The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is predictable, but promising

Hot off the heels of the success of the first of many upcoming superhero shows, the first episode of Marvel and Disney+’s latest brainchild, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered virtually last week across the globe. With Wandavision stirring up a viral conversation without failure every week after an episode dropped (continuing on with a grand tradition of Disney+ shows becoming proper appointment television, something started by The Mandalorian), it’s no surprise that Disney, Marvel, and the franchise’s massive fanbase has high hopes that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be able to create the same kind of fan fervor.

For better or for worse, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a much more grounded, traditional approach to storytelling in the MCU – and although the series premiere features some impressive action set pieces, the storytelling leaves something to be desired – while still planting enough seeds to set the groundwork for the rest of the series.

Following the death/sacrifice/time-travel-enabled-happy-ending of their mutual friend Steve Rogers (a.k.a Captain America), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier follows Sam Wilson, The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), and Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), as they attempt to navigate their own complicated personal lives while juggling the responsibilities of being a superhero and living in a post-Endgame world, one without Iron Man or Captain America. The series premiere keeps the titular duo separated for the entire episode’s runtime, opting instead to dive into what earth’s mightiest heroes get up to on their off-days.

The immediate and inevitable hurdle that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier must clime are the inherent comparisons to Wandavision, whose unorthodox take on storytelling (at least in the first half of the season) set the bar for creative freedom when it came to Marvel shows. If you’re heading into The Falcon and the Winter Soldier looking for that same kind of creativity, you won’t find it – because, as we mentioned, for better or for worse, this is a series that is already much more clearly tied to the familiar tone and storytelling structure established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

For fans of the films, this will be a welcome development – a return to the world that they love – but we can’t also help but feel a little disappointed by the predictability of the first episode. Of course, grounded doesn’t inherently mean bad – if they play their cards correctly, Falcon and the Winter Soldier could prove to be a strong piece of character-driven storytelling – but from what we’ve seen so far, it’s just a little too formulaic and predictable to hold our interest for very long.

On the one hand, it’s fascinating to see Marvel heroes get a chance to be normal, human people – we’ve gotten glimpses of it in the past, especially in films like Spider-Man: Homecoming, but The Falcon and the Winter Soldier takes this even further, delving more deeply into the world surrounding the before and after of Thanos’ snap – “The Blip”, in the MCU. However, when the plot of your big-budget beloved franchise series premiere is a guy trying to help his sister get a loan from the bank, we question whether or not that was really the strongest possible story they could’ve come up with for a series premiere. There’s a line between grounded and pedestrian, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s premiere definitely walks it – although a high-flying 10+ minute action set-piece as the series’ opening scene does help inject some life and excitement into the episode.

Another interesting element is how The Falcon and the Winter Soldier budgets its time. Though the title bills the show as having two co-leads, the way the premiere is structured makes it feel like Sam is much more of the series’ protagonist, and Bucky the Robin to his Batman. It’s not good or bad so much as it is interesting, especially considering that both men previously played second fiddle to Captain America – but it is nice to see them get to blossom and be their own people outside of bouncing witty quips off of Steve Rogers. Getting a taste of Sam’s home and family life was sweet – and though they weren’t there for a long time, we immediately understood and got a feel for Sam’s sister and nephews – they’re vibrant, realistic, normal characters who shine in just how regular they are.

Though we still think a perfect balance hasn’t been struck yet, there is something to be said for exploring the basic, everyday folks who populate the MCU – and while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier sort of tries for that here, the more exciting of Sam’s storylines are by far the plot involving him turning over the shield, only for it to be plopped right into the hands of a U.S. Agent – the cruel irony of both Sam and Cap’s sacrifice, combined with Wyatt Russell’s perfectly punchable face – will likely make for some spirited confrontations down the road – and an explosive and emotionally resonant storyline if executed properly.

Then there’s Bucky – whose character follows the more traditional route we’ve seen him on in the films – mainly, seeking penance for the atrocities he committed as the Winter Soldier. Stan, as always, makes the most out of whatever writing he’s given, and does quite a bit to help endear the audience to Bucky, especially when he’s stumbling through an awkward date or trying to get his therapist off his case. Our only complaint re: Bucky’ s storyline is that he doesn’t have all that much to do yet, but once he and Sam cross paths, that’s likely to change.

In the end, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is pretty much exactly what we expected it to be – a more grounded, dare we say pedestrian approach to superhero storytelling. Though well-paced and thoughtfully executed, there isn’t enough meat in the series premiere to keep us on the edge of our seats waiting for next week’s episode, but it’s likely to satisfy fans of the MCU as a whole.

What do you think of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier so far? Sound off in the comments.