The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

Recently the show The Falcon and The Winter Soldier finished airing on Disney+. As a HUGE Marvel fan I just had to share my thoughts about it. Before I get started there is one thing I wanted to make clear. These are my thoughts only and I fully understand not everyone will agree. I am not going to engage in any arguments about my position, but am welcome to hear differing thoughts on what I talk about. Diversity is a beautiful thing! With that said, Let’s get to it!

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is a great show filled with action, adventure, witty banter and awesome characters who take you to fantastic parts of the world. The character development is really the heart of the show and the imagery used to convey it pulls everything together. Because of this I feel it isn’t getting the credit it deserves with some of the reviews I have read. This show is not a big mysterious ‘who done it?’, it doesn’t have a major bad guy and an epic showdown where good triumphs. Mainly it sets up characters and grows them for more Marvel movies or perhaps even a Season 2. The show is about what the world is like after the events of Avengers Endgame. Half of all living creatures had disappeared for 5 years and now they are back. As you can imagine suddenly having to adjust to an additional few billion people would create a bit of chaos, and it does. The GRC (Global Repatriation Council) is attempting to put the world back to the way it was before so many were erased. However, there is a group of people called the Flag Smashers who want the world to stay the way it is, countries open, lots of jobs and homes, and, essentially, world peace. They feel displaced and blame the GRC for taking away their life. Through the six episodes the group becomes more and more violent in order to get their point across. Sam Wilson (played by Anthony Mackie) and James ‘Bucky’ Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan) take it upon themselves to stop this group before people get hurt.

Sam’s arc in this show is really great. As opposed to pictures or lighting showing his growth you see it through people instead, other characters who are changed and grow along with him. He starts off conflicted about a big decision, asked to become the new Captain America and declining it. Instead choosing to retire the shield and the mantle all together. He meets Isaiah Bradly (played by Carl Lumbly) who, having been experimented on by the government and then imprisoned for 30 years to cover it up, has a very cynical view of the government and any mantle chosen to represent them. He advises Sam to accept that he will only be seen one way and to think differently is foolish. Sam is inclined to believe him and starts to wonder if perhaps he should have just destroyed the shield instead. This is so relatable today. The world is telling everyone who they should be and what they should look like. With so much input it is hard for people to make a decision about the type of person they want to be without fear of being ridiculed for it. In the end though he comes to the realization, you can’t make everyone happy and he isn’t going to be told what he can and can not fight for. He knows what he believes in and decides to put up the fight for it. This is shown partially buy the acceptance and softening of Isaiah in the last episode. Dawning a fantastic suit he becomes the new Captain America and steps into the man he was meant to be. This is an inspiration for everyone. You don’t need to let your looks or someone else’s past define who you are. Each of us were created special and individually, and it is beautiful.

On the other side we have Bucky who is struggling with his own dark past and how he can move forward with all of that hanging over him. His arc is mostly shown with pictures and lighting in the scenes. One of his very first scenes shows him attending his government mandated therapy. Behind him is a forest with a definitive line separating light and shadow. This shows the internal struggle he is experiencing, the good man he wants to be overshadowed by all of the evil he has done. This is also a super relatable problem. We all have made many mistakes we are not proud of. As a mom of three I feel like all of the mistakes made when I was younger are staring me in the face. That my children will repeat them and how do I deal with that? As the show continues on Bucky comes to realize you can’t erase your past or forget it ever happened. You take it one day at a time and ask forgiveness from those you wronged despite how hard it is. Coming to an inner peace with who he is and what he has done is shown largely in one of my favorite scenes in episode six. The couch Bucky was sitting on in the first episode is shown and the wall behind is covered in light fading into a little shadow. A perfect image to show his growth through the show and the inner peace he was able to find.

I could continue on with all of the amazing characters who were introduced including John Walker (played by Wyatt Russel) and Karli Morgenthau (played by Erin Kellyman). There are many other themes intertwined as well that make the show relatable to all of us. due to time and length I will stop it here. It is the love of characters that drew me to the Marvel universe and it has consistently delivered. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is no exception. If you are a fan of excellent characters and witty humor this is the show for you.

I would love to know what movies and shows you enjoy! If there is a movie, show or book you would like me to talk about or share my views on leave a message in the comments and I will get to it.