REVIEW: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s Pilot Episode Lays the Groundwork for What Should Be a Fun Season
Who are Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) without Steve Rodgers? What is the world without Captain America? Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier asks these very questions and, hopefully, fans will get the answers this season. The Disney+ show’s pilot episode finds Wilson and Barnes in two different places, months after the battle against Thanos, trying to navigate the world now that there is no villain threatening it. Their best friend is gone and they, and the world, must find a way to move on without Cap.
The pilot episode is very much an informative episode that lays the groundwork. It catches the audiences up on what has been going on with Barnes and Wilson since we last saw them in Avengers: Endgame. It also sheds some light on what the show will cover throughout the season, including mental health, politics, and race. The is humor spaced throughout the episode, but both of our leads are each battling their own demons and going about them in different ways.
Stan and Mackie are just as great in this episode as they were in all the movies we had seen them in before. Stan’s humor and Mackie’s charisma are a winning combination and, hopefully, will only get better as the series progresses. We are also introduced to new characters including Danny Ramirez as Torres and Adepero Oduye as Sarah Wilson, Sam’s sister. Both of these characters are intriguing and it will be interesting to see what plays out for each of them as the season progresses, especially with Sarah’s storyline.
The only real negative with the episode is the CGI. A $150 million budget on this series compared to the $356 million budget in Endgame is very noticeable, but the team makes due with what they had, and they use it well. The CGI does not distract from the episode, so don’t go in thinking you will have to worry about it. Just know that it is not the same.
The pilot episode of The Falcon and the Winter Solider did exactly what it needed to do to set up the arch for this season. It introduces the villain, begins peeling back the layers surrounding its characters, and leaves the audience wanting more.
Be warned though, this show is not WandaVision. The show has a spy thriller feel to it, more Captain America: The Winter Soldier, rather than a sitcom. The episodes are not only longer than WandaVision episodes, but paced much differently. Fans are definitely in for one fun ride.