The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Episode 5: Truth Review

For our review of the last episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, click here.

The penultimate episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier certainly had a lot of ground to cover before next week’s finale. Though perhaps not as action-packed as some may have hoped, it was nonetheless full of strong character moments propelled by great writing. While some arcs were fairly obvious, some came out of nowhere (none bigger than THAT guest appearance), some were a little more subtle. The story for the most part is essentially going where one would think it would go but the series’ ability to tackle the big issues has been a welcome surprise so far.

Picking up where the last episode left off, Walker was left reeling after what he just did. Sam and Bucky showed up to take the shield back but Walker wasn’t ready to give it up without a fight and fight they did. In the end, Sam’s wings got broken for good (he gave them to Torres) but they got the shield back though that was only the beginning. Suffice it to say that Walker created a firestorm that was much bigger than Sam and Bucky therefore they had to step back at least for now. Meanwhile, Walker was formally stripped of his duty and position and did not take that well either. Consoling him was a mysterious woman named Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who possessed an uncanny knowledge of everything that had happened and asked that he respond whenever she called him. Nevertheless, Walker still continued to make amends, adamant that he got justice for Hoskins’s killer.

Bucky found Zemo in Sokovia and didn’t kill him but rather handed him off to the Wakandans though not without asking them for one more favor. Sam went back to Bradley to give him the shield. He was far past that and came to terms with his tortured past. It was definitely sad to hear the details of what happened to him including all the experimentation that was done on him where he was the only survivor. He was dead to the world and his history was erased and it’d be best to keep it that way. To be Captain America was not a position a Black man would or should aspire to be.

Sam went home to fix that boat and he was serious this time. Sam also showed up with a package from the Wakandans. It was fun to watch them flaunt their bromance while working together to fix the boat. Playing catch with the shield finally gave Sam and Bucky the chance to finally resolve their issues and mend their differences over the shield and what it meant to each of them. Sam sent Bucky on a path of truly making amends. Following Bradley’s example, Sam fully embraced the shield and went about training hard for the role. This episode overall was a showcase for Antony Mackie and his impressive range.

The episode also seemed to strongly imply that Sharon was the Power Broker, getting explosives for Batroc who delivered them to Karli who was ready to strike and she did, seemingly immobilizing her followers to interrupt a vital GRC vote on an act that would send 20 million refugees back to their countries of origin. Sam caught on to what they were doing and he was ready to act and opened the case he got from the Wakandans, presumably containing a new Captain America outfit. Meanwhile, a mid-credits scene saw Walker build his own shield.

So that’s where the endgame is going to be and how will de Fontaine and Walker be involved or is it just set up for something beyond this series?

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.