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My expectations for Falcon and the Winter Soldier were pretty low. I'd never been particularly interested in either character despite the fact that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one of my favourite MCU films. But I liked the first episode of the new series which aired a couple days ago. It's not as intriguing as WandaVision, it's even kind of boring, but I appreciate it for not being obnoxious or egregiously stupid.

The episode, like, apparently, several upcoming episodes, was directed by veteran television director Kari Skogland who also directed an episode of the Netflix Punisher series so this is her second outing in the MCU. She does a decent enough job--the action scenes are fast moving, if a little predictable--the moment I saw the helicopter with the open sides, I knew Falcon was going to fly through. I saw someone on Twitter describe the opening as a military recruitment ad. I guess if the military had guys with wings, sure.

He doesn't really have a superpower, does he? Just mechanical wings? I never read any of the comics with Falcon. According to Wikipedia, he was briefly a mutant. Maybe the MCU will reintroduce that idea as part of their interminable X-Men teases. At the moment, he's just a guy with mechanical wings, which makes him a less powerful version of X-Men's Archangel, I guess.

As a character in the MCU, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is kind of a blank slate. He's always just been around either to react as the normal modern human guy to Steve Rogers or to be part of the CG super-mob in a busy Avengers fight scene. This episode opens him up a little, giving him a sister and nephews (who amusingly call him "Uncle Sam") and a family legacy involving a mouldering old boat. There's a kind of interesting scene where they try to get a loan from the bank for the boat. I like how the bank employee is insensitive but not cartoonishly horrible when he's oddly focused on taking selfies instead of talking about loans. Still, the scene feels truncated, as though there was a longer version where he actually explained why Sam's government contracts were insufficient. The episode handles The Blip a little better than other things in the MCU--certainly better than Far From Home--and there was just the barest hint of how billions of people suddenly turning up might have affected financial institutions.

Sam still feels insubstantial but I can see him possibly becoming interesting. Bucky (Sebastian Stan) has a lot more baggage to work with and I liked his awkward date. Though actress Miki Ishikawa reminded me of the typical MCU child actors--as seen in the Ant-Man movies and WandaVision--whose flatly chipper line deliveries make them seem manic and partially deaf. Sebastian Stan isn't bad though I don't understand why so many Star Wars fans want him to play Luke Skywalker so badly.

I think there's reason to hope the series will improve in quality once we get to scripts by John Wick's Derek Kolstad. I'll tune in in any case.

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ironymaiden

the bank scene is a pretty well-written bit of institutional racism in play. i.e. nothing Sam and his sister produce is going to be good enough.

setsuled

I know that's the impression a lot of people had of that scene but it didn't come off that way to me. The bank guy just seemed like a fanboy.

djonn

And that's exactly, to me, why it does read as institutional racism - not conscious, not intentional on the bank guy's part, but racism all the same. Because if Bank Guy is an Avengers fanboy (and clearly he is in fact just that), and an Avenger walks into his bank wanting to do business, in any case where all other factors are equal Bank Guy will want to do that Avengers member a favor, and indeed will be looking for ways to do that favor, even if he has to bend a rule or two to do it. But here, as much as his fanboy self may want to get a bit of Sam's Avenger moxie to rub off on him, his office self knows that if he bends the rules even the slightest bit for this customer he's going to get burned for it by his bosses at the very least.

And you can even argue that Bank Guy kind of realizes this, even if he doesn't want to admit it to himself, because his fanboy self is pretty clearly frustrated that he can't help the actual Avenger on the other side of the desk - but in his world, that's just the way things are, and he's too invested in the institution to push back (at least at this particular moment). There's arguably a good fanfic waiting to be written where this scene turns out to be Bank Guy's wakeup call, and down the line he gradually does start to push back at the way things are. But in the context of the episode, I think the read of institutional racism is on target.

chase_acow

This is a really good summary of that scene! I think we're going to see several different variations unconscious bias to flat out in your face racism in this series and I'm glad for it. Hopefully it opens some eyes. Honestly, every time Sam had to deal with a "Not my Captain America. . . " in the comics I wanted to punch someone.

Maybe. I don't know, the more I think about it, the more I notice odd things missing in the scene. Like he asks Sam how he'd been supporting himself and Sam just . . . doesn't answer. He says something about goodwill. Well, how has he been supporting himself? I know he was in the military. Does he have a pension? Overall, it just feels like the scene is too lacking in information to draw any conclusions.

jeliza

I thought that bit was actually implying that the Avengers weren't actually being paid post-SHIELD. Room and board at the compound/Wakanda, sure, but otherwise?

Yeah, Sam said being an Avenger wasn't a paid position.

Yeah, several showrunners have all thrown out that Falcon and Winter Soldier is basically a six hour movie. I won't be surprised if at the end it's better binged two or more hours together. I think having a slow opening that lets everybody get to know these guys is better than being dropped into more guessing weirdness that doesn't really pay off.

If you're not a fan of either Sam or Bucky, maybe this show isn't for you.

lynnenne

I think having a slow opening that lets everybody get to know these guys is better than being dropped into more guessing weirdness that doesn't really pay off.

Agreed. I know a lot of people found Bucky’s therapy session too slow, but I loved it.