TV Review: ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ Engaging, but a Step Down After the Excellence of ‘WandaVision’

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was lightning in a bottle. Largely acclaimed as the best MCU film (and my personal favorite), the gritty spy thriller with spectacular fight choreography was Marvel at its best. And while the second Marvel/Disney+ show “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” stays true to its predecessor’s aesthetic and genre, and has loads of character development for beloved characters, it doesn’t quite reach the same heights.

“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” is the second Marvel series debuting from Disney’s very own streaming service. To be honest, I was a little nervous about this one, as it was following “WandaVision,” the first Disney+ series. “WandaVision” became one of my favorite Marvel projects; it did something so insanely original and creative in a franchise where originality is somewhat rare. Yes, the finale was a letdown, but overall the show was great. 

“TFATWS,” however, seemed to be a step down. Between “The Winter Soldier,” “Civil War,” and “Avengers: Infinity War,” we’ve had our fair share of these dark, action-heavy projects, and I doubted it could replicate their success. And yes, it’s not as original as “WandaVision,” or as brilliant as “The Winter Soldier;” but “TFATWS” has a heartfelt story with extremely well-written characters, a trait absent from many of Marvel’s films. 

“TFATWS” prides itself on its realism. Instead of glossing over worldwide events, the series takes its time to show the real world effects of them. What happens when half of the world’s population comes back after being turned into dust five years ago? What happens when the mantle of Captain America, the symbol of the United States, is given to a Black man? This show handles the repercussions of those events perfectly, giving us new insight into Marvel’s world. 

The show takes place five months after a retired Captain America gives his shield—and legacy—to Sam Wilson, aka Falcon. In a surprising turn of events (SPOILERS AHEAD), Sam actually gives up the shield to the government, feeling that he could never replace the star-spangled hero. Later, the government gives the shield to John Walker, crowning him the new Captain America. Furious, Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, reunites with Sam to see what they should do about Walker. Meanwhile, The Flag-Smashers (a terrorist organization who thinks things were better before half of everyone in the universe reappeared) go on a killing spree, and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier must stop them.

Let me just say the characters in the series are top-notch. Both Sam and Bucky had little character development in the films; “TFATWS” totally fixed that, much like how “WandaVision” did for Scarlet Witch and Vision. Bucky is trying to make amends to everyone he’s hurt as the Winter Soldier, which delivers some amazing scenes. Seriously, Sebastian Stan’s acting in this show is unlike anything we’ve seen from him. 

On the other hand, Anthony Mackie’s Sam is spectacular as well. His arc here is about stepping into the Captain America role, and the outcome feels very earned at the end. He has a number of scenes with Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley, a Black Super Soldier veteran tossed aside by the U.S. Government. They discuss what it really means to be Captain America, and these are some of the most emotional scenes of the show. 

Daniel Brühl’s Baron Zemo returns; however this time he’s an untrustworthy ally to the duo instead of an enemy as in previous Marvel outings. And while he may have been one of the best performances in the show, balancing comedy and menace quite well, I’m not in love with how they brought him back in the franchise. 

After tearing the Avengers apart in the events of “Civil War,” making Sam a fugitive and Bucky a mass murderer, Zemo is thrown into a German prison, where he’s been since. But after finding out that Zemo has a lead on the Flag-Smashers, Sam and Bucky just break him out, as if none of what he did even happened. It just seemed lazy to me, even if Zemo was one of the best characters in the show. Also, I was a disappointed that he didn’t go full villain in the end, as it’s always captivating to watch him be evil. Seems like a missed opportunity. 

John Walker is played by Wyatt Russell, and he’s easily the best character in the series. His Captain America is so unlikable it really makes the audience get behind Sam and Bucky wanting the mantle back. And it’s glorious to see him progressively become more and more insane. I have a feeling some people will be mad about the ending of his arc, but I think it just leaves more opportunity for him in the future. Hopefully, he’ll join the rumoured ‘Dark Avengers’ project, something I’m extremely looking forward to. 

Finally, there’s Karli Morgenthau, the leader of the Flag-Smashers. Her performance isn’t horrible by any means, but I thought her character and plot as a whole was so unnecessary. We have two amazing villains in Walker and Zemo; but instead the main antagonist is a basic group of radical terrorists, which we’ve seen many times in “X-Men’s” ‘The Brotherhood’ and “Spider-Man Miles Morales’” ‘The Underground.’ It’s been done before; and considering the Flag-Smasher’s plan is basically the entire series plot, it makes it way less fun to watch.

Compared to “Winter Soldier” and “Civil War,” I was very disappointed by the action in this show. It was just a lot of karate kicks and flips, and I found myself droning off a number of times. The one standout was the opening helicopter chase scene with Falcon handling an intense hostage situation in the air. Other than that, there’s really nothing special in the action department. 

To be honest, this show just failed to capture me as much as “WandaVision” did. I looked forward to it coming out each week; but with “WandaVision,” I was literally counting down the days until Friday. And while the character development was very good and much needed, at least 50% of the show is just two characters talking for 5 or 10 minutes. It was a little hard to watch at times, despite all the great performances. The show shined when it stayed away from the Flag-Smashers and focused on the arcs of Zemo and Walker. It genuinely confuses me why they didn’t focus on those two more. 

It’s clear to me that these Disney+ shows will focus more on characters than anything, as to not have people without a subscription be left out on major events of the universe. I think that’ll work out with shows like “Loki” and “Moon Knight,” who seems to be more separated from the larger universe in the first place. But with these in-between shows like “WandaVision” and “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” that lead directly into other films, it leaves them feeling a little held back.