The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Whole World is Watching Review

TFATWS "The Whole World is Watching"

The ideal Avenger ironically does not give in to revenge. The show has endeavored to give dimension to the John Walker character, in the wake of a truly deflating introduction. But this episode presents Walker in a downward spiral that leaves no doubt as to his unworthiness of Captain America's shield, in a final scene that touches on traumatic current events. Walker surreptitiously injects himself with the super soldier serum, and tragedy follows. In fact, the broad raison d'être of the episode seems to be showing how dangerous enhanced individuals can be.

We open in Wakanda (!), as Ayo tests the Winter Soldier code words on a newly descrambled Bucky. Bucky breaking down when he realizes Shuri's procedures worked is Sebastian Stan's best work on the show to date.

Speaking of Ayo, she and members of the Dora Milaje come to arrest Zemo but end up tangling with Walker, Lemar, Sam and Bucky - that is, everyone but Zemo, who everyone takes their eyes off as he makes a discreet exit. Really? The impulse to show off Dora Milaje fighting is an unimpeachable one, but the motivations behind the fight feel incomplete. Nevertheless, there is cool choreography - my favorite moment is one of the Dora doing a move right out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to remove Bucky's vibranium arm.

The script struggles to convey big ideas compactly, landing clunky lines that tell instead of show. In the cafe scene, Lemar supports his friend Walker by telling him he "consistently makes the right decisions" under fire. Is Lemar administrating a personnel review, or conversing with his friend? When the script is playing tic tac toe with inelegant thematic dialogue, this becomes a bit of an issue when so much of the core conflict of the show is ideological.

After a botched confrontation with Karli Morgenthau, Zemo finds and destroys most of the remaining serum, but Walker sneaks a vial and takes it in secret. Lemar reasons that taking the serum makes you "more of yourself", an insight familiar from Abraham Erskine's wonderful scene with Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger.

But after Lemar is captured, the ensuing rescue attempt finds Karli punching Lemar so hard his body breaks, and he dies. An enraged and empowered Walker corners Karli's fellow Flag Smasher Nico in a public plaza and brutally kills him with the shield. The moment finds Walker going Derek Chauvin on his unfortunate victim, an association made stronger by the horror of the bystanders, recording the incident on their smart phones.

The scene also parallels two moments from the MCU. In Black Panther, T'Challa angrily accosts Ulysses Klaue in Busan as onlookers watch, and is talked down from doing something drastic by being reminded that the world is watching. That phrasing is familiar from the title of this very episode. Secondly, when Steve Rogers prevails in battle over Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War, Steve lifts the shield in anger, and brings it down on Tony's armor rather than his face. Nico, though enhanced, has no such protection as Iron Man armor. At the time, Tony said that Steve didn't deserve the shield. Forget Steve, that sentiment absolutely applies to Walker.

With an ending that reflects very public police violence, there is weight to what the episode depicts. But the ideological conflict between our heroes and the Flag Smashers still doesn't fully land dramatically, and some of the dialogue is subpar. In any case, John Walker's time as Captain America should be coming to an end, leaving the job open for Sam. 6/10.