The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - Thoughts on Episode 1

 Hey!  So I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.  I have some thoughts.

The first thought is:  it's fantastic.

If you're one of those that complained that WandaVision started too slowly, you'll have no complaints here.  It opens with an action scene straight out of a James Bond movie as we see the Falcon doing his best to live up to the legacy of Captain America.  It's pretty much the only big action set piece in the episode, though.  I mean, hey, it's the first episode.  They've got to take their time setting up the series.

Most of Falcon's story takes place down in Louisiana.  He's helping his sister save the family business.  While you may remember that Falcon was one of the many that Thanos snapped out of existence, his sister wasn't, and the five years made it a rough go for the family fishing boat.  Meanwhile, in his superhero-ing, he's keeping an eye on a new terrorist organization called the Flag-Smashers.  Their manifesto is straight out of #ThanosDidNothingWrong.  They feel the world was a better place when the population was reduced by half, and want to put it back to that way.  

Then we catch up with Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier.  His journey very much mirrors Captain America's in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Bucky's been pardoned for the crimes he committed over the decades as a brainwashed HYDRA assassin.  However, that doesn't change the fact that he helped to put a lot of very bad people in positions of power.  So now, as part of his pardon, he's helping law enforcement take down those very bad people.  He's still got PTSD from his time, and he, too, is very much a man out of time.  

This first episode is very much about setting up our two heroes and where they are right now, helping to establish more of our post-blip word.  Which is one of the great things about these shows.  We have the time to let our characters breath and really get to know them.  In this first episode, we've also got a great cameo from another MCU vet.  (I knew they were in it, but you might not.  In fact, I forgot they were in it, and seeing them was a delightful surprise.)  

All in all, I was very delighted with the first episode, and I think you're going to like it, too.