Falcon and Winter Soldier thoughts
Apr. 26th, 2021 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lucymonsterFirst and most important: RIP hot Aussie flag smasher guy! I'm always equal parts proud and mortified every time an Aussie shows up in foreign media. On the one hand, it's a rare thrill to see My People represented on the world's pop cultural stage. On the other hand, bloody hell, is that how we sound when we talk? It's one of those accents you really need strength in numbers to get away with. I swear it sounds totally fine off-screen.
Second: the Isaiah Bradley storyline had a lot more depth and nuance than I went in expecting. Being glib is kind of the MCU's whole thing, but seeing Sam learn that Captain America could have been black for decades, that they'd imprisoned Isaiah for the exact same heroic act that won Steve Rogers his fame - seeing him learn that, and still choose to take up the mantle - was intense. I hope we're seeing the early days of a much larger surge in mainstream media diversity, because I never think it's fair to expect one specific show or movie to capture an entire huge demographic's experience, but for what it's worth I think FAWS did well at what it set out to do on that front.
I had more trouble getting behind Karli, and I wish the show had spent a bit more time on her, because on paper she is so my kind of character. Idealist pushed to desperate, violent measures that make her a villain in service to her cause? That should have hit me right where I live. Actually I think the disconnect I experienced may not even be to do with Karli herself, but with the total lack of attention paid to the enemy she was fighting. I get it, GRC is for The Establishment. But '3.5 billion people just snapped back into existence and they need their homes and jobs back from those people who moved in while they were gone' is not a problem only spoilt one percenters care about. I might have felt less of a constant urge to 'yes, but' every second point Karli made if she were making it at someone other than a half-built capitalist strawman. Then again, this show was a big step forward for Marvel as far as fleshed-out antagonists go. If there weren't at least one cardboard cutout villain in there, would it even still be MCU? Not everyone can be George Lucas and devote multiple hours of blockbuster screentime to the complexities and competing needs of international economics. Someone had to get cardboard cutout duty, and since the GRC was always going to be the least interesting faction, it might as well have been them.
Sam and Bucky's dynamic was obviously perfect. The way they handled Bucky's trauma was, again, unexpectedly nuanced. Despite not having Steve in it, in all the ways that matter this was the CATWS sequel I wanted back in 2014. It was iddy, it was glossy, it was fun and fast and full of entertaining action. I don't think it's going to be enough to relight my fire for the Cap side of fandom, but there have definitely been some sparks. At the very least I'll probably need to read some Sam/Bucky fic.
But my unexpected breakout stars were Sharon and Zemo. I don't care what anyone says, I LOVED the Power Broker twist and Sharon getting to be justifiably bitter about what they did to her. Zemo won me over when he stomped on those superserum vials. He's no cinnamon roll, but let no one ever call the man a hypocrite - he's rock solid in his principles. If I do end up feeling moved to write fic of my own, it will probably be about one of these two.
Second: the Isaiah Bradley storyline had a lot more depth and nuance than I went in expecting. Being glib is kind of the MCU's whole thing, but seeing Sam learn that Captain America could have been black for decades, that they'd imprisoned Isaiah for the exact same heroic act that won Steve Rogers his fame - seeing him learn that, and still choose to take up the mantle - was intense. I hope we're seeing the early days of a much larger surge in mainstream media diversity, because I never think it's fair to expect one specific show or movie to capture an entire huge demographic's experience, but for what it's worth I think FAWS did well at what it set out to do on that front.
I had more trouble getting behind Karli, and I wish the show had spent a bit more time on her, because on paper she is so my kind of character. Idealist pushed to desperate, violent measures that make her a villain in service to her cause? That should have hit me right where I live. Actually I think the disconnect I experienced may not even be to do with Karli herself, but with the total lack of attention paid to the enemy she was fighting. I get it, GRC is for The Establishment. But '3.5 billion people just snapped back into existence and they need their homes and jobs back from those people who moved in while they were gone' is not a problem only spoilt one percenters care about. I might have felt less of a constant urge to 'yes, but' every second point Karli made if she were making it at someone other than a half-built capitalist strawman. Then again, this show was a big step forward for Marvel as far as fleshed-out antagonists go. If there weren't at least one cardboard cutout villain in there, would it even still be MCU? Not everyone can be George Lucas and devote multiple hours of blockbuster screentime to the complexities and competing needs of international economics. Someone had to get cardboard cutout duty, and since the GRC was always going to be the least interesting faction, it might as well have been them.
Sam and Bucky's dynamic was obviously perfect. The way they handled Bucky's trauma was, again, unexpectedly nuanced. Despite not having Steve in it, in all the ways that matter this was the CATWS sequel I wanted back in 2014. It was iddy, it was glossy, it was fun and fast and full of entertaining action. I don't think it's going to be enough to relight my fire for the Cap side of fandom, but there have definitely been some sparks. At the very least I'll probably need to read some Sam/Bucky fic.
But my unexpected breakout stars were Sharon and Zemo. I don't care what anyone says, I LOVED the Power Broker twist and Sharon getting to be justifiably bitter about what they did to her. Zemo won me over when he stomped on those superserum vials. He's no cinnamon roll, but let no one ever call the man a hypocrite - he's rock solid in his principles. If I do end up feeling moved to write fic of my own, it will probably be about one of these two.
