How ‘The Falcon and the Winter Solider’ Stands Up To ‘WandaVision’

WandaVision set up The Falcon and the Winter Solider for failure. Or so the twenty or so minutes of channeling Waldorf and Stattler before we viewed the first episode revealed. The show was going to be your classic bromance. Period. And the opening action sequence did nothing but confirm the prevailing bias of the room.

We did, however, put down our Muppet mantles shortly after the sequence faded away. Our running commentary ceased for the rest of the episode. And when the credits rolled, I was genuinely upset the episode was over, and I’d have to wait another week for a new one. The shady move to take Cap’s shield out of the museum had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Yes. Yes, it did. Still does.

Three, almost four at the time of this writing, episodes in, I need to apologize for the shade thrown at The Falcon and the Winter Solider. The approach taken to visualize grief and loss in WandaVision would never work with Bucky and Sam. Wanda has a history of recoiling, hesitating, and retreating. Bucky’s extended stay in Wakanda aside, both men tend to ‘keep calm and carry on’ as much as superheroes stay calm.

Let’s face it, Bucky is dragging around enough baggage to fill at least three or four of those classic Louis Vuitton steamer trunks. Sam has, admittedly, less than Bucky, but he hasn’t had as much time to accumulate. Their refusal to deal with the pack of elephants in the room is only underlined by the scene in episode two where Bucky’s therapist forces both men to confront what’s bothering them.

Imposter syndrome is nothing to sneeze at. Living up to everyone else’s expectations isn’t either. And both men are standing in Cap’s shadow.

Bucky’s therapist isn’t going to be the one to crack those eggs wide open, though. In fact, her character seems to be an argument against therapy as a viable option. Or at least, an argument that therapy is a punchline. Her agenda doesn’t seem to be focused on helping Bucky, and by extension, Sam work through the compounding issues so much as re-weaponizing the two men. Is it Dr. Christina Raynor all along?

Not as catchy. But the maybe not-so-good doctor still seems just as fishy as the neighborhood villain Agatha. She did side with John Walker after all.

The two men have made it clear, they aren’t going to spend time working through their issues in an office. Instead, they’ve opted to give us an action-packed reboot of The Odd Couple. And, despite all of my misgivings, it works.

The Falcon and the Winter Solider continues WandaVision’s mission to fill in the gaps and questions left by The Blip and give these characters time to grieve for all they have lost. There is no room in the flow of a full-length action move for these types of moments. At best, we are given maybe a minute or two for the characters to take a breath. It’s refreshing to get a superhero story arc including time for healing, self-doubt, and rebuilding.