team (likely going by their other moniker, the Dark Avengers), and Walker will adopt his US Agent persona as a result.