Power Broker
Episode 3 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier begins in Germany as John Walker leads his group straight into a warehouse asking where Karli and the others are. Unfortunately, he receives a wad of spit in the face for his troubles. Getting nowhere, they decide to turn their attention closer to home. In Munich, Bucky heads in to a maximum security facility, finding himself face to face with HYDRA loyalist, Zemo. Bucky asks about the Super Soldiers, but of course for Zemo to spill the truth, it would mean releasing Zemo from prison. Despite talking to Sam about the implications of doing this, the break-out has already begun. Moments pass, and Zemo – in disguise as a guard – busts out of prison and comes face to face with them in the garage. Eventually this trio form an uneasy alliance, flying out with Zemo in his private jet. While they do, Zemo brings up the danger of putting super soldiers on pedestals, throwing shade at Steve but also mentioning Red Skull as an example of how this can go horribly wrong. Touching down in Madripoor, the group assume identities and are told by Zemo to stay in character no matter what. Well, things quickly go awry when they head to the bar, with Zemo encouraging the winter soldier (Bucky) to act on his command. Eventually this act of aggression is enough for them to get the nod to visit the big boss, Selby. Once there, Sam runs into trouble when Sarah rings. He’s forced to talk on speaker phone to her, eventually leading to a bounty being placed on their heads. Out on the road, they run into Sharon, who takes them away to safety. Alone, Sam strikes a deal with her. He agrees to help clear her name in exchange for her help. Using Sharon’s know-how, they find a shipping container but it’s completely empty – at least at first glance. A hidden door leads through to Dr Nager’s laboratory. Unfortunately they’re not alone, as numerous bounty hunters show up at the shipping yard looking to make a quick buck off Sam and Bucky. Sitting Nager down with a gun to their head, this scientist breaks the news about what’s going on. When HYDRA was disbanded in the past, he was recruited to work on the Super Solder serum. He managed to optimize it too, producing 20 different vials. Those were, unfortunately, stolen by Karli and her gang. With no other serums available, it seems like the end of this production line. Zemo bides his time, stealing a gun from under the table and taking off after shooting Nager dead. At least, that’s how it appears at first glance. In reality, he’s actually helped bide some time to take out the bounty hunters with Sharon. Giving themselves some precious time, Zemo and the others take off. It’s here where our characters splinter. In Latvia, Bucky remains determined to take the shield from the new Captain America. He finds a tracker on the floor though and heads off to investigate. When it does, he finds himself face to face with Ayo, who’s blood-lusting for Zemo.
The Episode Review
Falcon and the Winter Soldier returns with an episode that feels like a bridge between the opening and closing chapters of this mini-series. In its simplest form, this series has really felt like a feature film cut up into segmented parts. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, the roller-coaster ride of ups and downs does make for a somewhat disjointed watch. However, with no awkwardly contrived moments of racial commentary this time, Falcon and the Winter Soldier instead doubles down on its main hunt for Karli and the Flag Smashers – with Zemo joining the hunt. This trio bounce off each other nicely, with some energetic bouts of dialogue helping to keep things consistent. There’s also some pretty decent action peppered in here too. With Ayo now seemingly joining the hunt too, Falcon and the Winter Soldier sets things up nicely for a dramatic set of episodes to follow.
