‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’: Sam Soars as Captain America & the Power Broker’s Identity Revealed (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[WARNING: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Episode 6, “One World, One People.”]
Going into the final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, there were plenty of questions to answer. What was in that box from Wakanda that Bucky (Sebastian Stan) gave to Sam (Anthony Mackie)? What was Sharon (Emily VanCamp) up to, and is she the Power Broker? What was Walker (Wyatt Russell) intending to do with that homemade shield?
“One World, One People” wraps up the show’s first season on a hopeful, inspiring note and offers answers to most lingering questions. But it also sets up the show for a potential second season, meaning there could very well be six more episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in the future (or rather, Captain America and the White Wolf).
“I’m Captain America.”
Sam and Bucky head for New York, where they plan to stop Karli. As Bucky slips behind NYPD lines, he finds Sharon; she says she’s “getting the gang back together.” Sam says she’s risking a lot by coming to the United States, which she is — but there’s more to the story than that.
As Bucky and Sharon deal with things on the ground, Sam soars into the building through a window, which gives us a good look at the gift from Wakanda Bucky gave him. It’s a new Falcon suit, modeled after Steve’s (Chris Evans) Captain America look. And when an officer asks Sam who he is, that’s how he responds: “I’m Captain America.”
Sam realizes Karli’s trying to empty the building, and he tells the officers to keep people inside. He’s intercepted by Batroc, while Bucky takes a call from Karli and tries to talk her out of what she’s doing (she won’t be persuaded). In fact, her new plan is to kill the hostages she’s taken if necessary, because either way, her message gets out to the world. Meanwhile, Sam takes down a helicopter full of Flag-Smashers. He then goes after a different helicopter with civilians on it, and he helps a woman with flight training take the controls from the baddies.
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The Power Broker, Revealed
Walker shows up with his DIY shield and goes after Karli, which gets him into a battle with the Flag-Smashers. Karli battles with Bucky for a bit, and then another Flag-Smasher goes after him. Everybody fights, they (meaning Sam, Bucky and Walker) save a van full of hostages, it appears the day is saved and Karli is done. Then Batroc floods the area with smoke from grenades, and the Flag-Smashers flee.
Sam, Bucky, and Walker pursue them to an underground parking garage, and they tell Sharon where they are. While they try to track down Karli, Sharon succeeds, and — surprise! — all those fan theories were right. She is the Power Broker. She tries to convince Karli to come back and work for her again, but Karli says she’s too power-hungry for that. Batroc shows up and threatens to tell the world who Sharon really is if she doesn’t pay him “four times” what she said she would, but Karli then shoots him, and Sharon.
She runs, and Sam intercepts her. He says he’s not going to fight her, and while she punches and kicks him and yells at him to fight back, all of her blows connect with the shield. (Bucky and Walker, meanwhile, use the Flag-Smashers’ app to round them up and deliver them to the authorities). Eventually, Karli pulls a gun on Sam, but Sharon shoots her before she can pull the trigger. Sam comforts her as she dies, then he flies out onto the street.
Not About Easy Decisions
The GRC leaders thank him for what he did to save them, and Sam takes the opportunity to make clear the Flag-Smashers’ point (just not by using their methods). He says after today the government members should know what it’s like to feel powerless, and they should understand they’re about to have the exact same impact on the refugees if this vote goes through. “This isn’t about easy decisions,” he says. The senator tries to tell him he doesn’t understand, and he says, “I’m a Black man carrying the stars and stripes. What don’t I understand?”
He reminds them he doesn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes, and he’s not a super-soldier. “The only power I have is that I believe we can do better,” he says. He then flies off to help take down one last Flag-Smasher, while Bucky gets Sharon to safety (he and Sam don’t know she’s the Power Broker). Oh, and all the rest of the Flag-Smashers die in a fiery explosion, which appears to be part of Zemo’s (Daniel Bruhl) plan, as he hears about it on The Raft and smiles.
Walker’s officially US Agent now, too, as Valentina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) gives him a new suit in red and black. “Things are about to get weird,” she tells him, “and when they do, we’re not going to need a Captain America. We’re going to need a US Agent.” He and his wife celebrate, joyful that he’s been given a second chance. So it seems the Thunderbolts may be in the works, after all…
(Credit: Disney+/Marvel Studios)
Closure and Hope
Bucky seeks out Mr. Nakajima (Ken Takemoto), and he tells him what really happened to his son. “He was murdered by the Winter Soldier,” Bucky explains. “And that was me.” He explains that he didn’t have a choice in what he did, and now, at least, Mr. Nakajima has closure. Later, when Dr. Raynor (Amy Aquino) arrives at her office, there’s a gift waiting for her with a note. It’s Bucky’s notebook, with all the names crossed off. The note? “I finished the book,” it reads. “Thanks for all your help, doc.”
Sam goes to see Isaiah (Carl Lumbly), and they talk about what happened at the GRC. Isaiah admits he’s special — “No Malcolm or Martin,” but special. Sam says he’s going to fight for his country no matter what, and Isaiah seems to have come around to the idea of a Black Captain America. And Sam has a surprise in store for Isaiah as well. He takes him to the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian, where there’s a statue of Isaiah and information about his life. “Now they’ll never forget what you did for this country,” he says. “Never.”
From there, Sam and Bucky both go to Louisiana, where they smile and laugh with the community on the docks. At last, they’re both happy and hopeful — and that’s where the main story ends. But in a post-credits scene, the government offers Sharon a full pardon and a position in her old division. She takes it. But it’s clear from her smirk as she walks away and a call she makes involving the sale of government secrets and weapons that she’s still the Power Broker; no turning over a new leaf here!
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Now Streaming, Disney+
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