The premiere episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier gave audiences a brief overview of how both Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) have coped since reappearing during the events of Avengers Endgame. While Sam has thrown himself back into his work, using his tech to do jobs for the Air Force, Bucky has mostly withdrawn into himself, cutting ties with what few friends he has, including Sam. While the second episode doesn’t enrich those mental states in many ways, it does bring Sam and Bucky together for their first team-up, as well as dealing with the fallout of the Department of Defense announcing a new Captain America.
Before you continue, let it be known that there are massive spoilers in this article, so if you’re not caught up on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier yet, I recommend doing that before proceeding.
The first few minutes of Episode Two, titled “The Star-Spangled Man,” gives the audience some background on John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the new Captain America that was only glimpsed for a second in the previous episode. Sitting down for an interview for Good Morning, America (a show of interdepartmental synergy for Disney, as GMA airs on ABC which is owned by Disney), we learn that Walker is a highly decorated soldier, the focus of medical studies, and we even see his proficiency with the shield. In any other instance, most MCU fans would welcome Walker in the role of Captain America but knowing that he was given the position in an underhanded way makes us wary of him.
One thing that stands out in the scene is how stodgy Walker is in the interview. He’s stiff and uncomfortable, which could just be fatigue from all the meet-and-greets he’s had to do since becoming the new Cap (an aspect of the job he lamented a few minutes prior in a previous scene), but he doesn’t seem to be warming up to it. He lacks the simple coolness and charm of Steve Rogers. And maybe it’s because Walker never got paraded around like a sideshow the way Steve was. When Walker stepped into the suit, Captain America was an icon; when Steve stepped into the suit, he was expected to sell war bonds like they were Girl Scout cookies. Walker never went through the initiation of becoming Captain America, and it shows in his interview.
Bucky watches the interview on TV, and it stirs something in him. He finds Sam, who is preparing a mission to Munich to chase the Flag Smashers, and confronts him about giving away the shield. Sam refuses to talk about it even though it’s clear that he is deeply insulted at the appointment of a new Cap. So, Bucky joins him on his mission.
There’s some back and forth with them, childish bickering and machismo on display, which is exactly what we want from a show like this. But they put it aside and track the Flag Smashers to a run-down warehouse. The group loads supplies on trucks and Sam and Bucky chase them as they drive away. Bucky breaks into the back of one of the trucks thinking there’s a hostage inside but is ambushed by a super-powered woman.
A fight ensues, happening on the roofs of the trucks as they speed down the highway. Sam and Bucky are good, but these super-powered beings are a bit better. They have Sam and Bucky on the ropes when out of nowhere, Captain America and his sidekick Battlestar appear.
It’s a pretty exciting fight scene, I have to say. The choreography is well done, and the choice of putting it on top of 18-wheelers makes it all the more exciting. They take full advantage of the trucks to increase the suspense of the scene. The interplay between Sam and Bucky is top-notch; I loved Sam’s last-second rescue of Bucky even though it takes them out of the fight.
Sam and Bucky intend on walking back to the airport to fly home, but a military Jeep pulls up beside them. It’s Walker and Hoskins (Clé Bennett) offering them a ride. They resist at first, but Walker convinces them. What follows is mostly a rundown of the situation, an exposition dump done in the most logical way. It’s effective for what it is, but this scene also highlights Bucky’s frustration with the new Cap and his partner, Battlestar. Bucky orders the car to stop, and he leaves, followed closely by Sam.
Knowing that they are dealing with Super Soldiers, Bucky brings Sam to Baltimore. What follows is the best moment in the episode, the introduction of Isaiah Bradley. Isaiah, played by an almost unrecognizable Carl Lumbly, is a product of the American Super Soldier program who has gone toe to toe with Bucky in the past. Bucky brings Sam to meet Isaiah to try and get some information from him about how the Super Soldier Program was restarted. But Isaiah is a shell of what he was, soured by years of mistreatment at the hands of the government who created him.
Unlike Steve, the white man who became a martyr after sacrificing himself in World War 2, Isaiah, a Black man, was treated much differently. After he finished his tour of saving lives, the government imprisoned him, where he was the subject of numerous scientific studies and treated like an animal. This character angle further deepens the racial disparity that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier touched on in the previous episode, a disparity it treats with the respect such a topic deserves.
When Sam and Bucky leave Isaiah’s home, they begin arguing in the street, which draws the attention of some local police. This is another great scene that touches on the subject of racial disparity as the police ask Sam if he can show some ID while asking Bucky if he’s alright. Bucky, in a questionable moment, suggests Sam shows his ID, to which Sam (rightfully) gets angry. When the cops recognize Sam and Bucky, their demeanor immediately changes. But then they discover that Bucky has an outstanding warrant and arrest him, doing so apologetically as well.
Sam waits for Bucky at the police station when Bucky’s therapist, Dr. Raynor (Amy Aquino) arrives. Sam thanks her for getting Bucky released, but she says it wasn’t her. Captain America is also at the police station to pull some strings for Bucky. He wants Bucky and Sam on his team, and he’s going to make that happen one way or another.
Raynor immediately brings Sam and Bucky in for a treatment session, and what follows is a humorous scene that chisels away at both characters. Sam and Bucky refuse to give sway to each other, with both of them allowing their pride to stand in the way. During the “soul gazing exercise,” Bucky asks Sam why he gave up the shield. Sam thinks he’s just being petty, but Bucky points out that Steve chose Sam to be the next Captain America, and if Steve was wrong about Sam, then maybe he was wrong about Bucky as well.
It’s a moment that reveals Bucky’s true weakness, his need for validation. All of his life, he relied on Steve to lift his self-esteem. During Captain America: Civil War, Steve was the only person who believed Bucky was being framed for the bombing of the UN. After everything that’s happened to him, Steve stood by his side, and without him, Bucky doesn’t know how to stand on his own. He’s a broken man who needs to know that Steve was right about him, and Sam’s refusal to take up the mantle after Steve passed it to him cracks that image in his mind.
Sam, on the other hand, doesn’t view his donation of the shield as a breach of trust. He thought he was doing the right thing, and he quickly becomes frustrated with the therapy session. He just wants to deal with the Flag Smashers and offers that once that’s taken care of, he and Bucky never have to see each other again. Bucky agrees, and they both leave, finding Walker and Hoskins waiting for them. Walker again tries to convince Sam and Bucky to help him, and again, they decline his offer. As Sam and Bucky walk away, there’s a look on Walker’s face to belies his anger with them. He’s done treating them as friendlies, and it’s clear that if they cross paths again, he’s not going to go easy on Sam and Bucky.
Bucky, knowing that they need the right contacts to find the Flag Smashers, suggests they track down Hydra, specifically finding Zemo to mine him for leads. And finally, after two full episodes, Daniel Brühl makes an appearance, but only for literally five seconds.
This episode also gave us some additional information on the Flag Smashers. We meet their leader Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and find out a bit about her idealism. The Flag Smashers have a network of sympathizers who are willing to help them, providing them food and shelter whenever they are near. And these sympathizers see Morgenthau as a hero, someone willing to take on the powerful to help them.
On the surface, it’s easy to empathize with the Flag Smashers; their goal in this episode is to deliver vaccines to people who need them. They want a united world, and a united people, which in itself sounds admirable. But this kind of makes me wonder if there’s something else to their outlook, something under the surface that has yet to be revealed.
So much happened in “The Star-Spangled Man” that it seemed to end much quicker than it should have. But I suppose that’s the mark of a good show, time flies without you even realizing it. I love the groundwork that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is laying down, and I’m highly invested in what the endgame for the Flag Smashers is. I also hope that they get more into Isaiah and his past, and also that it means that Eli Bradley, the Patriot, shows up at some point. We’ve seen so many Young Avengers so far and, I’d hate for them to miss an opportunity to give us more.
