Avengers Assemble! Marvel fans are still reeling from the finale of WandaVision and for the past two weeks have been eagerly awaiting the next instalment in Phase Four of the MCU. The first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has finally dropped on Disney+ and we are breaking it all down. There are spoilers for the first episode if you have not checked it out yet.

Episode One: New World Order:

The episode opens with Sam Wilson ironing his shirt, getting ready to go to the Smithsonian and taking Captain America’s shield with him. In the next scene, Sam is on a jet with the United States Air Force and is preparing to jump. As he jumps out he spreads his wings and becomes The Falcon. Sam is fighting a group bad guys in an attempt to save another soldier. As he continues to fight, the bad guys jump with this soldier and Sam shortly follows after. The Falcon is flying and battling many obstacles in order to complete this mission. He is close to saving the soldier and has only 90 seconds to do so. A helicopter blows up and Sam is now outnumbered. The Falcon reroutes in order to save this solder as the leader Batroc jumps out of the exploding helicopter.

In Tunisia, Sam and Joaquin are sitting down to drink some tequila and Sam is fixing his weaponry. The pair share a laugh as a local citizen recognises The Falcon from his work with The Avengers. Joaquin shows Sam the manifest for The Flag Smashers and warns him to look out for these guys. He informs Sam of the motivations of The Flag Smashers claiming they are fans of a “world without boarders”. Joaquin brings up conspiracy theories on Steve Rogers but Sam denies any of it. Sam takes his stuff and heads back to Washington.

At the Smithsonian in Washington DC, Sam is giving a speech on his old friend Captain America. As he picks up the shield, he thanks Steve Rogers and the audience applauds. The museum curators place the shield in a glass case to be apart of the new Captain America exhibit. Sam reconnects with James Rhodes a.k.a War Machine and they take a walk through the exhibit. He professes to James about his grievances and they admire the legacy of Captain America. James leaves and Sam remains in the Smithsonian.

In an epic fight sequence, Bucky Barnes is causing chaos as The Winter Soldier and even shoots someone. Turns out, that was a flashback and Bucky is attending government mandated therapy. The therapist asks Bucky about recurring nightmares and he denies he has had any. She pulls out a notebook and an irritated Bucky agrees to her terms. There is mention of a three rule system as Bucky relays an experience he had involving Hydra. Rule number one is that he cannot do anything illegal. Rule number two is that no one gets hurt. The final rule is that he must make amends with those he has hurt. Bucky walks away and follows all the rules.

The therapist takes Bucky’s phone and it is revealed he has been ignoring texts from Sam. The therapist is pushing for answers and asks him what he wants out of life. He answers he wants peace and she shuts down his answer. We are now in Brooklyn and Bucky is attempting to help out his neighbour Yori. They go to a Sushi restaurant and Bucky makes a date with the waitress Leah. Yori is reminded of his son and relays how much he misses him, something that strikes a nerve in Bucky.

We’re now in Louisiana, Sam is driving to meet his sister and her kids. Sarah and Sam are having a dispute over selling their family’s business. Sam and Sarah come to an agreement to apply for a loan and they get ready for dinner. Back in Brooklyn, Bucky brings Leah flowers as they prepare to go on their date. They begin to bond and Leah takes out the board game Battleship. As Leah begins to contemplate death, Bucky leaves and makes his way to Yori’s apartment. Bucky see’s a picture of Yori’s late son and it is the young man Bucky shot in the flashback scene.

Back in Louisiana, Sam and Sarah are preparing dinner for the boys as they leave to go to the bank. Across the world in Switzerland, Joaquin is keeping track of The Flag Smashers’ manifest. He attempts to act casual until a whistle is heard, everyone around him masks up and obtains different weapons. Chaos ensues as a robbery takes place and a mysterious masked figure leaves Joaquin for dead.

At a different bank, Sarah and Sam are meeting with a teller to get their loan. The teller recognises Sam from somewhere but cannot seem to place him. Sam drops a hint that he is The Falcon and the two share a high five. The Falcon and his biggest fan take a selfie and he attempts to turn the situation around to the loan. The teller informs them that they have no income from the last five years. Sarah poses the question, “How can you have income if you don’t exist?” referring to Sam’s disappearance during the blip. Due to the blip, they cannot get a loan as the policy has changed.

As they leave the bank, Sam insists they will get a loan and Sarah informs him on the struggles she faced during the blip. On the boat, Sam is trying to get it to start and it will not work. As Sam reminisces on his childhood, he receives an urgent text message from Joaquin. Back at the house, Sam is looking at the video of the masked leader of The Flag Smashers and is facetiming with Joaquin. Sarah comes running into the room and urges Sam to look at the news. The head of the Department of Defence is giving a speech and reveals a new hero. A man dressed in blue, carrying a shield makes his way to the forefront. He is revealed to be “the new Captain America”.

The Falcon, The Winter Soldier and Joaquin Torres:

This series takes place just after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Sam and Bucky are both grieving the loss of their friend and dealing with it in different ways. The main theme of the episode is grief. We see how both Sam and Bucky are dealing with this. Sam struggles to give the shield over and Bucky is attending to government mandated therapy.

The grief is causing both men to act differently towards those around them. Sam is desperately trying to keep his family business afloat and Sarah is ready to pack it in. Denial seems to be the stage of grief Sam is experiencing. Bucky pushes everyone around him away. He runs away from Leah when she mentions the death of Yori’s son and how the loss affected him. As well as that, Bucky has been ignoring Sam’s texts and is very a recluse.

When Bucky sees the picture of Yori’s son he appears to recognise him. This was the man that Bucky shot in the flashback scene. A major question posed is, who is behind the mask? Obviously a whodunnit narrative is being pushed and hopefully the payoff will be epic. This will prove for an interesting guessing game similar to WandaVision. The most jaw dropping moment comes at the end of the episode in the form of “The New Captain America”. It appears this may be a publicity stunt or capitalism may be rearing its head in this plot point similar to the over exposure of Steve in Captain America: The First Avenger. No one can replace Captain America in there eyes of Sam, Bucky and the fans so we will have to wait and see how this pans out.

For a first episode, this was very weak. The story was all over the place and did not live up to the hype. The main focus of this episode is meant to be Bucky and Sam but Joaquin also becomes a focus. Up until this point, Sam and Bucky have been side characters in the MCU. Both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are very talented but Mackie seems to be carrying this first episode on his back whilst Stan appears flat. This is their moment to shine but it falls flat in this first episode. Hopefully as the series progresses the show will become bigger and better.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is now available to stream on Disney+. Episode Two arrives on Disney+ Friday 26th March.