Each new episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is more exciting than the last. While the first episode was not without merit, subsequent installments have ratcheted up the action several notches. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, consider this a spoiler alert.
The episode, titled “Power Broker,” begins with Sam and Bucky meeting Zemo (Daniel Brühl), the man responsible for the Civil War in the third Captain America film. Their mission is to ascertain how an entire team of Super-Soldiers (Flag-Smashers) can exist.
They depart, but Bucky presents a “hypothetical” scenario for Zemo’s escape from prison. As it turns out, that is not as implausible as we believed, as Zemo is indeed free. Sam is initially hesitant, given Zemo’s status as a war criminal, but eventually agrees.
Baron Zemo was a real baron, he reveals, and he commands an aircraft. They depart for Madripoor, a canonical Singapore-inspired city in Marvel Comics that appeared briefly in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Although it is a part of Indonesia, Madripoor, unlike Singapore, thrives on crime.
They crash a bar, where Bucky reverts to his old identity as Winter Soldier — essentially a stone-faced killer — and beats up a bunch of goons. They run into Selby, a local tycoon. They inquire about the Super-Soldier serum, to which she responds with a name. However, they come into conflict with her when Sam receives a call and has his cover blown. They assassinate Selby and her bodyguard and flee. They are rescued by none other than Sharon Carter, whom we have not seen since the Civil War.
She reveals that she is still on the run from the law as a result of the film’s events. Sam promises to assist her in clearing her name. She whisks them away to the doctor who created the serum from Isaiah, the man we met in the previous episode. They are attacked while speaking with him by the men of Power Broker, who controls Madripoor. Oh, and for some reason, a purple-masked Zemo shoots the man.
Meanwhile, the new Captain America (John Walker) and his partner are closing in on the Flag-Smashers but are still a step behind Sam and Bucky. He demonstrates that he is not above angry outbursts while interrogating people, which will remind viewers of Game of Thrones’ King Joffrey.
Sam, Bucky, and Zemo depart Madripoor for Riga, Latvia. Bucky briefly departs from the group when he notices small spherical devices. It is a Wakandian envoy who desires Zemo.
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