The Falcon and The Winter Soldier returned this week with a third outing that has delved the deepest into the preexisting Marvel Cinematic Universe we have seen yet for the series, with multiple characters returning from previous films.
Be aware that a spoiler alert is in effect for the rest of the review.
Spoiler Warning
The episode begins with a look at the Global Repatriation Council, an organization aimed at re-establishing people displaced by the blip.
Shifting back to the main story, after helping Helmut Zemo (the villain formerly seen in Captain America Civil War) escape from prison, Bucky and Sam Wilson struggle over the morality of their decisions as they pursue the revitalized supersoldier serum.
We gradually learn more about Zemo, who utilizes his wealth and connections to aid the search efforts.
He leads the duo to Madripoor, a fictional island nation in Southeast Asia, where Zemo believes that his connections will reveal who recreated the super serum, and how much of this new serum is out in the world.
This involves the three having to keep a low profile, and false identities for Sam Wilson and Bucky.
They enter a criminal hideout inside a market, with Sam in disguise and Bucky pretending to still be the Winter Soldier, eventually meeting with a crime boss, Selby, who knows of the serum's whereabouts.
A trade is arranged, The Winter Soldier for the serum, but they only get hints at the location of the doctor behind the serum before a phone call from Sam's sister reveals the ruse, and they are forced to fight their way out with help from an unseen source.
The unseen ally is revealed to be Sharon Carter, who takes them to her home in Madripoor.
Sharon has been living here since going into hiding due to her actions during Civil War. Unlike the Avengers though, she has not been granted a pardon and is still forced to live off the grid and cannot return to America.
While there, they discuss the value of superheroes, and the dangers of the current system.
A deal is struck for Wilson to arrange a pardon for Carter in exchange for helping them complete their mission.
With her help, they find the doctor, Wilfred Nagel, in a shipping container that hides his lab.
During an interrogation at gunpoint, while Sharon Carter guards the lab, the trio learns that he had recreated the serum for the CIA in a modified form, providing all the strength without the physical changes experienced by Steve Rogers. A subtle super solider as he calls it.
Following his return for the blip after learning his research was not continued he recreated it in Madripoor, creating 20 vials.
At this point Zemo kills the doctor as the lab is overrun and destroyed, escaping in the process.
This leaves Carter, Bucky, and Wilson cornered in the rubble, fending off attackers, until Zemo returns providing the reinforcements they need to escape.
Carter remains behind in Madripoor, awaiting her pardon, as the other three continue on to Latvia.
While they are traveling, we shift back to the Flag Smashers, to view them on a raid of a storage facility. Their leader, Karli Morgenthau is shown to care for an unknown sick woman before continuing on the raid. She and another member discuss their painful experience with the serum before stealing from the facility.
At first, they appear to leave hurting no one, merely stealing supplies to give to those made vulnerable by the blip. But Karli then destroys the facility with people still inside without her coconspirator knowing until it had already been done.
This is so far the worst thing we have seen this Flag Smashers group do. Before this, they had really only stolen medicine and defended themselves when attacked, but this does signify larger villainous intent.
The episode also features a smaller parallel storyline featuring John Walker's Captain America and Lemar Hoskins, both of whom are pursuing the same information as Bucky, Sam Wilson, and now Zemo.
As these interactions play out, John Walker begins to show he has issues controlling his anger under pressure. As opposed to the always level-headed Steve Rogers, he is impulsive and cares intensely about his perception.
Meanwhile, he still seems willing to work outside the lines while viewing himself as morally supperior, which he seems intent on doing to prove Bucky and Wilson guilty for freeing Zemo.
The episode ends in Latvia, where Bucky separates from the group to follow a trail of metal balls. These lead him to a member of Wakanda's Dora Milaje. Appearing in street clothes rather than a traditional uniform, she demands to be brought to Zemo.
It is understandable why Wakanda would be angry at working with Zemo, even temporarily. He killed their former king, T'Chaka, and this would easily cause them to want justice served for criminals. It also opens up a myriad of potential story threads to follow in the remaining episodes. We do not know how the MCU will handle the death of Chadwick Boseman, and this could hint at the status of his character T'Challa (Black Panther).
Similar to WandaVision, the show is becoming more intertwined with the larger Marvel universe as it continues proving to continue to be intriguing as it continues as we slowly learn more about both the unknown villains, and the motivations behind the heroes.
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