I think Disney Plus has got to be the best investment I’ve ever made. I refused to purchase any streaming site for a really long time – purely because I’m broke – but every time I googled a show or movie, it was always Disney Plus that held it hostage. One day, I bit the bullet, pressed purchase, and started my journey on paying a fee to a streaming site. I don’t know why I held myself back from paying fifteen dollars a month when I rarely check my bank statements and transaction history anyway. Disney Plus may as well hire me at this point, because since my first monthly purchase from the site, I’ve told all my friends and family that this creation truly changed my life. I told anyone and everyone that if you didn’t pay for this subscription, to do so, because you were missing out. Enough of the dramatics… It’s just a streaming site, sis. Point is, I love the concept of this streaming site being separated by Disney entertainment studios. I want to watch a Pixar movie, no worries, let me just click the tab and find what I’m looking for. But it was Marvel that pressured me to click pay. I’ve never really been into action movies, but Marvel just hits the spot of creating a storyline with love, drama, conflict, and action.
I’m a rambler and if you’ve read any articles of mine thus far, you’ll know that I spend too much time prefacing the concept of what I’m about to delve into. For no reason at all besides the fact I can. This preface – for no reason at all – was me expressing my love for Disney Plus. But without further ado, let’s talk Marvel.
Marvel have created some pretty amazing shows and movies based off the classic comics (R.I.P Stan Lee), and one of my many favourites is the TV series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021). Not just because Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie are divine human beings, but because that duo is bloody hilarious and know how to tell a good story.
Although, picking this show as one of my favourites may come as a surprise to a lot of Marvel fans, as some perceive the creation as ‘wasted potential.’ I was drawn to the filler scenes (which is surprising for me), as viewers were given the opportunity to see how the pair are outside of their action-based adventures. We are witnesses to Bucky’s therapy sessions, as he struggles to forgive himself for the murders he committed whilst being a brainwashed assassin, and how Sam struggles to help himself and his sister meet financial stability. These scenes gave fans the answers that always stood at the back of our minds; Is Bucky remorseful? God yeah. Does Sam get paid? Barely, if not none. Another major critique of this show are the villains as they’re labelled as messy, and some of the worst, within The Marvel universe. So, let’s delve further.
Based six months after half of the populations return from The Blip, Sam and Bucky work together – well try to – to stop a ‘terrorist’ group from attempting to return the Earth’s society and governments back to how it was between The Snap and The Blip. This group, named The Flag Smashers, became aware of a scientist who was able to recreate the Super Soldier Serum and stole all twenty vials to consume and enhance their own strength. They really thought that taking the serum would make them inevitable huh… Thanos reference… do you get it… moving on. Once The Falcon and Winter Soldier became aware of these new super soldiers and their ‘goals’, the pair’s battle was to stop them from making anymore poor decisions and rationalise.
I kind of understood The Flag Smasher’s mission statement (well, minus their murderous acts) as they felt that their government wasn’t protecting the population since the return of those evaporated from The Blip. This was projected in the first episode by Sam himself – as he struggles to get a bank loan with his sister due to his lack of income within the past years. What did the banker expect, the man evaporated for five years due to Thanos’s excellent plan of blipping half the population? Yes, their ‘actions’ were not really made apparent (thus not warranted), and some fans label The Flag Smashers as ‘the worst villains in Marvel universe,’ but this was all because their identity wasn’t made 100% clear. It was hard for viewers to distinguish whether they were ‘bad’ people who wanted to kill, or if they were trying to spread a message to the Earth’s government and society about the lack of help for those who remained alive during The Blip. I guess it was both?
Okay, yes. Their actions defined them as bad people and I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say they took it too far, but to see how a lot of people were pushed aside and treated once the return of those blipped, I felt empathetic.
Imagine if The Blip wasn’t fictitious and half of the Earth’s population really did disappear for years. Nobody knew where you went or if you’d ever return and so your identity was now labelled deceased. So, people move on with their lives, start living in your home and five years pass of normality. Then you and all the others who blipped return, you obviously want your home and life back, so those people evacuate the premises but aren’t given guidance or financial assistance as to where they can go. That happened to The Flag Smashers alongside millions of others. Pretty tough stuff. The Flag Smasher’s, who was led by a woman named Karli, projected their anger about losing everything after those blipped had returned. So, they grouped together to prove just that; they were angry. They went about it the wrong way, which is why they were labelled as villains.
As the new phase of Marvel is up and running, it’s the end of an era for many superheroes and villains. We said goodbye to favourites and hello to new faces. With this being said, we saw in this show that Sam is officially the new Captain America (after many bumps in the road of getting there), Joaquin as the new Falcon, and Bucky as The White Wolf. Wakanda Forever, the second instalment of Black Panther, is set to hit the screens later this year and I have my fingers crossed to see Bucky/Winter Soldier/White Wolf play a part within this film.
But does this mean it’s also the end of an era for Bucky and Sam? I think we deserve a season two, or at least see the duo work together in Captain America 4. Their hatred towards one another led to some pretty funny scenes but also, a revelation, as Bucky emotionally proclaimed that if Steve was wrong about Sam, then he had to have been wrong about him. It allowed viewers to recognise how much they were both affected by their pasts and personal issues, ultimately leading to a shared dislikeness of one another. Either way, I enjoy seeing how the pair work with each other and need more.
So, Disney Plus, if you want to remain my favourite streaming site and continue gaining free promotion from myself, I better be seeing them again… sooner rather than later please. I’m just playing, but it would crush my soul to see them part their separate ways, especially after claiming this show as one of my top favourites. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Hi, I’m Rachel. I like reading, writing, but no so much arithmetics. I indulge in so much TV and media I thought ‘why not write on it?’
