Oh. My. God. I actually don’t have words.

If you haven’t seen the episode I’m pleading you to leave before reading more because I am about to explode. But to give a general jist, this is my exact reaction to the final scene:

I sat there in pure shock, seeing John kill a man in the middle of a busy town square with the shield that Steve carried for years as a symbol of righteousness. It made me sick and I truly wish I could comprehend to you all how much I am shaking as I write right now. There are some things you truly wish you are never right about, but there are others that you never even saw coming. So while I expected John to take the serum and while I expected him to become one of the biggest problems within the series, I never once imagined it would turn out like this. I also am just shocked at how gruesome the scene itself was and it honestly has me in more shock than Infinity War did, and trust me that’s saying something right now. It was funny because for a second I completely sympathized with John, losing his best friend in that way, although I can’t say from the start it hadn’t been expected. Prior to John taking the serum, I couldn’t make sense of why they would send two humans to battle 8 super soldiers who could easily kill them with one punch. And to be fair to the Flag-Smashers, they were battling a relatively equal fight and had removed Battlestar from the fight because he was never the target. But you also can’t help but see the parallels and the way the show framed John to compare him to Steve. Steve ‘lost’ Bucky and tried to drink his sorrows away. When he couldn’t, he eventually laid his life down for his country and quite frankly the world. John lost Lemar and publicly executed someone. With the shield. In a way that was also a call back to Steve when he was fighting Tony. He disarmed Tony, he didn’t kill him. The serum was intended for a good man, which Steve was, and as we can see, John isn’t. The repercussions of this is going to be immense and the only way to handle John at this point is to neutralize him. He has become too dangerous. And this is the set up for how Sam eventually gets the shield. But besides that, the symbolic significance of the blood on the American shield outshines everything else. For one, Steve chose a shield because it is a defensive weapon and shows protection, while John just used the shield in an offensive manner, to commit murder. Once again highlighting the blood that America has on its’ hands. I can’t WAIT to see how the U.S. government works to get out of this situation.

As far as Zemo escaping, I pray the dude comes back. But I know he won’t rest fully until those super soldiers are killed and I am concerned that Bucky will be on that list. Sam’s offhand comment asking Zemo about Bucky is why that concern comes to mind and now that he is on the loose and has no reason to spare him, I worry he has become a target. However, the Wakandans are looking for Zemo and likely won’t rest until they find him. Not to mention the actual police are looking for him as well. But like I said, I don’t think Zemo will just disappear knowing there are still 6 super soldiers wandering around creating chaos, so I expect him to make a return, most likely killing Karli since he shows no mercy towards her. But John Walker is also now a super soldier, which puts him on Zemo’s radar as well and he isn’t particularly fond of John already.

Now what is intriguing to me is that Karli and Sam clearly have a connection, which leads me to wonder if they are going to end up teaming up to take down John. I can’t see John going back to America or going back to his American operatives after what he just pulled, since they quite literally would have to arrest him. He will most likely go on the run and him being a super soldier now makes him even more dangerous than ever. Karli wants him dead, I’m sure Bucky wants him dead now more than ever after urging Sam to steal the shield and now seeing it used as a murder weapon, and Sam would likely want him neutralized as well. He wasn’t happy when he realized that John had taken the serum and being witness to a murder I’m sure didn’t make him John’s absolute biggest fan. The Flag-Smashers and Sam and Bucky now have a common enemy and Karli has a soft spot for Sam, and vice versa. While he isn’t thrilled she threatened his sister, he understands her and her cause. My hope is seeing Captain America kill one of her closest colleagues doesn’t put Karli into that final spiral where there is no coming back.

While I obviously didn’t always like Sharon, I think last episode was an accidental lapse in judgement about her. She may have helped Bucky and Sam, but as I noted before she has the perfect villain backstory. In the comics the Powerbroker was a man, however, Marvel has changed quite a bit when putting comics into stories for the big (and now little) screen. To be fair, there are a lot of comics with a lot of story lines and some are pretty weird. Therefore, it wouldn’t be too far out of their powers to make Sharon the Powerbroker. She seems to wield a lot of power and has a lot of insight. Now there also hasn’t been a lot of information about whether or not she was snapped, but either way, the power and lavish lifestyle she seems to have is a little suspicious to me. And the Powerbroker has been adamant about coming after Karli and the Flag-Smashers, but not quite as aggressive in coming after Bucky and Sam after they literally killed the doctor who remade the super soldier serum.

Let’s congratulate Zemo on doing the best thing that could be done and smashing the super soldier serum bottles (of course except one, cause there’s always one). It cuts the possibility of more soldiers down a lot more. But let’s keep tabs on who is still out there. Karli and the Flag-Smashers are now down to 6. We have weirdo John who is about to get his entire life rocked. Bucky, but he’s shown to be on the good side and therefore isn’t a threat and will not be subjected to testing. And finally there is Isaiah, who should be finally free of testing. The importance at this point is to stop the spread and weaponization of super soldiers, or the Flag-Smashers are going to be the first of a long line of issues. As Sam pointed out, Zemo was the most useful one by smashing all the vials.

I also just have to talk about how the Dora Milaje kicked John’s butt. To be fair, it was 100% on him that they even attacked him and he was warned not to interfere with them. And Bucky sitting there with his sassy comments absolutely killed me. But speaking of, Bucky of course stayed in Wakanda for a long time and they gave him the arm that he currently wears. We see at the beginning of the episode that Ayo was the one who tested the mind tinkering that Shuri did to see if the Winter Soldier programming was gone, so it is clear the two of them also have a connection. Quick side note, I literally sobbed watching that scene because he was so scared it wouldn’t work and when he realized it did I just couldn’t handle seeing him crying of pure joy. But to my point, when Ayo quite literally disarms him, the pain within Bucky’s face upon realizing they hadn’t trusted him just broke me. The Wakandans created a safe way to disarm (once again, quite literally) him in case they couldn’t get all of the programming out and it showed on Bucky’s face that this hurt him greatly. Whether this will impact his relationship with the Wakandans or not is still up for interpretation, but there is a reason we continuously are being reminded of Bucky’s relationship to the country and the people. White Wolf also keeps appearing, so I wonder if when Sam does take on being Captain America, if Bucky will choose to go by White Wolf as well, since I think it is clear he is moving away from his Winter Soldier origins. I think it would be very interesting if Bucky plays a role within the next Black Panther, however, now that they have to address the loss of Chadwick, that franchise may be in a slightly messy place.

One thing you have to always remember is that these characters have futures in different parts of the MCU. We know where Wanda is going to end up, but as of right now Sam and Bucky’s futures are a little blurry. The outcome of this episode is going to play out and allow us to understand where these two characters are going to come into play later in the MCU. The rumors flying about episode 5 are fairly intense, so I know next week is going to be crazy. I hope everyone is loving this show because it is amazing and just took a very dark turn. Stay tuned for next week’s episode and theories and don’t forget to comment your thoughts or theories or message directly!

Image: “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 4”, Kofi Outlaw, Comicbook

Oh man this episode had me so excited.

The action within it and the new quartet had me absolutely glued to my TV. I understand Zemo is a hated villain, but this episode really made me love him. Not to mention, I was pretty happy that my theory from last week, that Bucky and Sam would play a part in his escape, ended up being true. Although I suppose if we want to get technical, Sam had no part and Bucky hypothetically didn’t either. Speaking of someone who was hated, I was also pretty okay with Sharon in this episode. Maybe it was because she wasn’t being shoved at us as some random love interest and actually has some depth now. I hope she stays on Sam and Bucky’s side, and for her sake I also hope that Sam does eventually get her the pardon. My thoughts are that since we see Sam and Bucky with the shield in the trailer, Sam eventually does become Captain America, he will make sure she is pardoned. Since rumor mills have continuously talked about her being a possible love interest for Bucky, I hope they build up her character before they do anything with her being a love interest again. If she eventually does end up with Bucky, which I think is possible only because in the first episode, we find out Bucky has tried online dating and went on a date (which seems just like a weird detail to throw in there randomly), then I think she could be really good for him. Trust me, that hurt to say as a Bucky fan, but it’s true. I have hope for her character and I really don’t want Marvel to mess her up. Although, it would also be really interesting if she ends up being a partial villain. At this point, she has the perfect back story for it and just because she helped Sam and Bucky doesn’t mean she isn’t going to double cross them.

I need to get the John Walker tea off my chest. Obviously, we don’t like him, but he felt more like a villain to me in this episode than Zemo, an actual villain did. We can definitely see that he is in the process of breaking down. This guy doesn’t sit right with me at all. I think, while it is painfully obvious that he isn’t Steve, we need to still recognize that he is becoming more and more different than Steve, almost the opposite even. Him asking the guy who was helping the Flag-Smashers if he knew who he was so was just so blatantly arrogant, something Steve had never been and something he would hav never done. The Captain America mantel never once went to Steve’s head and instead made him a better version of who he was. As the series progresses, I believe we will see John unravel more and more, and I still stand by him somehow getting his hands on the serum. It just feels like something he would do as he realizes more and more people could care less about this Captain America wannabe. He expects respect that he has never once earned in that suit, which will lead to his spiral.

Let’s talk about one of the two most important parts of the episode: Ayo. She brings in a whole new situation to the show, wrapping Wakanda and Bucky’s ties to the nation into all of this. Keep in mind in case you forgot in Zemo’s sudden coolnness, that he did kill their King. My hope is that Ayo sticks around with Sam, Bucky, and Zemo, adding to the group as she watches over Zemo until she returns him to prison or Wakanda. Either that, or she will become a bump in the road for Bucky and Sam in furthering their search for answers. I do hope that Bucky being behind Zemo’s escape doesn’t damage his relationship with the Wakandans, but instead him of all people trusting Zemo to a degree helps Ayo in understanding his importance to their mission. I do wonder how her appearance in the episode is also going to effect Black Panther 2 possibly and if we may get a throw away line in reference to how they may explain Chadwick’s death within the MCU. Most of the show was filmed in 2019, so it is likely we may not get anything at all since Chadwick had not passed yet. However, because the show finished filming later on after being shutdown due to Covid for awhile, so if Ayo sticks around, there may be a reference. Either way, her cameo is exciting and I’m intrigued to see how they move forward with her appearance in the show.

I did say there were two important parts of the episode, didn’t I? The Powerbroker is very important to keep in mind and is likely to be the main villain moving forward. Not so much for being bad, but more for being, well, let’s just say problematic. The issue with the Powerbroker is that in the comics, he is the one behind John Walker and Lemar Hoskins’ (Battlestar) newfound ‘powers’. He does also have ties to Ms. Marvel, which is set in place in the Phase 4 timeline. The biggest likelihood with him is that he will end up helping our fake Cap into becoming more like a superhero, enabling him to become the biggest problem for Sam and Bucky.

Karli needs to be a concern for the sake that she killed people for her cause, showing that while she may have been a sympathetic villain before, she is turning more and more dangerous as she grows more desperate. The biggest concern as well is the fact that there were 20 test tubes of the super soldier serum, but as of the beginning of the show, we only know of 8 super soldiers. Obviously we also know these were all stolen, which I’m sure the Powerbroker isn’t thrilled about. As fans, we need to be aware that there is a lot more at play than the original episode or two gave us. We have a lot of storylines that are becoming intertwined and a lot of possible villains running around. With the possibility of 12 other super soldiers yet to be made, the worry is who exactly ends up taking it, and more importantly, where is it?

This may be just because I am a huge Bucky fan, but I would like to point out something that maybe everyone caught, or maybe not. When he was acting as the Winter Soldier in order to be “undercover”, people were recording him. Now he was pardoned, however, a lot of his pardon was based on the idea that he lives a quiet, peaceful life. And as we saw in his therapy, he wasn’t to hurt anyone. Unfortunately, I think he is going to see some repercussions, unless Sam and him succeed in taking down the Flag-Smashers, which may be his only way to not be possibly arrested for his actions. I also worry for the toll that some of this is taking on his newly redone brain, which I think Sam also was worried about throughout the episode. As much as Zemo has started to grow on me, we can’t forget he is a villain. The first thing he said to Bucky was his trigger words, don’t forget. His intentions are not completely pure, and as much as I love Sam and Bucky, they are bumbling idiots half of the time. If Zemo is ready to leave and escape, he will, which is why I am hoping Ayo plans to stick around.

Every week just keeps getting better and better and I can’t wait to see what happens next week. I’m sad that we are halfway through the show, but I think that it will help lead up to the other half of Phase 4, the part that won’t be quite as mystical. But only time will tell, so I hope you guys have been enjoying TFAWS as much as I have and will stay tuned until next week for more. As always, comment your own thoughts and theories and if you have any thoughts or theories you want me to touch on, feel free to message me directly. See you all next week!

Image: “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 3”, Chief Editor, Dailyhindnews

This episode got me super hyped for the rest of the show.

I feel like this episode finally got us to where we wanted to be. While understandably the first episode was setting a lot up, this episode finally at least saw Bucky and Sam together, which really helped keep the show alive. With this being said, we have a lot to cover, so let’s talk about it.

I think the first thing that needs to be said is: screw John Walker. I love that the show began with trying to make us feel somewhat positively towards him, but in the end, he’s just a guy who thinks too highly of himself and who is just the right type of character to walk the good/bad line. I think we can count on him becoming our underlying villain of the show, similar to how Agnes was not seen as the main villain right away, even though we knew she was Agatha. He made a point to say that he was pretty much everything Cap was, with the exception of having the serum. Now take a look at our main bad guys as of right now: new super soldiers. They could provide Walker with the ability to be just like Steve, someone who he will continuously live in the shadow of, especially with people like Sam and Bucky around to remind him that he will never be Steve, or Captain America in general for that matter. I expect to see some ongoing issues with this guy and a changing of alliances. Since we know Sam and Bucky do eventually get the shield (and while I don’t think they took Bucky’s suggestion to steal it), I do have to believe Walker most likely has to mess up in some way for them to give it back to Sam. Not to mention, who the heck is this guy to talk to Sam and Bucky, two actual Avengers and super heroes who have fought Thanos (twice!! and they’re 1 for 2), the way he spoke to them? He is nothing Steve was, but his ego definitely makes him think he has some authority over Sam and Bucky, which he doesn’t. I really could rant about him for this entire post, and I might consider creating a John Walker hate post at some point, but for this one, I will decidedly move forward.

Now speaking of our main villain, the Flag-smashers, something is definitely up. Karli, their leader, is being threatened by someone, who, to our knowledge, isn’t someone we know yet. They said she took something from them, which I bet above anything else that it is the serum. As of right now, it doesn’t appear the Flag-Smashers have any scientific home or testing areas, which means that it is likely she stole the serum from someone who does (my bet is going to be a government). Many places worked to replicate the serum and with the Snap causing absolute chaos, government facilities were likely invaded in some places or attacked.

Speaking of the super soldier serum, running across Isaiah proves that there have been successful super soldiers after Cap and Bucky. While we obviously already knew this thanks to Civil War, it meant that America was able to get it right at least one other time. Isaiah’s importance really runs the race issue that the show is trying to also convey as a second plot line, as we see with how Sam reacts to the knowledge that there had been a black super soldier decades before. But he also is there to show that the super soldier serum has been a running issue throughout history and therefore the possibility and likelihood of the Flag-Smashers being super soldiers is not out of pocket. To wrap this up, the boy who answered the door is likely Isaiah’s grandson, who actually becomes Patriot in the Young Avengers, which we have been gearing up towards.

Before I forget, I have to touch on the most important part of this episode: Zemo. First I want to say, go Bucky for having confidence in going to see a man that used his trigger words against him and caused war between the Avengers. But also, I need to point something critical out. With now having the knowledge of WandaVision and some of the TFAWS, I think it is important to point out that what we get from the trailers means nothing. Marvel purposefully is putting together these trailers in certain ways that have us thinking one way, but really they are almost backward plans. Zemo is the key to TFAWS trailer change. Obviously due to his history, we know Zemo is a villain. However, he won’t be the key villain of this show and may even end up being a good guy and help Sam and Bucky out. Think about it, he’s got nothing to lose. The Avengers barely exist right now and who does Zemo hate more than literally anyone? Super soldiers. So I’m sure the guy wouldn’t be thrilled that there’s a bunch of young super soldiers running around stirring up trouble. From the trailer, we see him free from prison, so if this holds up, I would like to think that our guys let him out. Zemo also has endless knowledge of Hydra files, so this could definitely be helpful in understand where the serum came from or who may have been working on one themselves.

Clearly a lot to handle in this episode, but I will say, I am happy to see Sam and Bucky together. I also am ecstatic that they finally showed Bucky’s super speed, which we all knew he had. I think the reason they left it out of the Infinity War scene where we see Steve and T’challa running is because that scene specifically was meant to be a passing of the torch moment. It makes me super happy, though, that Marvel didn’t forget this key super soldier ability for Bucky in this show. Also, the jumping out of the plane scene? Loved. I definitely think Marvel is entering back (slowly, but it is happening) into the more comedic and lighter tones of their movies. We are obviously still dealing with big issues, but there is a lightness to it. After all, we are essentially starting again with a new set of heroes. I can understand why this show especially, was supposed to be the first one out, and unfortunately Covid shifted that. Either way, I am pumped for next week and I hope you all have been enjoying the show as much as I have. Find your way back here next week for a new post and don’t forget to comment your own thoughts or message me privately!

Image: “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 2”, Gavin Jasper, Kirsten Howard, Mike Cecchini, Jim Dandy, Den of Geek