The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: One World, One People Review

TFATWS "One World, One People"

For the show's run so far, the title has been The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. In a final flourish, "One World One People" recapitulates it as Captain America and the Winter Soldier. And that tracks with how the episode leans into the iconography of Captain America with the new Wakandan stars and stripes wingsuit, and furthermore the idea of Captain America. Cue an awed bystander calling Sam Black Falcon, and a fellow citizen correcting him with, "That's Captain America!" It's a welcome bit of superhero cheesiness, in this climactic episode of the miniseries.

The threat of the Flag Smashers leads to the GRC evacuating their facility before their resettlement vote, leading to a January 6th type of imagery as politicians huddle in fear. The sequence progresses on multiple fronts, Sam dealing with Batroc then taking to the air, and Bucky engaging the super soldiers on the ground. Sam's helicopter rescue maneuver, enlisting hostage Ayla Perez to take the stick, makes for a fine companion piece to Tony Stark's rescue of falling civilians in Iron Man 3.

The sequence also takes in the partial rehabilitation of Walker, who chooses to help save a vehicle full of hostages rather than blindly pursue revenge on Karli Morgenthau. In the big picture, it's questionable whether the whole project of rehabilitation is worth it given what Walker represents in the thematic framework of the show, but in any case, he's apparently "legit" again. This time he gets his handle from the comics, US Agent, working for "Val".

Also a major player in the conflict: the corrupt Sharon Carter, revealed as the mysterious "Power Broker" of Madripoor. By episode's end, she gets her pardon, but she fully intends to abuse her authority in the CIA. Over the course of the episode, Sharon kills Batroc and Karli. To outward appearances, these were necessary countermeasures. But when looked at from her perspective, she's covering for herself. Sharon gets rid of loose ends and bad actors with ties to her own criminal enterprise, and comes out looking like a hero. So Sharon Carter is essentially the Sheev Palpatine of this story, and the whole show has been her Phantom Menace. It's a downright dire turn for a character who started out a hero.

After the dust settles, Sam as Captain America discusses events with the GRC politicians. It's certainly positioned as a centerpiece moment, but when the whole situation of the refugee camps has been the victim of tell-don't-show storytelling, it's hard to parse how the show intends to frame audience sympathy in this debate. And without more information, it's hard to parse how to engage with it.

Zemo has his butler kill the arrested Flag Smashers, Bucky tells Yori Nakajima the true circumstances of his son's murder, and in a very "Vincent and the Doctor" from Doctor Who moment, Sam shows Isaiah Bradley his new room in the Captain America Smithsonian exhibit. It's a piece of poignant punctuation in a finale that brings closure and plenty of action, but still exposes holes in the presentation of the show's overarching story. The character work for Sam, Bucky, and Zemo has been largely excellent. The cases of Walker, Karli, and especially Sharon are more mixed. But that doesn't stop the crystallization of Sam's hero moment, bursting through the window as a Captain America for the 21st Century. 7/10.

Stray observation:

- Isaiah Bradley says Sam is "no Martin". Indeed, but Anthony Mackie played Martin Luther King Jr. on TV in All the Way.

- One of the reporters asks Sam if he's "Captain Falcon" now. If he is, maybe he should race in F-Zero and practice his Falcon Punch for Super Smash Bros.