Truth and Consequences
This week on Advanced Blockbuster Studies, Tom, Tyler, and Joseph discuss the fifth episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, “Truth” on Disney+.
John Walker (Wyatt Russell) is haunted and running as this episode kicks off. He’s running and remembering what happened to his friend and partner Lemar Hoskins (Clé Bennett) in the previous episode, which is minutes ago. His death led to a tragedy where Walker uses the shield to murder Nico at the end of the last episode. Of course, it was caught on camera. Sam and Bucky catch up to Walker at a warehouse and defeat him. Looking at the shield, still with a smear of Nico’s blood, Sam wipes it off, and Bucky goes looking for Zemo.
The US military takes over, and Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) meets up with Sam, offering advice and possibly a new home for the wings. As Walker gets pilloried, and “other than honorably discharged” by the army, he continues to erupt with frustration. After his hearing, Allegra de la Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) offers him some advice too. Seems like there’s a lot of that going on in this episode.
Patching things up
Meanwhile, Karli meets with her crew in New York City to work on something big, which is no idle threat. Across the world in Sokovia, Bucky catches up with Zemo in front of the monument to the country. After a tense face-off, Bucky lets the Wakandans take Zemo to the Raft, and then asks for another favor.
Back stateside, Sam brings the shield to visit Isaiah in Baltimore. After a conversation where he discloses his origins and his truth, Sam leaves with the shield and a lot to think about as he works on his next steps.
Retreating to New Orleans, Sam is determined to fix up his family’s boat and help Sarah keep their legacy afloat. Bucky shows up to flirt with Sarah and lend a pair of helpful hands.
Atoning not avenging
Still reeling from the death of his friend, Walker visits the Hoskins family to talk to them. Then, as he explains what happened, he lies about who killed Lemar. The family believes him but Walker is still angry. Over in Madripoor, Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) makes a phone call to Georges Batroc (Georges St-Pierre) who wants revenge on Sam and to make a lot of money. Evidently, she can help him out. Shortly thereafter, Batroc meets with Karli’s Flag Smashers in New York.
Now that the boat is fixed up, Bucky and Sam have a heart-to-heart while playing catch with the shield. Sam advises Bucky to stop living his life based on what other people think of him and to start atoning for his actions, not avenging them. As Sam finds out there’s a vote happening on the Patch Act, he knows where Karli will be, and what he has to do next.
Listen to “Truth” now
This week we talk about what it means to be Captain America and try to answer some pressing questions. When will Bucky start atoning and stop avenging? What is Walker making his shield out of? What is Karli’s big next step? For serious now, who is the Power Broker? Is every governmental agency in America evil?
Take a listen to episode five of Advanced Blockbuster Studies “Truth” for our roundtable on the latest episode. And stay tuned for our own Big Three from this week’s show.
