The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Review

Overview

I don’t even know where to begin with this review. The show was an absolute masterpiece from the beginning. It featured some powerhouses including Falcon, Bucky, Zemo, Sharon, John, and more. What made it so great for me was the structure of the story. It made sense, and it began with Sam dealing with being handed the shield from Steve Rogers. He gives the shield back in fear or racism, and not living up to Steve’s legacy.

It essentially goes from there, and we find ourselves stuck in a four-way showdown. We have Sam and Bucky, John and Lamar, The Flag Smashers, and Zemo. For me, it was done in such a way that it was completely and utterly different from any kind of superhero show we have had in the past, considering most have a specific formula. I guess Marvel is continuing their run on making their shows unique.

Every episode got better, and it never let up. That’s what I like most about it, as every episode went on it just hit in a different way. The relationships between each character also set up future projects within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In regards to popularity also, memes, posts, and general social media hype – characters like John Walker and Baron Zemo have became loved within the universe, it’s understandable Marvel will want to use them going forward.

Of course, spoilers are heading here, but we all knew from the promotional material for the show that Sam will become Captain America, and he will wield the shield. He obviously did that, but the writers did it incredibly, especially by giving him a brand new suit on the back of it – courtesy of the amazing Wakandan technology, and the Wakandan people as well. The suit was perfect, and it’s definitely up there within the MCU.

The show must have not JUST impressed the public, but the higher-ups within Disney. Shortly after the incredible finale, Captain America 4 featuring Sam Wilson was announced. Even the Twitter page for Captain America changed all of their imagery to showcase Sam in the brand new suit. It’s a fantastic move that I’m happy with. After all, we have to remember that Captain America is a mantle, Chris Evans will go down in history but as always – we have to move on.

The show in the end was a masterpiece, it was perfect, and easily one of the best shows of the year, and it’s going to be tough for any show to live up to it. Despite the small minority of people hating on the show and the characters, especially Karli, it was perfect.

I know a lot of people were hesitant with the 6 episodes, I was a bit as well if I’m honest. It did initially feel like it was going to be short, but now it’s over – I understand why. They didn’t drag anything out, and it all just hit the point it was trying to make quickly. I liked that because there’s nothing worse when a story drags out for 6+ episodes on its own. The CW can be notorious for this.

Characters

We had a lot to shout about as noted above. Each and every single one of them stood out in their own unique way, which is what made the show even more special. Every character involved in the series had their own agendas which not only helped their character development, but these agendas made sense to the overall story and vision of the show.

Because of how the characters were written, I believe nearly every single one of them has been set up for a future project, whether it’s a villain in a movie or series, a side character, or their very own project. We know Sharon has been set up as a villain, so I expect we will see more from that in Captain America 4. Zemo has many different paths and has now become an incredibly popular character. Sam has a movie with Bucky likely to star alongside him. The Wakandan’s are set up for their show which is being directed by Ryan Coogler, and John Walker has either set himself a movie or Disney+ series.

One special mention here goes to Karli. Erin Kellyman did a fabulous job portraying a sympathetic but ruthless villain, despite looking fairly young. I think that’s what made it better in my opinion, but her entire reasoning and premise within the episodes were great. In the end, I think we all had some kind of sympathy towards the cause she created and the group with The Flag Smashers.

Favourite Episode

Absolutely 100% the finale, One World, One People. The reason why this was my favorite was purely that this was the episode that it all came together, the story came full circle. Especially Falcon now becoming Captain America, the suit, the speech, the action – it was all so good.

Worst Episode

I don’t particularly think there was a bad episode, if I had to choose one then I’d say the Pilot episode. I would only pop that on there because it was the slowest episode, but obviously, it needed to be in order for viewers to gain an understanding as to what is going on. So, although it wasn’t bad, if I HAD to choose an episode then this would go on there, but with a 9.8/10 it’s not exactly poor.

Episodes & Their Ratings

Episode 1: New World Order – 9.8
Episode 2: The Star Spangled Man – 9.8
Episode 3: Power Broker – 10
Episode 4: The Whole World is Watching – 10
Episode 5: Truth – 10
Episode 6: One World, One People – 10

Average rating – 9.9/10

Our Overall Rating 10/10

It almost reflects the average, however, from an overall perspective we have to give it a 10/10. The writing, the story, the action, the characters, the entertainment was all done with such care, we just got a 6 series masterpiece. I keep using the word “masterpiece” but when something is THAT good, is there a better word to describe it? We certainly don’t think so.

Does It Deserve Another Season?

I would normally say absolutely, however, the situation is vastly different now because a cinematic release is now in the works. So, now because of that, I would have to say no. As long as the movie center focuses on both Sam and Bucky then I’m okay with both of them moving over into the big screen. Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie both deserve a movie or 3.