The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - S1E2: The Star-Spangled Man
DISNEY+The titular duo (Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan) come together in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s sophomore episode, after the pilot sought to place them on their own journeys. Despite an action packed opening, the first episode dwelled mainly on the characters of Sam (Mackie) and Bucky (Stan), as they dealt with the issues of a post-blip world. It was a rare and refreshing inner look at the peoples of the MCU.
Episode Two isn’t here for that kind of characterisation. The introduction of John Walker (Wyatt Russell) as the new Captain America is the spur that brings Bucky back into contact with Sam. Yet, instead of dealing with that issue, the two go after an activist group called the Flag Smashers. This meshing of narratives is drawn together in an all-too-convenient airport scene in which Bucky happens to catch Sam boarding a plane, resulting in Bucky tagging along with zero official approval. Whether this highlights the lax protocols of the Avengers or whether it’s a lazy oversight on Michael Kastelein’s part is hard to glean.
The set piece of the week falls shy of the heights (no pun intended) of the show’s opener. A fight spread across the roofs of two lorries trundling down a highway is the ‘superhero’ spike – a confusing sequence that sees characters tossed across trucks in a manner reminiscent of a game of hot potato. John Walker and his sidekick, Battlestar (Cle Bennett here playing the show’s fifth superhero, so far) join the fray, but are treated so poorly by the lead duo it almost feels like they deserved better.
The action certainly isn’t helped by the fact it’s drowned out by a sea of quips and infuriatingly forced banter. The showrunners are clearly attempting to cash in on the buddy cop slant they’ve sold the show as, but it comes at the risk of derailing who these characters really are as well as slowing down any momentum the narrative attempts to pick up. The sheer number of back and forths between Bucky and Sam rapidly becomes cringey and nullifies the one or two that could’ve been funny. Bucky suffers, in particular, as a character who isn’t exactly known for making these kinds of jokes in the first place. It seems rather odd and raises some concern going forward.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s second episode fails to carry over the quality of its predecessor. Both the action and the dialogue feel weak in comparison and the over-saturation of buddy cop humour risks the show falling flat. It’s a shame as some interesting elements do crop up here – Walker could become one of the show’s more interesting characters, so it’s a shame to see him at the brunt of the lead duo’s anger. Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley is another cool puzzle piece, yet one who gets no more than a couple minutes screentime. The narrative may be moving forward, but it’s hard to get too excited when the execution is beginning to look flawed so early on.