Re-Cap: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier - Episode 4 | Ragu on the shield

Episode 3 of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier felt a little strange to me. It was cool to get a bit of a globe hopping episode. But the energy of it felt so different to episodes 1 and 2, which was probably due to the way it expanded the cast, leaving little room for introspective Sam and Bucky moments. But it was great seeing Zemo again and getting a sense of who he is and where we can see him going over the next couple of episodes.

Episode 4 feels like it’s back on track in one sense, but also suffers a little because of narrative decisions made in episode 3, and that one character isn’t getting the development they sorely needed at this point in the story.

As was expected given the bombshell ending of episode 3, episode 4 opens in Wakanda.

Now, we know Bucky spent a fair amount of time at Wakandan rehab, not only to remain off the grid from authorities, but to have all of Hydra’s Winter Soldier mind shenanigans removed. This flashback scene recounts the moment of truth when Bucky gets to see if he truly is cured of Hydra’s mind control, and Ayo is the one to supervise it. As she says each of the activation words, we get flashbacks from moments in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. I don’t know what it is with moments from films shown in these Disney+ shows, but the fidelity seems significantly bumped up. As was the case of Avengers: Age of Ultron footage in WandaVision, shit looks SUPER crisp.

HENNYWAY

As Ayo says the trigger words, Bucky braces for the worst. But as Ayo says the final word, we see that Bucky is still...Bucky. And at this realisation he starts to cry.

Y’all. My heart.

I was not expecting an episode to open with a moment like this and to show Bucky in such a state of vulnerability. Sebastian Stan has been great in this show from the start, and he just continues to show out and give us ACTING.

I also adore this moment because of the strength and tenderness of Ayo. She isn’t flanked by an entire team of Dora. And she’s not in some high tech facility with security what-nots which could protect her, because she knows she’s a bad bitch and that she can handle whatever Bucky becomes. When Bucky expresses his apprehension in partaking in this test, Ayo says ‘I won’t let you hurt anyone’ and not only do we truly believe that she won’t, but Bucky knows it too.

Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole did an amazing job of how they wrote Okoye in Black Panther, and it’s so reassuring to see that carry through to Ayo in this show. It’d be so easy to just make the Dora cold bad bitches, and they’d still be amazing. But to see them have so much heart and warmth.. *Sheds a tear* They’re a great representation of Black women. And it’s great to see another multi-faceted Black woman in this show alongside Sam’s sister Sarah, who also has a powerful moment in this episode with a zinger of a line.

In the present day, Ayo is PISSED at Bucky for breaking Zemo out of prison. The dynamic here is as it was in the flashback. Ayo is in complete control of the situation, but the energy is different. Bucky is made to look like a naughty school boy, as Ayo circles him and reminds him of not only what Wakanda did for him, but what Zemo did to Wakanda. It also provides context as to why Ayo is the one Wakandan to show up. We’re reminded that Ayo was chosen to protect King T’Chaka and she failed in that. So for her, she feels responsible. Bringing Zemo to justice is personal, as is finding out Bucky, was the one who broke him loose in the first place.

Bucky implores that he needed Zemo and doesn’t even explain why aside from saying ‘He’s a means to an end’, which Bucky says in Wakandan to let Ayo know that he’s dead serious. Ayo tells him he has 8 hours to do whatever he needs to do before she comes for Zemo. This is a really important moment which shows the trust there was between these two, because it falls to pieces later in the episode.

When Bucky returns to the hideout pad, he surprisingly tells Sam and Zemo that Wakanda wants Zemo. I figured he'd keep it a secret, but Bucky is clearly on his honesty kick. His therapist would be proud, even after breaking his second rule of not hurting anybody only a moment prior.

The Scooby gang also find out that head Flag-Smasher Karli bombed a GRC building and killed people, which is where we really start to see where Sam and Zemo stand on Karli and Super Soldiers. Zemo is like ‘The bitch needs to die’ and Sam is like ‘Yo, she’s just a kid’. Then Zemo spits real talk about why not only the super soldier serum being out there is a problem, but that the same aspirational ideals that creates heroes also creates villains. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, similar to WandaVision has shown how good and bad isn’t always so clear cut, and that just one moment can throw somebody one way or the other. But also, that context and points of view can cause you to see somebody however you want to see them. Many people see Karli as a hero, but what she did in episode 3 was plain villainous and just wrong. The Nazi’s (who are referenced here) were evil, but made up of people and a leader who felt they were upholding the patriotic duty of their country.

It also says a lot about Zemo, because whilst we paint him as a villain, he’s not trying to rule the world. He just doesn’t think the world needs superheroes with such destructive power that can harm as many people as it can save - and he's not wrong. Tony was so hell bent on trying to save the world that he ended up wiping out an entire country. Zemo himself is a causality of Tony Stark’s heroic attempts, just as Wanda was, and look at what they both ended up doing as a result.

Zemo says ‘The desire to become a superhero cannot be separated from supremacist ideals’ and he’s kinda right. It’s a simplified take on a situation, but it’s not wrong, and it’s also very relevant for what we have seen happen with Karli and will see happen with Dollar Tree Cap. The basis of this on some level is what caused so much friction in Captain America: Civil War. It’s what birthed Hydra. It’s what made Nick Fury so fearful when he was running S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve is the obvious elephant in the room of this talk of super serums and supremacy, and Bucky does mentions him. But Zemo’s got time and bars. ‘But there has never been another Steve Rogers has there?’

Steve Rogers was no martyr. He wasn’t perfect and he made mistakes. But it does create this spin on Captain America, which not only makes you think in the context of this world Marvel are building where everything is so grey, but ties into part of the story specifically being told here. The shield, the outfit and the title doesn’t make Captain America. Not even the serum does. It’s the person and what they do with each of these things. And episode 4 is the one episode which shows that Sam has the chops for Cap. And it’s important that we see that, because we have to believe and see that Sam is right for the job. For us as viewers or even as fans of Sam Wilson, it wasn’t enough for him to just be handed the shield by Steve. We have to see he has what it takes. And in this episode we see that Steve was right, which means he wasn’t wrong about Bucky after all.

The super soldier serum grants physical abilities, but it doesn’t just make people strong. One crucial thing that Dr. Tucci Erskine said about the serum is that it enhances who you are as a person; something that Lemar 'Battlestar' Hoskins reminds us of when John asks him if he’d ever take it - a foreshadowing of what we see John become when he takes the serum later in the episode.

Steve was virtuous and good of heart, which is why he made a good Captain America and was so steadfast in doing the right thing. But even Steve wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes and also felt he was above law and order in Civil War. The serum is constantly seen at this wonderful thing that will make things easier, but Zemo sees it for what it is. The existence of it and people juiced on it makes the world more dangerous, and leads those who have it to thinking they can ascend law and order.

As with the shield, we’re seeing some people attribute the serum to heroism, and what made Captain America, and everybody is getting it completely wrong. The only person that gets it is Sam, and oddly enough, Zemo - who doesn’t always disagree with things Sam says and his methods, which is also a sign that Sam isn't just the hero the world needs, but one Zemo would even be okay with.

Throughout the episode Sam shows a level of compassion that nobody else does. Everybody seems to want Karli either dead or in prison. Where-as Sam just wants to talk her down. Sam is inherently a good person, but given the optics of race and disenfranchised communities that this show touches on, it makes sense that Sam would see where Karli is coming from, even if he doesn’t agree with how she’s handling things.

When Sam meets Karli face to face and the two talk, even Karli seems taken aback by how much Sam actually gets her, and how honest he is. Sam doesn’t know what it’s like to be displaced, but as a Black American he knows what it’s like when an institution doesn’t give a shit about you. Sam also knows loss having lost a best friend (Riley, not Steve - go watch The Winter Soldier) and both of his parents.

Whether Karli turns out to be 'evil' or not (Marvel have definitely set her up as the villain of this show), the fact that Sam still found common ground with her at some point is important to showing that he tried; as opposed to John Walker who is insistent on capturing her by force, and Zemo, who just wants her dead. Sam is the only person (Bucky pending) that could say with a clear conscience that he really did try to reason with Karli and help her, and even Karli can’t dispute that. So I’m curious as to how everything will play out, and if Sam will have to make a difficult call. One thing is for sure, Karli has now done too much for Sam to show her the compassion he did before. The show will probably make him do it, to hammer home what makes Sam different to somebody like John, and thereby a great Captain America - but she won't deserve it, and she doesn't.

The episode which was welcomed change of pace from episode 3, in that it doesn’t take place in all manner of locations. It’s all set in Latvia, which is where the camp Donya was and Karli visits regularly. It has more of the feel of episodes 1 and 2, in that things feel far more chilled and focused.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier continues to really build out the effects the blip had on the world. I mentioned in my episode 2 re-cap that the story of the un-blipped and diversity within the Flag-Smashers shares parallels with that of immigrants and refugees (which one character clarifies these people are not). But you could also extend it to poor communities at large too. People pushed to the fringes and left resourceless, when there are enough resources to support them, even in the smallest of ways. It doesn’t make Karli’s terrorist attacks right, but you can see on a range of levels how this could push Karli to do what she does.

What this episode highlights is the Venn diagram of Sam, Karli and Zemo. All have been wronged by the government in some way. Sam for just being Black. Karli being failed by the system. Zemo losing his family because the Avengers were able to do whatever-the-fuck unchecked. But each of them handle their grievances with the system in different ways. Sam found a calling when he met Steve, which led to him becoming a hero. Karli took matters into her own hands and stole the technology that made Captain America, and became a hero to the displaced. Zemo sought to tear down the Avengers and rid the world of serum juiced individuals, and show everybody that heroes are not martyrs. Ultimately all three want some form of a better world, but have taken different paths and have different means of achieving their goals, and have different visions of what the world should be.

Then you have Bucky and John who feel like unfortunates who got dragged into this world, where Sam, Karli and Zemo have clear understandings of who they are and where they fit - all the while Bucky and John are not only having to find their footing in this world, but gain an understanding of who they actually are as people. Bucky never asked to become The Winter Soldier, but here he is, caught up in all this superhero shit with his past coming back to haunt him. John never sought to be Captain America, he was asked to be. And now here is, caught up in shit that has his WAY out of his depth. But what Bucky and John also share is that they are in positions of privilege, and neither of them realise it.

With John Walker and Lemar Hoskins back with the Scooby gang, we get to see that John is a complete hothead who is letting the Captain America mantle go right to his head. It goes a long way to showing that Sam would make a great Captain America, as he seems to be THE ONLY person who isn’t choosing violence. John just wants to sling his dick shield around. Lemar is there to let John do it. Bucky just wants to punch things. And Zemo just wants to pull the Glock on some serum juiced folk. Sam is the only one who actually seems to care about the person who is at the centre of all of the shit that’s going on.

In many ways (skin tone aside) he’s very similar to Monica in WandaVision, who was the only person that knew Wanda was the key to fixing the myriad of foolery taking place in Westview. But skin tone brought back in, it’s another instance of Black people having compassion for others that they are never shown themselves. Sam is doing the right thing for the country, even though his country continues to fail him. And Monica was trying to do right by Wanda, even though Wanda tried to kill her at every opportunity.

Sam and Bucky never officiated their relationship at any point. We know that they do, because we see them do so in the trailers. But at this point, there are some signs that maybe Bucky doesn’t trust Sam as much as Sam trusts him, because John seems to pick at this on two occasions. This not only highlights how Bucky sees Sam, but how John sees Sam. He refuses to believe that Sam is capable of anything, although he has no reason to believe as such. I said that from the start John was set up in a way to show that he’s not racist, and I still don’t think that he is. But the way he continually seems so dismissive of Sam would make you wonder. Especially when Sam is the only person who is giving him breaks and trying to stop him making an ass of himself. He doesn’t even grant Bucky such graces.

When Sam finally gets the chance to speak to Karli, he’s actually having a good conversation with her, but then John gets hot-headed, starts talking some shit to Bucky to make him question Sam. Then everything goes to shit. When Ayo turns up, Sam tries to tell John to chill because the Dora will kick his ass, and he puts his hand on Ayo’s shoulder. Then everything goes to shit.

John only seems to be this way with Black characters. I think it’s to show John is just an asshole. But there was one moment in particular which provided a very clear racial commentary which involved Dollar Tree Cap, and that was when he first met the Dora Milaje.

We don’t just get Ayo popping up for 2 seconds then disappearing. We see her and two other Dora clear an entire room of men who don’t know better. Where-as Sharon’s John Wick moment in episode 3 was a little hit and miss because of the choreo which had Sharon doing bad gal tings, but not always looking like a fully seasoned bad bitch; the Dora here are SHARP. The best thing about this fight scene is witnessing the level of coordination that the Dora have. The Dora aren’t enhanced in any way, which just makes their feats even more extraordinary. What I truly adore about this scene is how key moments of it can be interpreted and the commentaries they potentially make.

First off is how John treats the Dora upon their arrival. Telling them they have no jurisdiction in America, that they should put their 'pointy sticks down' and then feeling it appropriate to get familiar and put his hand on Ayo’s shoulder. There is no respect or decency shown. John thinks being Captain America means he is always the most important person in the room. He is learning that as important as his title and that shield is to him and many others, there are countless others to whom they don’t mean a thing. Especially non-Americans. He really thought Wakandans would care about his lil’ blue jumpsuit and some shield?

Gurl.

Whilst Sam and Lemar are a part of this fight, they’re pretty much non-factors in it. It’s really about Bucky and John. These two white men are both fighting warriors from Wakanda with weapons which are made from a Wakandan material, and they both end up (quite literally in Bucky's case) disarmed by the Dora. Where-as the two Black men are the only ones that both read the situation and stay the fuck down when knocked down. John and Bucky both tried to play games, were disrespectful to Ayo, and ended up humiliated because of it.

Ayo’s power isn’t just in her physicality, but her unknowing sense of who she is. In this fight, Bucky and John both lost sight of who they actually were, and wound up licking their wounds and bruised egos because of wrong decisions they’d made. Bucky and John foolishly thought there’d be no consequences for their actions, when Sam tried to warn them both. He flat out told Bucky the Wakandas would be mad and come for their ass if Zemo got free. And he told John not to pick a fight with the Dora. The lesson here? Listen to Black people.

Then there’s the damn shield. There's all this drama over the shield and who gets it, and it's presented as this highly coveted thing. Yet the Dora come in for all of 30 seconds and end up with the shield, just through the circumstances of the fight which ensues. A Dora actually has the shield (she looks amazing with it) with the seeming intent of taking it. Just for Ayo to be like 'Leave it', because it's not what they came for, and it has no symbolism or meaning to them anyway. And it’s not like vibranium is scarce for them. It is just a shield, which also highlights something else. This impervious shield is seen as a symbol of America, but it only exists because of Wakanda. Were it not made from vibrainum, Cap's shields would have to be rolling off a production line. But the Black history connected to the shield has been erased, just as Isaiah Bradley's legacy was.

We also got some great character moments in this fight. When Ayo disarms Bucky, his face is a picture. He is in utter disbelief at not only the fact that his arm has a failsafe (because of course Shuri would build in a failsafe), but that Ayo would do him like that. But Ayo wasn’t being vindictive by disarming him. She was reminding Bucky that he should have known better. But also that Ayo was there with him that night when he was finally set free. Ayo says something to Bucky in Wakandan which is not translated, and it makes it all the more poignant, because we didn’t need a translation. Ayo’s face is one of utter disappointment, and Bucky looks ashamed because he knows he fucked up. Her detaching his arm and then calling him James was almost like her wiping her hands of him. Because up to this point, she had only ever referred to him as White Wolf; the name Wakandans had given him. When somebody usually only refers to you by nickname, you know you fucked up when they call you by your birth given name.

Despite Bucky spending a considerable amount of time in Wakanda, enough to learn and understand the language, we never got a sense that they had a close relationship with anybody there. But it seems he developed one with Ayo, which is what makes this scene between them cut. Ayo feels betrayed by somebody she thought she could trust. And whilst Bucky was in the wrong, he also seems somewhat betrayed by Ayo taking off his arm and leaving him so exposed.

But the most plot moving character moment is John. As he sits on the floor with his ass in his hands, he says ‘They’re not even super soldiers’. He realises that not only is he in way too deep, but he isn’t equipped for the job. We always knew John was going to end up with the super soldier serum, but this moment is the one that makes it narratively clear that if he sees a chance to take it, he absolutely will, and it’s going to bring the worst out of him - which he does, and it does.

Karli Morgenthau is the weakest link in this show by far, because she falls victim to the one thing Marvel aren't good at, and that's good villains. Every Marvel Studios story always has to have a very clear villain and that tipping point is always them killing somebody for no good reason. It's really lazy, and its unfortunate. Especially in the format of a show where you can actually give such a character more nuance, and ESPECIALLY with the setup they initially gave Karli.

I honestly didn't think she'd be the main villain, but it's looking like she is, given that we’ve only got 2 episodes left and she's now killed a bunch of people. But they keep throwing her back and forth in such a way that I’m like ‘Okay, whatever. I’mma just let this play out’. But it’s hard not to critique her messy arc, when it is so...messy. I think what the Flag-Smashers represent makes sense. I get why they’ve become these rebels and why they have a devout following. What I don’t get are Karli’s methods, and why she has to be so terroristic in everything that she does. I guess MAYBE it’s a commentary of terrorism that I hadn’t picked up on. Because terrorists also think they’re doing things for some greater good. But the counter point to that here is that what Karli’s cause IS genuinely a good and noble one; something that even Sam points out. And if Sam says it’s good, then it’s good - as he is the moral compass of this show and has been since the beginning.

The one moment which really threw her character for me was her bombing a GRC camp and killing innocent people in episode 3. I actually think the writers should have left this out completely, because it made buying into her as a good guy or a morally grey character really difficult this week. In episode 4 we get two moments where Karli seems caring, genuine and as a good person. The show clearly wants us to side with her, but it’s difficult to have any form of empathy for her when we saw her kill innocent people last week. Her acts of terrorism get bigger every episode. First it was stealing money. Then it was vaccines. Then it was blowing up a GRC building. And now she’s threatened Sam's family and killed a government agent!?

The problem with the way Karli is depicted is the bad things that she does far outweigh everything else to the point that the small moments of remorse gets completely lost. When she killed Hoskins, there was a moment of realisation on her face of the mistake she'd made - she clearly didn't intend to kill him. But she was fine to shank Captain America and kill a man who was just doing his job. When Karli got off the phone with Sam's sister, you could see that she felt terrible about doing it. But she fucking threatened an innocent woman and her kids to meet with a guy, who would've met with her ANYWAY if she'd just called, and gone to length to ensure John Walker didn't crash the party again.

So many moments with Karli feel shuffled out of order, or just plain unnecessary. And she's done too much wrong to be redeemed or seen any other way. It's like what Star Wars did with Kylo Ren. Wanting us to believe that somebody is still good, when they've done such heinous acts.

I think the show missed a trick by not only investing more time to make us actually like Karli, but also the Flag-Smashers as a whole. We seldom get moments which really explain why they are so fiercely loyal to her. There should definitely be some internal fighting between them as to if they’re doing the right thing, especially after Karli bombed the GRC compound. I don’t think any of them signed up to be fugitives on the run for murder. Also, the dude with Karli when the GRC building blew up in episode 2 seemed shocked, implying that maybe he didn’t agree with Karli methods. But now he’s over it and is back to co-signing all of her fuck-shit!?

I believed in the Flag-Smashers’ cause in the beginning. But now they’re just a bunch of villains following a leader who isn’t even sure of what she’s doing and is now leaving bodies in her wake. Two of the Flag-Smashers have died because of her hateration in the dancery, and yet they all still follow her? Where are the morals and the logic? What is with the sudden pivot to ‘YEP THEY’RE VILLIANS’ that we got in episode 3, after episode 2 did so much work to show that they weren’t!?

Make these Flag-Smashers make sense.

Oddly enough. Do you know who I actually felt for? John Walker. Not in the sense of feeling sorry for him specifically. But finally getting the pressure he felt he was under, and the sense of inferiority that he feels not only in comparison to Steve Rogers, but to Sam and Bucky, who are always one step ahead and closer to solutions than he is. This may be part of why he seems to always want to antagonise Sam or put him down, because he subconsciously sees Captain America in him, and the effortlessness at which Sam embodies it. As unlikable as John Walker has been in past episodes, he was a highlight in this episode. He was still an utter piece of shit, but a piece of shit that was so compelling to watch tip over the edge. Wyatt Russell did a great job with his mannerisms in this episode, which gave us a glimpse that maybe John Walker is unhinged, which made the final moment of this episode when he killed one of the Flag-Smashers in cold blood not feel like it came completely out of nowhere.

As with Karli, I think his turning moment of ‘dO yOu KnOw WhO i Am!?’ in episode 3 was unnecessary, because right then there was zero ambiguity about him being the wrong choice for Captain America and potentially being a bad guy. It would have made his descent just that bit more gradual, and the final moments of episode 4 hit so much harder. Although it still packs an absolute wallop.

Lemar Hoskins’ death wasn’t just a trigger for John Walker to go apeshit. It’s going to be a trigger for Sam too. Sam had said that he’d never take the serum, but will he feel the same way about that having seen Lemar die? If he doesn’t take the serum, knowing what he’ll have to face, he could easily be another Lemar. Another Black body on the concrete. He knows how a Black Cap was treated when he fulfilled his duty and lived. What would happen to a Black Cap if he died?

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has made it very clear that this world the story is set in has the same systemic racism as this one we’re living in, and that Sam is aware of it. It’s what makes Bucky’s jabs about giving the shit to John so aggravating, because Sam did not hand it over to him. Even after hearing what happened with Isaiah Bradley, Bucky still can’t see it. It’s what makes me roll my eyes when white folk covering this show can’t see why Sam would not want to be Captain America and why he would give the shield away.

The shield has a legacy of not only a person, but an entire country. A country that fails Black people every single day. It’s why I don’t think Sam will just become Captain America. If this show was just a cute lil’ action, spy thriller bop like the movies, I woulda been like ’Oh, he's absolutely gonna be Captain America’. But with the way this show is touching on race, I can’t see it. As amazing of a symbol it would be, it would fly in the face of the commentaries being made. It would make more sense for Sam to keep the shield and figure out what he wants to do. Sam seems like the type who would want to create a new legacy in a different kind of way, as opposed to just becoming Captain America. ESPECIALLY after what John Walker did. But watch my Black ass be completely wrong. They’ll probably make Sam Cap in the final episode, the same way we saw Wanda become the Scarlet Witch at the end of WandaVision.

Episode 4 was a solid episode which was far better than episode 3. It managed to get everything right, BUT Karli and the Flag-Smashers. They still feel wholly unexplored, and it feels like Karli’s arc is just hitting certain beats to clearly identify her as a villain; which feels strange after an episode which went to length to muddy the waters concerning whether she actually was.

Karli keeps being hopscotched between 'See, she's good' and 'SHE A VILLIAN'. And I kinda don’t see the point in this back and fort now, because after what she’s done, she’s irredeemable. You could say the same about Bucky. But his get outta jail free card in terms of his alliance and how we see him is that he was brainwashed and being mind controlled by Hydra. Bucky himself was a victim of people like Karli, who have a vision of the world and will do anything to see it come to light.

The handling of Karli is so annoying, because everything about the Flag-Smashers and the context we get through them of how bad the blip has been is great. But we went from grey zone to clear black and white way too fast, and now Karli is at a point where she’s absolutely proved Zemo right. If this was the intent, then cool. But I thought the show was going to work a little harder to not prove Zemo’s theory right so fast.

HENNYWAY.

Emotional Bucky was great. Sam giving me Cap was lovely. Karli is a fucking mess. That Wakanda Disney+ series that got announced needs to just be a Dora Milaje show. And shout outs to Marvel Studios for the final moment and shot of the episode. It was not what I was expecting to see on a Disney production AT ALL. Bitch. A whole bludgeoning? With a shield!? A shield with a star and stripes?! With blood!? 20 minutes after Sarah Wilson said ‘My world doesn’t matter to America. So why should I care about its mascot?’. Marvel said ‘This is America’ and I’m here for it.