The Falcon and the Winter Soldier review: “The Star-Spangled Man”

The second episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a notable improvement on the first, with more great character moments and thrilling action.

The latest episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, “The Star-Spangled Man,” wastes no time reuniting Sam and Bucky, establishing new characters, and deepening its story. After spending last week apart, the titular duo team up to take on the Flag Smashers, a group that believes the world was better during the five years after Thanos’ snap. A fight ensues between our heroes and the antagonists, but the new Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), steps in to lend a hand.

This episode was a vast improvement over last week’s premiere. We finally get to see the duo back in action and continuing with their dynamic from Captain America: Civil War. The action also improves: the fight sequence with Sam, Bucky, Walker and the Flag Smashers on top of the moving trucks was intense and flashy.

However, the real focus of “The Star-Spangled Man” was the characters and the theme of Captain America’s legacy. Now that Sam and Bucky are back together, they spend time a lot of time talking about Steve and what his shield meant. The first thing Bucky says to Sam is that he shouldn’t have given up the shield.

Toward the end of the episode, Sam and Bucky are forced to sit down and talk to each other in front of Bucky’s therapist. Bucky needs Sam to become Captain America and uphold Steve’s legacy. He wants to keep the promise he made and leave a good mark on the world after spending years brainwashed by HYDRA. On the other hand, Sam feels overwhelmed and does not find it necessary to replace Captain America. As he said after Steve gave him the shield, he feels like it belongs to someone else.

This clash of beliefs is very engaging. The exploration of what it means to be a hero and forging your path is exactly what the Captain America movies did so well. I’m glad they’re keeping the themes and concepts from the films alive in this show, and I’m interested in seeing how they explore them in the remaining episodes.

We also get a surprising amount of time with John Walker. The episode opens with Walker expressing his anxieties about taking up the Captain America name. Later, when he meets Sam and Bucky, he explicitly states how he is not trying to replace or mimic Steve, although he said earlier in the episode how Rogers was a huge inspiration for him.

Humanizing Walker is an interesting choice considering how fans negatively responded to his reveal last week. Russell does a great job of exploring the different layers of Walker’s character. I’ll admit, I let my guard down during these scenes, and was surprised at the end of the episode when Walker showed his darker side and threatened Sam and Bucky.

This is the kind of characterization that I love because it keeps viewers on their toes as they don’t know what the characters will do next. The Flag Smashers got the same treatment, with the episode painting them in a more sympathetic light. We learn they are fighting for the people who didn’t blip away and are being neglected by world governments. In fact, some view them as Robin Hood figures giving back to people and communities. The Captain America movies did an excellent job at blurring the lines between right and wrong, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is picking where it left off.

Another thing that I liked about the episode was the continued dialogue about race in America. The first episode opened up the discussion, and now this week featured a scene where Sam is almost arrested for arguing with Bucky in the street before he is recognized as the Falcon. Before that, a scene featuring a black super soldier veteran, Isaiah Bradley, examines how people of color are treated in today’s society. Isaiah’s character is tragic, as he was tossed aside by his government following his involvement in the Korean War.

I love how Marvel is exploring real-world issues and injustices within their movies and now their television shows. I’d love to see more of this in upcoming episodes and more of Isaiah.

On the other side, something I didn’t like was the misjudged humor. There wasn’t much, but while Sam and Bucky are having a serious discussion about Steve and his legacy, Sam starts talking about “The Big Three,” which are aliens, androids and wizards. This scene was featured in a promo, and it was cute there but not in context.

Still, this episode was a blast and a great improvement. This episode ended with a great teaser as Helmut Zemo will return next week, as Sam and Bucky turn to him for help.

Grade: A-

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