“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” (2021) starts where “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) ends with Sam (Anthony Mackie), aka Falcon, trying to decide what to do with Captain America’s shield and how he wants to live. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), formerly known as the Winter Soldier, also known as White Wolf, reaches out to Sam after Sam makes his decision, and they end up working together to try and stop a new group called the Flag Smashers.

I have never enjoyed Mackie’s acting in anything, hated what little I knew about him personally and took every opportunity to make fun of him while acknowledging that Mackie must have something going for him because his career is going great. People enjoy working with him. “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” is so good that I am willing to let go of every issue that I have had with Mackie and turn over a new leaf. I watched all six episodes in one sitting and was left wanting more. It felt as if Mackie was showing us his relationship with Hollywood through Sam’s relationship with the US-from denying there was a problem so he could function within the system, to reluctantly acknowledging the issues that he always knew were there to taking a firm stand on the complexities of his position in the system and urging it to do better. Sam’s emotional journey as embodied in his conflicting decisions on what to do with his family’s boat/legacy to Cap’s shield were complimentary and made me enjoy the emotional pauses in the action-packed series. The series decided to have Sam’s history resemble Mackie’s instead of Falcon’s comic Harlem roots, and it paid off. The success could rest on the fact that Mackie did not have to stretch as much to depict Sam, but even being yourself on screen is not easy so I commend the series and Mackie for fleshing out Sam so he could be someone that I cared about. I rooted for him to get Cap’s shield when I never did before.

“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” tackles imposter syndrome or feeling inadequate to living up to Cap’s legacy. Those who deserve it, don’t want it. Those who want it, don’t deserve it. As the viewers who have adored Captain America (Chris Evans), no one can fill his shoes so the question seems blasphemous to us too. It is a practical question. Now that Evans is gone, can anyone else sustain fans’ interest to come back to the franchise for more? It is also a philosophical question for those of us living in historic times who feel as if we are unable to play the role of a person who can rise to the cataclysmic challenges of our time compared to the people who came before us. There are three people eligible to have the shield: Sam, Bucky or whomever the government designates as Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell). Another litmus test is whether a person would take the super soldier serum. 

Bucky acts as a bridge between Cap and the next generation. He is best equipped to handle the shield because he is a super soldier, and after Cap, has spent the most time with it, but cares about it as a symbol of Cap’s principles, not status. He does not deserve it, but sees it as a validating object for him deserving redemption. I loved how “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” emphasizes his age, but needed to do more to lay the foundation of how he became friends with a certain elderly man. At first, I thought that he served with him during World War II, but his friend was too young. Bucky’s chemistry with Sam is better than with Cap. Whoever gets the shield also inherits Bucky, and Bucky gets to choose. While the odd couple dynamic is familiar, the series is not overly reliant on it. Bucky messes with Sam and has faith in him by choosing him as his person in this era. Bucky is also invited to every cookout whether in the US or Wakanda. Bucky wants to be with people who do not see him as the Winter Soldier, but as the guy whose life was hijacked. Moving on is tied up with following that shield and figuring out how to heal. Steve had so much faith in Bucky because he knew him before, but Bucky is drawn to the Wakandans and Sam because they see him as he is. Stan kills it.

Viewers, like Bucky, automatically find Walker repellent because of his smug entitlement. I have no idea how Marvel and Russell manage to make Walker look like a weak-chinned old man dressing up for Halloween in one moment then look the opposite outside of the costume. Anyone who watched “Captain America: The First Avenger” and remembers how Steve qualified to become Captain America understand that Walker is the anti-Captain America, not necessarily evil, but would never have been chosen. He is too successful and rewarded for being good. Once in the spotlight, he begins to fall apart under the scrutiny and pressure. Like Bucky, he needs external validation, but unlike Bucky, he does not see his flaws. In contrast to Sam who laughs but dismisses the fame, Walker enjoys it more than he is invested in the work or the people around him. I wish that “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” did more to make me root for Walker before he turns a corner. Surrounding him with a black best friend and giving him a black wife that he had zero chemistry with was not enough otherwise I liked his redemptive story arc when he had to start choosing between his id versus serving others. His low point was when he could no longer excuse his mediocrity on his lack of powers, and I wish that we had spent more quiet time with him during that realization. 

Sam’s self-awareness puts him ahead of the curve. Like T’challa, Sam’s true superpower is his ability to listen and counsel, not fight. He accepts his physical disadvantage as an innate part of who he is, not a flaw. He does the quiet work and is not interested in glory. His roots to his community and his empathy with other communities, especially those with disadvantages, puts him in a place of trust that Bucky and Walker can never access without effort. He also understands that the shield is a responsibility, not an award. He comes from a family tradition of service, but unlike most Marvel characters, also seeks and requests help instead of rejecting then reluctantly accepting it.

“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” is not perfect. I could tell that a lot of information that could have fleshed out certain scenes felt left on the cutting room floor. I did not understand the Flag Smashers’ predicament until around the third episode. The first episode gets away with making them seem dangerous because of their ability to have powers, but waited too long to flesh them out. Shout out to Erin Kellyman, whom I first noticed in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), as the Flag Smashers’ leader. Her nuanced performance filled in the holes that the writers left behind.

Hear me out. I liked Zemo in “Captain America: Civil War” (2015) because he was the first villain who succeeded and was sympathetic. I still feel the same way. He is not mourning the past because of his status. He misses the people that he lost and his home. Daniel Bruhl’s exquisite performance never suggests a spoiled, entitled person sulking over his lost power. He is still powerful regardless of his circumstance, but he is a person in pain who believes that he found the solution to healing that pain and refuses to let it go. Bruhl does a great job with his character’s body language. Whether he is tripping at a party or deciding to be a bad ass and rescue the heroes, he conveys everything without dialogue. He goes through a whole spectrum of emotions, and I hope that Marvel revisits Zemo. I adore how hard Zemo concentrates on his target. He brings main character energy to his role. He is not helping the heroes. The heroes are helping him.

If I had to attribute someone on screen with contributing to elevating Mackie’s acting, it would be Carl Lumbly as Isaiah Bradley, someone with key information to help Sam. Just getting to act opposite Lumbly must be the best acting lesson that you can ever get. I did not recognize him immediately, but his depiction grounds “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” in credible alternate history. His character is the flipped coin to Cap’s legacy. Instead of who is worthy, he confronts the hypocrisy of bearing that mantle in a country that does not embody the ideals that it promotes. The US government is right next to HYDRA in terms of sins against humanity, and Isaiah makes a convincing argument against the shield or the title because it is a lie. If Sam rejects it because he does not think that he is worthy, Isaiah verbalizes Sam’s silent concern that only his sister, Sarah (Adepero Oduye) verbalizes—the shield and the legacy may not be worthy of him. It is a provocative idea that even Sam does not fully reconcile, but is willing to struggle with the ambiguity. I love the messiness that Sam is willing to shoulder without answers.

I have no idea if “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” will have another season, but if it does, the series already teased a couple new big bads, including one of Steve’s biggest mistakes. I am completely here for it, but if it never comes back, I am also fine with it.