The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Whole World Is Watching

 "Being Cap is the first time I've had the chance to do something that actually feels right."

This is still no WandaVision, but it's a complex and nuanced action drama with actual subtext and proper characterisation. There are echoes of Mark Gruenwald's John Walker storyline in Captain America, most obviously at the shocking final scene, but this is very much its own thing.

It's to the writers' credit that the plot is bloody complex at this point- we have Sam and Bucky, who are not quite on the same time as Walker and Lemar, let alone the compelling Zemo; we have Karli Morganthau and her Flag Smashers; we have the Wakandans, who just want Zemo; and, of course, we have the mysterious Power Broker (probably not quite as Gruenwald originally wrote him). Some of these want justice, but not all of them agree on what this is. Some want power, very literally symbolised by the Super Soldier Serum.  And evryone is an individual with their own motives. There are nice character touches, too, like the flashback to Bucky's "unbrainwashing" in Wakanda.

But there are, I think, two themes here. One is the ethics of terrorism. Karli is a genuine idealist, whose ideology appeals to Sam, yet her methods are murderous: the ends justify the means, however vague her ideology (Socialism? Anti-Nationalism?) may be. Yet Walker simply accepts the US government line, while Zemo simply says that "The desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideas". He may be a cynic, but this works on more than one level. Altruistic aims can subtly shift, and if one's peers are super soldiers...

This segues into power. Karli has some further vials, most of them destroyed by Zemo (giving Karli a problem; the Power Broker ants those vials or else), but one secretly pocketed by Walker, who spends most of the episode losing fights. But would you take one if you could? Sam has no hestitation: no. Afte all, he refused the shield. Lemar, asked by John, is an instant yes. Given how the episode ends, I think we all know what he's going to do.

But, given how the episode ends... this man is a damaged war veteran and as much a victim as anyone. But John Walker is no Captain America. And, while this may be no WandaVision, it's very good telly.