‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Recap: ‘New World Order’

Written by Shae Rufe

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’.
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Is it just me or did the wait for the show feel much longer than the wait for WandaVision? It could easily be me, because I have been dying for this show to come out. Now, if only I could get Hawkeye, I’d be a very happy nerd. Long awaited and well worth the wait, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier wastes no time in building all kinds of new excitement for the next chapter in the MCU by answering the question, what happened after Endgame? Did life just go back to normal?

So, last warning. Get ready for some spoilers, kiddies, I’m not holding back.

The show starts with Sam in post-Blip-Modern-Day, partnering with the Air Force to save a hijacked plan and kidnapped Captain. The action sequence is beautifully shot and really entertaining, delivering the Avengers style action we all know and love. This show throws you right in and makes no apologies for it. Of course, Sam saves the day, because why wouldn’t he, and we find that, well, there are no Avengers anymore. Yes, there are still heroes, maybe, but there isn’t some secrete elite team of justice fighters. So, Sam has been contracting with the government to help. Not exactly what we were expecting, not with the ending of Endgame and Steve giving Sam, the Shield. Speaking of, did Sam really give the Shield up?
 
Well, apparently Sam gave it the Captain America Exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum and that is just... not what any of us were expecting. That whole opening wasn’t what we were expecting. The trailers lead us to believe that we would immediately be at Steve’s funeral, and I half expected to be writing a much different review than I am now. Although, I was a bit disappointed by that, I am also okay with it. Granted my anti-Steve Roger’s rants have to wait for another blog, but I’m happy with the direction they took us in with in this premiere. Because after Sam gives up the Shield, he gives a great speech on what Steve stood for and how the Shield will always be a symbol of that, a beacon of light, you might say.

Surprise cameo, Rhodey attended said speech and even asks Sam why he doesn’t take up the mantle, a question we’re all asking. Realistically, Sam is the perfect choice to be the next Captain America and yet, he refuses the title and basically alludes to it needing to stay as a symbol rather than a physical idea. The world has changed, post Blip, and well, Sam is also just trying to get his life back. The duality of all of this was interesting. Here, we have Rhodey who clearly was alive during the Blip and even helped to reverse it, and then there’s Sam who came back to basically finish the fight and has five years of catchup to do. How does one rebuild their life when everyone has already moved on?

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For Sam, it’s visiting his family and trying to help his sister with a failing family business, only to find that he can’t even get a loan! Silly little additive right? Let’s be honest, the loan scene is a great commentary on current the socio-economical situations many currently face, but to illustrate even further how the Blip changed everything. A former Avenger, someone who helped defeat Thanos can’t even get something as simple as a loan to help his sister. The reality of this world is a lot different than the one we saw in Spider-Man: Far from Home.

​Meanwhile Bucky is having nightmares and struggling through therapy of all things. Which, really, I suppose the former Winter Soldier of all people needs a little therapy. The cards are really stacked against Bucky, though, post Blip and he’s still having to deal with everything Hydra put him through... like killing innocent people who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I really wondered how they were going to show Bucky’s character in this show, considering how Marvel handles trauma. This seems like the most realistic portrayal in handling it. Not to mention, seeing Bucky in a therapy session is kind of entertaining on a level that I can’t quite explain. Still, he is trying to do better and make amends, and if that means helping former Hydra plants and agents get arrested, well, that’s what he’s going to do. In the very beginning of Bucky’s story, we do get a flashback in the form of a dream where he does murder an innocent man, who just happened to accidentally be at the hotel. This does come in to play for the rest of his story as he’s actually befriended the dead man’s father.

This is probably the first friend Bucky has really made on his own since no longer being the Winter Soldier or fighting. We can see that he’s trying to work up the courage to tell the man what happened to his son during the whole interaction, only he never does. He even admits in therapy that all he wants is peace and the only time he had any was in Wakanda. Truth be told it is a lot to process, and while he isn’t under Hydra control anymore, he does still have all the memories of everything he did. On a happy note, Bucky does go on a date, which he abandons, but it’s still progress. We also learn that Bucky is ignoring all of Sam’s texts and attempts of contact.

So, the Winter Soldier is no longer, and the Falcon is trying to sort out family things, when do they come together? Not in this episode, not yet anyway. Sam is seen working with an informant when there’s a robbery by a super-human and said informant nearly dies. Will this bring Sam and Bucky together? Undoubtedly. In the meantime, we end with the government announcing a new Captain America, complete with Shield and all, and with the ending we’re left with I do want to talk about one thing that genuinely bugs me, and I believe it’s done on purpose, but still, the audacity. Sam gives the Shield up ultimately because he doesn’t feel worthy enough to carry the Shield, the legacy. Which is absolutely not true. Sam is more than qualified and should take up the mantle.
 
Instead of retiring the Shield, as we’re led to believe, they instead announce a new Captain America. A New White Captain America. Now, call me crazy, but the silent commentary on race did not go unnoticed. The idea that they saw Sam as unqualified because of what color his skin was? Deplorable. And while this is unsaid, it sure seems like that is the direction they’re going in. Juxtaposed to the bank scene, it seems like they’re making commentary on race issues without actually openly commenting on it. But for now, we sadly have to wait until next Friday for the next episode to see how Marvel is going to comment on this and to hopefully see Bucky and Sam reunite. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to go re-watch this episode just a few thousand more times though.

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