The Falcon and The Winter Soldier premiered its penultimate episode, with all the heroes and villains preparing for the final confrontation next week, as well as added character development and potential hints at new titles.
From this point on, be aware, there is a spoiler warning for the rest of the review.
Spoiler Warning
The episode begins almost immediately after the last one ended, following John Walker as he flees the scene where he just brutally killed a member of the Flag Smashers after his friend Lemar Hoskins was killed by a different member of the Flag Smashers.
After being confronted by Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, he remains convinced that he acted correctly, leading to a battle he loses where his shield is taken from him.
Following this, we learn that the killing has caused an international uproar, Captain America, an agent of the US government, killing a foreign national on foreign soil, all caught on video in the middle of a public square.
This forces all of the three remaining heroes to return to the US, with Sam Wilson leaving his Falcon wings to Joaquin Torres (a significant development as in the comics his character becomes Falcon).
Before heading back to the US, Bucky finds Zemo at the memorial for those killed in Sokovia during the events of Avengers Age of Ultron. They have a brief conversation over what to do about Karli Morgenthau before the Dora Milaje arrives to take him back into custody.
As they leave, Bucky asks them for a favor, but we do not learn what exactly this favor is.
Back in the US John Walker is given a dishonorable discharge and stripped of all titles and benefits, including the mantle of Captain America. He continues to hold the belief that he has done nothing wrong, expressing this to Hoskins' grieving family, as well as in an angry outburst at a hearing held about his actions.
He is confronted by Valentina Allegra de Fontaine who expresses her sympathies with his situation and promises to reach out in the future.
Before going home, Wilson meets with Bradley, the black man who was experimented on as part of the super-soldier program once again. He expresses his disillusionment with the values of Captain America due to the way he was treated, being wrongly imprisoned, experimented on, and even declared dead to the public.
Wilson then returns home, and continues to help his sister with the family business, calling in some old family favors in the process. They are eventually joined by Bucky, during which Wilson and Barnes reconcile.
They each discuss their past while practicing with Captain America's shield, meanwhile discussing its history as well as their own. They each find they need to move on from certain aspects of their past before separating, planning on reconnecting once they can make a plan regarding Karli.
We then see Karli and the Flag Smashers regroup in New York City alongside Gorges Batroc, planning on attacking a meeting of the GRC. She is also joined by a growing mass of supporters willing to join her cause.
The member countries of the GRC plan on forcing all refugees left by the aftermath of Avengers Endgame to be sent to their old countries, creating a crisis for those who came back and had nowhere to live and have been living in camps since returning. The Flag Smashers has made their primary goal to protect these displaced people, making this an easy target for them.
Wilson is alerted to the threat in New York after appearing to take up the mantle of Captain America.
The episode ends with a look inside the GRC meeting. The members appear unsympathetic to any of the problems of the refugees, merely talking of how easy it would be to round up and move them, despite the camps being unprepared. Not all members are willing to go along with this plan though.
Before anything can be resolved the power goes out, signifying the attack has begun.
This is followed by a post-credits scene of John Walker making his own Captain America shield, with his war medals worked into the design.
The penultimate episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is heavier on plot than earlier episodes, but sets up a final confrontation between all the key players in the series, with several now embracing new roles.
It also notably keeps a majority of actors in the series in moral grey areas, a place the series has found itself in from the beginning. There are no easy good and bad guys in this situation. The Flag Smashers have noble goals, even if their methods are flawed, and all of the US heroes are conflicted in one way or another over how to treat the Flag Smashers.
As the series looks to conclude next week, it has various implications to consider, and still potentially a reimagined hero to introduce.
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