Episode 2 of FALCO & WINTY - A Whole Lotta’ Captains! (Patreon)

Now that’s a whole lotta captains!

Also, I really liked this episode! Mostly because it does a really good job with the daunting “second episode” requirements. See, there’s an old TV adage that more or less goes, “with a pilot, you show me why I should care about these people. And with a second episode, you show me how you’re a show.’ As in what are the ongoing dynamics and conflicts that will sustain us week to week? And are they going to do it in a way that is actually compelling? It’s not just about making sure the characters have objectives and stuff to do (tho thankfully they do that here). It’s answer those three deeper questions from the audience I talked about it last time, just frame a little differently.

What do we want to happen?

Falcon and Winter Solider to team up, dammit!

What is preventing that from happening?

Well after an episode where they were kept apart the entire time, Winty literally just shows up so… yeah, that’s kinda anti-climactic. BUT! When he does show up he at least has an actual axe to grind in terms of him giving up the shield. And he lays the guilt trip hard. He also tags along (but I wish they made it a bit more clear it’s because he’s looking for a mission and has to get away, too). But then we can finally just get into “the show.” Remember, the entire television was pretty much based on that one scene of them joking in a car and the actor’s relationship during press interviews. Finally, we get to see it on display here. And there fun bickering banter is delightful! This totally works as a cornerstone of the show. So yay! But with that established, it still leaves the bigger question…

How do you make their ultimate catharsis transcendent?

What I like is they used a dramatic tactic I really like called “an anti-goal.” It comes in a moment during their therapy session (which we’ll talk about at that end) where they state that they just want to do this mission so that they NEVER see each other again. Of course, even though they get on each other’s nerves they don’t REALLY want this. And neither do we. But by stating this intention clearly, it’s directly showing us the thing that we want to see change. I realize this stuff might seem obvious, but it’s not. It’s precisely the dramatic stuff you have to articulate so that audience understands what the exact tension is and so you can flesh out their coming together in a meaningful way. So I feel like things are on the right track!

In more ways than one! Because they also fleshed out the ensemble!

I ended last episode wondering “who the hell is this dingus?” Which is funny because I had no idea Wyatt Russell was going to be in this show. I also feel like I have a weird investment in this guy because 1) he’s Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn’s kid and I love those two so much that it is one of the few cases where I don’t give a shit about nepotism? And 2) because I’m sort of curious about his range. He’s got this likable surfer every-bro thing going on, but I also feel like he could tap some weird other gear? Which seems to a be a real possibility here because…

I DO NOT LIKE HIM CLEAN SHAVEN, NO THANK YOU. It feels WRONG. Which is perhaps good because something feels wrong with him being Captain America - and what I like is the show seems to understand this too. Sure, we’re introduced to him and he’s given a lot of attention and we understand he’s a guy who cares I guess. But by episodes end I hate him! In a good way! Because it’s not like they’re pushing the douche thing over the top. Not at all. It’s so much more subtle. It’s that way he’s ever so slightly annoying and wants to be “aw shucks,” but in the end he’s just a total fucking cop underneath all that exterior. And when he says “don’t get in my way,” we as the audience know exactly that we want to get in his fucking way.

Also, when we hit that scene it’s like” ohhhhh it’s John Walker and Battlestar!” I start thinking back to the comics and realize, oh yeah! I didn’t read those ones!

But you bet your butt I read “Black Captain America!” (quotes meant to be pointed) Because even though we just got a brief snippet, integrating Isiah Bradley so seamlessly into this story just felt great to me. From the way the “Black Falcon” beat operates both as commentary and sly introduction, to his place in the larger story, it felt like we’re opening the world of “Captain America” up to so many larger ideas beyond Steve Rogers. I love that they didn’t wait. I love the instinct to get more characters in this NOW. The desire to make them important NOW (it’s actually one of the things that made Black Panther feel so vibrant and expansive). And gives us fodder to think about the central conflict of this story: What happens when others get super serums? And what do all these different “super” versions mean?

Speaking of which, it turns out the flag smashers might not be shitty! Hurray! Granted, might not is still a big wish, but after worrying the show was going to have “good fences” instincts, I think we might be heading into “these aren’t the real villains and they actually have an important point” territory. Because someones mad that they stole their serum. And we also get some critical humanization for Karli Morgenthau, which we now realize is a gender swap for Flag Smasher. Who I also realized looks like Space Ghost in the old comic…

What’s funny is that I also realize how much this move is straight out of the Marvel playbook. In Wandavision, we sort of hit this tricky territory with how much Wanda couldn’t be “the real villain in the show” even though she was doing something fucking horrible… and the show never really accounted for it. They just shoved in Agatha to be more evil by comparison. But it’s odd how much this fits a larger paradigm. So often we question whether characters are good or bad and then the MCU answers that mostly by putting them next to someone worse. Think Falcon is a little too jingoistically gung ho? Well get a load of these new fuckers! Think these people with axes to grind are the bad guys? Well, these other folks are so much worse! The real problem is that the narratives always tend to just move on like it settles things. It does NOT settle things. It just makes us feel better about dynamics by comparison. But at least with this plot-line, we are providing a framework for the right questions at the heart of this series…

With the super serums we’re really asking who has a right to “power? What does it mean to wield power responsibly? Who do we like having power and who do we not like having power? (If you never read the initial Isiah Bradley arc, he was hated and jailed for taking up the mantle). And what I like is this framework provides a real chance to dive into those thematic questions, and I’m getting a good feeling that maybe for once.…

They might have something to say in the answers.

RANDOM THOUGHTS!

-That’s a loooooong opening zipper shot, huh?

-John Walker’s introduction is sort of a lesson on “how not to” introduce a character, at least when it comes to narrative economy. By the point he sits down and they’re like “what is like being Captain America?” and he’s actually telling us the same line he’s already said in different ways for the last 8 minutes? Yeah, that usually means you been looking for the right definition and never quite nailed it. Also, I get that we’re trying to introduce Battlestar, but making so Walkers gets to TWO different pep talks in the opening is sooo not the way to do that. I mean, especially his girlfriend never shows up again in the show? I’m also wondering what a lot of the point of that decency establishing thing is gonna mean to the action later in terms of setting up potential teaming up… I’ll say, so far they’ve earned my trust, but it’s a curiosity.

-“Didn’t recognize you in the costume!” Oof. How many athletes and other celebrities describe this exact encounter in a way that has to be infuriating beyond all belief.

-Speaking of which, I like that Spellman and the show at large don’t really seem to care about being delicate when diving into the racial elements of the show? There’s this kind of organic, messy directness. Like, Mackie isn’t interested in using up his time or energy “teaching” anyone shit, when a cutting jab and walking away is a much better way to serve his sanity. I don’t know, I’m just genuinely curious what other people think of the portrayal so far and whether or not is a accurate take on the intention.

-So apparently the younger kid who answers the door is Elijah Bradley AKA Patriot AKA Lieutenant America! I never read the Young Avengers stuff, but I think this is really cool if it’s something that ends up happening on TV, if only for a very specific reason. And that’s because so much of the MCU is for this weird kids / adults split of interest. And I like the idea of an actual thing focused on THE TEENS!

-Apparently in the comics they played with Walker being a bit of a neocon religious zealot a bit? Again, I didn’t really read any of that so I have no idea what’s coming.

-I was skeptical at first, but the big 3 running gag works. Sometimes you just have to muscle jokes through. While other jokes come easier…

-“I read The Hobbit. In 1937. When it first came out.” Bhaahhahahah that’s a great line and I like them calling attention to the old as hell thing as much as possible (within reasons). But what DOES he know pop culture wise? Did he get ANYTHING in the winter solider days? I’m now picturing them making him watch Wajda’s Man of Marble without them realizing it was a stealth anti-communist film… this is a joke for no one.

-The truck chase is pretty good! I tend to measure those things not just in competency, but memorable moments and the part where Falcon hops over the sign and the dude just goes right through it is a good one.

-Also, the beat of them rolling is good homoerotic tension and I would like more please. Also, why are they walking after? Did Falco breaks his wings or…

-“… It’s always that last line.” Sam calling out Walker for the end of his plea is my favorite moment of the show so far. One of those insightful and sharp things that just hits such the exact right criticism.

-Who did they steal the serum from? We don’t know! But it also taps into this weird thing where the MCU has so few good villains and I think it’s such a detriment sometimes. They’re mostly humorless shadowy boogeymen that don’t get to have any of the fun. There’s a reason the ones that do (Loki) become compelling. Heck, there’s a reason the most complex, interesting, funny, scary, horrible, and all together human villain (Killmonger) was part of their best movie.

-The Flag Smashers have a more refugee vibe now, but why is it that I love “offering coffee and crackers” guy more than I love anyone else in teh show?

-At the end I was like “oooh, they gotta talk to the dude from Inglorious Basterds!” (actually Daniel Brühl is a great actor) but it also reveals that I have developed such a bad memory for the details of so many of the side-villains from phase 2-3. Like it just ALL blends together so much and I can’t remember what this guy even did. I just remember he was there.

-Okay, this week’s therapy scene once again feels like it was made by someone who has never been to therapy and she is literally the worst therapist in the world and it’s a bad sign any time a show seems to have this much disdain for the process and is even treating it like jail and my GOD do I hope this is just setting up a big change in the arc… BUT! I will at least say the scene is very entertaining (the staring contest beat) and does get a lot of important things with clarifying what’s really bothering them (even if another character should have let Bucky to that “wrong about me” conclusion and not something he offered up with a little too much self-understanding at this point in the arc, but that’s a little thing). The big win is really that they introduced a conflict and kind of settled a big part of it when Sam defends himself over the shield by saying “I did what I thought was right!” It’s a good momentary resolution because it lowers the tempers, brings the characters closer, but also is just a first step in his larger arc of realization of why it has to be him… Because, hey…

“No one writes them like they used to, so it may as well be me.”

<3HULK