“The Falcon and Winter Soldier”- Episode 3 Review- Two’s Company, but Zemo’s a Crowd

By Rob LoAlbo

Photos courtesy Marvel Studios

This week on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, it’s time to board the Zemo express and globe trot to such hot spots as Madripoor and Latvia!  

Satirizing the role law and order plays in the show, the episode starts off with a feel-good commercial for the Global Repatriation Council, the government organization responsible for the reintegration of those who were lost in the snap, only to hard cut to a militant GRC police truck pull up and a steely-eyed Captain America instruct his fellow soldiers with the oder: “Don’t give them a second to delete, shred, or breathe.”  Your government tax dollars at work, working for you!  John Walker is still busy hunting down the Flag Smashers, and he’s not going to let a little German language barrier get in his way.  When an insurgent spits in his face, he punches back and shouts, “Do you know who I am?!”, a clear red flag that this Cap is unraveling, or maybe was never raveled to begin with.

With few options left, in their journey to hunt down the source of the super-soldier serum, Bucky and Sam pay Helmut Zemo a visit in maximum security prison in the hope that Zemo’s HYDRA connections point the way.  When Bucky suggests they break Zemo out to help in their pursuit, Sam lists his former crimes, you know, just in case the audience forgot and might need that information for later in the episode.

While Bucky walks Sam through a “hypothetical” prison escape, we watch the events unfold, knowing that they are actually happening, and Sam’s naiveté is our entertainment.  The duo have now become a threesome, and Zemo moves to the forefront of the episode while super Stan and Non-Smiling Tiger pick up the slack.  

Bringing Zemo back is a great idea.  It’s fun watching Daniel Brühl lean into the hamminess of his character, lovingly picking up his purple-knitted face mask again, and he’s clearly enjoying being back in the role with each champagne sip and gleefully savory smile.  He tears into every scene with the veracity of a starved wolf, and we the audience love to hate him, especially while, in front of Sam, he’s convincing Bucky that Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man “captures the African-American experience.”

It’s when the conversation turns towards American symbols and the danger of idolizing them that we are not only drawn into his demented fold but also find ourselves agreeing with such a monster.  Sure, he’s maniacal, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Despite the celebration that is Zemo, the show doesn’t know how to build upon his return.  Most of the episode centers around the gang tracking down the shadowy serum supplier, and unfortunately a lot of it comes to naught, plot and show-wise.  Sam and Bucky play dress up only to have it mean nothing but a laugh or two.  Shelby, a new villain, is introduced and promptly killed off, only to bring us to yet another nebbish-ly evil scientist who is also promptly killed off.  Sharon Carter pops in for a bit, uncharacteristically murdery so, but why we are not really sure as her appearance doesn’t move the plot forward.  Even Sam’s sister Sarah is regulated to a cameo that pays off with, what exactly?  It’s one of the more frustrating episodes we’ve gotten so far, with a lot of glitz and glamor but not a lot of development. 

The episode spends a little too much time setting up all of the pieces on the chess board, aligning them and getting them ready to match off with one another.  It’s a lot trying to keep track of everyone either introduced, complicated, or compromised by the plot’s machinations, but when the smoke clears from the proverbial board, a clearer picture of everyone’s allegiances and motivations starts to come into focus.  We can only hope that the pieces actually begin to advance in these last three episodes.

It also still seems to be one of the most accomplished shows on television in terms of pure craft.  The cinematography is more crisp than ever, with blues and reds seemingly popping out from under the streets.  Fight scenes are well-choreographed and financed, but without the show playing to its strengths, it’s all a lot of empty chutzpah.  The playful banter between Sam and Bucky from last week’s episode is almost nonexistent with the presence of all of these new characters, so hopefully the show will find a healthier balance in the coming weeks.  We’re halfway through the series, and with time ticking, this episode maneuvered about as well as Zemo’s dance moves. 

It’s main issue is that this episode relies too much on nostalgia, throwing in characters, plotlines, and references that harken back to past movies in the hope that their mentions and appearances are enough to satiate the audience, but we’re a lot savvier than that.  Even a callback joke about Bucky moving the seat up for Sam is recycled: that’s just lazy writing.  We need more than just pleasant remembrances and a setup for the big bad, the Power Broker, who is name-dropped ad nauseum, even in the episode title.  

One good thing from all this (among many - come on, it’s still a fun watch every week), is that we are starting to get real answers regarding Karli Morgantheau and how she isn’t necessarily bad: just compromised (we think?) and definitely complex.  She steals food and supplies for those in need, but blows people up in the next shot, an act that still plays with the Flag Smashers global view of narrow minded morality.  Each week adds a little more to her dimensionality, and with the eventual reveal of the Power Broker’s identity, we should get a better idea as to how good or bad she really is.

And Is EVERY episode going to end with a spoilerish new character reveal?

Next week: Wakandans, like elephants and memory foam, never forget.

Star City Rating: 3 of 5