The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Episode 2 Review: The Star Spangled Man

Episode 2 starts with an unzipping scene; an unveiling of what is to be the new Captain America uniform by the new Captain America.  We see him,John Walker, played by Wyatt Russell, out of Hero uniform and in a military one, sitting quietly in a high school locker room, which we learn is his alma mater.  His wife, Olvia Walker, played by Gabrielle Byndloss, stands nearby, watching and listening to her husband. John Walker says, “Everybody in the world expects me to be…’something.’ I don’t want to fail them.” Showing Walker in this light, a light of understanding the responsibility of the shoes he is to fill, helps give the viewer sympathy for him, instead of immediately writing him off for even attempting to be a Captain America that isn’t Steve, Sam, or Bucky.  His wife consoles him, and eventually his second, one Lemar Hoskins aka Battlestar, played by Cle’ Bennett, shows up to remind him of the necessity and influence Captain AMerica has, and what the country needs.  The two men have a partnership, which is shown in their dialogue and will be seen again during the episode.

With his resolve reforged, Walker steps out with suit and shield onto the football field, every seat in the stadium filled with fans and Cap merch, a band decked out in Cap colors, and Sarah Haines from Good Morning America awaiting atop a platform to interview him live for the entire world to know Captain America is back to defend it.  We find out Walker wasn't chosen at random, despite his lack of super soldier serum he is the only person to ever be given three Medals of Honor, has performed off the charts physically for all tests done among all candidates picked for the title, and has led men and women into battle countless times across the entire world. We see Bucky staring at his screen, mouth agape, house in muted shadows once again as this new Captain is introduced and shown to the world as a bona fide American Hero.

“You had no right to give up the shield, Sam.” This is what Bucky says to Sam in their on screen appearance together as Bucky reacts to the news of the new Cap.  Wilson sighs as he preps for a mission in a hangar bay, literally about to take off to handle the Flag Smashers in Europe.  Both men keep their respective stances, Bucky wanting an apology from Sam without explicitly saying it, Sam wanting Bucky’s approval but showing the exact opposite emotion of pretending he doesn't need him at all for anything. Banter ensues between the two, more akin to a friendly rival than a respected partnership.  The back and forth isn’t as forced as some Buddy Cop stories have been in the past, but it isn’t as smooth as it could have been either.  As Sam begins to leave Bucky decides to come along to help on the mission.   

During the last minute prep before the mission more banter occurs, with the conflict between the men rearing its head, creating an obstacle for a mission success.  While Sam jumps out of the plane and flies off, Bucky finds out the plane is to low for a parachute, and it cannot fly higher due to radar, and with no options Bucky just jumps out, landing on his back, unscathed, just in case anyone forget he’s a super enhanced person.  Reaching their destination, the instability of their partnership forces them to go back and forth on how to handle the villains and cargo, almost to the point where they get made.  Eventually Red Wing, Falcon's Smart AI Drone, scans a person in a truck, to which both men assume is a hostage. The truck leaves and the two heroes take off after it.  

Clandestinely Bucky enters the vehicle to see a woman, with a look of confusion on her face, and almost with a look of fear. Thinking he’s helping her, Bucky reaches out his hand, to then be thrown through the back metal doors of the semi and onto the vehicle behind it by the woman. Turns out she and all her cohorts are super enhanced.  A fight breaks out on top of two semi trucks, and outnumbered Falcon and Bucky look to be about to be defeated when in the nick of time the new Captain America, John Walker and his partner Battlestar show up to ‘save the day.’ All four men get their butts handed to them.  The trucks and their super-powered passengers get away, leaving the four men to deal with the aftermath, i.e. finding a way back home. 

Sam and Buck start walking down a road, back to an airstrip, when a truck pulls up with Walker and Hoskins in the cab.  They offer the original two a ride; both decline.  The truck follows them for a while, where Walker makes an appeal that they all need to talk about the change of him taking the shield, and that the nearest airstrip is twenty miles away. Buck and Sam eventually concede.   The conversation is a rocky one; going from a debrief of the fight to what is really important: how Sam and Buck don’t like Walker and Hoskins.  Buck eventually just hops out, and Walker comments that the transition would be “...a whole lot easier if I had Cap’s wingmen at my side.”  Upon hearing that, Sam hops off as well.  

The show moves on to the two chasing down an old lead of Buck’s, and this is where I was really surprised by the panache of Marvel.  It is revealed back in the Korean War there was a Super Soldier, one that nearly killed Bucky while he was with Hydra. His name was Isaiah Bradley, and he was Black.  After saving the day in Korea Bradley comes back to the US, and spends the next thirty years in jail to be experimented on, and then wiped from history.  To show that the Government will be racist when it suits their interests, and then cover it up in a Marvel show was impressive enough, but if the point wasn’t already made as Sam reacts to this news outside in the street, actively exclaiming his frustration that a Black superhero existed all this time, several cop cars show, and the officers, the white officers, immediately ask Bucky if ‘this man’ is disturbing him.  Both men give the cops a “Are you kidding me?” look, and then Buck points to Sam and says, “Don't you know who this is?!” The fact that Marvel put this scene in here, of Black people, particularly Black men being accused of criminal behaviour for showing any visible anger or hint of anger is a PLUS in my book.  There is an eventual arrest though: Bucky broke his parole for not showing up to his therapy appointment.

Despite the intensity of the racism that just occurred, true to Marvel fashion we go right to the next bit, of working on interpersonal relationships, in particular Sam and Buckys.  We find out Walker, who is on scene at the jail, gets Bucky out of bail, and waits outside for the two men to talk again. Before that though we get a forced interaction where Buck and Sam have to talk to each other per the therapist’ command, and it was actually rather...jarring. One, the audience isn’t given space to breathe after the one-two punch of historical racism that was just portrayed, and two, having the titular characters be forced to talk about their feelings isn’t inherently bad, it’s just how they were shown that was off-putting. The timing was just off.  Nothing comes off of their talk, and afterward Walker asks the two for a team up once again.  Both men decline, again, but this time Walker leaves them by saying “Don’t get in my way.” 

The show ends with Buck and Sam agreeing to meet with Zemo, who as fans will remember was the antagonist from Civil War, who is being held in a prison cell, a game of chess on a table as company.  

This episode had highs and lows.  It tackled several themes and I only wish the audience had more time to breathe them in due to their respective weight.  The showcasing of racism and over policing was a sobering and mature touch on the state of American culture, and the revelation that a Black Super being from the racist past was treated like an animal instead of a hero is a grim reality as well.  On top of that I got the feeling that Hoskins, Walker’s number two is soft of portrayed as a Magical Negro trope himself, which is starkly conflicting with the overarching racial themes the show has portraed so far. 

Overall: 7.5/10