“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” Episode 4 Review - Everybody Hates John Walker
By Rob LoAlbo
Photos courtesy Marvel Studios
Looks like we unleashed more than just the Zemo cut.
Well, what a difference a week makes: where the previous three episodes were all setup of relationships and character, this one is all payoff. Complications ensue when alliances are either solidified or destroyed: Team Zemo becomes a united front and Team Walker loses half its membership. So (spoilers!), let’s see what’s changed since last week!
Zemo and the boys seek out Donya Madani, Morgenthau’s adoptive mother and pillar of the community, in the hope of crossing paths with Karli. With Madani’s recent death, they come across intel regarding a memorial for Madani through Zemo’s somewhat creepy child outreach program that involves a love of Turkish Delight. Sam thinks he can turn Karli, where Zemo and Bucky, and especially Walker, think otherwise. So, the cat and mouse game continues throughout the streets as Sam tries to reason and the others try a less-verbal approach.
It’s Morgenthau and Walker who get the most reveals this week, with arcs developing in creative and surprising ways. The show repeatedly gives us sympathetic vibes towards Karli, going waaay out of the way to explain her actions and loyalties, even to the point of her asking aloud, “Do you think I’m making a mistake?” Whereas Walker doesn’t even consider the question, he on the other hand whines and hissy-fits his way through Latvia, positioning himself to be the leader in name only, never realizing that you’re only a leader if people are following you.
A credit to the editing and screenplay, similarly structured and arranged scenes play out in diverging ways exposing the hypocrisy in each person’s actions. Zemo asks Sam if he would ever take the super soldier serum, and moments later Lemar is asking John the same question, each with widely different answers. The show’s split path/similar journey structure uncovers each character’s differing morality and ultimate goals, yet all involved want the same thing: for peace and for the good guys to win. Just what defines “peace” and “good” depends upon who you ask.
Which brings us to John Walker. “Captain America” pulls one rude move after the next, playing on Bucky’s emotional connection to Sam and bursting into rooms announcing the arrest of anyone who goes against him. Winning this week’s award for world’s worst sideburns, the master of diplomacy asks the Dora Milaje to, “put the pointy sticks down” as he #metoo’s them and slaps a reassuring hand on Ayo’s shoulder. That he subsequently gets his ass handed to him by three non-super soldiers as Team Zemo sits back and quietly sips tea makes the moment, hands-down, the most satisfying scene of the series.
It’s this defeat that sends Walker spiraling out of control, ultimately deciding to take the pocketed super soldier serum, and going full American Psycho on us. As Walker brutally murders a member of the Flag Smashers in the street, he is caught on multiple cameras being judge, jury, and executioner. The timing with recent police brutality incidents is not lost on us, a clear social commentary and a successful attempt at fully swaying us away from any possible empathy we might still have for him. And that final image of Cap’s shield stained with blood is haunting to say the least. (It’s interesting to note that despite showing up in eleven films, this is the first time that we’ve seen the shield bloodied.) The divided gulf between Rogers and Walker is finally solidified with no going back. Walker will never be the hero that Rogers was despite having abilities identical to him.
The episode’s name, “The Whole World is Watching,” initially refers to the media coverage from the previous episode’s Flag bombing, yet by episode’s end when crowds of stunned onlookers are filming Walker’s deplorable actions, our anti-Smasher feelings have waned and our hatred for Walker grows. (The portrayal of the incredibly despised John Walker in the hands of the talented Wyatt Russell is a masterstroke, as Walker could easily have been disingenuous and laughable in the hands of a lesser actor.) Sure, Karli is a terrorist who has killed several innocent people and a war veteran, but it’s Walker, despite having three medals of honor and being a war hero, who truly draws our ire for disrespecting our memory of Rogers. It takes more than a shield and a spangly outfit to be a hero.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s not a perfect episode. There’s a bit of soapboxing when a Smasher lectures Karli about how, “the world’s more complicated now. People are lost. They need a leader who looks like them, who understands their pain.” Groan. And Karli is given a LOT of time to discuss her motivations, as is “Battlestar” who philosophizes, “Power just makes a person more of themselves.” Didn’t anyone ever tell these screenwriters to show, not tell? It’s a bit heavy-handed at times.
Other issues include the overall role of the Flag Smashers and how they are becoming less clear as the show progresses. What their role in the plot is beyond questioning the difference between a terrorist and a revolutionary is unsure. Also seemingly lost, Sharon Carter makes her obligatory appearance, and why we’re still not sure. Is she just providing information and technology where it’s needed in the plot? Or are her actions more nefarious than they seem at this point? With the identity of the Power Broker still largely unknown, anything’s possible, I guess. And ONCE AGAIN, Sam’s sister Sarah is nothing more than a thematic element, highlighting the struggle of the lower class. WE GET IT! Now give the talented Adepero Oduye something to do!
Regardless, what a pleasant and unexpected surprise this week was as we discovered the show to be quickly approaching the depth and breadth of WandaVision. Whereas that show was an exploration of grief and identity through character study, TFATWS’s canvas is much broader, taking the framework of a thrilling if slight buddy comedy and transforming it into a deep-dive exploration of America’s value system and our country’s perceived and assumed identity. Where Steve Rogers is what America thinks it is, John Walker is what it actually is (and Sam is probably what America should be).
It’s really something how the showrunners have played with our initial expectations, as just as early as last week we were complaining about the lack of banter and chemistry between Sam and Bucky, but it turns out that we only thought we wanted the former, and now that we’ve gotten the latter, we’ll never go back. This show is about so much more than we thought it was going to be, delivering the best episode of the series thus far. With two episodes left, let’s hope they can stick the landing.
Next week: Social media’s not really a thing, right?
Star City Rating: 4 out of 5