The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) s01e04 – The Whole World is Watching

Lots and lots of action this episode. None of it particularly special until then end, when director Kari Skogland brings some Orson Welles suspense to it before completely eschewing said suspense, but it’s sort of enough. Especially since the episode goes for a very big, very consequential soft but bloody cliffhanger (which I think is straight out of the comics).

After a flashback, the episode starts with “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” still being the Daniel Brühl show. I wonder if they can somehow swing it to make Brühl Doctor Doom… while he’s great at Zemo (seriously, how can “Alienist” not get the same level of exposition dumping majesty as here—or even really hint at it), but Zemo’s presumably got a limited franchise lifespan. Because not only is the new Captain America—a better than ever before but still not as good as anyone else with more than three lines in the episode Wyatt Russell (Clé Bennett deserves an Emmy for holding up their scenes together)—on Brühl’s trail, the warriors from Black Panther want him for Captain America 3 crimes. Florence Kasumba plays the warrior who gets to talk.

She’s really good but with almost nothing to do (acting-wise, there’s a great fight scene). The opening flashback is her and Sebastian Stan; they’re “give them a spin-off” great together.

Though once Brühl steps out, it’s not Stan’s episode. It’s finally Anthony Mackie’s episode. Yes, he has to share too much of it with Russell and there’s a narratively suspect but obvious and inevitable threat to Mackie’s sister, Adepero Oduye. I guess the lighting’s at least good (courtesy cinematographer P.J. Dillon).

But there’s an actual “let’s try to talk it out” moment with Mackie and main villain until next episode or maybe last Erin Kellyman. Kellyman does really well in the scenes opposite Mackie. Though her master plan is pretty silly. Unfortunately, “Falcon and Winter Soldier” doesn’t really have its scale right, not to mention its narrative distance. Because right after Skogland’s excellent action suspense sequence, there’s the chance to scale it up and do something great. And the show doesn’t. It manages to be effective, but of course it’s effective, it’s the reveal of the villain the show’s been hinting at since episode one, with blood-soaked iconography. If it weren’t effective, there’d be a problem.

It’s the best episode of the series so far. But it might just be the first once with any real tension. Not to mention the fight scene with the Panther warriors is unproblematically entertaining, at least until the show suggests the real reason Russell starts to crack is because a Black female warrior beat him up. The episode says a lot about Captain America as an icon you’d think no one would want to verbalize, actually. It’s intentional enough it seems like foreshadowing for a cop out finish. Though the show cops out on so much what’s one more thing.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) s01e03 – Power Broker

This episode feels the most like an overlong section of a movie, as heroes Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie have to break bad guy Daniel Brühl out of prison so Brühl can help them. The show’s quick about the breakout, then slow about everything else. Including having multiple expository dumps for supporting cast members to give them something to do—otherwise new Captain America and fascist thug Wyatt Russell (sidekick Clé Bennett is starting to notice him breaking under the stress) and hippie revolutionary Erin Kellyman (who goes from feeding refugees to mass murder faster than a Thanos snap) wouldn’t have anything to do this episode.

Of course, while Mackie and Stan are in the episode the entire time, they’re just there to give Brühl someone to out act. Show’s called “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (admittedly, Stan gets a whole bunch more than Mackie here) but it’s the Brühl hour, with asides to also returning to the franchise Emily VanCamp.

The boys have to go to a lawless twenty-first century pirate’s paradise, Madripoor (from the X-Men comics, but they don’t spend the entire episode pretending Hugh Jackman’s going to show up at least), where they find VanCamp’s been living since her last outing (Captain America 3, also where Brühl showed up).

There’s a lot of action for VanCamp, there’s a very happening party, there’s Brühl lecturing Mackie about what it means to be a Black man in America, there’s a surprise guest star at the end. It’s fine. Nothing about it seems like they needed to make a six episode series. The episode’s got a couple action beats you could keep, the rest is just filler and promise of eventual (not this episode or maybe even this season) “payoff.”

Director Kari Skogland does well with all the action, but really she just sets the shot and lets Brühl walk through the scene and away with the show. If he was always going to be this compelling a guest star, they should’ve brought him in earlier. He and VanCamp bring a decisiveness the show’s been lacking. Not to fault Mackie or Stan, of course; it’s the script. Derek Kolstad’s script very definitely centers on Brühl, centers on VanCamp. It’s like “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is trying to prove the case Mackie and Stan shouldn’t have their own show, let alone movie.

Maybe it’ll change next episode.

Again, whatever, it’s fine. But it’s also pretty lazy.

Also, there’s a very strange, very pointless supervillain mask moment; it’s pointless in the narrative, it’s pointless for the character, really doesn’t belong. It’s just for the trailers. Actually, there are a number of made-for-the-trailer shots this episode. But they usually aren’t pointless. “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is overly verbose as is, the show doesn’t need to add any more padding.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) s01e02 – The Star-Spangled Man

So I don’t think the new Captain America (Wyatt Russell) is going to be a Neo-Nazi. Though I don’t think his supporting cast of BIPOC friends and loved ones is going to make it through the series because he’s going to need a inciting incident somewhere near episode four or five to send him on a confrontation path with the heroes because right now he’s just a bland, blond, blue-eyed do-gooder. Albeit one working for the GRC (Global Rebuilding Council) and the U.S. government.

“Falcon and Winter Soldier” obviously has a story bible on the deal with the GRC, which has countries trying to revert back to pre-Snap social structures, but they’re just peppering it into conversation.

They should’ve done Jamie Lee Curtis speaking over a wire-frame map.

Anyway.

This episode’s a lot better than the first one. Russell’s fine. Cle Bennett comes in as his partner, which had me remembering them from the comic; at least they don’t call him Bucky but “Battlestar” comes off goofier than it ever did in the comics.

Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan get some of their bicker banter going and it’s magic, whether them just going off one another or during an action scene or during the silly but fun impromptu therapy session with Amy Aquino.

There’s good action direction—albeit kind of boring Bond-ish action set pieces—from Kari Skogland this outing. No more kills for Mackie or flashback ones for Stan. Not sure when we’ll get to restart the body counter (though Russell’s clearly gonna start popping combatants soon enough and not just when they’re heat-visioning tourists). It’s kind of nice not to have one.

Though the villains—the millennial gang known as the Flag Smashers (sure, Jan), who got used to eating avocado toast without xenophobia during the Blip (so post-Snap, pre-I’m Iron Man)—are eighties missing the point bad.

For comic readers, there’s a very big surprise inclusion, involving phenomenal guest star Carl Lumbly, and there’s a chance the show might do something with it. It’s a big door to open without going through.

However… the show got renewed for a second season, which sort of spoils whether or not they’re resolving Who Will Wield the Shield? in the next four episodes.

But it’s a lot better than before. Mackie and Stan are so fun together, though Stan gets all the character work; last episode feels like a tacked-on beginning to give Mackie some extra scenes at this point.