Okay. I'm home, the kids are fairly settled. It's time to dig into some Marvel feelings!

Let's get this review for #FalconAndTheWinterSoldier , episode 5, started. Feel free to mute #WinterSpoilers

This is not a recap. I'm not going to go scene by scene so much as talk about the overall episode and pick out some of the bits I would like to talk about. I'm also going to bring up stuff from past episodes, basically, this is a stream of consciousness. Be warn. #WinterSpoilers

I really liked Sam and Bucky fighting together against John Walker. It reminded me a lot of Steve and Bucky teaming up against Iron Man in Captain America: Civil War, and I don't think that's a coincidence. But I'll come back to that in a minute.

I liked that Sam left Torres the wings. For those who don't know, in the comics, Torress becomes Falcon to Sam's Captain America. I have my fingers crossed for a season 2.
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MADAME HYDRA IS IN THE HOUSE! Honestly, I have little to say other than it is brilliant casting and I'm pretty sure she's working with Sharon, but we will get to that in a minute.

Let's talk about Zemo, because I've got some thoughts.

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The thing about Zemo, while I love Daniel Brühl and enjoy the expansion of the character, I wasn't really sure why he was in the show other than to be a fairly ineffective distraction from John Walker's rather obvious villainy.

That is until this episode.

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MCU Zemo is different from his comics namesake. This Zemo was not part of Hydra.

However, he was a colonel in the Sokovian armed forces and the commander of a paramilitary death squad called EKO Scorpian. So, not a nazi but not a good guy either.
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More importantly, Zemo is military. As are Bucky, John, Sam, and Steve, but there are distinctions between the type of military these guys are/were and similarities that really jumped out at me. Particularly between Bucky, John, and Zemo. These guys did wet work.

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Marvel has been addressing (with varying degrees of success) the issue (that the Winter Soldier literally embodies) that war and the military turn human beings into weapons. A sentiment that John Walker himself voices during his court marshal.

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Zemo is an obvious version of this metaphor, but I think he is useful in the show because he is a reminder of what he did in Civil War, and that he did it in the name of the people he loved.

Just like Walker murders an innocent man over the death of Lamar.
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Zemo and Walker act out violence to cope with grief, likely because they have PTSD and because that's what they know.

Bucky fears that all the violence he's done as the Winter Soldier has irreparably shaped him in similar ways.

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Zemo did what he was trained to do (See Death Squad) and let's be real honest it is not that different than what John Walker did before and during his run as Cap.

That's the point. The line between military and terrorist is thin.

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https://twitter.com/Sharessan/status/1384335643338153985?s=20

CW: Suicide

What strikes me about Zemo, and why he makes a lot of sense in this series, is that he hasn't changed since the end of Civil War. He wants to die, he expecting Bucky to do it. Because he can't conceive of himself as anything but a weapon of vengeance.

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While Bucky proves to Zemo ad himself that he can change by not killing. Note: the Dora Milaje do not kill Zemo, they take him to the Rafter (THUNDERBOLTS IS COMING). It was never about vengeance for them. They are not killers, they are protectors.

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Side note: I love that they brought in his aristocratic roots because it makes sense to me why he wouldn't take the serum and would look down on it. He's a rich white aristocrat, he already believes he's superior.

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https://twitter.com/Polycappellus/status/1384341014144458754

Anyhoodle, getting back to the themes of trauma and power (be it a super serum, wealth, military training, or just good ol' toxic masculinity) can make people dangerous, especially when they feel powerless, like when they're grieving.

Let's talk about Civil War.

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I rewatched all 3 of the Cap movies after watching the latest FTWS episode and it struck me not only how much the series mirrors events and themes of the movies, but how the series recontextualizes some of the stuff in the movie. Particularly the racial dynamics.
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Credit to @FilmFatale_NYC who mentioned this on her fantastic podcast, @Spectrum_Lounge.

The only Avenger who got seriously hurt in a fight started by 2 white men, was a Black man.

Relevant to FTWS, Tony shoots Sam because his Black bestie got hurt.

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I am not saying Tony is as bad as John Walker. I am saying that FTWS helped us see how dangerous a powerful white man can be when he feels powerless to help someone he loves.

Something we should have known after Civil War, but it didn't make it explicit enough.
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Now, that we talked about CW, let's talk about The Winter Soldier, Sharon, Hydra, and the Flag Smashers.

Karli activating the flash mob at the park gave me serious Hydra vibes, but in a very interesting nuanced way. Not the blunt mustache twirly way like in WS.

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While I adore WS, Hydra was one-dimensional. By contrast, the FSers have good intentions and valid reasons. Plus they're people of color. So, while their tactics and org look a lot like Hydra, they're not easy to dismiss as terrorists.

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They reflect a similar reaction to feeling powerless that we see in these white men because they're as much a product of an unjust system and those men.

“This is the only language these people understand.” Violence and superpowers.

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Let me real clear, many superhero origin stories (especially in the MCU) are essentially white men being radicalized (via trauma and loss) into being a powerful violent force against the less powerful.

There is a thin line between a hero and a terrorist.

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This brings me to Sharon. While I have a whole fan theory that I'll post later, right now I want to talk about how and why it makes sense for her to be the Power Broker (which was revealed in the close caption for this episode).

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She was on the run thanks to helping Steve and co. She didn't get a pardon as they did. So what's a girl with a history of espionage to do? Why become a criminal boss, of course. Again the line is thin.

But I also suspect she was recruited, by Val.

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I think she let them follow their breadcrumbs to help her find Karli, but I think there's a much longer play going on (THUNDERBOLTS).

There's also comic book canon to support her being a Hydra sleeper agent, but that's boring and done already with Bucky.

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All these parallels between soldiers, assassins, terrorists, spies, and crime bosses lead right back to a thesis of the show: "What does it mean to be Captain America?"

Not who should be Cap, but what was Cap. Steve wasn't really trained to be a soldier.
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Steve was given the serum and then became a performer in a USO show, which is made to seem silly in the movie but I think served a very important purpose in Steve's development as Cap.

Walker was wrong. Steve didn't make people feel safe. He gave them hope.

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That brings me to Sam and Bucky. Specifically, the pivotal moment of literal awakening for Bucky.

That is when he wakes up to see Aj and Cass, two Black boys, playing superhero with the shield.

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Sam was in the military, but he was also a counselor for returning veterans. I think it's important that the mission we see him on at the opening of the show is a rescue. It really sets him apart from Walker, Zemo, and even Bucky.

And makes him more like Steve.

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Throughout the series, Sam is Captain America. He is the voice of reason. He is respectful of the Dora Milaje. He sees Karli's humanity, treating her much like Steve treated Wanda.

There's even a joke about shoes, similar to one Steve makes in WS.
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Bucky is Natasha to Sam's Steve from the time they hop on the plane to go after the Flag Smashers all the way through Madripoor.

Only Natasha is more honest than Bucky.
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Sam's hesitation to take the shield demonstrates his respect for the power and responsibility that comes with it. The series has helped the rest of us understand the difficulties he faces in the role and why he (as a healer) is best suited to be Captain America.

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PS Bucky flirting with Sarah was adorable and fantastic, I hope this continues. Because this is the closest I've seen this Bucky be to his old self since the First Avenger.

The way he said her name... *swoon*
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That is my runaway train of thoughts on episode 5 of #FalconAndTheWinterSoldier . #WinterSpoilers

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