The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 1x04
Apr. 14th, 2021 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tori_reviewsThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier 1x04
I’m really not sure how I feel about this episode. I didn’t dislike it, but I’m not real sure I liked it. I do think this partially goes in the category of episode that it will be easier to judge in context of the whole story instead of as an episode; but for all this episode had quality, it also did or revealed a lot of things that bother me.
First off, fuck off with all this hero worship of fuck you Steve Rogers. Steve was a selfish asshole who never cared about others so long as he could rest his head at night secure in the knowledge that he was morally superior. Steve is the biggest condemnation of American hypocrisy that there is, and this show keeps playing into it.
That said I think this story would be 100x more effective if Steve was around. This story seems completely unwilling in challenge either of the show’s leads; and I think there are a few reasons for that. Partly I think it’s because they’re having to do so much of the character establishment for these two in this series, that they feel the need to establish them as good and sympathetic before they challenge them. But the writing is also possibly incapable of telling a story that challenges them since they split about enough material for one character arc among three people (Sam, Bucky, and John). If it actually had a central character with more known traits who was at the center of the conflict and had a personal journey this would be better.
I’m starting to hate Sam the same way I hate fuck you Steve Rogers, the story bends over backwards to say that he’s good and right and just, and all that; but it doesn’t make him a character who had to make decisions along those lines. Maybe that’s for the best because every choice Steve made along those lines was wrong but the story never seemed to know that.
…Actually, on reflection it’s not that I hate Sam the same way as Steve, it’s that I hate Sam right now because I hate Steve. Because Sam is such a nothing character that all he really is, is Cap’s shadow, and since I hate Steve more and more all the time, Sam can’t get out of that shadow. Make him something more than the heir to the shield (still want to write that with caps), because as long as that’s all he is, he can’t be more than Steve. And I’d like him to be more than fuck you Steve Rogers.
Bucky’s just boring right now. They set up some interesting character work in the first episode that has been completely ignored since then, and even the separate but still pretty good work of episode two is basically not there. He just sort of pops up as needed as other people act. Of course almost no one seems to have an actual character arc, but it’s really noticeable with Bucky that they just decided to stop his from happening so that he could go on this quest thing.
Also, when did we just decide that Sam and Bucky were partners? Yet another thing that the show introduces as a possible arc (them learning to trust and respect each other) then is just bypassed because they wouldn’t want any character work getting in the way of action or moralizing.
The people I think this show is actually about are John and Karli. They’re even on parallel journeys of figuring out what kind of hero they want to be, and stumbling out of the gate. Unfortunately, the show is deeply confused about both characters, which could be interesting if we were following them as main characters, but we’re not.
The show’s treatment of John ties back into my hatred of Steve and annoyance with Sam. It’s almost like this plot was put together out of order, because Sam and Bucky have been acting like John is the bad guy all along when he really wasn’t. I get that they don’t like that he’s taking over for Steve, I get that they don’t trust him very much, but they act like it’s his fault that he took up the shield. But because Sam (as Steve would have) has to seem in the right with his judgment or others, of course John is going to end up being a bad choice for it.
Writing about it…yeah this episode kind of pissed me off; but I know that’s not a completely fair reaction, as so much of my annoyance is because of a character who isn’t even there.
Also…so Wakanda pressed for the Sokovia Accords, but their people can just go wherever they want. Yeah, that’s not hypocritical at all. Especially since, as I understood it, the main part of the Accords was to stop people from sending forces into other countries. But the show of course isn’t going to call them on it.
Weirdly, the episode tried to do some world-building around how this particular situation between those who were snapped and those who weren’t came about; and what it entails. But at the same time, it seems like it doesn’t really care about its world building as Sam and Bucky being among the blipped doesn’t come into how they relate to this conflict.
I’ve worked myself around to being kind of angry at this episode in a way that I don’t want to be, but it was showing cracks even while I was watching it so I guess it’s not too surprising that on reflection the cracks gave out.
I’m really not sure how I feel about this episode. I didn’t dislike it, but I’m not real sure I liked it. I do think this partially goes in the category of episode that it will be easier to judge in context of the whole story instead of as an episode; but for all this episode had quality, it also did or revealed a lot of things that bother me.
First off, fuck off with all this hero worship of fuck you Steve Rogers. Steve was a selfish asshole who never cared about others so long as he could rest his head at night secure in the knowledge that he was morally superior. Steve is the biggest condemnation of American hypocrisy that there is, and this show keeps playing into it.
That said I think this story would be 100x more effective if Steve was around. This story seems completely unwilling in challenge either of the show’s leads; and I think there are a few reasons for that. Partly I think it’s because they’re having to do so much of the character establishment for these two in this series, that they feel the need to establish them as good and sympathetic before they challenge them. But the writing is also possibly incapable of telling a story that challenges them since they split about enough material for one character arc among three people (Sam, Bucky, and John). If it actually had a central character with more known traits who was at the center of the conflict and had a personal journey this would be better.
I’m starting to hate Sam the same way I hate fuck you Steve Rogers, the story bends over backwards to say that he’s good and right and just, and all that; but it doesn’t make him a character who had to make decisions along those lines. Maybe that’s for the best because every choice Steve made along those lines was wrong but the story never seemed to know that.
…Actually, on reflection it’s not that I hate Sam the same way as Steve, it’s that I hate Sam right now because I hate Steve. Because Sam is such a nothing character that all he really is, is Cap’s shadow, and since I hate Steve more and more all the time, Sam can’t get out of that shadow. Make him something more than the heir to the shield (still want to write that with caps), because as long as that’s all he is, he can’t be more than Steve. And I’d like him to be more than fuck you Steve Rogers.
Bucky’s just boring right now. They set up some interesting character work in the first episode that has been completely ignored since then, and even the separate but still pretty good work of episode two is basically not there. He just sort of pops up as needed as other people act. Of course almost no one seems to have an actual character arc, but it’s really noticeable with Bucky that they just decided to stop his from happening so that he could go on this quest thing.
Also, when did we just decide that Sam and Bucky were partners? Yet another thing that the show introduces as a possible arc (them learning to trust and respect each other) then is just bypassed because they wouldn’t want any character work getting in the way of action or moralizing.
The people I think this show is actually about are John and Karli. They’re even on parallel journeys of figuring out what kind of hero they want to be, and stumbling out of the gate. Unfortunately, the show is deeply confused about both characters, which could be interesting if we were following them as main characters, but we’re not.
The show’s treatment of John ties back into my hatred of Steve and annoyance with Sam. It’s almost like this plot was put together out of order, because Sam and Bucky have been acting like John is the bad guy all along when he really wasn’t. I get that they don’t like that he’s taking over for Steve, I get that they don’t trust him very much, but they act like it’s his fault that he took up the shield. But because Sam (as Steve would have) has to seem in the right with his judgment or others, of course John is going to end up being a bad choice for it.
Writing about it…yeah this episode kind of pissed me off; but I know that’s not a completely fair reaction, as so much of my annoyance is because of a character who isn’t even there.
Also…so Wakanda pressed for the Sokovia Accords, but their people can just go wherever they want. Yeah, that’s not hypocritical at all. Especially since, as I understood it, the main part of the Accords was to stop people from sending forces into other countries. But the show of course isn’t going to call them on it.
Weirdly, the episode tried to do some world-building around how this particular situation between those who were snapped and those who weren’t came about; and what it entails. But at the same time, it seems like it doesn’t really care about its world building as Sam and Bucky being among the blipped doesn’t come into how they relate to this conflict.
I’ve worked myself around to being kind of angry at this episode in a way that I don’t want to be, but it was showing cracks even while I was watching it so I guess it’s not too surprising that on reflection the cracks gave out.
