The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Finale Just Feels Like a Fabrication – Observer

For all of the ground-breaking accomplishments the Marvel Cinematic Universe has achieved in terms of modern Hollywood franchise building, the products themselves are hardly ever as revolutionary. Films and TV series dont necessarily need to shatter the form and function of the genre to be well-received. The MCUs consistent high floor of quality is proof of that. But at this point, as The Falcon and the Winter Soldiershifts into its series finale, its become clear that every single MCU project is going to climax with a more-or-less traditional punch-em-up between good guys and bad guys. So whatever comes before that CGI-fueled action resolution damn well better be good.

Every MCU features third act boils down to a standoff between protagonist and antagonist that includes a fair bit of monologuing and a fair pit of punching. The same can be said for Marvels first Disney+ seriesWandaVision. Thats okayits how the blockbuster formula works. But the relatively generic culmination format needs to be built on the back of sound character development, thematic messaging and logical plot progression. Thats where The Falcon and the Winter Soldierwas never quite consistent.

The series failed to properly address the MCUs single most glaring flaw when it comes to true consequences for the choices of our heroes. They are awarded character development without ever actually being forced to change. But we knew that back in Episode 3. What the season finale, which does pack plenty of good at times, really fails to do is reconcile the two halves ofThe Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale, One World, One People below.

This series was at its best with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Isaiah Bradley (Carly Lumbly) exploring the ugly nature of systemic and cyclical racism that extends through this countrys history like a rotting root. This is where were given a fresh perspective on contemporary Americawhere we finally learn how the Captain America shield can represent different things to different people. For the entirety of the MCU, symbols have been treated at face value. For the first time in the franchises history, were starting to finally realize that even the noblest of intentions can be commandeered for other purposes.

Unfortunately, the show wasnt always as focused on this central element as it could have been. The mechanics of howwe fight the battles that matter seemed to supersede this theme in the middle episodes before the show returned to racial politics to close out its run. This gave the series a stop-and-start feel with a jumbled message.

The finale feels like it was constructed to optimize the easiest way out of almost every interesting question the show asked.

The realism ofThe Falcon and the Winter Soldiersemphasis on institutional and perception-based racism never blended with the idealism of putting Karlis (Erin Kellyman) politics and eventual death on a pedestal. Sam should be commended for being more interested in why oppressed peoples feel the way they do and how the world can better serve them. Hes right when he says that the helplessness that grips the world finally unites the powerful and the poverty-stricken alike.

But its also a fabrication. Call it nihilism and cynicism if you like, butThe Falcon and the Winter Soldiers strongest element was its uncompromising showcase of how nothing changes or improves in this country. Rather than live in that, the finale feels like it was constructed to optimize the easiest way out of almost every interesting question the show asked. People just get better at hiding their ugly truths. Reverting back to the common MCU formula in One World, One People after an uneven focus across the five episodes before it feels too comfortable and easy to be a satisfying conclusion.

The action-packed finale that was always inevitable didnt always earn its respite from the tough conversations. Instead, it slapped together the brutal honesty the series was always going for with the unrealistic hopeful optimism only found in Hollywood.

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Finale Just Feels Like a Fabrication - Observer