The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s most intriguing episode yet left fans with a lot to think about.
Ever since its premiere, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been teasing fans with questions, answers and the bits of the story that it wasn’t yet telling. Those teases, however, escalated in the third episode as the Disney Plus show jumped straight into some of its most outlandish story beats yet – some of which provided us with more answers and more questions.
Bucky Barnes’ decision to free Helmut Zemo from prison made Sam Wilson very uncomfortable, but the trio managed to get somewhere in their investigation into the rise of the new super soldiers. They also came across a familiar face who reluctantly assisted them with their findings but whose behavior raised even more questions. Though you could say the same about the oddly cheery Zemo.
With that in mind, let’s look at some of the questions “Power Broker” left us with.
5. Has Sharon Carter turned evil in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier?
Sam, Bucky and Zemo were saved from a sticky situation by a returning Sharon Carter. But the former Agent 13 wasn’t the light-hearted and fun personality that she was in her previous MCU appearances. Instead, she was angry at the world and the Avengers for basically forgetting about her and the role she played in Captain America: Civil War, meaning that she was forced to go on the run while the more-famous heroes got official pardons.
Though she did assist the trio in their plan to track down the person who made the super soldier serum, Dr. Nagel, she was rather violent in her attempts to protect them, killing many of the attackers without flinching. She then also met up with a stranger instead of returning with Sam and Bucky and referred to a big “problem”.
Could this new anti-hero Sharon have become everything she once fought against? Has her time Madripoor seen her evolve into a criminal instead? We don’t know what Sharon is up to as of yet, but there are definitely some questions that will no doubt be answered in the remaining three episodes.
4. Is there no longer a path to redemption for Karli?
After last week’s episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it began to look like the Flag-Smashers really weren’t the villains that they were being portrayed as. Between the fact that they raised some thought-provoking questions to the fact that they were trying to help people, it seemed there were genuinely good motivations behind their flawed approach.
This week, however, that approach wasn’t flawed; it was irredeemable. Karli Morganthau once again spoke of her dreams for the world and it was easy to see where she was coming from. However, her decision to intentionally kill the hostages in an explosion (when all she had to do was drive away and leave them unharmed) changed everything.
Karli has gone too far and it’s clear that at least one of her fellow Flag-Smashers don’t agree with her approach. The question is: How much further is she willing to go to achieve her goals and can she ever return from it?
3. Will Bucky’s return to the Winter Soldier get him in trouble?
There was something incredible about seeing Bucky Barnes reluctantly return to his Winter Soldier persona one more time, but there was also something incredibly haunting about how effortless is looked for him to return to that place.
What makes the matter much worse though is the fact that his skilful beatdown of those who opposed him in the club was being recorded. Now, call us paranoid if you want, but everything in the MCU means something, so it’s unlikely that this was just thrown in there for no reason.
No, there is a strong possibility that this could violate Bucky’s pardon and officially result in him ending up back in prison.
Here’s hoping we’re wrong because that man really deserves a break from imprisonments.
2. Is it inevitable that Bucky and Sam’s alliance with Zemo will turn sour?
You don’t have to look far on the internet to find that the response to Helmut Zemo’s return was overwhelmingly positive. MCU fans adored his banter with Sam and Bucky and most of them were genuinely surprised by how much of a personality he had.
That said, it does feel like the trio’s alliance has a shelf life and that it will expire at some point in the next three episodes. Obviously Sam and Bucky are keeping him around because they need him, but Zemo didn’t become the villainous mastermind he is because of his quirky personality and killer dance moves. And his decision to blindside the titular heroes by killing Dr. Nagel is proof that this union is beginning to dissolve.
Another sign would be Zemo’s musings about how he’s looking forward to meeting Karli – a moment in which Sam and Bucky exchanged uneasy glances. And with that, you do have to wonder if Zemo – despising super-powered individuals – plans on killing the Flag-Smashers’ leader. If so, that will be when his alliance with the Falcon and the Winter Soldier ends.
1. Will Ayo kill Zemo?
Bucky managed to figure out that someone was tracking his movements before the conclusion of the latest episode and that discovery led him right to Black Panther‘s Ayo. The warrior told him she was there for Zemo before the credits kicked in, leaving viewers on the edges of their seats.
It’s not surprising in the slightest that the Dora Milaje has come for Zemo. The man killed King T’Chaka so that he could cause a rift between the Avengers and his imprisonment for his heinous crimes was the only reason he remained alive. Now that he’s been sprung from jail, the Wakandan forces understandably want him back.
However, Bucky and Sam need his help to track down the Flag-Smashers, so can the former Winter Soldier convince Ayo to hold off for a little longer? And what if she’s not the only one there.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier adds a new episode on Disney+ every Friday from midnight.
What questions did Episode 3 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier leave you asking? Let us know in the comments below!