Okay so I have a few thoughts on the #FalconAndWinterSoldier finale. This thread will contain SPOILERS so please be advised.

First off, I really liked the overall series. It brought up some interesting takes on a world full of superheroes, symbolism, and racism.

But this finale had some issues.

1. Sharon Carter was pointless in this show. Horrible writing, horrible subplot. Very TV in that "Im bad but too cool to be a villain" kind of way. This is Disney+, NOT ABC's Agents of SHIELD. Keep that trash outta here.

2. John Walker was fine. They gave him a great humanized version of his comic book arc. US Agent is a cool character but this finale glossed it over for nothing.

His ending should've been more open ended/ambiguous. I know they're planting seeds but the "IM BACK!" was corny AF.

Instead of taking the opportunity to explore how similar Walker was to Isaiah (but how Walker was privileged) they kinda waste it on yet another "is he a villain or not" shlock

He's also handled weird too. Humanizing him is good but he was far too slimey early on for us to legit care for him. Then his dip into villainy doesn't make a good case either.

Showing up and helping after that hype reminded me of Harry in the God-awful final act Spider-Man 3

3. I loved Sam' monologue about "doing better". Very cool right? But when you think about it, he's literally just scolding a bunch of politicians to "do better". THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY BEING TOLD TO JUST DO BETTER.

Plus its the whole trope of doing the scolding on live TV thing for the world to hear.

Its obvious they used the trope to wrap up minor character arcs by showing them at home saying "YOU KNOW THATS RIGHT CAP!!"

This monologue should've been told to a hall of senators and world leaders like the ending scenes of Winter Soldier and Black Panther.

Sam's speech was good. But the weight of it was lost on "man in cosplay suit yelling at grampa on the street" scenario they gave it.

Speaking of cosplay, that new Cap suit is pretty bad. Yes its comic book accurate, yes its had to fit Sam's style, but Jesus does it look terrible on screen.

Worst yet, it came from WAKANDA!? No. If that suit would've come from Wakanda, it would've looked WAY cooler.

Look at the advanced tech Wakanda has now look at Sam's suit.

T'Challa was good friends with Steve Rogers. There's no way he would've signed off on a Party City suit for Roger's replacement. Just no.

4. Giving Isaiah a statue was a nice gesture and all but its literally put in a museum CELEBRATING THE PEOPLE WHO IMPRISONED AND TORTURED HIM FOR 30 YEARS.

"Now they'll never forget."

Really Sam? Its a monument to their mistreatment in their YARD.

Speaking of Isaiah, I like how when they introduced him in an earlier episode, Sam is like "Did Steve know this!?"

Bro, Steve was trapped under ice for 70 years. He was fighting aliens, turning the government upside down, and running from the law as soon as he woke up.

Yes its HORRIBLE Isaiah was treated that way but questioning Steve was a weird flex.

5. What was Bucky's real arc in this show? Get enough guts to tell someone he killed their son WHEN HE WAS A BRAINWASHED ASSASSIN FOR HYDRA!?

Homeboy killed hundreds, maybe thousands of innocent people. Why is having a hard time with this particular one?

Its a good one, don't get me wrong. But why did he befriend this one particular guy before telling him? Did he do that with the others in his book? Would he have time?

Worst yet, his arc ends by gifting his completed book to his therapist. Thats cute I guess but how was his issues resolved?

"Hey doc, I forgive myself for being brainwashed and murdering thousands of people. I feel better about it now though. Thanks!"

6. In the grand scheme of things, this series did nothing to progress the story we already knew.

-At the end of Endgame, Steve made Sam Cap.
-Bucky and Sam had respect for each other

This series undid all those things then put it back. So we're back to where we were at Endgame.

It introduced John Walker and set up a character to don the Falcon name I guess? But lets be honest. Walker and Falcon II are TV characters. We're totally not gonna see them in any theatrical MCU movies.

Did Agents If Shield characters cross over into the films? No. (Thank God)

Come to think of it, WandaVision sort of ended up the same way. They extended Wanda and Vision's story past Endgame but finished back where they left at the movie.

And that show also introduced a couple characters who will likely never appear outside Disney+

7. Oh and the Flag Smashers kinda sucked. I know they edited out a pandemic subplot but come on. Did anyone really care for Karli or her motives?

It was nice to see the Infitity War snap have an effect on the world instead of being played as a joke like SpiderMan Far From Home

I loved the actress who played Karli though. Fantastic performance and I love her voice. I'd pay money to hear her do a recording of a phonebook.

Overall, I liked Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It was a fun 6 hours. Not amazing but decent. Some serious editing issues and a rushed finale aside, I would want to see another season. (This is probably just a one-off, I know)

I'm stoked Marvel is doing TV actually set in the MCU and not just sheepishly tiptoeing around it like the Netflix shows, or cringe riding the coat tails like the ABC shows.

They can and SHOULD do better with all that money and locked-in fandom, but I'll stick with it.