The Falcon and the Winter Soldier season 1, episode 4 review: The Whole World Is Watching

The pursuit of the Flag Smashers continues in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson along with Baron Zemo attempt to prevent a war.

The last episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier saw Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) seek help from Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl) – with assistance from Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) – to retrieve Intel on the Super Soldier Serum and track down the rebel group known as the Flag-Smashers.

The climax of the six-part Disney Plus series’ midpoint resulted in Zemo ending the life of Dr Wilfred Nagel as Bucky also came face-to-face with Ayo (Florence Kasumba) of the Dora Milaje.

A free man before The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

The fourth episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, “The Whole World Is Watching” opens in Wakanda as Ayo is with Bucky and monitors him following their attempts to overturn the brainwashing done to him by HYDRA scientists. Ayo tests the activation words on Bucky and, to his tearful joy and relief, he is free from further control.

Ayo’s Warning and tracking the Flag Smashers

Back in the present day, Ayo chides Bucky for freeing Zemo from detainment, giving the former Winter Soldier eight hours before the Dora Milaje move to apprehend the Captain America: Civil War villain. Bucky rejoins Sam and Zemo as they learn about the bombing of the Global Repatriation Council (GRC) supply depot by the Flag Smashers. Zemo also hinted to Sam and Bucky that Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) cannot be saved as she is too far gone with her “supremacist” ideals and mindset.

The trio reaches the GRC camp to find out some information about Karli’s adoptive mother, Donya Madani (Veronica Falcón). While Sam and Bucky attempt to gain information about Karli’s whereabouts to no avail, Zemo approaches some children at the camp and discovers a memorial for Madani happening sometime later. Zemo purposefully withholds this information from the other two, knowing full well he is just a “means to an end.”

This angers Bucky as he steps in the Baron’s face and knocks his cup right out of his hands across to the other side of the room. Sam eases his co-worker off the Baron and makes a call to Sharon to gain access to satellites so they do not fly in “blind” and she, begrudgingly, accepts the lead as recon. However, she warns that the mysterious Power Broker went berserk after learning of Dr Nagel’s death. She pushes Sam and Bucky to find the supply of serum before more chaos ensues.

Rendezvous with Capt. Walker and Battlestar

Elsewhere, Karli and fellow Flag-Smasher member, Nico (Noah Mills), retrieve their stash of the Super Soldier Serum at a graveyard. In conversation, Nico shares history about his grandfather who was a resistance fighter during World War II after Karli shared her doubts about creating more super soldiers. Nico encourages Karli to be a sympathetic but competent leader of a cause: one who can be for the people in a society of moral ambiguity and heroes constantly under close watch.

In Summary, the Verdict…

Sam pushes to go in alone, tapping into her vulnerability after losing a lost one. However, Walker loses patience and moves in but not before showcasing his distaste for Bucky’s serum-infused power. Zemo intercepts Karli and destroys the vials of serum bar one Walker takes for himself. He takes Zemo down.

The fourth episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has allowed the show to really hit its peak as we get closer to the season finale and all of the above developments set the stage for a jaw-dropping ending.

As always, one of the great things about this series is the subtle nuances that are really thought-provoking. In some of the earlier episodes, it discussed racial disparity and patriotism and now this time, it delved into nationalism versus globalism. Those discussions are brought together by strong writing and compelling performances.

Karli feels she must lead and create an army of superior men and women, even though she is beginning to question her forceful methods. She didn’t want to harm Sam, only Walker and what he represents. Karli ultimately felt judged by a system that failed her as an individual because it forgot about her and that remains a strong driving force behind her character and her mission.

The only thing disappointing other than the main objective easily being reached (destroying the serum) is this writer’s concerns over some plot threads still left open i.e. how will Sam reclaim his mantel of Captain America? Who is the Power Broker? And who really is pulling the strings?

Also, it is slightly a bit unfortunate we did not get a bit more Walker at the beginning so that we can get more insight about where is and what drives him to be the substitute Cap. We may get that next episode since his vengeful heel-turn (if you will) signified his fall from grace.

Catch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Fridays at 12 am PST and 3 am EST on Disney+.

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What are your thoughts on the series thus far? What do you think of this week’s episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Should the Falcon reclaim the shield and the mantle from John Walker? Let us know in the comments below!

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