After six (seemingly) long weeks, we’ve reached the end of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The last episode left us on a hell of a cliffhanger, with Karli and the Flag Smashers infiltrating a vote of the GRC in an attempt to block the Patch Act from passing. Sam, fresh off his decision to take up the role of Captain America, finally opens the package from the Wakandans that Bucky delivered. There’s a ton of wrapping up the final episode needs to do, but how well did it do it?
And here is my final spoiler warning for the show. It feels good to say that for the last time. So, with that out of the way, let’s dive in.
“One World, One People” picks up right where the previous episode left off. The building the GRC is in is cordoned off by the police and we can see it’s a serious situation. Bucky (Sebastian Stan) is there at Sam’s behest, while Sam (Anthony Mackie) tells him that he’s en route. We also learn that Sam called in Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), who snuck past the authorities in one of those fancy masks we saw in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Sam bursts through the window to confront the Flag Smashers and we finally see the new costume. It’s red, white, and blue with a star in the center of the chest, exactly what we’d expect a Cap/Falcon mashup costume to look like. He quickly realizes that the Flag Smashers are trying to herd the politicians out of the building, so he instructs Bucky and Sharon to prevent that. Before he can help, he’s jumped by Batroc (Georges St-Pierre), who wants revenge for Sam interrupting his kidnapping attempt in the first episode.
As Sam is occupied, Sharon follows one of the Flag Smashers while Bucky tries to head off the evacuation route. However, he gets a phone call from Karli (Erin Kellyman). She’s disappointed in him for backing the politicians while he tries to reason with her, telling her that the nightmares don’t go away. We can see that his words ring true with her, and she’s heavily conflicted. But she’s too committed to heed his advice. Besides, the phone call was only meant as a distraction.
The Flag Smashers manage to get two groups of politicians into vans and get away with Bucky in hot pursuit. A third group takes off by helicopter. Sam ignores his fight with Batroc and follows the helicopter. Through some fancy evasive maneuvering, the helicopter gets the upper hand, but Sam uses a new Redwing to learn that one of the hostages has training flying a helicopter. He communicates with the hostage to explain his plan for her to take control of the bird, then he bursts into the cockpit and disables the Flag Smasher. The hostage grabs the stick and pulls the helicopter out of a free fall, saving them.
Meanwhile, Bucky catches up with the two vans of hostages. He confronts the Flag Smashers and Karli orders that one of the vans be set on fire to distract him. She knows he’ll rescue the hostages before pursuing them, so they use that to cover their escape. But just before they can get away, John Walker (Wyatt Russell) shows up. He’s still decked out in his Cap outfit, but he’s carrying his new shield. He holds his own for a while, but the Flag Smashers overpower him before taking off.
What’s interesting about Walker’s shield is the medal welding to the inside. We see him doing this in the post-credit scene of the previous episode, but here, while he’s being over-powered by the Flag Smashers, he focuses on that medal, the Medal of Honor, and uses that as a totem of strength. It’s also curious how similar the design of the Medal of Honor is to the Captain America logo, so it could be that he uses it to remind himself of the good he’s done both as a soldier, and the honor he carried during his time as Cap.
Bucky and Walker get separated, leaving Walker to face off against Karli alone. She gets away from him and tries to drive the last van of hostages off a building and retreats. Instead of going after Karli, Walker saves the van, discarding the shield in the process. It’s a moment in which he realizes he doesn’t need to be Captain America to do good, and it’s pretty powerful. But as he’s pulling the van back, Karli and another Flag Smasher tackle him, and all three fall off the building.
The van begins to fall again and in swoops Sam. Lacking super strength, he needs to use the shield, the full force of his jetpack, and two Redwing drones to lift the truck back up. He succeeds, and in full view of the public too. People are watching, videoing the event, and seeing a Black man doing good inspires them. One older Black man shouts, “That’s the Black Falcon,” while a younger Black man next to him replies, “No, that’s Captain America,” showing that they accept him, a man who looks like them can inspire.
As Sam confronts Karli, Batroc fills the open construction area with smoke, covering her escape. Sam, Bucky, and Walker follow but split up at a certain point.
In the underground tunnel, Karli follows the whistle of the Flag Smashers and comes face to face with Sharon Carter. We learn that she’s the Power Broker. She wants Karli and the others to come work for her. It’s a hell of a reveal, however, it’s one that many people had already seen coming. In fact, this turn was telegraphed in the previous episode in both the text of Sharon hiring Batroc as well as the subtext of the paintings in Sharon’s home in Madripoor.
Anyway, there’s a Mexican standoff in which both Batroc and Sharon get shot. The gunshots catch Sam’s attention and lead him right to Karli. Karli fights against Sam, but Sam refuses to fight back. He’s willing to get his ass handed to him to earn Karli’s trust. But it also shows that he has the same resolve as Steve in his refusal to stay down. It’s further proof that Sam deserves the shield.
As Bucky and Walker capture the rest of the Flag Smashers, Karli is about to kill Sam, but gets shot by Sharon. Sam is devastated, knowing that there was good in Karli. Karli begs him for forgiveness as she dies in his arms. He flies her to the surface in a show of symbolism that casts Karli in the Jesus role. And in effect, the symbolism works. Karli was fighting for the survival of a people, villainized by those in power for wanting to fight back but still willing to give up her life for her beliefs.
With the threat of the Flag Smashers gone, the GRC still wants to pass the Patch Act, displacing billions of people in favor of the Returned. Sam, however, understanding his role as Captain America, chews them all out, explaining to them the importance of their role. He points out their need for empathy for the displaced, chastising their use of the word “terrorists.” A Senator tells Sam that he doesn’t understand the complexity of the situation, and Sam tells him as a Black man wearing the colors of America, he certainly does.
I’m torn on my take of this scene. Given how important the message is, it’s framed as finger-waving. Sam is expressing the thoughts of millions of Americans who wish that our elected officials would have more empathy for the disenfranchised of the country. Even though Sam is able to inspire the characters in the show, I don’t think this grandstanding would do much to inspire people in the real world, which I think was the point. And don’t get me wrong; I agree with Sam’s points, but I think the delivery falls flat.
After his speech, a security officer asks Sam to help with the Flag Smasher who fell out of the helicopter, and Sam says he’s always available to help. As he flies off, we cut to the Flag Smashers being loaded into a police van. One of the soldiers leans in and says, “one world, one people,” implying that even though Karil is gone, her vision lives on. As the truck drives away, it explodes, and we see Zemo’s valet sitting behind the wheel of a car, tucking a remote control into his pocket.
Speaking of Zemo (Daniel Brühl), the episode checks in on him in the Raft. He hears the news of the explosion and a sly smile crosses his face.
Then we get a brief scene with Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). She’s sitting with Walker’s wife when she hears the news of the explosion. After a brief exchange that implies she has a broad reach, Walker comes out of another room in a brand new costume. She explains that, “things are gonna get weird, and when we do, we’re not gonna need a Captain America.” She then dubs him U.S. Agent before leaving.
Back in New York, Bucky visits his friend Yori and finally admits to killing his son. It’s a decision he struggled with in the first episode, and his admission shows that he’s finally come full circle. He’s completely cut from his past as the Winter Soldier and can finally move forward. To further illustrate this, Bucky leaves his notebook with Dr. Raynor, and she sees that all of the names are crossed out, meaning he’s made amends with all of them.
Finally, we’re back to Sam, who is at the home of Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). Isaiah tells Sam that he was inspired by his turn as Cap, but warns him that the fight he’ll take, as a Black Captain America, won’t be easy. Sam responds with a great quote: “I might fail. I might die. But we built this country. Bled for it. I’m not gonna let anybody tell me I can’t fight for it.” He then takes Isaiah and Eli to the Smithsonian to show them a new addition to the Captain America exhibition. There’s a statue of Isaiah and a plinth detailing his adventures, to ensure that the world never forgets his story again.
The episode ends in New Orleans with Sam and Sarah having a party with their neighbors. Bucky shows up and for the first time, Sam and Bucky embrace like friends. It shows that all of their posturing and grandstanding was due to their own hangups, but having worked through those, they can both admit how important they are to each other.
The final shot is the show’s logo but instead, it read “Captain America and the Winter Soldier” to show that Sam has shed the Falcon moniker and is truly Captain America.
But wait! There’s a post-credit scene. Sharon Carter is in front of the council and given the pardon for her actions in Captain America: Civil War. She’s also given her position in her old department back. As she walks out of the council, again a citizen of the US, she makes a phone call instructing someone to line up their buyers because even though she’s not in the super-soldier market anymore, she now has access to secret government tech.
There’s no denying that Falcon and the Winter Soldier wrapped up their storyline nicely. They did justice to Karli and the Flag Smashers, gave both Sam and Bucky closure that they both needed, and even set the stage for some major events in the future. But we’re still left with two very big questions. Firstly, what’s the deal with Valentina? Who is she working for, and what does she want with Walker? He’s clearly important to her long game if she’s willing to invest a new costume, identity, and second chance in him, but why? (Of course, we could go into the source material for clues but where’s the fun in that?)
And secondly, what’s Sharon Carter’s endgame? She got a full pardon from the US government and can reclaim her old life, but she’s so deeply entrenched in her role as the Power Broker that she’s willing to risk another round of treason just to finance that new life. Is she a victim of the corrupting influence of money, or is there something deeper going on with her?
I guess we’ll just have to wait for the second season of Captain America and the Winter Soldier.
