This review contains spoilers for Marvel’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 6, ‘One World, One People’, now available to view on Disney+. To remind yourself of where we left off, check out our The Falcon and The Winter Soldier episode 5 review.
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With its numerous characters, ambiguous antagonists, and heavy themes, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was always fighting against the odds to properly explore everything within its six episodes. And while its dogged determination to be a character study piece has constantly worked in its favour, that has come at the expense of story pacing in its final third. Sadly, the season finale struggles under the weight of the many threads it must conclude, and the result is a messy, unsatisfying hour of superheroics.
The episode does thankfully have a small share of strong moments, rightfully dedicated to Sam Wilson and his ascent to the role of Captain America. His speech to the GRC, witnessed by dozens of inspired New York bystanders, is a cathartic end to his transformation. While the Flag Smashers may ultimately have worked their way beyond redemption, it’s powerful to see the show hold onto the group’s message, and even reinforce their violent desperation as something to think about in a sympathetic light. Following in the footsteps of his old friend, Sam holds authority to account on behalf of the people they claim to protect. More than any of his shield-slinging antics this episode, this was Sam’s shining moment as Captain America.
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But, as they say, not all heroes wear capes (or Wakandan suits). It’s Sam’s actions out of the costume that really resonate here. His establishment of a tribute to Isaiah Bradley at the Smithsonian Museum is a fantastic final statement on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s exploration of race. The quiet, painful relationship between the two characters has been this story’s most important thread, and this was a fitting conclusion. It’s representative of Sam’s fight for justice rather than patriotism, which once again reinforces the true nature of Captain America.
Unfortunately, practically everything else in the finale is messy. With many storylines still in need of conclusion, the episode zips from topic to topic with barely any time to dedicate to them. This being the finale of a Marvel project, it naturally has a surplus of action, but frequently it feels as if these elements are getting in the way of important progression. An entire sequence dedicated to Sam saving a group of hostages in a helicopter steals precious moments that should have been exploring more vital issues. We already know Sam is a worthy hero, we don’t need to see that. Every second spent dealing with elements like this slimmed down the time spent exploring the headspace of Karli and John Walker, both of whom had underwhelming parts to play.
After building him up as an angry, unstable man over the season, the penultimate episode’s post-credits threatened a vengeful return from John Walker. Instead, with absolutely no examination of his character at all, the finale has him save some hostages, and even work with Bucky to arrest some Flag Smashers. The guy who murdered a man using Captain America’s shield in broad daylight is just accepted by our heroes, no questions asked. Absolutely zero space is provided for an engaging redemption arc, with Walker himself having very little dialogue to convey his changing mindset.
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This makes Walker’s transformation into U.S. Agent all the more confusing. It’s completely unclear if the character is one to be feared or respected. This is further complicated by the lack of transparency in regards to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’s morality; we have no idea if she’s a hero or villain, which further obscures what it means for Walker to become her U.S. Agent. It’s less a cliffhanger than a missed opportunity.
As for Karli Morgenthau, while it seemed inevitable that she’d never make it out of the hole she’d dug alive, her last moments are particularly unsatisfying. Her fight with Sam is full of cliched “I don’t want to fight you!” platitudes, and Sam is robbed of the chance to make a difficult, character-defining decision due to Sharon firing the killing shot.
That move was dropped in order to ensure Karli could not alert Sam to the finale’s deeply unsatisfying reveal that Sharon Carter is the Power Broker. While this was certainly the internet’s dominant theory thanks to her activities in Madripoor, the mystery simply goes nowhere interesting. Episodes’ worth of build-up around the character conclude in just a minute of Mexican Standoff between Sharon, Batroc, and Karli. The post-credits scene does go on to position Sharon as an ongoing big bad for the MCU, but this is a move that – at best – feels thin and unearned.
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Similarly unearned is Zemo’s final act from behind bars. After seemingly concluding his story in the penultimate episode, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier grants Zemo one final moment to kill the remaining Flag Smashers. This does at least fulfill his aim to remove Super Soldiers from the world, but no time is dedicated to showing how he achieves this from his prison cell. It’s ultimately a one-note ‘scheme’ from a villain otherwise characterized by his ability to twist people to his own ends. That, after all his manipulative talks with Bucky, it wasn’t The Winter Soldier that caused any of the finale’s problems seems a missed opportunity.
In fact, Bucky is afforded very little drama at all. It’s only natural that he plays second fiddle to Sam in his moment of ascension, but Bucky’s own conclusions feel barely there. Thankfully his best moments of healing were already laid out in the previous episode, but his admission of guilt to Mr. Nakajima felt oddly hollow. Their relationship was such a major part of establishing Bucky’s troubles at the start of the season, and it deserved to be concluded in a similar manner to Sam and Isaiah’s brutally frank conversations.
