I wanna start by saying that when I originally wrote this, it was 5000 words. I was about to post it up. Then this fucking app glitched, deleted my post, then autosaved without allowing any form of undo. So fuck Blogger and its autosave feature with no versioning.
With the way episode 1 ended, the writers of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier absolutely knew that we were all gonna be hating on whoever the fuck this new ‘Captain America’ was, even though we knew nothing about him. It didn't matter. Because Steve didn't approve this man. And for that bald bitch who shook Sam's hand in episode 1 when he handed the shield over to tell him that he made the right choice, knowing a new Cap was going to be appointed and given the shield!? Foul.
But the show wants us to give this man a chance, so episode 2 opens with him outta the suit. Just as regular John Walker.
John Walker is backstage in the locker room rehearsing his lines for his first big media stop on the Captain America propaganda tour, and he’s notably nervous about it, but also exasperated by it all. When one of his friends enters to try and shoot the shit about all that’s happened, John shows disdain for all of the media circus that’s involved, and says that he just wants to do the job. To which his friend says ‘This is the job’. It’s a reminder of what Captain America was intended to be in the beginning. Pure propaganda. And whilst Steve evolved Captain America out of that, here we are, now over 80 or so years later; with Captain America right back where he started. But John shows much disdain for the marketing and the theatrics, just as Steve did initially; showing that there are parallels between the two of them, and that maybe the right guy was chosen for the job.
Something very interesting about this locker room scene is that we see John Walker has a Black girlfriend and a Black best friend. This seems like a very deliberate choice on the part of the writers to let us know that whoever and whatever John Walker may be, he isn't a racist. This is an important thing for us to know off the bat. Because whilst the racist overtones were very subtle in episode 1, they’re made ever more apparent in this episode.Now, let’s make something clear. Just because you have a Black girlfriend and a Black best friend, it doesn't mean you are not a racist, and can’t become a racist. But I don't think this is the commentary that this show is trying to make. Here it's very much a case of what you see is exactly what you see. We know full well that the governments' decision to pass on Sam as Captain America was likely steeped in racism, and played a part in why Sam chose to give up the shield in the first place. But seeing John Walker with two of the people closest to him who happen to Black is the show clearly telling us that whatever racial bias the government has, John doesn't share any part in it.
When John steps out as Captain America it's to a drumline and a full squad giving a Costco version of Beyoncé's Homecoming. A really cool thing here is that the drumline plays over the Marvel Studios logo instead of the usual theme composed by Michael Giacchino. As with John Walker's locker room scene, we once again see John Walker surrounded by Blackness, as every single one of the band members and the dancers is Black. We coulda had a cute lil' white-ass Taylor Swift marching band. But instead we got this Black ass band for Cap to run out to, and it creates a very specific framing. In the locker room, John Walker was surrounded by those in his life closest to him, who happen to be Black. It wasn't a deliberate or calculated choice on his part to have a Black girlfriend or a Black best friend. But in a public appearance as Captain America, it seems to be a calculated choice by the government and the GRC (we'll get to those bitches) to have Cap come out to a Black ass band, to mitigate any accusations of racism following the appointment of John as Captain America over Sam who very publicly handed the shield over to the Smithsonian. 'We can't be racist. Look. We have Captain America coming out to a Black marching band. We like African Americans.'It’s a mess. And one which hits very close to home. And it’s one of many instances in this episode which do. Especially if you’re Black.
Dollar Tree Cap does his interview with some white woman from Good Morning America, because of course Disney's Marvel and ABC owning-ass would want it to be Good Morning America. This made me dry-heave a little. Just because I personally would have preferred one of the MCU's fictional news shows. But this is Disney's world. We're just living in it and paying a monthly Disney+ subscription in order to do so. Here we get the lowdown on why exactly John Walker was chosen as the next Captain America, and it's because he is a highly decorated soldier. One of the best in fact. We see a montage of him in training, where we see him slanging the shield and having that shit defy all sortsa physics, which surprised the hell outta me, because I always figured that only Steve could use the shield like that. John being chosen strictly on how good he is on paper is a possible first sign that he is absolutely going to fuck up as Captain America and disappoint some people. Steve Rogers was horrendous on paper. He wasn’t even eligible to enter the military. He had his form forged by Dr. Tucci Erskine, who then made him a front runner for his super soldier program which would create Captain America. He forged Steve’s enrolment form because he not only saw that Steve had an unwavering bravery and desire to help his country, but he also had heart; all things that the original candidate for the super soldier program did not have, despite being perfect on paper.
Government officials have always gotten shit wrong when it comes to superheroes. It's a recurring theme in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whether it's the FBI in Ant-Man and The Wasp, or the Secretary of State and the Sokovia Accords in Civil War. In fact, it's a big theme in Marvel Comics, and a popular one to commit to TV and film. The now non-canon Marvel TV shows such as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Jessica Jones also saw the military and the police respectively causing problems for the titular heroes. We even saw the same thing in Fox's X-Men films.
Given what we've seen of real world governments over the past 5 years in particular, many of us know that governments ain't shit. They do all the things except what they're supposed to do, and they lie. Government and police intervention is a theme in this episode - so it's a very deliberate choice for it to open with government propaganda, and for John Walker, the government appointed Cap, to be at the heart of it.
Because of the shadiness of how Sam got played, you are ready to just hate John Walker; but it's really hard to do so here, because he genuinely seems like a good guy. He says all of the right things and wholeheartedly wants to be a good Cap for the country. And whilst we are in our feelings over Steve no longer being Captain America and Sam being denied the chance - we all have to be real with ourselves about this situation as it stands. John never took the Captain America mantle from Steve, and he didn't steal it from Sam. Steve gave it up and handed it over to Sam, who then just gave it away. John never set out to become Captain America, he was asked to. And what man who has spent his entire life serving for his country would turn down the opportunity to be Captain America!? So rationally, John isn't at fault. The strong reaction elicited from many of us seeing somebody else as Captain America really does speak to how great a job Marvel did in casting Chris Evans, and just how good Chris was in the role of Captain America. Captain America isn't the most interesting character. He's vanilla as hell, all of his solo movies are more like ensemble affairs, and he doesn't get to do as much of the exciting shit as some of the other heroes, which is what made his Mjölnir moment in Avengers: Endgame so fucking amazing. But still, we love Cap, and that's in large part because of Chris Evans being so damn likeable. I kinda feel for Wyatt Russell, who plays Dollar Tree Cap, because just knowing how messy Marvel stans can be, he's probably going to get a lot of shit. Especially if we see his character evolve into US Agent.
John's first big press moment as Cap paints him in a good light. But one line he says did make me wince and go 'Oooo, no sweetie'. And that was when he said that Steve Rogers was like a brother to him. Not the right thing to say. Because d'you know who was like a real brother to Steve? Bucky. Who is sitting in his Marie Kondo approved apartment watching this whole entire thing, and he looks PISSED. He's been dodging Sam's WhatsApp messages for 6 months straight. But now that he sees this unknown somebody with Steve's shield knowing that Steve gave it to Sam, he wants answers, and he's going straight to Sam to get them.
I did wonder how Sam and Bucky would come together. And given the relatively slow burn of episode 1, I was fully prepared for Sam and Bucky to not reunite until episode 3. But as Sam walks into the hanger to fly out and see what the Flag-Smashers are up to, Bucky's waiting right there for his ass. No hello, no nothing. Dude just ambushes him with 'You shouldn't have given up the shield'. Bucky wants answers. Sam is already over it. Bucky wants to chew Sam out over the shield, but Sam is focused on the Flag-Smashers after seeing Torres' video of them robbing a bank and showing super strength. Now, I knew when I saw big man drop out of a 2 story bank and land with a solid thud, then kick a security officer 10 feet into a pole that this was some super-soldier shenanigans. But Sam thinks it could be one of the big three: androids, aliens or wizards. Bucky is like 'Bitch, wizards!?'. Sam is like 'Yes bitch. Doctor Strange'. Bucky is like 'No bitch. He a sorcerer.' Sam is like 'Bitch please. A sorcerer is just a wizard without a hat'. I mean...the wizard thing checks out. As does Sam’s observation that every damn thing they end up fighting is either an android, an alien or some magical shit. We also hilariously discover that Bucky read the original edition of The Hobbit when that shit dropped in 1937. In episode 1 we got a funny quip in reference to Bucky's age, and here we are with another one. I hope this becomes a thing in every episode.Sam tells Bucky he's busy and he's gotta bounce, and Bucky is like 'I'm coming with you'. And despite Sam having his back to the camera, you can see his eyes rolling.
[James 'Bucky' Barnes has joined the party]
BRRRAP!
Whilst Sam and Bucky's hangar banter didn't hint much at where they stand with one another, their exchanges or lack thereof in the plane on their way to the Flag-Smashers make it clear that these two do not like each other. Sam calls Bucky 'Buck' and that gets shut down immediately. 'Nope. Only my boo thang Steve calls me that'. So watch this entire show end with Bucky telling Sam 'You can call me Buck'. Because we know Marvel Studios loves a call-back.
Sam and Bucky together, it's the whole Civil War situation all over again. Reluctantly working together, when they can't stand the sight of each other. Despite Bucky hopping along for the ride to accompany Sam on his lil' mission, Bucky actually has no idea what he's agreed to. And when he asks Sam if he has a plan, Sam ignores him. Then tells him that he does have a plan, right as he jumps out of the plane. Bucky asks for a parachute to follow him, but the plane is too low for one to be effective, but that bitch is still 200 feet up in the air. So Bucky rips off his jacket sleeve to reveal his vibranium arm (that jacket looks like it was good leather, and expensive) and just jumps outta the damn plane. In Bucky's mind, given that he's above a forest, he probably figured that he could grab a tree branch on the way down and do a sexy lil' superhero landing. But nope. His landing is far from graceful, but it's a landing. I often forget that Bucky is also a super soldier. So whilst being comedic, this moment is also a reminder that Bucky is special aside from his arm. Hard ungraceful landings seems to be a super soldier thing, as Captain America jumped out of a tall ass building in The Winter Soldier, fell through a pane of glass, crash landed on concrete, got up and then jogged it off. Even one of the Hydra guys was like ‘How in the fuck did he just-!?’
Sam and Bucky arrive at the warehouse for their covert-mission-clearly-finna-go-wrong, where Redwing sights the Flag-Smashers, and finds them lifting up giant crates and loading trucks with ease. Sam and Bucky think only the ones doing the heavy lifting have the super strength, but unbeknownst to them, even the ones standing around with the clipboards doing inventory can lift too.Bucky is impatient, and wants to charge in and fuck shit up, whilst Sam is overly cautious and wants to be stealthy. It’s such a small moment, but it really goes a long way to show not only the differences in their approaches to such situations, but their inability to work together. But what prompts them to both take off in pursuit is Redwing scanning one of the trucks being loaded up and spotting a hostage inside.
So, off we go.
The trucks set off and are already at speed, but Bucky super sprints and catches up to one of them like it ain’t shit. This is reminder number 2 that Bucky is a super soldier and a showcase of what that entails. It’s a quick moment, but still a cool one that made me go ‘OH SHIT’. It’s easy to forget that Bucky’s superhero thing isn’t just having a metal arm. And his sprinting moment is a neat call-back to the on foot chase scene in Captain America: Civil War, where Bucky, Steve and T'Challa are all running through a tunnel and outpacing the cars.
When Bucky breaks into the truck where the not-a-hostage is, we get a moment that hits far too close to home. Bucky tells Sam over comms that the truck is full of vaccines. Bitch. I don't even know when I'mma be eligible. The UK is already talking about opening shit back up, and I’ll still be here, indoors with no vaccine and my hazmat suit.Bucky see's the 'hostage', who he immediately realises isn't a hostage at all after she sends his ass flying out the truck. Yep. She's super soldier juiced too. And she puts on her cute handprint mask to go beat Bucky's ass. Bucky gets his ass beat. Redwing dies. Then Sam swoops in and also gets his ass beat. The whole mission is going from bad to worse.
Sam has never been the best fighter. Frank Grillo beat his ass in The Winter Soldier. Bucky beat his ass in The Winter Soldier. Bucky beat his ass again in Civil War. Batroc the Leaper was beating his ass in episode 1. This may also be a reason why Sam passed on being Captain America. Sam never stood a chance here. And whilst Bucky is a super soldier, he’s having to fend off an entire squad of them. And let’s be real. He’s probably a little out of practice since trying to live his life as a regular ol’ civilian for the past 6 months. So Bucky is pinned. Sam is pinned. It looks like it’s all about to be over and then ‘KAPLUNK’. Cap’s shield flies in. Yep. Dollar Tree Cap and his Negro sidekick Lemar arrive to save the day. When John Walker introduces himself to Sam as Captain America, even those deep tinted red goggles can’t hide his disgust. 
Whilst the odds again the Flag-Smashers are greatly improved, it’s still not enough to overpower them. And at one point things get so dire that we see Dollar Tree Cap do something that we never saw OG Cap do. He whips out a glock and lets that thang pop. We only ever saw Cap use a gun twice. Once in The First Avenger before he got his good shield. Because...World War 2. And once in the first Avengers movie, where he picked up a bad guys’ gun and fired it as a deterrent. But he never had a gun on him as a weapon, where-as Dollar Tree Cap does. If I see a scene where he pulls out the piece on Sam, I swear to Jebus…
In the midst of this raggedy scuffle Bucky ends up underneath the truck, and is hanging on whilst trying to slow it down with his metal arm. Sam swoops underneath to grab him, which sends them rolling off the side of the road and into the grass, giving Sucky shippers and fan fic writers the moment they need. Buckyback Mountain.With two Avengers gone, the Flag-Smashers make light work of Dollar Tree Cap and Negro sidekick who both get kicked off the truck. And just like that, everybody flopped and the Flag-Smashers get away. And not because nobody was capable. But because nobody went in with a plan, and THEY DIDN’T WORK TOGETHER. At some point they’re all gonna learn that teamwork makes the American dream work.
With the mission having flopped, Sam and Bucky head back home, and on the way they come across John Walker and his Negro Sidekick. Sam and Bucky completely ignore them at first, but relent after a while, because John has wheels and bitch, the airport is 20 whole miles away.
The way John, Lemar, Sam and Bucky are framed in the back of the truck is really interesting, because in the comics, each of them takes on a patriotic alias. John Walker is US Agent. Sam becomes Captain America. Bucky also does a stint as Captain America and Negro Sidekick is Battlestar, which he actually introduces himself as in this show - which is the point when Bucky calls out for the vehicle to stop, because he's had enough.With Bucky clearly not having any of it, John gets to have a moment with Sam to try and appeal to him, and once again he's hard to hate. John says that he understands how much it must hurt to see the shield with him, and he makes it clear that he's not trying to replace Steve. All he wants is to be the best Captain America that he can be. I believe him when he says this. I think even Sam believes him. But then John shows that he be doing Yoga. Because he lifts up his foot and places it right in his mouth, as he says 'This all would be a whole lot easier if I had Cap's wingmen on my side'. And that's when Sam pulls an Annalise, rolls his eyes, picks up his purse and leaves. John may not have felt that what he said was bad. But gurl. Sam and Bucky? Sidekicks!?
Regardless of whether John meant to hurt feelings or not, his choice of words shows that he sees Falcon and Bucky as nothing more than sidekicks, and that he truly has no idea what Sam and Bucky contributed to the legacy of Captain America. You can even argue that they played a huge part in helping Steve be the best Captain America that he could be. So now because he pissed off Sam, we're back to hating John again.
With the COVID vaccine now acquired, with it being late, the team probably being hungry 'n' shit and one of them having been shot, the Flag-Smashers pull up to an Internet café, which we discover is owned by a Flag-Smashers sympathiser who offers them refuge. This explains how they're able to do illegal shit and move around. And as with episode 1, shows the scale at which they have followers and people who really advocate for their cause, play their part in it, and see them as heroes.Torres had said what the Flag-Smashers were about in episode 1, but now we get to hear their manifesto from the Flag-Smashers themselves. It seemed initially that they were just a bunch of terrorists. But now I'm not so sure.
The leader of the Flag-Smashers is Karli Morgenthau, and those knowledgeable of the comics will know that name. The Flag-Smasher is an actual character in the comics, but he's a white dude. So we not only get a gender-bent take on the character, but a race bend too, as Karli is a girl of mixed-race. We also get our first good look at who is a part of this team, and it seems to be well rounded. There's a tech guy, a muscle guy, a big bitch, and obviously a brand guy somewhere who gave them their cute lil' logo. But the most important detail is that the group is diverse. They are all from different places, of different races and genders - making them a reflection of the world they're fighting for: one world, one people. But with the way they’re having to live and get by in a system that’s failing them, there are many comparisons between the Flag-Smashers we see here and immigrants.
A recurring theme in this phase of the MCU is life after the blip and the scale of the mess that it caused. The world wasn't able to create any form of infrastructure which could facilitate a world where half of the population just vanished. (And now I'm wondering who cleaned up all that dust). We got a visual taste of blip life in the city in Avengers: Endgame's '5 Years Later' moment where we saw parts of New York and San Francisco looking like The Last of Us. We also got a mention in WandaVision of how bad the 5 years during the blip was from Tyler Hayward - but I never thought too much of it because he was a piece of shit and a damn liar. And when Monica called him a coward for banging on about it, I figured he was milking it. But it seems Hayward wasn't being hyperbolic. Shit really was as bad as he said. The blip was a mess and the world hasn't recovered from it. Based on what Karli implies, during the blip the world banded together to help those who hadn't blipped, which saw a resource distribution to reaches of the community who perhaps had no access to it prior - which members of the Flag-Smashers appreciated. But now everybody has blipped back, all of the focus has now shifted to those who have returned. The government even sprung into action to form the Global Repatriation Council to help all of them. But the issue taken with this is that now all resources and attention is being shifted to the blip-backers, with no regard for the un-blipped who still require support. And one of the GRC's answers to getting things back to some type of normality was to bring back Captain America!?
Gurl.
This damage the blip has caused and how it’s affecting the world hits so close to home with the world being in a pandemic, because we're experiencing so many parallels. Governments not knowing what the fuck to do, and huge groups of people being completely marginalised. It's not hard to sympathise with the Flag-Smashers and their cause of distributing wealth and supplies to those in need. The Internet Cafe man refers to the Flag-Smashers as being like Robin Hood. But if they favour supporting the un-blipped, and not simply those in need, and seem so okay to abuse their power, then are they even like Robin Hood?
But of course we need a bit of drama in the scene too, just to throw another wrench in the works. Karli receives a text from somebody anonymous that pretty much reads 'Bitch, you a thief and I'mma kill you' and she looks scared. Now given that Karli has been spending her time globe hopping and stealing all types of shit, this could be anything. But I think it's the super soldier serum. Which begs the questions: who exactly is texting her, how did they create the damn serum in the first place, how did Karli even know they had it, how much did she take, and does she still have any of it? She clearly stole enough to juice up an entire team. And another thing I’m wondering is if this super serum the Flag-Smashers have taken truly does work and if there are any negative side-effects.It's a weird moment to place in this scene, but it goes some way to give us an even bigger grey area concerning who the Flag-Smashers are. Their cause is a real one and it's noble, but they're going about carrying it out in the worst of ways. Not only is it very terrorist-like, but it’s not sustainable. But there being somebody who has the resources to keep tabs on the Flag-Smashers and outright say that they'll kill them tells me that EVEN in the event that the Flag-Smashers turn out to be villains, there is definitely somebody else and somebody bigger. Which begs another question as to where Zemo will fit into this.
But we'll get to him.
There’s also the case of how will the world truly see Karli, given that she will be branded a terrorist, and that she's not only a woman, but a woman of colour. White-ass Bucky, who was an actual terrorist, was fortunate enough to get a pardon and still go on to live a life. But if Karli were to ever be captured by authorities, she wouldn’t get that same grace, despite some of the good she’s done. And it’s one of many social commentaries made in this episode, and one which sticks in a moment which follows.
With Sam and Bucky having not only flopped their raggedy little mission, but having to be bailed out by Dollar Tree Cap, they are both bummed out as fuck. But Bucky seems to be taking it the hardest. So much so that even Sam, who can't stand his ass, asks if he's okay. Bucky’s impulsiveness kicks in again by just telling Sam that they should take back the shield, with Sam having to remind Bucky that they can’t just jump Dollar Tree Cap, beat his ass, then take it. And he gives Bucky (and each of us) a refresher that they stole the shield once before (in Civil War) and that he and Steve were fugitives because of it, and that the girl from Revenge was branded an enemy of the state. Bucky is focused on the shield, but Sam is more concerned about how there are super soldiers running around, and that they have no leads on how. But Bucky has an idea, and it’s a longshot. Bucky voluntarily sits right next to Sam and tells 'There's somebody you should meet'.
Right in that moment, my niggey sense tingled, and I just knew it had to be Isaiah Bradley. And lo and behold. It was.
The one thing that many people had speculated was that this show might touch on and it fucking did it. Props to you Marvel. Here. Take dis wig.
Isaiah Bradley is a character of Marvel Comics canon. A Black soldier who was given an attempted recreation of the super soldier serum that created Captain America. The dark side (one of many) of this story however, is that African Americans were rounded up as test subjects for this serum, in a program reminiscent of the Tuskegee Study conducted from 1932 to 1972.
In the comics, Isaiah is known. Nowhere near as widely known as Captain America and without such a legacy, but he is known. In the MCU however, his superheroism was kept from public knowledge.
Isaiah is surprised to see Bucky, and wastes no time in recalling how they met for the first and what Isaiah had figured would be the only time; during the war. Bucky was a threat, but also an enigma. If you remember the movie The Winter Soldier, then you'll recall Black Widow's story about him, and how he was referred to as a legend or a myth, because no target or witnesses outside of Hydra who saw him ever lived. With word on where The Winter Soldier was, the government sent in troops, but nobody made it back alive. So they sent in their super soldier, Isaiah, who fucked up Bucky so bad that he took half of his arm. Now, those of you who are up on the MCU films will know that there have only been two people who have been able to fight Bucky in Winter Soldier assassin mode and single-handedly hold their own: Steve and T'Challa. So the fact that Isaiah managed to fuck him up is a big deal. And the first clue that he's no ordinary guy.
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Bucky assures Isaiah that he's not a killer anymore and Isaiah reads his whole entire ass, and I'm surprised he didn't pull out some glasses to do it. I don't think Isaiah was aware that Bucky was brain-washed and mind controlled, but I don't think it makes the slightest bit of difference. He looks right in Bucky's face and tells him 'You think you can wake up and decide who you wanna be? It doesn't work like that. Well, maybe it does for folks like you.' Bucky looks visibly affected by this. It's such a powerful moment within a powerful moment, because I don't think Bucky has ever been called out on his white privilege before. It’s kinda crazy when you think about it, given that he's a white assassin who avoided jail time and was pardoned, and that he was an assassin for Hydra, who are basically Nazis. It's another instance of something that Bucky has to reckon with in this new phase of his life where he has to start living as somebody other than The Winter Soldier, whilst also taking accountability for his life AS The Winter Soldier.
Bucky proceeds to tell Isaiah the reason he needed to see him, and informs him that there are 'More of you and me out here', referring to the super serum juiced Flag-Smashers. Isaiah is done. Because not only does he not want to delve into his past, but Bucky's words insinuate that the two of them are the same, when they are far from such. He says he ain't gonna talk about shit, then picks up a flimsy ass tobacco tin in anger and throws it so hard that the damn thing lodges into the wall. At this point if nobody knew Isaiah was a super-powered bitch, then it's clear now. And then shit gets dark as Isaiah spills the tea on exactly what happened to him after he rocked The Winter Soldier and played his part for America.
Despite beating Bucky's ass and being one of the reasons the war was able to be won, Isaiah was not deemed a hero. He was thrown in jail for 30 years, during which the government and Hydra (who were probably working as part of the government and more than likely still are) constantly drew his blood and ran tests. Not only is the story impactful, but the way Isaiah is shot as he approaches Bucky to tell it tells a story in itself. Up until this point, Isaiah has been framed exclusively in close up, giving us the impression that he’s just some old man. But after throwing the tin we see him framed in a long shot as he steps up to Bucky, and we see him in full. Despite being old, he still has broad physique, a stature and a posture where it's very easy to imagine him being a beast at one point in his life. You fully believe this man snatched Bucky's arm like a wig.
Bucky is clearly affected by Isaiah’s account of what happened to him after the day that they first met, but it's hitting Sam differently, as you'd expect. Not only is he looking at a Black superhero who was written out of history and treated like a war criminal, but he is seeing a version of himself. He is seeing why the government didn't choose him to be Captain America. He is seeing what could be his future. He is seeing that past and present are one and the same. He is seeing that he may have been wrong about giving up the shield, but that he was also completely right in doing so. But before Sam can even say anything or give a nigga a hug, Isaiah shouts and tells them to get the fuck up outta his house, and Bucky heel toes real quick, 'cos he ain't try'na lose another arm.
Whilst he doesn't play any real part in it, this scene also features Elijah Bradley, who in the comics is Elijah's grandson. We're not told what Elijah and Isaiah's relationship in the MCU is, but we can assume it's the same. Elijah is also a character from the comics who follows in his grandfather's footsteps and becomes a superhero, a Black Captain America of sorts who goes by the name Patriot. Many comic fans have speculated that Marvel Studios is starting to build up to the Young Avengers, and it tracks, given the Disney+ shows which have been announced, and the characters we'll be seeing across phases 4 and 5 of the MCU. We've got Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye (which is centred around Clint's daughter Kate, who becomes Hawkeye) and Ironheart all hitting Disney+. We've already been introduced to Billy (Wiccan) and Tommy (Speed) in WandaVision who are a part of the Young Avengers and will more-than-likely be aged up. Then we've got Scott's Daughter Cassie, who will be playing a bigger role in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, and will probably fight alongside her father as Stinger. And now, here's Elijah.
As was the case with Torres, there's no guarantee of whether Elijah will become his comic book alias in the MCU. But the groundwork is right there should Marvel choose to do it.
This moment with Isaiah also makes me further believe that Sam will not become Captain America at the end of this series, and that he may choose to give the shield to Isaiah for him to do what he wishes, with it then being passed to Elijah. Who the fuck knows. But I like that in the space of 2 episodes, we've gotten the introduction of two characters from the comics, both of whom whose lives have the potential to be greatly impacted by the choices Sam makes.
Sam is clearly shaken and irate over what he just heard. Knowing that there was a Black superhero who was erased from history. It bookends so perfectly with a scene we got when Sam and Bucky were walking up to Isaiah's house and a kid sees Sam and excitedly calls him Black Falcon. I know people are sick of hearing it but representation matters, because it completely changes your perception of the world and the choice you make in how you navigate it. Sam asks Bucky if Steve knew about Isaiah, to which Bucky says no; which means that S.H.I.E.L.D can't have known either. Well...the true S.H.I.E.L.D. Because we know that Hydra definitely knew about Isaiah. It would be some type of mess if Peggy Carter knew about Isaiah the entire time and kept it to herself. Especially after witnessing the racism Jason Wilkes endured in season 2 of Agent Carter. But Agent Carter isn't considered MCU canon anymore, so OH WELL.
And then Sam's day goes from bad to fucking worse.
As if the gut punch of fucking up a mission, being rescued by Dollar Tree Cap and then finding out the government jailed and kept a Black superhero from public knowledge wasn't enough, Sam gets pulled up on by po-leece. I thought the police were going to arrest Sam and Bucky for that scuffle on the trucks. But nope. Just regular ol' racism. The officer asks if there's a problem, to which Sam says no, and then asks Bucky 'Is this man bothering you?' and then demands to see ID, to which Sam refuses. Bucky tells him to just show it, but Sam is frustrated and irate, and rightly so. Not only is this situation bullshit, but it's fresh off of him hearing what happened to Isaiah, so Sam is absolutely incensed. The issue only deescalates when Bucky says 'Do you know who the hell this is!?' and a second officer whispers that they're Avengers. Then the main cops' whole demeanour changes and he becomes overly apologetic. 'So sorry Mr. Wilson. I didn't recognise you with the goggles'. Something which shouldn't have made a difference, because Sam was doing nothing wrong to have been pulled up on in the first place. It's also a commentary on how white people see what they choose to see. Moments ago a kid recognised Sam immediately. But a grown ass cop can't recognise an Avenger because he's not wearing goggles?Sure.
Then a second po-leece car pulls up, and I slunk in my seat like 'Oh no. We 'bout to see Sam get tackled to the ground and tazed'. But we get a plot twist. The second po-leece car pulls up for Bucky. It turns out that he missed one of his court mandated therapy sessions, which is an arrest-able offence. So Bucky is going to jail. And we see a COMPLETE contrast with how Bucky is told about his arrest, versus how the po-leece approached Sam. They're apologetic to Bucky, soft spoken, and assist him as he gets into the car. It's a mess. But we see this shit every day. Black men get thrown to the ground and shot for doing nothing. Meanwhile white people go on killing sprees and storm the Capitol, and still get shown all sorts of decency by the feds.
Fuck the po-leece.
Now, lots of people have taken issue with this scene, and I get it. Some find it a little too on the nose, and feel that the MCU is perhaps blurring too many lines between fiction and reality. I personally think this was a great scene and a necessary one. Firstly, I think it's bold and genuinely great that the MCU is finally making social commentaries, however vanilla they may be in comparison to something like HBO's Watchmen, which this show is definitely pulling some inspiration from. But this moment of Sam and the police feels relevant in this story, which is not just about The Falcon and The Winter Soldier as heroes doing regular hero shit, but the people behind the aliases. When Sam isn't Falcon, he is just a Black man, and that is what people see first before they see Falcon at all. Remember, this is the second time that somebody hasn't recognised him unless they mentally picture him with wings or goggles on. Yet we can bet that if Steve Rogers was in either of these situations, that he'd be immediately identifiable, despite the fact that as Captain America always had a damn cowl on which covered 80% of his face. Then there's Bucky. Who the police have no initial beef or ill will towards, despite the history he has as an assassin and that there was a worldwide search for him in Captain America: Civil War for acts of terrorism. And as Isaiah rightly pointed out, as a white man, he's able to just reboot his persona like he's in a new era of an album release, and be taken as he is now, not as he was.You can't be telling a grounded superhero story about a Black man and the legacy of Captain America and not touch on racism in America. You just can't. I feel a bigger disservice would have been done had they not touched on it at all. Marvel Studios has a HUGE audience. Shedding light on Sam's plight is awareness, because what we're witnessing happening to him is happening to Black people everywhere. It's happened to me.
To fans who are like ‘iT’s tOo PoLiTiCaL’ I urge them to read some of Marvels Comics from the 70s. Marvel been political. Comics are often political, period. It’s cool to see the MCU finally step up and catch-up.
At the police station we see Bucky's therapist who finally meets Sam, who she of course knows all about via Bucky's therapy sessions. She called Bucky out for ignoring Sam’s texts, so she’s probably torn between being happy for him, but also mad at him because Bucky reuniting with Sam has had him miss therapy and land his ass in jail. When Sam thanks Dr. Raynor for getting Bucky released, she says that she didn't. Because guess who did. John Walker. John says that he got Bucky released and that he's no longer required to attend therapy, because he's too good of an asset to be stuck in therapy. This entire exchange is John showing his ass, and further cements how he sees Bucky. Bucky made it very clear that he did not want any part in siding with John of his Battlestar, but John is trying to strong arm Bucky into doing so anyway, and literally refers to him as an asset. And to pull Bucky out of therapy, which he very clearly still needs, also goes to show how little John actually cares about Bucky as a person. He only sees him as a means to aid him in doing his job - which is very Hydra esque. And let's also talk about John abusing his power to not only get Bucky released, but excused from therapy indefinitely, which was the condition of his presidential pardon. Steve Rogers would never have done such a thing unless the world absolutely depended on it, and even then he would have been incredibly hesitant about it. John has been Captain America for all of 5 minutes and is already pissing on every wall to mark his territory and assert dominance. Things which aren't representative of Captain America.
But before Bucky leaves, the therapist wants to take the chance at having Bucky and Sam in a session together, knowing full well the tension which exists between them. Episode 2 gives us yet another Sucky moment for the shippers and fanfic writers, with the therapist using techniques she usually employs for couples. One of which is having Sam and Bucky sit real close and stare into each other's eyes. After a brief and comical stare off, we get to the heart of exactly why Bucky is pissed at Sam for giving up Captain America's shield and it's not for the reason we expect. When Bucky asks why Sam gave up the shield, Sam is dismissive and tells Bucky it has nothing to do with him, which I think was a dick thing to say knowing the history that Steve and Bucky have. Whilst Steve did give Sam that shield, it has everything to do with Bucky, and I'm sure further down the line he'll realise that the shield has everything to do with everybody, because of what it means to different people. Then Bucky just lays it out clean. 'Steve believed in you. He trusted you. He gave you that shield for a reason. That shield, that is everything that he stood for. That is his legacy. He gave you that shield and you threw it away like it was nothing. So maybe he was wrong about you. And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me.'And then I gasped.
Steve was more than just a friend to Bucky. He was Bucky's anchor. It was Steve's unwillingness to give up on Bucky and the strength of the bond they shared which led him to being able to break through Hydra's brain-washing and act of his own accord. In a world which always felt like it was changing, Steve was Bucky's constant. But now Steve is out of the picture, and Bucky is left having to try and make amends with his past alone, and he's struggling. Bucky is completely lost. And the thought that the one man who was willing to die for him, and kept a monumental secret from another friend in order to protect Bucky could have been wrong to have had such love for him, it's a massive blow. It shows a fragility to Bucky that we've never once had the chance to see in any of the films. And as for the shield, it's also another instance of both us as viewers and Sam realising that there is so much weight to that shield, which is more than just the legacy of one man. It's so much bigger than that. And it also makes us ask the question if Steve had made a mistake. After all, as respected and revered as he is, Steve was still only human. And he made mistakes. In the eyes of Tony Stark, Steve is far from perfect. He never thought he was anything special in the beginning, and he certainly thought a whole lot less of him after the events of Civil War. And when Tony sees the shield, he doesn't see Captain America's legacy. He sees a memento of his father, which is what made it hurt even more that Steve lied to him about who killed his parents.
Bucky's revelation is big, because it...
When Sam and Bucky leave the police station they're greeted yet again with po-leece sirens. Only this time it's John Walker playing with them in a cop car to get their attention. This fool knows that Bucky was JUST arrested, and knows full well the shit that Black people have to go through with the police. And yet po-leece sirens how he chooses to get Sam and Bucky's attention?! Dick move. And yet another thing he's done over the past 30 minutes which shows his immaturity, a lack of awareness of a situation and that he really isn't equipped to be Captain America. Steve would not have dared do such a thing. And the whole time I'm looking at Lemar like 'Nigga, THIS is who you wanna roll with and risk your life for!?'
Chile.
John Walker says that they should all work together, and then shares his intel that the Flag-Smashers are heading to displaced communities around the world to distribute the COVID vaccine. Honestly, if the Flag-Smashers were running the vaccine program, we'd all be vaccinated and be out being hoes by now. But Bucky points out that this doesn't really help, because there are hundreds of displaced communities and camps around the world. He's already pissed off at John anyway, but the fact John arsehole-dedly got Bucky's attention to tell him information he can't do a damn thing with just has him even more agitated. He pushes John on if he has anything else and John starts to raise his voice. To which Bucky really pushes him and says 'Things are really intense for you right now aren't they Walker?' and John looks PISSED, because a nerve of his just got hit, and if he were wearing a wig, it woulda been dead on the floor. Sam, being the diplomat steps in to cool the tension and tells John that given he and Battlestar work for the government, there'd be all sorts of red tape they'd have to cut to get shit done, where-as he and Bucky can move a little more freely as free agents - so he says working together wouldn't make sense. Sam clearly doesn't like John and sees him as Captain America with the shield that was him, so he's down for any excuse not to work with him. But he is 100% right. They'd be better off work separately. But John takes this personally and says the most un-Captain America thing to who are clearly the good guys. 'A word of advice then. Stay the hell outta my way'. And then he turns and walks away, with the shield right there on his back, which triggers the shit out of Sam and Bucky.And if it wasn't clear by this point, John Walker is a piece of shit, and absolutely the wrong choice for Captain America.
So, do y’all remember when Karli got that text from Liam Neeson? Well they weren’t lying. As the Flag-Smashers are loading up a plane to go and distribute the COVID vaccine, one of them checks his phone and says ‘They’ve found us’. And then says ‘It’s the Power Brokers’ men’. Everybody panics, and Karli is like ‘Take what the fuck you can and just get on the damn plane!’. Another one of the guys realising that there may not be enough time for everybody to get away, decides to stay behind and buy them some more time. I thought we were gonna get some big ass fight. But nope. The Flag-Smasher sacrifice pushes over an electricity pylon, as armed guards get out of the trucks. Then he runs towards them and gets popped like Jay-Z in the “99 Problems” video, as the remaining Flag-Smashers manage to escape.The Power Broker is another character lifted out of the comics, who dabbles in all sorts of science and means by which he can give people powers - i.e super soldier serums, in exchange for high sums of money. And as I’d suspected, the Flag-Smashers probably stole it from him. His name is pretty literal given his business, but he is also an actual business man. He is pretty much Mark Zuckenburg. In the comics he also has powers, so it’s going to be interesting to see if when we do meet him here, if he shares them. And who he actually is. In the comics the Power Broker is his own character. But there’s every chance that Marvel could make the Power Broker an alias of somebody within the MCU that we’ve met before.
Now, I have to say. After the bad arsery we saw from the Flag-Smashers earlier in the episode going up against an Avenger, The Winter Soldier and Dollar Tree Cap, it was surprising to see them act so scared and scurry. Clearly the Power Broker has means to fuck them up royally. Maybe his entourage are all super soldiers. 
With Sam and Bucky left with no leads and needing the tea on how the fuck the super soldier serum is still in existence, they’re left with only one option. They gotta go talk to Zemo - who we see is holed up in a high security prison in Berlin. I smell a prison break out in episode 3. Although would Sam really be okay with such a thing!? He knows how dangerous Zemo is, and unlike Bucky whose seems okay operating in the grey, breaking somebody out of prison seems like something he just wouldn’t be okay with. Also, we saw Zemo’s name in Bucky’s notebook of people to make amends with. So...why? Whatever is about to go down, it’s going to feature some twist. And it’s going to be a test to see if Bucky is really free from Hydra’s control. Because it’d be a real bitch if Zemo remembered the words from the book and was still able to control Bucky.
Episode 2 was great. I’ve watched this shit a dozen times over. I have ideas on where the story could go, but have no idea on where it will actually go. My only concern at this point is that we don’t have that many episodes to explore all of the things that the show could potentially explore, which is making me wonder how the show will end and what it will leave open. And it’s also making me think that this could be the one Marvel Studios show that will get a second season. But lemme not get a head of myself.
Whilst I can’t stand John Walker, it’s going to be interesting to see him slowly start to bend and crack as he starts to become US Agent. Because whilst he is Captain America, he is not a super soldier, which feels like a huge oversight on the government and the GRC’s part. And a sign that the government doesn’t really have Johns’ welfare at heart. He’s just a puppet. Having got his ass kicked by the Flag-Smashers and Bucky highlighting how shit’s getting intense, which seemed to really hit John, makes me wonder if he would consider taking the super soldier serum if the opportunity arose, and if he’d even want to continue being a hero. I know from the trailers that something happens for him to give up the shield, because Sam and Bucky do end up training and running around with it. I am really surprised at just how much this show has opened up though. Whilst WandaVision left red herrings and caused the Internet to spin all types of theories which didn’t come to fruition, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is throwing shit out there in every episode. We’ve got Karli who could become THE Flag-Smasher. We’ve got Joaquin Torres who could become Falcon. We’ve got John Walker could become US Agent. We’ve got Battlestar. We’ve got the Power Broker, who in the comics also has a connection to Scott and Cassie Lang. So he could pop up in the next Ant-Man & The Wasp movie. We’ve been introduced (albeit briefly) to Elijah Bradley. These aren’t red herrings, or theories based on something obscure as was the case with WandaVision. These are things that could legitimately happen because the show is pretty much telling us that they could.
The biggest surprise however is the social commentary. I never would’ve thought we’d get a Marvel Studios production which touches on racial injustices. I really thought that this show was gonna be some happy go-lucky shit, and it’s really not. It’s a great watch, and moments are fun. But this show is pretty heavy for Marvel. Especially for me watching it as a Black man. So props to the team for not being afraid to go there, and Marvel allowing it to go there. I just hope that the social commentary remains a constant throughout the show, and that it doesn’t get lost in favour of spectacle and typical Marvel shit, which is what I felt happened with WandaVision’s finale. It was all great and original, and then it was like ‘Oh, now it’s just typical MCU shit’. But I guess we’ll see.Oh. And the history of the first Black Captain America is a rabbit hole I want Marvel Studios to push me down with a Disney+ show. You cannot introduce Isaiah Bradley and have him tell us that he fought Bucky, took half that arm, and then not show us that shit. Kevin, you better green light the bitch.