The Falcon and the Winter Soldier revealed new characters to invest in (Review)

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a great episodic experience.

To be honest, it had that Marvel Cinematic Universe feel to it that WandaVision lacked in the first few episodes. It was exciting to watch and the character development for both Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes made both characters more likeable and gave me, as a viewer, new characters to invest in as phase four of the MCU begins.

Sam Wilson is Captain America. Wow! The creators of this show did an excellent job with making a realistic tone to Sam’s storyline, incorporating the fictional blip and the real prejudice and racism that is in the forefront of society. This six-episode journey for Sam was prevalent because Sam (Anthony Mackie) is indeed a black man. The show runners did not shy away from that fact. One example that stuck out to me the most is when onlookers in crowd would call him “Black Falcon” or “Black Captain America” and this is something that happens a lot. Being black is always a calling card. One can seldomly just “be” without having their race as a labeler.

Sam, the character, has remained the same type of character since we met him in Captain America The Winter Soldier, but he took major strides in showing off his values during TFATWS.

James ‘Bucky’ Barnes (Sebastian Stan) also made strides in his character development. He is still playing his role as the sidekick and supportive friend, but we see him overcome his demons from the past. Bucky evolves from a person reluctant to accept the help of his therapist and becomes a person willing to do the work for his own resurgence. That’s a great storyline.

Both Sam and Bucky have storylines that exhibit that there is power in realizing your past and using it as fuel to become better. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was absolutely a great watch.

Of course, we can’t forget the great action sequences and supporting characters. I’m looking forward to Captain America 4 in the hopes that Sam Wilson will continue to rise in the MCU and become a juggernaut in his own right. I’m also looking forward to more Sam and Bucky buddy comedy.