'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' Episode 2 Review: New Captain America impresses but he's no Steve Rogers
Spoilers for 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' Episode 2 'The Star-Spangled Man'
Generous doses of a throwback to the 'Captain America' trilogy, some dollops of comedy, a grim reminder of prevalent racism and high-octane action sum up 'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' Episode 2.
Titled 'The Star-Spangled Man', the chapter is an emotional rollercoaster for Steve Rogers fans. It's surreal really to see a new man with a shield, but not a man out of time. But the shield still serves as a reminder of what it means to be a model citizen and a true superhero.
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Wyatt Russell's John Walker/Captain America is all of this (Not). He may have passed all the tests that saw him fit to inherit the shield and, in his own words, he may have the "guts" that Rogers had, but what he didn't have was the respect towards the shield that was a symbol of hope.
He has a sidekick too, and that's strangely a daft way to show that Rogers and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) are now replaced by two people with zero expertise in saving the world. And then there's Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), another man out of time and having issues fitting into a world that is now alien to him in a lot of ways.
'The Star-Spangled Man' opens with a quick introduction to Walker and also sets up a rather comedic, yet somber reunion for Buck and Wilson. The former is livid that the shield was given up and teams up on a mission that sees the duo take on the Flag Smashers, a bunch of super-soldier extremists aiming to bring the world to its pre-blip much more chaotic state.
Buck, Wilson and Walker along with his sidekick Lemar (Cle Bennett) aka Battlestar get their asses whupped despite putting up a fight. There was every reason why the audience may end up hating Walker. He may be a lot of things, being Rogers wasn't one of them.
In his attempt to stop the Flag Smashers, he ends up making enemies out of Buck and Wilson with jabs that come out unintentionally that also show his character which is a stark contrast to the OG Cap.
The episode ends with the Bucky-Wilson team-up the MCU fandom wants but also sees them treading dangerous waters when Bucky decides to know more about the extremist group from the one man who fractured the Avengers— Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl).
This sets the tone for enough speculations and just might be the start of Buck and Wilson operating on their own like vigilantes, or quite essentially, going against everything the Sokovia Accords stood for.
In a way, this episode feels like an extension of 'Captain America: Civil War' and promises a lot more action and suspense. And on that note, Hallelujah for a 47-minute runtime.
'The Falcon and The Winter Soldier' Episode 2 is available for streaming on Disney+.