Marvel’s ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Balances Cinematic Action with Prestige TV Patience

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have a lot to live up to—and I’m talking about both the characters and the show named after them. The characters of Sam Wilson and James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes were created—in 1969 and 1941, respectively—as sidekicks for Captain America. Falcon and Bucky, or the Winter Soldier if he’s feely especially gritty, have held down leading roles in numerous ongoing Marvel Comics series over the decades. They’ve both even done tours of duty as the Captain America during stints when Steve Rogers was dead or very, very, very old. But still, these characters will always be defined, in part, by their relationship to the original Sentinel of Liberty. That’s especially true of the live-action versions played by Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan; Disney+’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the first time we’re seeing these two characters step out of Chris Evans’ Dorito-shaped shadow.

But there’s another legacy to be lived up to, and it’s an unexpected one. The show itself, this six-part thriller from Marvel Studios, has to live up to WandaVision. Yeah, that’s wild. That’s something that we never thought would happen a year ago when Falcon and Winter Soldier was slated to drop first and WandaVision, a trippy tour through grief as broadcast on a sitcom wavelength, was gonna be the follow-up. Falcon and Winter Soldier made more sense as Marvel Studios’ big TV debut. It starred two characters with more of a presence in the films than Wanda Maximoff or Vision; one even has a movie named after him! And, stylistically, there’s a direct line through the Captain America trilogy to this series whereas our expectations for WandaVision could be summed up with the shrug emoji.

So—how does The Falcon and the Winter Soldier live up to those high expectations? After watching the premiere episode made available to the press ahead of its debut on Disney+ on March 19, I can confidently say… we’ll see?

In regards to Sam and Bucky, the characters, “we’ll see” is an appropriate response. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a show built on those expectations. It exists to explore Captain America’s legacy and how these two men, particularly Sam Wilson, rise to meet it and redefine it. There’d be no show if the first episode ended with Sam strapping the shield to his back and adding some blue to his already red and white costume (or gray—it’s red and white in the comics!). We already know from the coda of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame (which honestly feels like it came out five years ago) that Sam does not feel ready to wield the shield. The benefit of television’s expanded storytelling means we get to sit a bit with Sam as he gives this weighty decision the thought it deserves. And honestly, if there’s anyone that can make pensive contemplation charismatic, it’s Anthony “Cut the Check” Mackie.

Bucky has his own struggles, what with spending 70-ish years as a brainwashed HYDRA assassin who was kept on ice between kills. As he tells the therapist assigned to him as part of his pardon (played by the fantastic Amy Aquino—seriously, give her a spinoff!), he only found peace while he was in hiding in Wakanda. And then that peace was cut short by Thanos and an apocalypse and five years of not existing and… Well, now he’s alive again, trying to make amends, and generally suffering from a bad mix of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. There’s no chance of him taking on the Captain America mantle. He waved that away that Endgame scene, agreeing with Steve that the shield should go to Sam. Plus, it’s clear that Bucky needs to figure out how to be Bucky before he can be anything else.

Going by the first episode, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is—somewhat surprisingly—a quiet character drama about the painfully ordinary ramifications of living life as a superhero. Dating problems, money problems, mental health problems, family problems—so far, those are the real villains of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Head writer and series creator Malcolm Spellman is aware that he has the time to dig into some real themes, and he’s going for it. Of course this is part of the MCU, so there’s also a group of radicalized and mysteriously super strong terrorists called the Flag-Smashers organizing online and wreaking havoc. Yes, that sounds incredibly familiar and yes, the show knows how silly “Flag-Smashers” sounds. What’re you gonna do? The comics are goofy sometimes.

This is where Falcon and Winter Soldier is both hindered and helped by following WandaVision. The first episode essentially opens with two standout action scenes, each one a damn fine depiction of each hero’s whole vibe and right on par with what we watched in movie theaters back when that was a thing. Director Kari Skogland knows exactly what makes these characters special and she has them stunt immediately. And then… the episode continues. It’s an episode that sets up the board, but the game hasn’t started yet. Compared to WandaVision, which opened with a one-two punch of episodes that were genuinely funny, bizarre, and filled with head-scratching moments that got the internet going, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s debut episode feels way more like Netflix’s slow burn Marvel shows—except we have to wait a week for Episode 2. I’m a big proponent in weekly serialized television, but even I was left wishing we got more right now—partly because oh lord that cliffhanger, but also partly because I just was expecting more right away.

… And this is why Falcon and Winter Soldier’s delayed release actually helps. If this episode was our first introduction to Marvel Studios’ take on TV, I think the general response would be, “Yep, that tracks.” It looks like a Marvel movie, it’s paced like a decompressed prestige drama, and Mackie and Stan are incredibly compelling. But because WandaVision went so hard, because it took so many twists, because it was such a serve, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier gets my benefit of the doubt, times a hundred. We know that Marvel Studios is all-in on the TV shows, and we know that these shows are actually going to impact the movies, and we know from all the teasers and trailers that big moments and characters are on the way. After dozens of adventurous movies and the visionary WandaVision, I feel confident that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is going to take flight and soar—but right now we’re still on the runway.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on Disney+ on Friday, March 19

Stream The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+