The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Episode 6 - Review

With how the penultimate episode of The Falcon and the Winter Solider ended, with Sam looking into the case, there was no way it was going to take very long to get a look at his new suit. Thankfully, that was the case, but the show also had to deal with the other ends that needed to be dealt with, but at the same time, laying potential seeds for the future and the show was mostly successful across the board.

*Spoilers Ahead*

There were a few ways that the final could have gone, Sam becoming Captain America was always going to happen and while I am glad, they didn’t wait long to show him off in the suit, I was hoping it would have been the opening. The problem was that it left Sharon time to make an appearance, which wouldn’t be an issue, if they hadn’t set her up to be the Power Broker, in a way that any kid with a box of crayons could have discovered. Her showing up just added a level of complexity that the show didn’t need and each time she was on screen, you knew that she would only be serving her own self interests. Thankfully, once Sam did make his dramatic debut, the show picked up pace and for the most part, it kept it going for the duration, with only the last few minutes going for a more sedate pace, overall, it was a solid debut for the newest Captain America.

Flipping things over and taking a look at The Winter Soldier things were not as well balanced, it was great to see Bucky able to let loose a bit in his fight because he wasn't fighting random people, he was fighting super soldiers, or at least enhanced people, but he really didn't feel like he was making a big impact to the overall story. Throughout the series run Bucky has grown in an emotional way and finally learned to accept ownership of his past sins, but nothing about that journey translated into this episode, until the very end. While he was a driving force early on in the series, here it kind of felt like he was a guest in this episode and not a titular character. That being said, him finally owning up and confessing his past sins as The Winter Soldier was a strong moment, one that was made all that more impactful by him walking past the bar at the end.

If I'm being honest John Walker was never my favourite character in this series, not to say he was a horrible character, he was just telegraphed very clearly into what he was going to become and while he did the right thing at the end how they got to that point still makes no sense. In the fourth episode we got to see him lose control, his friend was killed and he wanted vengeance, an understandable emotion to be sure and was fitting in with the arc the character was on, but now going face to face with the person responsible, he gives up that. Please don't misunderstand, I think it was a very important moment for Walker because when it came down to it he actually did the right thing and attempted to save the people, but even 3 minutes earlier in the show he's having moments of doubt you know trying to focus here or there and when he made a decision it seemed just a bit too easy. His final moments where he's officially unveiled as US Agent was a nice cap to his story, but if they choose not to do anything with the character going forward I wouldn't be upset.

Now we get to the last main character, Karli Morgenthau, leader of the flag smashes and idealist/ terrorist and while you can understand her point of view, it just feels hard to accept that this sweet 19-year-old girl, over the course of a few weeks goes from fighting for the people to openly admitting to murdering dozens, just to get her goal. There's always been talk about the serum amplifying what makes a person, you know good becomes great, bad becomes worse, and the problem is we never saw her as either good or bad just misled, so her escalating to kidnapping and ransoming people before ultimately admitting she would be happy to kill them, it's just a very odd pill to swallow.

What I did like though was how the end came to be it wasn't Sam punching somebody off a building or Bucky beating somebody with a car door or even John Walker trying to rip somebody's arm off, but instead it was a passionate speech about people actually taking the time to look at the world that they are attempting to control. It could have easily been cheesy, but it was well written and Anthony Mackie managed to put in an impassioned performance and it made it feel like it wasn't just about the show but the world we actually live in. Anthony and Sebastian have both done exceptional jobs over the course of the series, we got to see them at their lowest we got to see them at their highest and of course every level in between.

For the final episode of Captain America and The Winter Soldier, it left things in a good place, unlike WandaVision, where that ending was ambiguous, here things offered closure. There is a potential that this show could get another season and of course the post credit scene of Sharon Carter AKA the Power Broker cementing herself back into the good graces of the CIA can also lead to some unique places, but unlike some shows where there is always questions left hanging, here if it's not renewed, the ending is still satisfying. While there were some amazing fights in this final episode, there were also a lot of fights in the episode, what it came down to was somebody willing to stand up for their convictions and say I know who I am and I'm going to do what I know is right and is probably a message we should all take to heart.

The Score

9.0

The Pros

+A strong debut for the latest Captain America

+Bucky finally was able to move ahead in his goal of finding redemption

+A statisfying ending that, if there is no more, feels right

The Cons

-John Walker again bounced between extremes, with little to no reason

-Karli's entire motiviation seemed to be weak, given how quickly she spiraled

-Sharon's reveal as the Power Broker was not an OMG moment and left her presence feeling weaker in comparison