The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was the second Disney Plus show following WandaVision. It sees the return of Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka The Falcon and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier. Sam and Bucky deal with life after the Blip and the absence of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) aka Captain America. Emily VanCamp returns as Sharon Carter and Daniel Bruhl reprises his role as Baron Zemo. Here is a recap of each episode.

MASSIVE SPOILERS FOLLOW

New World Order

Sam gives Steve’s shield to the government and attends a ceremony to honor Steve. Sam has a conversation with Rhodey (Don Cheadle) about why he didn’t want to keep the shield. This also would have been Skrull Rhodey. It was revealed in Secret Invasion which aired after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, that Rhodey was being impersonated by a Skrull and it suggested a Skrull took over years prior to the events of Secret Invasion. Sam has been working with Jaquin Torres (Dannay Ramirez) on missions. Sam was working on mission where he stopped Batroc the Leaper (Georges St. Pierre). Torres investigated a group called the Flag Smashers. Bucky is in therapy and trying to adjust to being in the world again. He is also working on making amends for all the wrongs he had done while he was the Winter Soldier. The episode ended with the reveal that John Walker (Wyatt Russell) will be the new Captain America sanctioned by the government.

The Star-Spangled Man

Bucky and Sam reunite after the news about John Walker becoming the new Captain America. Bucky introduces Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) to Sam. It is revealed that Isaiah was a super soldier like Steve. The difference was that Isaiah was in prison for thirty years and it has been kept a secret the entire time. John Walker gets acclimated as Captain American and his friend Lamar (Clea Bennett) joins him as Battlestar. John and Lamar show up to help Sam and Bucky fight the Flag Smashers and their leader Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman). Sam and Bucky don’t want to team up with them. Bucky tells Sam the person to help them is Baron Zemo.

Power Broker

Bucky breaks out Zemo from prison and doesn’t tell Sam about it. The three of them head to Madripoor to find the scientist who created the serum. They reunite with Sharon Carter who reveals she has been in hiding ever since the events of Captain America: Civil War. John suspects that Bucky and Sam are the ones who broke Zemo out of prison. The episode ends with Bucky reuniting with Ayo (Florence Kasumba).

The Whole World is Watching

Ayo and the Dora Milaje are in town to get Zemo. John and Lemar face off with the Dora Milaje in an attempt to get Zemo. Zemo escapes. Sam tries to reason with Karli. John doesn’t want to wait and interferes. It leads to a massive showdown and Karli kills Lemar. In a rage John kills one of the Flag Smashers with his shield and a dozen onlookers filmed the whole thing. The episode ends with John standing with his shield covered in blood.

Truth

John has a showdown with Sam and Bucky who take the shield back. John is dishonorably discharged and is stripped of being the new Captain America. He meets Contessa Valentina De Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss). Sam meets up with Isaiah and has a heart to heart about taking on the shield. Sam makes a decision to become Captain America. Bucky gives Zemo to Ayo and the Dora Milaje. Zemo goes to the Raft. Karli puts her final plan into motion to stop the GRC Vote on new legislation and Batroc returns. In the credit scene, John builds his own shield.

One World, One People

Sam becomes Captain America. Sam, Bucky, Sharon, and John deal with the Flag Smashers. Sharon is revealed as the Power Broker and that she hired Batroc to keep an eye on Karli. Sharon kills Batroc. Karli has a final showdown with Sam and Sharon kills Karli. Sam returns home to Louisiana and Bucky provides closure to Yori (Ken Takemoto). Valentina gives John a new suit and gives him a new name, US Agent. In the credit scene, Sharon gets a full pardon and is offered her old position back. She makes a phone call about all the access she now will have to tech, government secrets, and more.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a solid show and one of the better ones. I know it has had mixed reviews, but I enjoyed it the first time around. I enjoyed it the second time around. It feels very much in the spirit of the world of Captain America. It dealt with themes and topics the way the Captain America movies have. It gave ample screen time to Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. It got to go a little deeper with both of them. There was a lot more of the Sam and Bucky dynamic that the films have given bits of. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier feels like it’s part of the MCU. Besides the title characters, it saw the return of Baron Zemo and Sharon Carter who were both introduced in the movies. Rhodey and Ayo made appearances which added more connections to the bigger world. There was even a flash back scene to Bucky’s time in Wakanda. It also introduced a lot of things for the future. Valentina De Fontaine was introduced, and she went on to appear in Black Widow and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It was announced she will be in the Thunderbolts movie which will also have John Walker and Bucky Barnes. Rhodey went on to be in Secret Invasion and he will star in his own movie, Armor Wars. Isaiah Bradley and Joaquin Torres will be in Captain America: Brave New World which will be Sam’s first movie as the character. There was world building and it had a good story. This was a good a follow up to WandaVision. It had great fight sequences. I am looking forward to seeing these characters again and where the stories will go next.