After a trio of episodes that motored along affably setting the scene, introducing the players and establishing the stakes, The Whole World is Watching – the significance of the title only really becoming apparent in the last few moments – finally kicks The Falcon and the Winter Soldier into high gear. The previous three episodes clinically and methodically delivered the first building blocks of a story that dipped in and out of the continuity built across twenty plus years of MCU feature films and, perhaps intentionally, avoided for the most part the pure superhero wham-bam we might have expected after the game-changing WandaVision. FAWS looked as if it was going to be slick, smart and watchable but, perhaps, not essential. This fourth episode changes everything for both the series and its players – and by its stunning, heart-stopping conclusion, we’re begging for more. Yet again, Marvel Studios pulls it out of the bag and pulls the rug out completely from under its audience’s expectations.
Picking up from the end of the third episode, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) is reunited with Wakandan warrior Ayo (Florence Kasumbo) and a quick flashback sequence usefully establishes the strength and importance of the relationship between the two and the pivotal role she played in helping him shed the HYDRA skin of his Winter Soldier conditioning. As Sam (Anthony Mackie), the devious and oily Zemo (Daniel Brühl) and Bucky continue their search for the dangerous ‘terrorist’ group known as the Flag Smashers, the episode finds the time to add a bit more light and shade both to John Walker, our new Captain America (Wyatt Russell) and determined Flag Smasher figurehead Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman). The former is frustrated by the fact that beneath the cowl and the costume he is still just a man; he’s a highly-decorated war veteran but he’s only too aware of his limitations and the poignant scene between him and sidekick Lemar (Cle Bennett) lamenting the things they could have done if their circumstances had been different will have startling consequences by the time the episode is done. Karli, too, isn’t just a troublemaker with strange delusions; in many ways, ironically, her dreams of a better future aren’t too far away from those of Thanos who brought about the Blip that caused so much unrest and upheaval across the Universe and, especially, here on Earth. Karli envies the post-Blip world where humanity came together without borders and the world seemed a batter and more united place. She’s particularly enraged by the displacement caused by the return of those turned to dust, the fact that a new generation of refugees were thrown out onto the streets when the world returned to its previous equilibrium. But now, as one of a group of ideological super-soldiers, she wants to turn back the clock and we can sympathise with her slightly naïve ideal if not the single-minded and dangerous methodology in trying to achieve it.
Across a well-paced episode that balances thoughtful character development and whipcrack action set-pieces; our main characters are slowly drawn together in time for a much-needed explosion of action and, for Marvel, quite brutal violence. Karli will do anything to get her own way, even making threats to Sam’s sister that she has no intention of carrying out and, for a while, it looks as if Sam and Karli might be able to form a connection with a view to defusing the powder keg situation. But the arrival of John Walker – now a different man following his acquisition of the last vial of super-soldier serum earlier in the episode – and a group of Wakandan Dora Milaje warriors – shatters any hope for a peaceful resolution. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier are pitched into a vigorous and expertly directed extended fight sequence which has a bit more edge and oomph than a typical MCU punch-up. The situation quickly spirals out of control and when Walker faces a tragedy that mirrors Steve Rogers’ loss back in World War II, we know that a bad situation is about to run totally out of control. The new Captain America, lacking the moral compass of his predecessor, launches into a bloody and devastating attack on the Flag Smashers, singling out one of their members who wasn’t even personally responsible for the act that lit the fuse that sent Walker over the edge. It’s actually a slightly uncomfortable moment as Walker, surrounded by dozens of shocked, camera-wielding members of the public, lashes out with the shield and metes out his own brutal justice. The shot of Walker standing, the edge of his shield coated in thick blood, is perhaps as stark and bleak as anything we’ve yet seen in two decades of Marvel Studios storytelling.
Where do we go from here then, as the show’s two final episodes loom? The gloves are off, there can be no turning back now. We’re way beyond peaceful negotiation and the battle lines are drawn. There are still some mysteries to be solved – who is the Power Broker? – and undoubtedly plenty of conflict and recriminations to come. The Whole World Is Watching finally lifts FAWS into the top tier of Marvel Studios storytelling, playing creatively with this long, involved mythology and delivering a story that, like WandaVision, could really only be told in this longform style. Caught in the middle of warring factions that now have nothing to lose, can our two embattled Avengers set aside their own bickering differences and pull together to save the day? We now can’t wait to find out…
Where to watch: Disney+
