I might be a tad prisoner of the moment, but this show could genuinely end up being one of the most vital projects Marvel Studios has ever produced.
The introduction of Isaiah Bradley was done perfectly & it’s all the more impactful that it seems as though much of comic origins have been unchanged. Just as Captain America: Winter Soldier used it’s story to comment on the state of surveillance & government oversight, I hope this show continues to put itself at odds with racism by peeling back the uncomfortable past of the MCU’s world. Maybe this is personal, but I’ve also never felt more tense watching a superhero property than when Sam was profiled by the police, forcing Bucky to vouch for him.
Anthony Mackie & Sebastian Stan’s chemistry is electric. It felt like we picked up right where we left off from their bickering in Civil War & their differing views on the legacy of Steve’s shield was a compelling through-line for their trials during this episode. Excited to see how John Walker develops. He’s got an interesting balance of good intentions & self righteousness, interested to see which side of the hero-villain spectrum he ends up on in the end (& whether he ends up getting abilities from the Power Broker).
Rarely give this grade, but for me, this was a 10 out of 10 episode.
Great work as always, the two episodes have been there for me and have set up the stage very well. The best writing of the second episode was to make me half care about the new cap, to then take all that work away, with that line “stay out of my way” - which is think was done brilliantly. I also loved the kid interaction and the cop scene, with Disney having so many eyes on them, it’s brilliant to see them highlight some real issues with society and racism.
My other main point on the show is - have they just turned the flag smashers Face in this episode? The group comes across close-knit, together and as a family- you can half get behind the reason for their madness, with the injustice for the people who have been around through the blip. But I guess that’s the art of building up a great villain - or Anti-hero
This episode was fantastic. After not being totally into Sam & Bucky last week, I am totally on board with them this week. Their chemistry together was magical and I found myself smiling like a goof, most of the times they were interacting. John Walker was an interesting character. While at first he was almost too annoyingly good, you could tell toward the end, that he is a bit of a dick. I’m interested in seeing where the character goes.
I dont know that 6 episodes will be enough for this. With the show already being half way done next week, it feels that its going way too fast and maybe they should have gone with 8 episodes.
These are my comics!!
This is what I was reading in the 90’s.
BattleStar was the new Bucky for a minute. Then they realized, or were told l, that calling a black man Bucky wasn’t the smartest thing to do.
John Walker as Cap. That costume bears a strong resemblance to the US Agent.
This is my childhood fandom come to life. I have a huge run of Captain America comics from this era. I know parts of the story or more current. But this is my jam.
Think we’ll see the Serpent Society ever show up in the MCU?
Boy, Sam and Bucky were total Aholes towards the new Cap all episode long, without him actually doing something to trigger them like that. I can understand him getting pissed on them both. I would be!
Speaking of the new Cap (aka Kurt Russel’s son), I can only think of that famous Vince McMahon nickname “pencil neck”. I couldn’t look at anything else when the camera was zooming on him (Sam also looks like he could eat couple of sandwiches, but he does not have the problem of his neck sticking out of his costume like a pencil; I’m pretty much fine with him).
BTW did you get that Falcon is black? Did you? Did you? Can you please repeat it to me once again in case I forgot or I am blind or something?
That trucks fight was preposterous. It was SO. BAD. Ay ya yay…
Can I ask if I missed in the first episode the reason for Sam giving back the shield or is this yet to be revealed? Was it cause someone asked/ordered him (cause he’s black, I suppose) or it was entirely his own decision? Cause if it was the latter, it makes him even worse for acting like he is towards the new Cap. I mean, what did he expected???
I still enjoy this one better than WandaVision, but the stupid stuff is really stupid here (yeah, don’t get me started on stuff like the mechanics of ~3.8 billion people popping out of nowhere, after missing for 5 years).
PS All of this comes from the guy that the other day watched The Barbarians after odd 30 years and was sh*&(^%$ himself laughing.
I really loved this week’s episode as it showed that even being a revered hero who saved us from an giant purple space alien, the police will still harass you because racism within the police force exists even in a universe androids, aliens, and wizards exist.
The closest Marvel has come to saying ACAB and I love it.
I’m actually happy they went with Wyatt Russel as I feel he’s got much more of a punchable face than John Cena.
The introduction of Isaiah Bradley is interesting as Marvel is starting to now get into the more serious racial issues that haven’t been previously tackled.
The subtle introduction of Elijah Bradley was fun as they’re 100% doing Young Avengers and sprinkling them out throughout this current phase.
Question for you two…
Is Zemo the one sending the Flag Smashers these texts or will we get Zemo playing the face and teaming up with our heroes only to turn on them?
Androids, Wizards, and Aliens is a nice nod to wandavision, even if WV was supposed to come second.
To do some “I’m 12 and this is deep” analysis, I like the symmetry/duality going on.
That first scene after the intro: The government’s version of the mantle
an adulteration of the mantle with this new person
an adulteration of the star spangled man song
an adulteration of the Captain America “job” shaking hands, doing PR, taking pictures, interviews in highschool stadiums
The cold open: private thoughts of John Walker not a fan of what the government’s been having him do, and really just wanting to do the meaningful stuff that steve rogers did.
Sam’s unhappy with the establishment for how it’s treating the mantle, and because of other race-based issues we’re seeing coming up (my favourite them of the show so far).
Bucky’s unhappy because he doesn’t know who he is and if he can forgive himself. Steve did and that was a lot, but now it’s all in question. It’s exasperated by Sam giving up the shield.
Q for the forum about something I might have missed: they said he scored “off the charts” and was studied by MIT. Is this the hint he’s a client of the power broker?
Episode 2 is all about the weight of expectations and how it affects Sam, Bucky and Walker. The previous episode had me primed to hate Walker but beneath that arrogant bravado lies a man afraid of not measuring up to Cap’s legacy.
A chance encounter with Isaiah Bradley, a black former super-soldier paints Sam’s doubts of carrying the shield in a new, realistic light and had me wonder if their world is ready for a black Captain America.
Overall, “The Star-Spangled Man” pushes everything forward from establishing John Walker, the Sam/Bucky dynamic and reintroducing Baron Zemo to the festivities.
NB: Bucky saying his Wakandan alias “White Wolf” could strongly hint towards him shedding the Winter Soldier persona (Black Panther 2, perhaps?)
It was his decision to give it to the Smithsonian as a piece of history to be honored and inspire a next generation of heroes. Not immediately be taken by the US government to create their own puppet Captain America.
I loved the second episode. In particular the introduction to Isiah Bradley. I’m sure we will get more of his story either in future episodes or another series and it will shine a light on some ugly history of experimentation on African Americans that perhaps many don’t know the same way Watchmen taught a lot of people about the Tulsa Wall Street Massacre.
And Young Avengers seems destined to happen now.
Speed and Wican have been introduced in WandaVision
Eli Bradley introduced in Falcon and Winter Soldier
Kate Bishop will be in Hawkeye
Hulkling could be introduced in the Secret Invasion series
Ms Marvel and Ironheart could be added after their own series
I hate to toot my own horn as it pertains to calling that Zemo would temporarily turn face to help these two out, but…toot toot.
Daniel Bruhl is such a good actor, especially in his portrayal of Zemo, you almost forget it’s because of him that The Avengers break up and are ill prepared when Thanos shows up.
It was fun seeing Sharon Carter again, although the elephant in the room needs to be addressed as it pertains to her making out with her grandfather in Civil War, and I popped when Ayo showed up at the end.
Question for you gentlemen, it seems that they’re building up to either a Thunderbolts or Dark Avenger team up in the future in the same way that they’re setting up Young Avengers.
With only 3 episodes left, do you see any more big reveals aside from the identity of the Power Broker or will we just focus on the Sam, Bucky, and US Agent?
It almost feels like 6 episodes is too short for the series but I’m enjoying it leaps and bounds over WandaVision, so here’s hoping nobody promises a Luke Skywalker level cameo.
This episode should have been called ‘Finding Zemo’
Zemo stole the show for me this episode. From dancing in the club, to shooting Nagel, to his butler
saying they’ll give the bad tasting food to Sam and Bucky. He’s a Baron, of course he’s rich.
Karli Morgenthau of the Flag Smashers continues to be annoying. I’ve not liked the character, or been invested in her ever since her first appearance in the truck with that shit eating grin on her face. Also, the Selby character was awful, did not enjoy her at all and was glad when she got shot.
Sharon Carter is great, hope she gets her own Series so we can explore her story.
Fun episode, feels like the show is picking up pace and am looking forward to seeing what happens next.
As a French Guy I was not expecting to hear Edith Piaf in a Marvel production.
Otherwise, I think Bucky, Sam and Sharon have accepted Zemo as an ally way too easily, especially with all the story in Civil War. Is there a good reason for Zemo to cooperate unless he betrays them afterwards ?
This show continues to bat 1000. It’s no exaggeration to say that Daniel Bruhl is one of the best actors working right now & his skill set was on full display in this episode. I’m happy he got to cut loose & turn Zemo’s charisma up to eleven.
While this episode was light on big action set pieces, it truly felt like a globe-trotting cinematic experience. It was during the credits when I noticed that this episode was written by Derek Kolstad, who also penned all three John Wick movies, so no wonder this week felt like a full on espionage thriller.
Sharon Carter turning her back on heroism totally made sense & seeing her go all out in the shipyard was awesome, although it’s hard to believe that Steve wouldn’t have lobbied for her to also receive a pardon.
It’ll be interesting to see where Bucky ends up at the end of this series. He’s already lied multiple times to Sam & turned his back on Wakanda by freeing Zemo. Equally interesting that he doesn’t consider himself to be an Avenger. My one critique is that I felt like Sam didn’t have enough to do in this episode & it’s been a while since we’ve seen him in the wings. Hopefully he reclaims top billing next week.
On one hand, I liked much better that Zemo was a nobody who destroyed the Avengers. But Brühl is just too good as a condescending aristocrat and is fun to watch.
What I didn’t expect was the words Riga, Latvia appear on the screen in this show. With a wide shot of the actual city. But also the only shot of the actual city because none of the streets shown after are in Riga and are filmed elsewhere. Still, good to see a ‘close enough’ portrayal of it.
Magan from Ottawa
Reintroducing Baron Zemo spelled good things for Falcon & The Winter Soldier. This episode was a compact, globe-trotting espionage adventure and Daniel Brühl stands out as the wildcard and he’s having a blast needling Bucky and Sam every chance he could and it was great to see Sharon Carter again, albeit a little more hardened due to a life on the run.
The John Wick-inspired action scenes (including an impaling) were a delight and it didn’t come at the expense of its terrific character work and the Ayo cameo at the end could mean that this international incident may be bigger than Bucky and Sam may have anticipated.
I loved this episode. It has now made John Walker the most interesting character going into the final 2 episodes. I loved that we saw him go batshit crazy and murder generic Flag Smasher no. 3
Once again, Karli Morgenthau is so very, very underwhelming. I cannot take the character seriously at all. I would go so far as saying she is the worst villain/antagonist ever in the MCU. Fucking awful.
Zemo continues to be an excellent addition to the show. Bribing kids with Turkish Delight to give up information was so White Witch of him. What a great, charismatic, well played villain. Take note Karli fucking Morgenthau.
Best episode so far. The last fighting sequence was very intense, I was on the edge of my seat. I had the feeling that the characters were enclosed in one secluded place during the whole episode. Now that the plot is clearer, this show gets very interesting. I am now on board with this show.
I’ve been conflicted between feeling sorry for Walker being a man trying to fill un-fillable shoes to straight up hating him but tonights episode eradicated any grey area. He’s a dick!
Loving Zemo in this series. A very well layered character who is a good foil to Bucky and Falcon.
