The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: What’s hidden in plain sight in episode 4?
By Mike McNulty
For The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s fourth episode, we take a deep dive into Wakanda’s bodyguards, Zemo’s political philosophy, and that brutal ending.
The first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shocked fans by introducing a new Captain America in the form of John Walker (Wyatt Russell). Fans were shocked again by the reveal that the United States government has a new super soldier after Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in the form of Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly). But after this fourth episode of the Disney Plus series, aptly entitled “The Whole World is Watching,” I suspect even the most cynical viewer found their lower jaws touching their knees after that ending.
Of course, we’ll be talking about that ending, and some other things about “The Whole World is Watching,” too. We may even get to tackle a little bit of some real world influences which make up some of this episode’s potential Easter Eggs. There’s some comic book references too, of course, including the Captain America comic that may have inspired that ending. But first, let’s talk about…
The Dora Milaje return in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
No doubt most of you reading this are already familiar with Wakanda’s élite female warriors, particularly if you’ve watched Black Panther (2018). But did you know that the Dora Milaje are actually based on historical fact?
In the former African Kingdom of Dahomey, which is now the present-day Republic of Benin, the Dahomey royal family was protected by a group of all-female bodyguards. Known as the Mino meaning “Our Mothers,” they were established in the 17th Century by one King Houegbadja as elephant hunters, until his daughter, Queen Hangbe, expanded their role. Often consisting of women from other tribes whom the Dahomey captured and enslaved, or from women who volunteered their services, the Mino also fought alongside male warriors in battle. In fact, their numbers became so large they made up one-third of the kingdom’s army.
They were also considered ahosi or “the king’s wives.” That’s because the Mino were, technically, married to the king, although they were not allowed to have children. This aspect, too, is something else the Dora Milaje once shared in common with the historical Mino. That’s because the Dora Milaje weren’t just the Black Panther’s personal bodyguards in the comics, they were also being groomed as his potential wives and thus future Queen of Wakanda. Given how the MCU version of Okoye is married and there might be something between Ayo (Florence Kasumba) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan), it seems that bit of detail has been removed.
As for how they could fare so well in combat, even against enhanced humans like Bucky? It’s not because they have any super powers, but rather highly advanced hand-to-hand combat and weapons training. Yes, the Dora Milaje are just that good. They have to be if they’re supposed to guard someone who does have actual super powers, after all. Hence the reason for Walker’s dejected “They’re not even super soldiers” after they kicked his butt. Because if even he realizes that if experienced superheroes like Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky can barely hold their own against the non-powered Dora Milaje, what chance does he really have against the Flag-Smashers?