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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 1 Review

It’s been two weeks since the end of WandaVision. The show that took the world by storm and ushered us into Phase 4 of the MCU. In this post-Endgame MCU, everyone’s trying to find their way in a world without the Avengers, no Iron Man, and Steve Rogers an old man. A world where 3.5 billion came back after five years of being dead and loved ones died or moved on. And amidst the great action of the opening to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, its clear that finding a new normal’s easier said than done.

Falcon Struggles to Fly

When we last saw Sam Wilson, he was with the now-elderly Steve Rogers. Steve got his happy ending, returning to the past and living his life with Peggy like he deserved. However, he made sure to pass on his mantle to Sam, who has all the right qualities. He’s selfless, he’s skilled, charismatic, and he’s got those sweet wings! Plus, he was Captain America for a while in the comics, so it makes sense.

So what does the Falcon do? He…donates Cap’s shield to the Smithsonian.

Following a very epic opening sequence in which the Falcon takes down a terrorist cell in the skies of Tunisia, he hands Cap’s shield over to the Smithsonian, saying it belongs to Steve Rogers, not him. And we can understand why. He feels like he’s not worthy of becoming the next Captain America, the man who helped save the universe. However, I think many would disagree. Sam Wilson has proven himself more than worthy of being Steve’s successor. But from his perspective, he may not feel worthy. He’s still struggling to find his place in this post-Blip world, trying to help his sister keep the family business afloat. And as it turns out, being a superhero doesn’t qualify for a bank to give you a loan. Which is utter garbage; Sam helped save the universe, I think that deserves a loan from a bank!

So, yeah, the Falcon is trying to fly in this new world, but is being grounded by his insecurities and the problems of life.

Winter Soldier Has PTSD

At first glance, it looks like Bucky Barnes is doing better. The government pardoned him for his time as a brainwashed HYDRA assassin and for the crimes Zemo framed him for. He’s doing his best to make amends for what he did as the Winter Soldier. The only condition is that he has to undergo therapy to help him with his mental state. It seems like life’s good for him.

It isn’t. Despite knowing that he wasn’t in control of himself when he did it, Bucky is still haunted by his life as HYDRA’s fist. His first appearance onscreen shows performing an assassination mission, and then killing a random civilian who had the misfortune of seeing him. And yet, he lies to his therapist and says that he doesn’t have nightmares and just wants a normal life again. Before he joined the army in World War II.

It’s heartbreaking to see Bucky still suffering even after everything that he’s been through. He went to war almost eighty years ago, and even though its long over, he never came back. And even though he wants it, he pushes away the people who want to help him. It’s both frustrating and sad to see take place.

But you know what really made me sad? This old man that Bucky was friends with, Mr. Nakajima? Bucky learns that it was his son that he killed in that flashback to years ago, and you can just feel how guilty he is. It looks like he wants to admit it, but is terrified Mr. Nakajima will hate him for it. Please, Universe, give Bucky a hug. He deserves it.

Meet the New Captain America US Agent

So, remember how Sam Wilson said no one could step into the shoes of Captain America? It turns out, the US Government doesn’t see it like that. And with a bunch of anarchists called the Flag-Smashers running around, they want a new symbol to rally behind. So, they get someone new to become Captain America.

I swore, I could feel my eye twitching as I saw that happen in the last moments of the episode. The rational part of my brain admits that the US Government has the right to appoint a new Captain America. They gave Steve Rogers the title and the shield, so they should have the right to appoint someone knew. However, the emotional part of me reacted the same way Sam did: with disgust. Disgust at the fact that they’re disregarding Steve’s wishes. Their failure to recognize that Captain America needs to stand not for the American Government, but for the best ideals America represents. And the fact that it’s not Steve, Sam, or Bucky wielding the shield.

If you’re wondering who the new guy is, he’s John Walker. In the comics, he goes by US Agent, and before that, he once served as Captain America. However, John was not the most stable of people as Cap, and he ultimately gave up that role. If the MCU version’s anything like he is in the comics, then he’s going to be a soldier who obeys the whims of the government itself. And the government doesn’t always make the best decisions.

Great Start

We’re only on the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and the show’s already off to a great start. After dealing with the dramedy of WandaVision for months, it’s nice to return to the action and suspense that made the MCU the hit franchise it is today. While the show only has six episodes in total, the pilot tells me that it’s going to be packed with plenty of action, along with the small, personal moments that will help humanize the characters. And after what we’ve seen in WandaVision and Spider-Man: Homecoming, I want to know what the world is like post-Endgame.

I Give “New World Order” a 4/5

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Amphibia Season 2, Episode 14 Review

You know what I love about my generation? The fact that we tend to wear our love of the pop culture we grew up with on our sleeves. And Matt Braly makes it no secret his love of video games and RPG’s like The Legend of Zelda. I’m not that big a fan of Legend of Zelda, but I appreciate its importance to video games. And with the quest to find the temples to recharge the music box about to begin, this episode’s going to have plenty of Legend of Zelda oozing out of it.

Let the Legend of Zelda Quest Begin!

Picking up not long after the events of “After the Rain,” Marcy finally arrives in Wartwood. She proceeds to go ga-ga over the Plantar’s home for a while. And this happens.

Hilarious, but that’s besides the point. The group of five arrives at the first temple, and, like any good ancient temple, it’s filled with traps and puzzles. Said traps are meant to test a person’s intelligence to ensure only the worthy can recharge one of the gems, Marcy dives right into the whole thing and aces it. However, it’s here that we see the negative aspects of Marcy’s intellect and ability to focus on a single task.

The show previously established that Marcy Wu’s a badass. Her intelligence and RPG knowledge helped her to thrive in Newtopia. At the same time, though, she can be very absent-minded and unable to pay attention to what’s around her. Case in point, we got this montage reminding us of what happens when Marcy gets in the zone.

In addition, we’ve seen that while Marcy’s smart, she’s lacking in emotional intelligence. When we last saw her, it led her to insist on Anne staying with her instead of going with her adopted family like she clearly wanted to. She figured it out before it was too late, but the problem still remains. Worse, it’s on full display here, as Marcy’s either oblivious or brushes off the simmering tensions between Anne and Hop Pop.

Anne vs. Hop Pop

Last episode, Anne learned that Hop Pop lied to her about hiding the music box for months. Needless to say, she took the news poorly. While the two seemed to patch things up by the end of the episode, the temple quest proves otherwise. Anne’s still upset with Hop Pop over his mistake, and it doesn’t help that Hop Pop’s trying too hard to make amends and return things to what they were like before.

A lot of story-driven cartoons in the last decade have dealt with stories where bad decisions led to lasting consequences. DuckTales had Louie getting punished for almost destroying time. Steven Universe had Steven and Connie’s brief falling out over his decision to turn himself over to Homeworld. And I can’t even begin to count all the times in Adventure Time where the characters suffered trauma because of bad decisions. The point is, I like how these shows realistically show that things won’t return to normal when someone makes a bad decision. That trend continues in Amphibia, with the episode making it clear that Anne’s not going to forgive Hop Pop so easily. And the fact that Marcy’s too focused on the quest doesn’t help.

Things come to a head in the third act when Marcy leads everyone to play in a rigged game of Amphibia’s version of chess. This leads to Anne and Hop Pop being on opposite sides and finally forced to confront their issues, with Anne admitting that she can’t forgive Hop Pop so easily. It’s heartbreaking to watch, but also realistic. No matter how much we may want to, it’s no easy to forgive someone over something like what Hop Pop did. But it’s better to deal with the problem now and not let it fester into long-term issues. In other words, I think Anne and Hop Pop will eventually make up. They just need time.

Marcy Learns Humility

Concurrently to Anne and Hop Pop dealing with their issues, Marcy has to confront her own problems. She looked very upset about the fact that she didn’t recognize what Anne was going through. Marcy’s shown to be supremely confident in her abilities. That’s not a bad thing, but it can be if it gets to your head. Fortunately, Marcy’s aware that this is a problem and wants to work to overcome it. And one of the first steps to doing that is learning humility; admitting that she can’t do something, which leads her to throw the game.

Turns out, this is the true lesson of the Temple, which leads the group to the place where they can recharge the first gem. One thing to note, though: when they recharge the gem, that green glowing eye thing that Marcy’s eyes do seems to drain out of her and into the gem. Remember, glowing eyes=superpowers? This moment reaffirmed that the music box has magic powers that transferred to Anne, Sasha, and Marcy when they first opened it. And if there’s one thing I know about anime and RPG’s like Legend of Zelda, it’s that this has a bigger purpose.

But it may not be for a good cause.

Andrias: Friend or Foe?

Many fans have suspected that King Andrias has a darker motive to helping Anne and Marcy. The clues have popped up throughout the season, and this week gave us one of the biggest. In the final moments of the episode, we see Andrias speak to some sort of eldritch entity in the bowels of his palace. He calls it his “Lord”, and mentions something about a prophecy and revenge.

I wanted to give Andrias the benefit of the doubt, but after what I saw, I’m convinced that he can’t be trusted. We already know that the music box allows travel between worlds, but that Amphibia got cut off from Earth for some reason. There has to be a good reason, and we’re still trying to learn what. What I do know, though, is that things are about to get far more dangerous for everyone.

In short, I really liked this episode. I loved the Legend of Zelda references, the emotional development the characters showed, and how this connects to the over-arching mystery of the show. Amphibia is one of the best cartoons currently airing, and if you haven’t watched it yet, then I think now’s the time to do so. The mystery’s about to get even bigger, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it.

I Give “The First Temple” a 4.5/5

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