Friday has become every Marvel fan’s new favourite day. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has divided fans and we are breaking it all down. There are spoilers ahead for those who have not seen the show as of yet.

Episode Three:

The episode opens with an advert for the Global Repatriation Council. We then see a GRC van and out walks John Walker a.k.a the new Captain America. He enters a building looking for Karli Morgenthau. After getting no answers, John and Lemar Hoskins leave and realise they need extra help if they ever want to find her.

In Berlin, Bucky and Sam are going to meet with Baron Zemo. Bucky explains that he and Zemo have a past and wants to talk to him alone. After the reunion, Bucky exclaims he wants to break Zemo out of prison. Sam thinks this is a bad idea and Bucky comes up with a plan to break Zemo out of prison. Sam doesn’t like the idea but little does he know the plan has already worked. They all decide to work together and the episode begins.

The brand new trio make their way to a private jet owned by Zemo. On the flight Zemo is reading through Bucky’s notebook and brings up the name of the man he killed in Episode One. Bucky begins to choke Zemo and takes his notebook back.

At the GRC Resettlement Camp, Karli and The Flag Smashers are taking shelter there. Karli is called in to say goodbye to someone called Donya Madani. In Madripoor, Bucky, Sam and Zemo are on their way to an underground club. Sam’s given alias is his doppelganger “The Smiling Tiger”. They arrive at this club and admit they are there to see someone called Selby. A hooded figure notices the men at the bar and leaves. The bartender begins to prepare The Smiling Tiger’s usual, which is snake guts in a shot glass with alcohol. Sam takes the shot and then a fight breaks out.

Bucky takes the lead and fights everyone until Selby decides to see the men. The men demand knowledge of the Super Soldier Serum. Selby informs them that Dr Wilfred Nagel created the serum and they demand to know where this doctor is. As Selby rises and states they won’t be able to find the doctor without her Sam’s phone starts to ring. His sister Sarah is calling and Selby wants to hear the call on speaker. Sarah wants to talk about the family boat and Sam tries to play it off as The Smiling Tiger. After Sarah says she will call Sam back, Selby demands they be killed but she is shot instead. Word gets out that Selby is dead and the trio run for their life.

They have made it to safety thanks to Sharon Carter. She reveals she has been off the grid for quite some time and she decides to keep them safe in her current residence. Sharon is catching up with her old friends and they inform her of Karli Morgenthau and The Flag Smashers. Sam begs for her help and he promises to clear her name. Sharon tells the trio to stay out of trouble and they wind up at a night club.

They make their way through the dancing crowd when Sharon reveals she has found Dr Wilfred Nagel. Zemo, Bucky, Sam and Sharon end up at a shipyard. They enter a shipping unit and find a secret door at the back of it. This hidden entrance leads to a lab where Dr Wilfred Nagel is jamming to Mel Torme. The doctor demands they leave and Sam forces the doctor to start talking. Bounty hunters show up and Sharon begins to fight them off. Dr Nagel is being held at gunpoint. Dr Nagel reveals he worked with the CIA to perfect the Super Soldier Serum. Before he was able to complete it, Dr Nagel disappeared in the blip and when he returned he returned to his work on this serum. Karli Morgenthau stole the serum and the doctor further reveals that she called him to ask for help with Donya Madani.

As the doctor is saying all this, Zemo shoots the doctor and the lab catches fire. Zemo is nowhere to be found in the lab and they all run out the door. Sharon, Sam and Bucky begin to shoot the bounty hunters while arguing at the same time. Zemo later pulls up in a convertible and takes his teammates with him. Sharon decides not to join them and is gets into a different car.

Karli is talking with her fellow Flag Smasher and they talk about the possibility of The Power Broker catching up with them. Back in Munich, John and Lemar are at the prison and are wondering where Zemo is. In the sky, Sam and Bucky talk about the serum and talk about taking Captain America’s shield back. They set their sights to find Karli but The Flag Smashers are about to leave. As Karli leaves hostages tied up in a building, it explodes and Karli states, “this is the only language these people understand”.

In Riga, Bucky decides to take a walk leaving Zemo and Sam to search for Karli. Bucky follows a trail that leads him to be reunited with Ayo.

No Heroes and No Villians:

This is the longest episode of the season so far at 53 minutes however it feels like a 3 hour film. The episode drags and has a major issue with pacing and storytelling. There is a lot to unpack here and we will get into it.

The biggest problem with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier so far is one that is present in other Marvel projects. The villain problem, this is seen in films such as Thor: The Dark World, Ant Man & The Wasp and Iron Man 2. The villains in these movies are forgettable and their motives are lacklustre. The Flag Smashers, Karli and Zemo have no purpose in the series and the centre focus is a vaccine. In recent years we have had memorable villains such as Hela, Mysterio, Thanos and Agatha Harkness. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is suffering in the villain department and it could drag the entire series down.

This episode saw the return of Sharon Carter. Although she was not a fan favourite in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, she has undergone serious character development and is the mvp of this episode. Her character has a secret and we have yet to find out what it is. Is she The Power Broker? Or does she work for The Power Broker?

Anthony Mackie is carrying this entire series on his back and he is struggling. Sebastian Stan appears tired in this role, it feels like he wants to quit and it may be time for him to join Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr in the Marvel retirement home.

This episode was all over the place in terms of storyline and there is a lot of ground to cover so let’s hope that Marvel do this successfully.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is now streaming on Disney+. The next episode will be available to stream on Friday.