TFATWS, OWOP - April 26

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks; a python ate a woman in her rice field, and our family barely got over being vaccinated against the COVID. Onto the show?

Firstly, I was half-right about the show being renamed: Sam Wilson is now the new official Captain America, but Bucky Barnes is still the Winter Soldier rather than the White Wolf. Have to admit, I do not know why, but then again, ‘the White Wolf’ does sound rather Nordic and Aryan, so there is that.

…Of course there is the racial politics at play again – as Sam himself proclaims, he is the Black man, dressed in Stars and Stripes, so in your face… just who, exactly? By losing the 2020 election, the Donald has caused a lot of venom in CAAWS to disappear, because Disney/MCU themselves are trying to downplay it now, because the Biden administration is supposedly different. How exactly is anyone’s guess, but it is different. It has to be. Where were we?

Right, the season’s finale. Not unlike how WV has ended, it is a somewhat lopsided episode; Sam Wilson, as the new true Captain America, got the lion’s share of development here, (in WV, it was Wanda), while everyone else – not so much. To be more precise, both Batroc and Karli are dead, Zemo is in prison, the rest of the Flag-Smashers are dead, and J.W. seems to be redeeming himself instead. Pause.

Let us try again. Last week, we talked as how to J.W. became a tragic anti-hero, not unlike Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, (the titular character of the play). Here, Disney/MCU did a reboot, as J.W. and everyone else in the CAAWS fandom did an about-face and went in a very new direction from where the last week’s episode ended. On one hand, this is justifiable, and Sharon Carter’s revelation as the Power Broker is quite expected, but…

…Well, whatever she is in the Marvel comics, in MCU Sharon had had barely any presence – she had some brief appearances in the previous CA films, (especially the CA: CW film), but she had barely any character development there, if any. Hence, once she was revealed the actual villain of the series (so far), there was little if any shock value, and most people are more interested in the good contessa Val instead.

“Don’t call me that!”

To elaborate on this character, the good contessa comes across almost like a female Coulson, and since during her comic book history, she had been Nick Fury’s love interest and ally, as well as his enemy, this may mean that she may be helping Nick, (Talos and Soren), to re-build the Avengers, and she may be a Skrull herself, because why not? If Sharon/Power Broker may be a Skrull, (but somehow, unlike WV, CAAWS doesn’t really mention Skrulls or anyone like that at all, so this is unlikely), then why not her ladyship? Where were we, again?

Well, following the zeitgeist, her ladyship seems to have mended fences with Mrs. W, suggesting that for a while the latter will be a part of the U.S. Agent’s life yet. Of course, that is no guarantee that she will not die as MCU’s Battlestar did in the episode 1x04, but them’s the risks. That said, also, the U.S. Agent’s new suit is notably black, just as Sam’s is notably white, so I guess that we now got a white knight against a black one, cough.

This brings us to Zemo, who seems to be becoming MCU’s answer to Batman/Dark Knight instead – he even got a kick-ass butler, who seems to be on par with DC’s Alfred Pennyworth, eh? In addition, he is a rich man, with a secret I.D., a serious yen towards vigilantism and some sort of a code of conduct – meet MCU’s up and coming founder of the Thunderbolts! What is left?

Nothing much. Karli died, but her sacrifice was not in vain, as Sam uses it to fuel his righteous rage to get the GRC moving in the right direction. Sharon is poised to be the next Big Bag in the MCU, Batroc died and not became MCU’s answer to the Box Ghost – there is a God, it seems – and Sam and Bucky are moving on with their lives; Bucky seems to be flirting with Sam’s sister, but until it is official – and Hollywood, including Disney & MCU are very bad with interracial couples, just look at AoS – this may not mean anything. Is there anything else?

Next on MCU’s roster is the ‘M.O.D.O.C.’, which seems to be MCU’s answer to ‘Adult Swim’ in general and ‘Robot Chicken’ in particular. I do not know if I will be watching it, but that is a story for another time all the same.

For now though, this is it. See you all soon!