Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. So, let us move onto TFATWS, only we cannot leave real behind, this time.
What had happened in the mini-series? The new captain Dubya
has went berserk after his friend Lamar – who has been his closest friend and
confidant all this time – died. Yes, it is a parallel as to how Steve did not go berserk after his Bucky died…but at the time when
TFATWS was being made, it was presumed that it would air during the Donald era,
and now it was released during Joe Biden’s era instead, and the real life world
changed.
…More precisely, Joe Biden is not like his predecessor:
whereas the latter had a personality, the former does not. Moreover, the man is
rather bland, which is not the best thing for a POTUS to have, (all the rumors
about him being sued over the XL pipeline aside). Ever since he was elected,
Joe tried to rebuild the old U.S. image… i.e. the image that was around even
during Barack Obama’s first term, and
he has not succeeded. People do not like the idea of an RF, let alone Chinese,
domination of the world, but neither they are too excited about the U.S. doing
it either. Last week, there was talk in the air of the U.S. teaming up with the
Ukraine to go to actual war against Russia
(and its’ nominal allies, whoever they are) over Crimea and other disputed locations.
Pause.
The punchline here is that while the RF did go up, spitting mad, as it did when Biden agreed that Putin is
a killer, it didn’t throw the actual first punch, but went into a waiting game.
The U.S. had to have Russia attack first, because otherwise – while they would
still win such a war, however eventually, at this time – they would be the aggressor,
and that would be bad. Plus, Ukraine, while it has little love for its’ eastern
neighbor these days, probably isn’t too enthused about being Europe’s version
of a U.S. ‘protectorate’, as Iraq is in Middle East, and Afghanistan – in Central
Asia. As a result, right now aggression appears to have de-escalated over the
contested area – and the Disney/MCU’s latest mini-series have just aired – last
week, (April 9, 2021), an episode, where a man in the U.S. colors kill another
man – and a European one at that – in the most violent and savage way possible.
Yes, it was supposed to contrast Rogers and Dubya – but also the Trumpist U.S.
and its’ predecessor.
…Only now the Trumpist U.S. is gone – apparently, though
opinions vary – and captain Dubya suddenly may be standing-in for Biden’s
regime instead. Ouch! Naturally, Disney/MCU is trying to do something about it,
trying to make captain Dubya ‘incel’, (even though ‘The Star-Spangled Man’
episode clearly introduced the audience to his actual wife), by throwing out a bunch of secondary, if not tertiary,
factoids about WV, and what else have you, all to downplay captain Dubya’s
impact on MCU & real life via the silver screen. Nice integrity you got
there, Disney/MCU! Now let us talk about the plight of the Afro-Americans in
real life and whatnot!
…Only no, they do not – instead, the show had the Dora
Milaje appear on screen, make captain Dubya even a bigger jerk, and start a
fight that allowed baron Zemo to escape. I hope that he will come back worse
than before, because right now? Captain Dubya makes him look positively humane
and relatable, (not a good thing, you know). Anything else?
No, not really – as the scriptwriters for this episode have
intended, captain Dubya’s actions have overshadowed everyone and everything
else: he created a pivotal moment within MCU, and everything and everyone else
in ‘The Whole World is Watching’ episode got overshadowed. Bravo, people! You
achieved exactly what you were striding for, only in a different real life
setting from the one that you have intended, so now you have to live with the
consequences. The end. Anything else?
No. The titular characters continue to be ‘the straight men’
in their own mini-series, Sharon Carter’s appearance here was barely a cameo,
and Karli continues to be a fresh-faced innocent poised to tempt Sam Wilson
into the dark side, even though she continues to remain one of the most inept
villains ever. Seriously, if she is that set into her ideology, then how and
why she remains a rebel? Pause.
Yeah, Karli right now is a rebel (against the global
authority and what else have you), not a villain, but regardless of the
importance of this distinction, she is still very unlikable, and I don’t think
that even the show’s fanbase knows what to do about her, and they largely
ignore her; even Sharon Carter, (who has come and gone off screen and on
screen), has a bigger following than MCU’s gender-bend Flag-smasher has. That
is sad, but also deserving – she just is not very likable, (and kind of
redundant, but that is just my personal opinion).
And as for the Power Broker… listen. Marvel itself was never
certain if there was just a single power broker, or several. By now, people are
believing that if the person isn’t going to be one of the already-revealed
characters, (either Sharon Carter or Zemo, ‘cause if it is going to be Sam or
Bucky all along, people are just going to freak out and probably not in a good
way), then they aren’t going to be revealed at all, and that works out, because
not unlike WV (and also AC), TFATWS remains to be small, tightly-built show,
all the world-travelling (and world-building) aside. A villain does not have to
be on screen to be a driving force – just look at Thanos before the events in the ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’ movies as an
example; whether or not Power Broker will be a threat of Thanos’ level is
another question entirely, but it still will be interesting to see as to who,
or what, they will be revealed to be at the end.
For now though, this is it. See you all soon!
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