There were a ton of questions surrounding the Marvel Cinematic Universe following the epic conclusion that was Endgame. After such a mythological showdown that marked the culmination of over a decade of world-building and origin stories, how could the MCU possibly continue their dominant run in a way that would both live up to their own lofty standards while not taking the stakes too far to an outlandish or cartoonish level? Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige decided to take a reprieve from the silver screen for a while, and let the ramifications of Endgame breathe. Instead, Phase 4 offered the MCU the perfect opportunity to claim its stake into television and streaming.
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Before Phase 4’s first film, Black Widow, hit theaters, three shows had already been released on Disney+: WandaVision, Loki, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Each took a completely different direction from the other and was received with varying levels of approval, although each was equally instrumental to the future of the MCU, holding an imperativeness that Marvel’s previous television ventures lacked. Easily the least well-received show to kick off Phase 4 was The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. WandaVision was praised out of the gates to kick off a new era for Marvel, and Loki was welcomed as a slow-burn that paid proper homage to the fan-favorite antihero. TFATWS’s reception was much more lukewarm. Here’s why it was the most underrated series in MCU’s Phase 4.
The Series Brings the MCU Back to Earth
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The first season follows Sam Wilson, the Falcon, and Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, dealing with the fallout directly following the events of Endgame. First and foremost, Wilson jostles with the idea of taking over the mantle of Captain America, passed on to him by Steve Rogers himself after he decided to remain in the past after returning each of the Infinity Stones to their original timelines. Partly due to the attachment to the shield and name’s former possessor, and also because of his worry that the United States would be unwelcoming to a Black Captain America, Sam declines the honor betrothed upon him, only for the government to anoint a less-than-ideal soldier with the mantle instead.
Meanwhile, Bucky works to rectify some of the sins he committed as a weaponized and hypnotized Hydra agent. Both have to work through these deeper issues while also dealing with the Flag Smashers, a group of radicals who believed the world was better off during the “Blip” — the five years in which the half of the population Thanos snapped away were nonexistent — that have secured a recreation of the super soldier serum that gave Rogers his powers and are using it to disrupt the world governments’ attempts to reintegrate the people that the Avengers brought back.
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None of these plot lines are as dire as Thanos, Ultron, or even Loki. The Flag Smashers are not an Avengers-level threat. And yet, Sam and Bucky are in an appropriate battle that requires the best out of both of them, individually and as a pair. While global genocide isn’t at risk, the Flag Smashers do present a very real threat while also displaying the traits necessary to make them sympathetic and understandable villains.
After the slow build-up that led to the epic crescendo that was Endgame, the MCU desperately needed a way to keep things interesting without continuing to escalate the stakes. After all, how much grander could they make their villains after Thanosm the Mad Titan who sought to bring balance to the universe to prevent the overpopulation that led to his own planet’s doom? Trying to one-up the Infinity Saga immediately after would be a recipe for disaster that the MCU craftily avoided. In this way, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier accomplished a tall task: bridging the MCU to its next era, while honoring the events of Endgame in a believable and entertaining manner. There aren’t any sorceror supremes, titans, or infinity stone-enhanced individuals in this story. Rather, it follows two heroes whose layers were worth peeling with plenty of smash-mouth action to keep audiences properly engaged.
Valid Criticisms of the Series
While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier seemingly received more condemnation than it deserved — take this article from Forbes, for example — there were some valid critiques of the show. For one, the show took on more than it could handle at times. Along with the title characters, the first season also brought back both Baron Zemo and Sharon Carter as major players moving forward, had John Walker (Wyatt Russell) a.k.a U.S. Agent as an additional antagonist/antihero on top of the Flag Smashers, and introduced Valentina Allegra (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who’s sure to be a big part of the MCU in the future. That’s a lot of different story lines and personalities to portray aptly in six episodes.
The logjam of characters also did a disservice to some of the more significant themes that TFATWS tried to tackle in its short inaugural season. Mainly, Sam’s struggles with being a prominent Black superhero and the backlash that he may receive by donning the mantle of Captain America because of the color of his skin was a narrative that deserved more time and care. It certainly warranted better than the closing monologue that attempted to wrap up those untied threads that the show left hanging with a five-minute speech. While Anthony Mackie did a great job delivering a very powerful message, it just felt a little rushed and a classic case of the writers failing to show it rather than say it.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is Absolutely Underrated
While The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was still well-received and mostly praised, it’s still deserving of more credit than it’s received so far. Of the three shows that preceded the first movie of Phase 4 in Black Widow, TFATWS received the lowest critic and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes, nabbing 84 and 83% fresh ratings respectively. For comparison, WandaVision scored 91% from critics and 88 from viewers. Loki got 92 from pundits and 90 from fans.
A simple search for “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” on Twitter will draw pretty mixed reviews. Perhaps it was from Marvel fatigue or people criticizing the show for being “too political,” but it certainly doesn’t seem like the returns are properly reflective of the quality of the series. If it’s the former, hopefully the growing hype around the Thunderbolts will have fans revisiting TFATWS and giving it the flowers it deserves before the release of season two.
