***Early Access*** THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER 1x4 Full Watch Along

The thing that draws me in with this show is the depth of the characters. The writing in this is fantastic. The "villains" are not completely evil, and the "heroes" have flaws. I like the quote, "You're the leader of the Flag Smashers, those terrorists. Right?" ... "Revolutionaries, depending on whose side you're on." Multilayered facets to each side, and it comes down to perspective.

My heart goes out to Bucky. He has no autonomy. ZERO. I understand WHY Ayo did that - I get her reason for doing that. But I still feel bad for Bucky. It breaks my heart a little bit. Someone I follow on Twitter said this same thing, and he received death threats for it. Can we not understand WHY Ayo did this and still feel SAD for Bucky as well? Why can't BOTH of these feelings exist in the same space?

I agree with you, Billy. I do not feel that John Walker should be "Captain America". Not at all. I DO feel compassion for him though, because he has been fighting for the USA his entire adult life and I feel that some of his psychological issues are a result of fighting our wars. My heart goes out to Veterans. Because while I don't agree with War (I stand for Peace) - I feel compassion for people that have fought our wars, only to come home and commit suicide OR live with debilitating PTSD for the rest of their lives.

I get it. This all makes sense, Matt. Thank you so much for sharing your opinion - especially coming from a Veteran. Thank you again 🙏🏼💜

Kazzy, Ayo literally disarming Bucky may have seemed slick, but consider the implications to Bucky. The episode opened to him being freed from the words. Those tears and that smile (the first time you ever see Bucky smile in this era) were because he realized that he was in control. When Ayo revealed that she had kept her ability to take the gifted Wakandan-made arm from him, he didn't just feel that she had betrayed his trust, he realized that he wasn't actually as in control of himself as he thought he was. He, vis a vis that arm, was still at the mercy of another. He may not be the Winter Soldier, but he feels he's still not free. Walker is the militaristic idea of a hero as opposed to Steve Rogers, who is the pure idea of a hero. He is a soldier. Steve was far more than that. And what Steve saw in Sam, and what we get a great start of elaborating on in this episode, is his ability to empathize, communicate, and, above all else, heal. Sam is a fine warrior, but with the humanity that that shield truly represents. It doesn't represent America, it represents the ideals that this country should always be moving toward. And like Steve, who was once maligned himself, Sam understands that the people you fight for are not the ones in power—that is what Walker has always done—it's to fight for those who need help the most. Fight for the vulnerable and for those who cannot fight for themselves. Sam is becoming a great character and role model.

It has been thought through time that "heroes are made, not born" although there have been a number of studies done through years that people who stay cool in a crisis may be natural-born' heroes. John Walker definitely was neither a born a hero, or as Captain America's successor deserving of the label. He definitely lost his cool in committing literally an atrocity in plain view of scores of onlookers. We can partially blame the serum, but this episode surely proved that John Walker does not possess the temperament nor steadying mindset to ever replace Steve Rogers and carry that shield as an American Super Hero.

My observations on John Walker as a veteran. I think he wants to be a good person, but his ego, impulsivity and emotions are clouding his judgement. Despite his training and experience, those issues make him a liability. People like that tend to get themselves and their teammates killed in action, despite having every intention of being a competent, capable asset. Maybe, these issues didn't exist before episode 2 of this series. Lemar did say that Walker "consistently made the right decisions in the heat of battle". Honestly, I would need to see a flashback of Walker in Afghanistan that shows his conduct matching this description; I'm really not seeing it in Walker's behavior. Most of the Marines I knew that had the same issues he's displayed generally didn't stay in the military longer than 1-2 years. I can't speak for the Army or Air Force, maybe they tolerate it a little more lol, but in 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, those that couldn't hack it under pressure were separated for "failure to adapt" or medically for a personality disorder, they wouldn't be allowed to re-enlist even if they were discharged honorably (no NJPs or courts martial). As far as the final scene, I won't discuss Episode 5, but in real life Walker's best move after that scene ended would be having Sam Wilson bring him back to D.C. and turn himself in before the footage goes viral. He'd still be court martialed, but with his previous exemplary record, Sam's testimony and a good JAG lawyer, the charges could be reduced from murder to voluntary manslaughter. Which is 15 years in prison and Dishonorable Discharge. In short, Walker isn't evil. But he's a loose cannon and a liability. Someone like Sam might be able to help rehabilitate him, but only if Walker was willing to put in the work.

Matt Canon