The fifth episode of the Falcon and the Winter Soldier was released yesterday. It is the second to last episode and honestly I did not expect such a slow episode at this point of the series. Considering there is just one more, perhaps this is the calm before the storm.
The episode resolved much of the emotional burden of the two leads. Sam has finally come to terms that he is the one that should be wielding the shield, and Bucky proved to himself that he has cut ties to the person he was as the Winter Soldier and that he is not under anyone’s control anymore.
It was a character exploration episode, but the focus was so much on the shield, that this close to the finale it feels that the entire series was only about who will inherit Captain America’s shield.
Heavyhearted but heart warming episode, where Bucky kills with his smile.
Spoilers ahead!
At the very beginning of the episode we have John Walker running away from the square, where he painted that shield in red, but not for long. Sam and Bucky appear and while they try to reason with him, as soon as Sam asks for the shield, John starts to fight them. He loses of course, Bucky picks up the shield and throws it to Sam, as if saying “here, this belongs to you”.
Now back in the US, John Walker faces a trial where he is stripped of the title Captain America, and gets a “other than honorable discharge”. Out of the courtroom, the first surprise of the episode appears, Contessa Valentina Allegra De Fontaine and straight down recruits him in five minutes.
Torres: Sometimes, there’s nothing to do, until there’s something to do.
Sam: That’s bizarrely wise.
Torres: Well, I’m a bizarrely wise man Sam.
Contessa Valentina Allegra De Fontaine, I know it is hard, but I don’t like to repeat myself, so you can just call me Val. But don’t call me Val, just keep it in your head.
Next scene is Karli and her crew go back to their hideout in Riga, which has been raided and shut down by the GRC, so she decides that it is time for the final blow, whatever that means.
In Sokovia by the memorial, Zemo is patiently waiting for Bucky to come and have their final show down. However, Bucky holds an empty gun at him, clicks the trigger and then shows the bullets in his other hands, as if saying, I am free from you. The Dora Milaje appears and picks him up to escort him to the Raft.
This was such a gentle let down, considering he escaped last episode and so soon Zemo basically gave himself up.
Right before Ayo leaves, Bucky asks for one more favor, and it turns out to be new wings for Sam, since John tore the ones he had right in the beginning of the episode. Probably not just wings, because they really tried to hide what is in the wakandan box.
Here comes the homey part. Sam goes back home, but before that, he made a visit to Isaiah Bradley. Since the first time we met him, his story was really just barely touched, in this episode the old super soldier tells Sam how he became super solider and how he ended up in prison.
The entire “home” segment was about Sam, his doubts and fears about accepting the shield as his own without falling into the same pit John Walker did. Sam concludes that it doesn’t matter what Steve would’ve though and Bucky (and himself) should stop looking to other people to tell them who they are.
After this they part ways…until the next episode.
For the episode end, the Flag-Smashers start whatever plan they have against the GCR. Just before that, Karli meets Bartoc in New York who has delivered a weapon of some kind. It is still unknown why Sharon contacted Bartoc in mid-episode and what is her connection with the Flag-Smashers.
In a post credits scene, we see John Walker forging another shield for him. that serum, really got into his head.
