WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6, “One World, One People,” now streaming on Disney+.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier faithfully delivered big-screen action, emotional depths and classic Marvel comedy. It also connected to previous Marvel Cinematic Universe titles in ways that were extremely satisfying, and this season particularly featured a lot of connections to Steve Rogers’ most memorable MCU moments. Many of those were used either to show why Walker wasn’t worthy of the shield or why Sam was the right choice to replace Steve. For instance, Sam’s confrontation with Karli echoes that of Steve and Bucky’s in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but the outcome is very different.
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In the season finale of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam, Bucky, Walker and Sharon pursue the remaining Flag Smashers. Sharon finds Karli first, and their showdown ends with Batroc dead and Sharon injured after being shot by Karli. Before Karli can finish the job, Sam shows up.
Much like in Episode 4, Sam tries to talk her down. He sympathizes with her cause, but he does not approve of her methods. However, Karli is beyond words and attacks Sam, who refuses to fight back, saying “I’m not going to fight you.” He mostly takes a defensive stance — only going on the offense in an attempt to get her to stop. Eventually, he finds himself with Karli’s gun pointed at his chest. She seems to hesitate before shooting, which gives Sharon enough time to take her out, and Karli dies in Sam’s arms.
This encounter mirrors that of Steve and Bucky’s on the helicarrier in The Winter Soldier. After he lifts the fallen beam off Bucky and the Winter Soldier continues to fight him, Steve drops his shield saying, “I’m not going to fight you.” However, Bucky keeps attacking Steve in an emotional rage, and the latter, bloodied and severely hurt, tells him to finish it because he’s with him until the end of the line. Bucky hesitates, and the helicarrier breaks apart, sending Steve to the depths of the Potomac while Bucky hangs on. Unlike Karli, Bucky not only survives, but he saves Steve.
In these scenes, Steve and Sam are trying to reach the people who’re supposed to be their enemies, and both pleaded with the others, asking them not to continue on these paths. Steve even says, “Please don’t make me do this,” while Sam says, “Please let me help you.” In both cases, these heroes refuse to fight their “enemies,” opting instead to believe there is a better way to approach this, and they also believe there is a good person somewhere inside of their opponents.
With The Falcon and The Winter Soldier focusing on the legacy of the shield and Sam’s reluctance over picking it up, moments like these had an added importance beyond being a callback. They not only paralleled Steve’s life as Captain America, but they also reaffirmed why Sam is the right choice to carry on in his place. Sam may not have superhuman abilities, but he has the heart of a good man, and at the end of the day, that is what is required of Captain America.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. The series is available on Disney+.
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