The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Episode 5: "Truth" Recap and Review
In the series’ first uninhibited critique of the legacy of Captain America and his shield, Sam Wilson does some soul-searching, and decides to try and become the man Steve Rogers believed he could be.
WARNING: Contains Spoilers!
John Walker’s warped sense of self and justice has led him down a path of entitlement and brutality. He believes that his past has earned him the right to be Captain America and, because he is Cap now, all his actions and decisions are justified. Wyatt Russell is doing an excellent job portraying his descent into madness and villainy. However, the spotlight of “Truth”, the latest episode of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”, lands on Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson grapples with not only his encounters with Walker, but with the responsibility of Cap’s shield. With all of its emotionally charged scenes and surprise moments, “Truth” should feel like a dramatic lead into our season finale, but instead, the pace of the season grinds to a halt. The connective tissue in between the heavy character moments with Sam needed to pick up the pace, and unfortunately they instead let Sam’s story down.
We begin in the aftermath of John Walker’s murder of a Flagsmasher, as he literally runs away from his problems. With adrenaline still coursing through his veins, Walker finds an empty warehouse to collect his thoughts so he can continue the mission. Sam and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) have other ideas. They confront Walker, and demand that he turn himself in and give them the shield. He refuses, so they try to take it from him. In the ensuing melee, Walker rips the wings off of the Falcon suit. Bucky has to break Walker’s arm to get the shield off him, and yet Walker still refuses to give up, so Sam and Bucky knock him out to ensure he faces consequences for his actions. Later, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) arrives to update Sam on the John Walker situation. He explains that it is now out of their hands, so Sam decides to return home. He takes the shield with him, but leaves the damaged Falcon suit with Joaquin. In Washington D.C., John Walker faces a senate hearing, and the consequences of his actions. He is forced out of the military and officially stripped of his title of Captain America. Walker has a tough time accepting this, and walks out on the council. Outside of the council room, Walker sits with his wife Olivia (Gabrielle Byndloss) as he plans his next moves, but they are interrupted by by a mysterious woman who introduces herself as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). She compliments Walker on his actions, and lets him know that she knows that he took the serum. Before she leaves, she tells him that she would be “in touch.” At their former hideout, Karli (Erin Kellyman) and the Flagsmashers return to find the place empty, having been raided by the GRC and shut down. Karli declares now to be the time that they act. We find ourselves at the Sokovian Memorial as Zemo (Daniel Brühl) looks on and reflects on his past, unsurprised when Bucky arrives.
Zemo knows what comes next, and uses his final moments to warn Bucky about Karli, telling him to do the right thing and end her life. When Zemo finishes, Bucky points the gun at Zemo’s head and pulls the trigger, but it’s empty. Bucky drops the bullets on the ground, signalling a change in his own ideas of what is right and what is wrong. The Dora Milaje arrive, led by Ayo (Florence Kasumba), and take Zemo into custody, but not before Bucky asks Ayo for one last favor.
Searching for guidance, Sam takes it upon himself to visit Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) again. Sam seeks to understand how Isaiah became so jaded with the United States. Isaiah tells Sam his story: how he defied orders to try and rescue his fellow soldiers; how they all died anyway; how they incarcerated and experimented on him; and how he lost his family while trapped in a cage. Sam tries to convince Isaiah that the world isn’t as bleak as it once was, but Isaiah refuses to listen, insisting that a Black man would never be allowed to be Captain America, and that no self-respecting Black man would want to be anyway. Sam returns to Louisiana to help his sister Sarah (Adepero Oduye) prep the family boat for sale. Sam cashes in a few family favors to help with the boat. The town comes through, and they all pitch in what they can to help with the boat, but Bucky shows up to give Sam a gift from the Wakandans. Bucky decides to stay a short while in order to help Sam with the boat and talk to him about the shield.
Meanwhile, John Walker spends time with Hoskins’ family after the latter’s death. It takes a toll on John, and reinforces his belief that he still is Captain America. Over in Madripoor, Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) hires someone for a job over the phone; while their identity isn’t immediately revealed, Sharon mentions having broken them out of an Algerian prison. The next day, Sam and Bucky continue to work on the boat, but there is a quiet tension in the air. The two examine the water pump, but Sarah shows up and chases them away so she can take over. The two pass the time by exercising with the shield, and the two come to terms with one another, and with Sam’s ownership of the shield. Sam gives Bucky some advice on how to come to terms with his bloody history. Bucky leaves to find his absolution, leaving the shield with Sam. Sarah and Sam then talk brother to sister, and it becomes clear that Sam is ready to carry the shield. Sam trains hard to make sure he can use the shield effectively, so he is ready when the time comes.
Meanwhile, Karli meets with a new ally: Batroc the Leaper (Georges St. Pierre). He provides them with some weaponry, in exchange for the promise that he gets to kill Sam Wilson personally during their upcoming attack on the G.R.C. As Sam watches the news, he finally gets information from Joaquin that leads Sam to realize exactly what Karli has planned next. At the G.R.C. vote, the leaders argue, but suddenly the lights go out, and it is clear that the Flagsmashers have begun their attack. Sam gets ready to suit up to stop the Flagsmashers, so he turns to the box Bucky left for him. Sam opens the box up, and his eyes go wide in awe: his time has come. Finally, in the series’ first post-credits scene, we see John Walker hammering away at a piece of metal. Soon it becomes clear that Walker is making a shield of his own.
Something strange is happening, and it all revolves around Sharon Carter. On the surface, she has been aiding Sam and Bucky during this entire process, but there has always been something off about her status in Madripoor. Now she hires a man whom she broke out of an Algerian prison, and the only person we know of who has spent time in an Algerian prison is Batroc. So, it is safe to say she hired him and then sent him after the target Sam rescued from him in the first episode. Now she has Batroc aiding Karli. Karli is fully radicalized, so sending Batroc to help her doesn’t seem to make sense, and if Sharon is the Power Broker, then why did she allow Sam and Bucky to find the doctor who remade the super soldier serum? Something isn’t right with Sharon, and I am very interested to see where this goes with her.
Sam is Captain America. “Truth” began with Sam figuratively and literally leaving the Falcon behind, and throughout the episode he contemplated every angle of the situation and even went directly to Isaiah Bradley to see why the latter detests the shield. The scene was emotional and poignant thanks to Anthony Mackie and Carl Lumbly’s acting. But, in the end, Sam made his own decision. Having Bucky around didn’t hurt either. As they bonded over the Wilson family fishing boat, they each acted as the other’s catalyst for deciding what to do next. For Bucky, it was going to the ones he has wronged and actually making amends by giving them closure. For Sam, it was accepting the mantle of Captain America. It seems though they have given him his suit too. After Bucky handed Zemo over to the Dora Milaje, he asked for a favor, so if Sam’s suit is coming from Wakanda, it could be built with Vibranium in the suit fabric or with Vibranium wings. Either way, it’s good to give Sam more of a tech advantage than Steve Rogers, balancing out Steve’s super abilities with Sam being a regular human being. I could be wrong about it being Cap’s suit in the case - after all, we don’t see it - but something tells me that it’s more than just Marcellus Wallace’s soul in there.
Wyatt Russell has stolen the series. He plays the role of John Walker with the perfect amount of arrogance, insecurity, pride, and sympathy. As deranged and unlikable as he is, you can’t help but feel a bit of sympathy for the man. He was created by the military, shaped by the horrors of war, and then had the weight of being Captain America thrust upon him. Being asked to replace Steve Rogers, mixed with his perception of his own accomplishments, led to him determining that he was just as worthy to be Captain America as Steve was, which means he missed the point entirely. But this idea that he and Steve are equal is what he latches on to, and accepts as the truth regardless of his own actions. Even when the title is officially stripped from him, he defies them by reiterating that he “is Captain America,” that Captain America is something unique and not a title that can just be given or taken away, which contradicts his own appointment to the title of Captain America.
Losing Hoskins was tragic, but his reaction and abuse of the power that the super soldier serum gave him, only highlights how unworthy of the shield and the serum Walker actually was. The teaser at the end, showing Walker making his own shield, indicates that our finale is going to have a shield-on-shield showdown between our series’ two Captain Americas, but the big character cameo of the episode hints at John Walker sticking around for a little while. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has officially entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. It is not hyperbole to call her an icon: she has consistently proved herself to be a powerhouse in comedy throughout her legendary career, and brought a bit of that in her portrayal of Valentina. Overall, though, Valentina has an intimidation factor to her as well. She acts like she is above everyone and everything, and the mystery surrounding her makes me feel like she absolutely could be. In the comics, her origins vary, but she always seems to end up as an antagonist to S.H.I.E.L.D., more specifically as a member of a revived HYDRA. She most notably dons the name of Madame Hydra. She could also be the Power Broker, but more evidence seems to point towards Sharon Carter. John Walker could fit right in with a villainous group like HYDRA, if Valentina manipulates him just right.
There were a few big moments at the beginning of “Truth”. The fight between Sam, Bucky, and Walker was brutal and satisfying. Seeing Walker get his arm snapped backwards while grasping the Shield is a visual I will not easily forget. Then came Valentina’s arrival, followed by the conversation between Sam and Isaiah. After that, there was not a lot going on. The scenes featuring the Flagsmashers felt like they were meant to progress the story, and build tension for their final attack at the GRC vote, but they all boiled down to people standing around talking, same as every scene after the opening fight. As important as Sam’s time was in Louisiana, it featured two overly long montages, which made the episode’s slow pace feel even slower. That seems to be the one thing that is holding the series back: the pace of its narrative. Every other aspect of the series is excellent, from the acting to the action, and it is more than true to the standard of quality established by the MCU. Maybe it’s more of a format issue that is causing the show’s problems: maybe, instead of a miniseries, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” would’ve been better served as a feature film. WIth that being said, we have one more hour left, and that final episode could frame the entire show in a completely different way.