After a slow start, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier kicks into high gear in its thrilling, funny and intriguing second episode, “The Star Spangled Man.” Bucky and Sam team up to track down the Flag Smashers, while the world is introduced to the new Captain America. When the trail goes cold, Bucky reaches into his dark past for help.
Meet the New Captain | We begin at a high school locker room, where John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the new Captain America, gets encouragement from his wife, Olivia (Gabrielle Byndloss), and his wingman, Lemar Hoskins, (Cle Bennett) before stepping out to the football field to debut himself on “Good Morning America.” Bucky (Sebastian Stan) sees this and is rightfully upset at Sam (Anthony Mackie) for giving up the shield and demands to go with him on his mission to track the Flag Smashers. The two of them leap out of an airplane over Munich- Bucky does it without a parachute- and find two trucks loaded with crates and bad guys shipping out.
Bucky breaks into one of the trucks and finds Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman), who turns out to not only be the Flag Smashers’ leader, but also has superhuman strength along with all of her goons, who battle Bucky and Sam on the trucks in a badass fight reminiscent of the truck top fight from “The Matrix Reloaded.” Walker and Hoskins drop down in the middle of the fight, during which one of the henchmen breaks Redwing in half, but Bucky and Sam get knocked off the truck and Walker and Hoskins are thrown off as well.
Someone You Need to Meet | Walker and Hoskins offer Bucky and Sam a ride back to the airfield, but they wisely bail out after a few miles. Not before Walker discloses that the Flag Smashers are stealing medicine and transporting it to communities displaced by the Blip, though. Sam realizes that the Flag Smashers are all super soldiers and Bucky tells Sam that he knows someone who can help.
He takes Sam to Baltimore, where they meet Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), who turns out to be a super soldier from the 50s who the Winter Soldier had a skirmish with. Isaiah refuses to help Bucky after his work with HYDRA and to make matters worse, local police arrest Bucky for missing a court mandated appointment with his therapist. Bucky gets bailed out by Walker of all people, but his therapist arrives and demands that he and Sam sit down for a session.
Soul Searching | During this session, Bucky reveals to Sam that he is angry at him for giving up the shield and that maybe Steve was wrong to trust him with it. Sam tells Bucky that after they resolve this problem, they will go their separate ways and both of them agree to that. While Karli and her men are preparing to fly out with medicine, a group of FBI agents arrive and one of her henchmen sacrifices himself so they can escape.
Sam demands to know why Bucky didn’t tell anyone about Isaiah and Bucky replies that Isaiah had been through enough. After once again turning down Walker’s offer to work with him, Sam and Bucky realize that only one man can help them- Zemo! (Daniel Bruhl)
“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is now streaming on Disney+.