This show is already a lot different than WandaVision, and the more grounded feel is hitting on some very real issues.

To begin, we already knew TFAWS was going to be much less magical, but because of that, as we saw at the very end of the episode, we are seeing issues that we are facing right now, specifically that of race. This is going to be a strong storyline of this show and reminds us that the MCU is meant to be an escape from our lives, but also to mirror some of the issues in which we are dealing with.

Now, let’s start from the beginning. Is Steve dead? Unfortunately, they were very unclear about this, but I think we might have to admit that that was supposed to be Sam dealing with attending a funeral. Considering he chooses to give the shield to a museum that was remembering Steve and the solemn tones of the opening, I have a fear our beloved Steve Rogers has passed away. Something that didn’t quite sit right with me was that they didn’t touch on his death a lot with Bucky, his best friend, but I will say the fact we don’t see Bucky go and visit an old Steve personally solidifies that Steve is no longer around. Think about when Steve found out Peggy was still alive and would go and visit her. I would imagine Bucky would go and hang out with Steve as well, holding on to the one person who knows who he was before he became the Winter Soldier. This show is also months after Endgame, unfortunately giving Steve plenty of time to pass on. I know this is a hard pill to swallow, since it means we have now lost half of the original Avengers, but the way Steve’s ending was written in Endgame, it was meant to be able to conveniently write him off to make way for a new Cap.

I can’t hold back at this point and need to get right into it. Did they just make the Cap mantle about race and not give it to the person that Steve Rogers himself wanted it to be because of his skin color? Yes, yes they did and we know that Sam and Sam’s sister understood all of that. Unfortunately, due to this show’s mirroring, this isn’t surprising, but it is a downgrade not only from Steve, but Sam himself. Who the heck is this scrawny little dude to even carry that shield? In the previews and trailers for the show, we do see Sam and Bucky tossing around a shield, so somehow they either take the one from the ‘new Cap’ or they manage to find another. Since the shield that the ‘new Cap’ has is the one Steve gave Sam from whatever random timeline, I am doubting that there is another one in existence. While we didn’t see it, I’m going to assume this will be reason Bucky goes looking for Sam. Captain America was his best friend and as much as Bucky and Sam bicker like siblings, Bucky knows he is a good man and Steve gave the shield to him for a reason. Also, due to the introduction of Joaquin Torres, who becomes the Falcon when Sam becomes Cap, we can make some assumptions that Sam does eventually decide to become Captain America.

I’m going to apologize in advance, but I did warn you. Can we just talk about Bucky finally getting therapy, something Wanda could’ve faired relatively well with? As arguably one of the most tortured and traumatized characters in the MCU (and also my favorite, I know I’m biased), seeing him try to make amends and work through the pain he caused so many is something I think Steve especially would be proud of. And even though I am aware it was a nightmare, that Winter Soldier scene was amazing and I was really happy to have gotten to see more of the Hydra Winter Soldier in action.

To get to the shows main villains so far, the Flag Smashers are an interesting group because they are a victim of the Snap and then the Blip, which is something Marvel confirmed would be a lot of new villains backgrounds and reasons. I mean, look at Hayward (hate that guy so much, go Darcy for hitting him with a truck). But I think the main interesting aspect is the super strength that the leader appeared to have. Now, the show even hints when Joaquin and Sam are talking that they both are wondering the same unsaid thing: is it super soldier serum or something of its kind? I think we all are too. It is the year 2023 and with ample time to work due to the world half shutting down when the Snap took place, it is possible that this group could have created a version of it, whether it is a permanent change, like what we saw with Steve and Bucky, or a temporary form of it. Either way, we have knowledge that Zemo will be in this show and since he is a villain as well, it is possible he is tied to this group. The only thing that is perplexing is that Zemo in Civil War wanted nothing to do with super soldiers and did not want more of them, which makes it hard to understand whether he just changed his mind, or if they aren’t super soldiers at all.

The only complaint I have about the show this far is that we didn’t actually see Sam and Bucky together. I do wish we would have at least gotten Bucky showing up at Sam’s door at the very end, or something of that nature, to solidify the buddy show this is going to be. Either way, the future of this show is going to be great, and since it is already hitting so many great MCU and real life topics, this first episode alone really helped to change the way our brains were thinking after WandaVision and all the magic. I am super hyped for next week, and as always, comment your own thoughts or message me directly with any thoughts or theories you want me to cover!

Image: “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, Brian Tallerico, Vulture