Breaking Down ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ Mid-Season Sneak Peek

Lindsey
4 Min Read
Marvel Studios

Only two episodes remain of Marvel’s hit series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and the mid-season sneak peek trailer has just been revealed.

This action-packed show sees the return of Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes as the two team up on a global adventure. Thus far, we’ve begun to explore Sam’s Louisiana roots and watched the continuation of Bucky’s mental healing process from his time as the Winter Soldier. Meanwhile, Sam’s decision to hand Steve Rogers’ shield in to the Smithsonian had unfortunate consequences — the government has now elected a man named John Walker (Wyatt Russell) to take on the mantle of Captain America. And a group named the Flag Smashers is making waves around the world with a team of Super Soldiers in their midst, which led to Sam and Bucky ( … mainly Bucky) breaking the one and only Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) out of prison. Oh, and remember Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp)? She’s taken on a life dealing stolen artwork in Madripoor thanks to a lack of support from the Avengers in the wake of Civil War.

Last Friday’s episode, “The Whole World Is Watching,” saw the destruction of the remaining vials of the Super Soldier serum, courtesy of Zemo. However, one vial did remain unscathed, and John Walker decided to take it. A fight with the Flag Smashers then caused the death of Lemar Hoskins aka Battlestar (Clé Bennett), which led to Walker brutally murdering one of them with the shield in retaliation.

Many questions still remain as to the fate of the various players on the board in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, and the mid-season sneak peek teases some answers.

Most notably, there’s a scene with John Walker crouched down on the floor and leaning on the shield inside of some sort of factory. Still at the same location, he’s met by Bucky and Sam, and he says, “You don’t want to do this.” Bucky replies, “Yeah we do.”

In earlier trailers, we’ve seen clips of Sam wielding the shield inside of this building. Will this be the moment when Sam reclaims the shield from Walker? It’s worth mentioning that there still appears to be blood spattered on the shield, so this probably takes place not too long after the events at the end of episode 4. There’s also a clip where John appears to be wearing military formal wear and he says darkly, “I am Captain America.” Is he answering for his disturbing actions in Latvia?

Halfway through, Sam says, “We bled for this country. Shield or no shield, I’m not going to let anybody tell me I can’t fight for it.” Based on the location and the assumed context, this is most likely a conversation with Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley. Though Bucky has been trying time and time again to convince Sam that they need to reclaim the shield, the Falcon hasn’t been overly receptive. Will another visit with Isaiah, after all that has happened with Walker, finally change his mind?

Finally, another showdown between the Flag Smashers, Sam, Bucky, and Walker seems to be on the horizon as well.

Episode 5 of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will premiere exclusively on Disney+ this Friday, April 16. Follow along with our weekly episodic recaps, reviews, theories, and more, including our predictions for the final two episodes! Nerds and Beyond recently interviewed series composer Henry Jackman and talked about the evolution of Sam and Bucky, check it out here!

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By Lindsey
Lindsey joined the Nerds and Beyond team in 2018. If she's not writing or out and about with her camera, she's probably watching anime, nerding out over Star Wars, reading manga, and definitely forgetting to water her plants. And waiting for the Genshin loading screen to pop up. Contact: lindsey@nerdsandbeyond.com
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