The Falcon and The Winter Soldier 1×03 “Power Broker” Spoilers Ahead
We’re halfway into The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and the series still hasn’t left me enamored in any way, which is quite frankly disappointing. That isn’t to say that it is doing great things with its more serious storylines that are reflective of our time, and crucial, but still, there is no part of me that’s invested in any of the characters we’ve met so far. Too much plot, not enough character development is never my jam. And thus far, I care very little about the super soldiers and especially, very little about faux America.
As always, these episodes are not spoiler free, so if you’ve yet to watch the new episode, do not proceed further until you have.
Sadly, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier 1×03 “Power Broker” left me with very few things to actually highlight and analyze in-depth which also isn’t my jam. But while being unbearably slow at times, it gave us one of my all-time favorite scenes and if you heard screeching miles away, that was likely me. This week’s episode brought Sharon back into the picture and she made a deal with Sam in order to clear her name and finally get to go home. And in the end, we get a Dora Milaje (Ayo’s) cameo—yes please.
If anyone knows anything about me that isn’t related to Steve Rogers, it’s that the one Marvel Cinematic Universe scene that lives rent-free in my mind is from Captain America: Civil War.
“Can you move your seat up?”
“No.”
And thus, you could imagine the inhuman noise I let out the second I noticed that Sam was about to sit behind Bucky. Are they going to do the thing? Are they going to reverse it? Okay everybody, it’s happening. Stay calm. Stay calm. Spoiler: I did not stay calm.
“You’re not going to move your seat up, are you?”
“No.”
I want, no scratch that, need Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan to be given a join award for the Emmy-worthy performances in that scene. It’s all about the straight faces, the subtle eye rolls, and the silent shut-ups. And it was everything.
They did that. They really did that and then they left me screaming because Christ above, this moment is everything that I wanted from this show, but didn’t let myself dream that we’d it. And to see it in reverse? Brilliant–completely and utterly brilliant. I want it on a t-shirt, a print to frame, and can say with full confidence now that two of these scenes, the original and the sequel, both live in my mind rent from.
On a serious note, however, and more than anything though while this episode wasn’t as engaging for me personally, it’s the little moments we got with Sam showing just how deeply he cares about Bucky in all the little ways that matter. For instance, stopping him from going too far, asking if he’s good, and being aware of what having Zemo back could possibly mean.
It was also a great showcase of what happened to Sharon and why it’s hard for her to return to the states along with showing us what she’s up to. It was further proof of just how useless faux America is—even Zemo is more intriguing and entertaining than him and we weren’t supposed to like him. “Power Broker” felt like some strange trip, but you know what, it gave us that scene so I’m gonna get ahead and say that I’m okay with it. Next week’s episode with the addition of Ayo and hopefully more Sarah should be better, so here’s to hoping.
In the words of Fangirl Forum’s Meredith Loftus, this was Zemo’s Wild Night Out with the Boys at the Discotheque. And damn right it was.
What would you highlight from The Falcon and The Winter Soldier 1×03 “Power Broker?” Is there a specific scene that stuck out to you that we didn’t cover? Let us know in the comments below.