Let's Talk About THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER - "The Star-Spangled Man"
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) reunite for the first time in The Falcon and The Winter Solider in the second episode, titled “The Star-Spangled Man”, and they’ve got a lot of issues to work through.
The series is set around six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, as the world is still dealing with the sudden reappearance of billions of vanished people after a five-year absence. Sam is trying to find his place in the world, while Bucky is trying to make amends for his dark past.
The two characters are also dealing with the fact that the United States has chosen a new Captain America after Sam didn’t feel right about taking up the mantel and gave Cap’s shield back to the government. This is a decision Sam didn’t make lightly, but Bucky is not happy with it. That decision is making him question his own journey to trying to be a better man.
Sam and Bucky's rivalry provides some fun entertainment throughout the episode as they team up to deal with a super-powered terrorist group known as the Flag Smashers. They aren’t part of the big three, which consists of Androids, Aliens and Wizards, but they do pose a threat.
The Flag Smashers are led by Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and they are "freedom fighters" determined to stop the global elites who took back power after the Blip. One of the other revelations in the episode is that there’s a Global Repatriation Council, which is reactivating citizenships, social security, healthcare and other resources for those people who were displaced when billions of people suddenly returned. It’s trying to get things back to normal, and the Flag Smashers have a problem with it.
Karli says, "The GRC care more about the people who came back than the ones who never left. We got a glimpse of how things could be." She also teases some kind of big event they have planned. I imagine that this is a terrorist attack that will wipe out a bunch of people in the world.
Sam and Bucky find themselves in a little fight with the Flag Smashers and they kind of get their asses handed to them. They found themselves outnumbered by eight super-powered terrorists, but I can’t help but think that after all his years of experience and the super strength he has, Bucky should have been able to put up a much better fight. He was taken out way too fast! We’ve seen how much of a badass fighter he is and he should’ve kicked more ass.
During this fight, the politician-approved Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell) shows up to help, jumping out of a helicopter. He even comes complete with his very own sidekick, Lemar Hoskins (Clé Bennett), also known as Battlestar. A nickname that Bucky clearly hates.
After they all lose the fight with the Flag Smashers, which just seems ridiculous to me, because they shouldn’t have lost, John tries to convince Sam and Bucky to work with them. They don’t want to, though, they seem to dislike John and his sidekick more than they dislike each other.
John tries to explain, "You didn't think the shield was gonna end up here. I'm not trying to be Steve. I'm not trying to replace Steve. I'm just trying to be the best Captain America I can be. It'd be a whole easier if I had Cap's wingman on my side."
John Walker actually seems like a likable guy when we first meet him in this episode. He really does want to just be the best that he can be and help. But, when he’s rejected by Sam and Bucky, we start to see the asshole side of him leak out, telling them to "Stay the hell out of my way."
Despite the tension between them, the pair make an excellent team when they take on the Flag Smashers. They only lose because they're surprised and totally outmatched by the eight super soldiers.
During an impromptu therapy session, Bucky reveals his aggravation with Sam springs from Sam's rejection of the shield despite Steve choosing him for the role. If Steve was wrong about Sam, maybe he was wrong in thinking Bucky could be redeemed for his crimes as the Winter Soldier.
Later, Sam and Bucky end up in a therapy session together and it’s here that Bucky reveals his aggravation with Sam because of his rejection of the shield Steve Rogers gave him. He feels that if Steve was wrong about Sam being the right man for the job, then maybe he was wrong in thinking Bucky could be redeemed for his crimes as the Winter Soldier.
We also learn in the episode that Steve Rogers wasn’t the only soldier that the Super Soldier Serum was used on. Bucky reveals the existence of Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), who was a super soldier created during the Korean War. He and Bucky had a pretty hardcore fight with each other in 1951 when Bucky was still under Hydra's control. Isaiah tore half of Bucky's bionic arm apart in that fight.
Bucky is looking to try and talk to Isaiah about how there are more super soldiers running around in the world, but he isn't really that happy to see Bucky and kicks them out. Isaiah is angry about what happened to him and how he was treated, saying, "You know what they did to me for being a hero? They put my ass in jail for 30 years. People running tests, taking my blood, coming into my cell. Even your people weren't done with me."
In the comics, Isaiah was one of 300 Black soldiers used as guinea pigs by the US as it tried to recreate the serum. He took on the Captain America mantle during a mission, which is an act that the military saw as treasonous, and that got him thrown in prison.
It sounds like something similar to this happened in the MCU. Also, Isaiah's mention of "your people" is a reference to Hydra, which infiltrated SHIELD after World War II.
Isaiah’s grandson Eli Bradley (Elijah Richardson) is living with him in the series. In the comics, Eli gets an infusion of his grandfather's blood and gets superpowers, he ultimately becomes Patriot, a member of the Young Avengers. If the series follows through with this story arc, between Eli, Wiccan, and Speed, the MCU could be building up its own Young Avengers team.
Not only are the Flag Smashers being hinted by Sam, Bucky, John, and Battlestar, but there’s another group after them. This other group is working for the unseen Power Broker, after Karli seemingly took something belonging to them. Maybe she took the Super Soldier Serum? Power Broker is a name used by multiple people in the comics. By giving people superpowers, they're left in Power Broker's debt.
At the end of the episode, Sam and Bucky agree to meet Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) so that they can get some intel. A lead that might help them stop the Flag Smashers. Zemo is in prison in Berlin, and there’s no doubt he’ll be playing mind games with Sam and Bucky when they meet in the next episode.
What did you all think about the second episode of The Falcon and The Winter Solider?