Funny / The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

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Trailers

• The first trailer is more or less serious throughout, until a brief post-logo scene of Sam and Bucky walking down a country road (while still in full costume):
  Sam: What's going on in that cyborg brain of yours?
  Bucky: You don't wanna know.
  Sam: Oh yeah, I can see it working. Gears turning. Oh, they're malfunctioning! They're on fire!
  Bucky: God, I hate you.
• The second trailer begins with a woman interviewing Sam and Bucky. You think that she might be debriefing them... before it's revealed that she's essentially a counselor. And then the trailer ends with her making them look at each other, which results in a staring contest between them.
  Counselor: Just blink. Sweet Jesus, I mean, how old are you?
  [Sam and Bucky both smirk]
  • The first question she asks is directed at Bucky, asking why Sam aggravates him. We then see the scene depicted in the first trailer, in which Bucky asks Sam what the plan is, only for Sam to glance back at him before jumping from the plane they're in, much like Steve has done in the past.
  • Right as the counselor chimes in with "See, that wasn't so hard," Bucky and Sam confuse her by upping the intensity of their staring contest.
    Counselor: ... what are you doing? Are you having a staring contest?
• The second trailer also shows Bucky fighting a group of Malevolent Masked Men on top of a moving cargo truck, and being knocked over the side, being forced to cling to a beam on the truck to avoid being crushed. Sam flies up next to him and jovially taunts him:
  Sam: That little girl kicked your ass!
  Bucky: Arrrghhhhhh!!
• The fact that the second trailer pitches two known heroes who suddenly get antagonistic with each other, and the trailer suddenly switches to a thumping hiphop tune... just like Godzilla vs. Kong did.
• In one TV spot, Sam has a few theories about the nature of their new opponent:
  Sam: And they might be a part of the Big Three.
  Bucky: ...What "Big Three"?
  Sam: Androids, aliens, and wizards.
  (the background music abruptly stops)
  Bucky: That's not a thing.
  Sam: It's definitely a thing.
  Bucky: (aggravated) No, it's not.
• At the end of the trailer, we see more of the conversation, which has somehow moved on to the nature of Doctor Strange's powers:
  Bucky: There are no wizards!
  Sam: Doctor Strange.
  Bucky: Is a sorcerer.
  Sam: A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat!
  (Bucky pauses to consider)
• In the 'Big Three' clip, Bucky makes a joke about fighting Gandalf, and when Sam expresses incredulity, Bucky brags that he read the original The Hobbit in 1937. The thing is, The Hobbit was printed in England in 1937, only saw American prints in 1938, and suffered shortages due to World War II. So either Bucky is lying, or he was a serious nerd for somehow getting his hands on a rare imported children's book right when it first came out.
  • It's also a hilarious callback to all of Steve's (lack of) cultural references.
  • Even more hilarious when you remember that in Captain America: Civil War, he was kept under arrest by the guy who played Bilbo Baggins himself. The Celebrity Paradox humor continues when considering that the name-dropped Doctor Strange portrayed Smaug in the same series.

Episode 1: "New World Order"

• Sam scouts out the plane, climbing on the outside to carefully look in through the edge of the cockpit window. The criminal pilot looks up briefly... then looks again and freaks.
  Pilot: There was someone out there!
  Batroc: [checks, smacks pilot and chuckles] I'm gonna kill you, Louie.
  • The Brick Joke comes when Louie gets shot in the head one minute later after Falcon deflects a bullet from a mook.
• Batroc and company think that they've made their escape from Sam by way of paragliding into a helicopter. Sam proves them very wrong seconds after they've had their "we've gotten away" moment.
  Sam: What's up?
  • This is even funnier because Sam is sitting right next to one unlucky mook, which, in addition to the comedy that Sam is literally sitting right next to them, begs the question of how nobody noticed him climb in.
• Torres tells Sam that there's a lot of conspiracy theories regarding what happened to Steve after Endgame, including one that he's now living on the moon, looking down on the world. He seems particularly fixated on this one, asking if Sam flew Steve up there.
  • Also has an extra layer of meta-humor, as a common joke/theory among people who weren't fans of the end of Steve's storyline is that he was replaced by a Skrull and that the real Steve is in space.
  • As the cherry on top, when Sam has to leave to get ready to go to D.C, Torres asks Sam what he's going there for. Sam's only reply?
    Sam: Moon stuff.
  • The moon bit may be a nod to Uatu the Watcher, who is commonly depicted as residing on the moon.
  • It could also refer to the Inhumans, whose base was on the moon.
  • Not to mention another recent miniseries about superheroes that featured a hero with superhuman strength living on the moon.
• Sam praises Steve's talent for "posing stoically" in his speech at the Smithsonian, which earns a chuckle from the in-universe crowd as well.
• While talking with Rhodey, Wilson mentions his younger sister and her two sons (introduced later in the episode). It goes unsaid, but that means that he's literally an "Uncle Sam".
  • It gets better: Sam Wilson was probably named for the original Uncle Sam.
• Bucky's interaction with the corrupt Senator that he put in office as the Winter Soldier is surprisingly dorky. He remotely takes control of her car to drive it around randomly and freak her out, before promptly rolling down the window and bluntly proclaiming that he isn't the Winter Soldier any more as he lets the police arrest her.
  • The incredibly awkward smile he gives to the Senator, which is the same exact smile he gives to his therapist, Dr. Raynor, is worth a few chuckles.
  • Bucky's therapy scene is generally both tragic and hilarious, between him blatantly lying to his therapist and acting somewhere between a grumpy old man and a bratty child, coupled with her willingness to call him out and general Brutal Honesty about how tragic Bucky's current life is.
  • Raynor instructs Bucky to follow three rules while making his amends. 1.) Don't do anything illegal. 2.) Don't hurt anyone. 3.) Tell the person who is the subject of the particular amends, "I am no longer the Winter Soldier. I am James Bucky Barnes, and you are part of my efforts to make amends." And then smile (or try to smile). Raynor reminds him that rule #3 is the whole point of the exercise. The rules themselves aren't funny, but it is the way that Raynor and Bucky talk about them; like a teacher reminding a student to write their name on their homework.
• Bucky's Odd Friendship with old pensioner Yori Nakajima is actually pretty hilarious on its own, until the Mood Whiplash hits regarding their actual connection by the latter half of the episode.
  • Yori is introduced arguing with a neighbor about bundling his trash with Yori's. Bucky manages to calm him down by taking him to lunch on his dime.
    Yori: Fine. But no talking!
    • Made even funnier as, in the next scene, Yori's talking to Bucky.
  • Despite being clearly grieving, it was Yori of all people who wing-mans Bucky to a date with their bartender, Leah.
• While waiting at the bar, Bucky is distracted by the waving arm on a lucky cat statue. He stares at it, then holds the arm in place for a few seconds to stop it, only for it to just start again when he lets go. It's reminiscent of Tony being distracted by a similar mechanism in Iron Man 2.
• Bucky truthfully telling his date that he's 106 years old. She just laughs him off. And Bucky laughs along with her, only his expression screams 'Oh god, she doesn't believe me. Nobody will ever believe me. Why did you leave me here with these people, Steve?'
  • Any time Bucky says something about his age and then has to brush it off.
    Bucky: There's a dance to these things. I haven't danced since 1943. (Beat) Feels like.
• The banker fanboying over meeting Falcon. He initially has trouble recognizing him until Sam puts out his hands in mock wings.
• In a bit of Black Comedy, Torres ending his text to Sam about him needing to call him on a secure line with #important like he’s sending a Tweet, combined with him sending a selfie of his bruised face, can come off as a bit funny. Many fans interpreted it as Torres getting beat up so hard that he forgot what app he was using at the moment.
• The cheeky little wink that the new "Captain America" gives the camera is just sheer Leaning on the Fourth Wall territory to everyone who expected Sam to be Captain America from the get-go. It just isn't gonna be that easy.

Episode 2: "The Star-Spangled Man"

• In his first scene, Walker voices his frustration about how being Captain America involves a lot of talking, handshaking, and literally performing the role of an Ideal Hero for an audience. This is exactly how Steve himself started out as Captain America, performing skits to sell war bonds. Lemar even calls him "the Star-Spangled Man with the Plan". We see him rehearsing his "Captain America" voice, which reminds Lemar why he failed drama class.
  • As Walker hypes himself up to go out and face his fans, instead of getting some epic orchestral arrangement or electronic cinematic music per the MCU norm, we get... a marching band arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Man" accompanying the Title In. It is as awesome as it is entirely out of nowhere, given the show's tone.
• Walker's first televised interview begins with the phrase "Good morning, America!" This wouldn't be funny on its own, but look at the network conducting the interview, and it quickly becomes hilarious.
  • The delivery of the line gives the impression that he's momentarily forgotten the name of the town he's in, what with all the press appearances he's done and his stage fright. Which would be especially hilarious as he's in his own hometown.
• The Running Gag of Bucky's "staring problem."
  • Which pays off at the end, with Dr. Raynor's "soul-gazing exercise". Sam snarks that Bucky was born for this, and Bucky both thanks the doctor and says that he's gonna enjoy it.
• Sam has noticed a pattern to Avenger-level threats:
  Sam: You don't have to trust Redwing. But I'm gonna go see if he's right. 'Cause I have a feeling they might be part of the Big Three.
  Bucky: What "Big Three"?
  Sam: The Big Three!
  Bucky: What "Big Three"?
  Sam: Androids, Aliens, and Wizards!
  Bucky: That's not a thing.
  Sam: That's definitely a thing!
  Bucky: No, it's not!
  Sam: Every time we fight, we fight one of the three!
  Bucky: So who are we fighting now, Gandalf?
  Sam: E— How do you know about Gandalf?
  Bucky: I read The Hobbit. In 1937, when it first came out!
  Sam: So you see my point!
  Bucky: No, I don't. There are no wizards!
  Sam: Doctor Strange!
  Bucky: ...is a sorcerer!
  Sam: A-ha ha! A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat!
  • Something to note is that The Hobbit came out in 1937 in the U.K. and wouldn't come to America until 1938. The meta-implication here is that Bucky either went out of his way to order a children's fantasy book from England, or found an advance copy somewhere.
    • The even funnier implication is Bucky, unlike Steve, spent a little more time getting used to modern culture than him. While he might not get every joke and reference, he'll get more than Steve did and also has a zinger ready to surprise people and remind them 'I was there for that'. Even if he did read the Hobbit when it came out in America, he knows when it came out in Britain no matter what and can LIE.
• Bucky tries to follow Sam out of the plane, only for Joaquín to tell him that he can't parachute out as they're flying too low. Bucky simply tears the sleeve from his jacket to reveal his vibranium arm (earning a fascinated look from Joaquín), and jumps... only to fall through a bunch of tree branches and fall flat on his back on the ground. Sam records all of this via Redwing.
  Bucky: Get out of my face, Sam, or I'll break it.
  • There's something inherently hilarious about the Winter Soldier, the most notorious assassin in the past 80 years, doing a high-pitched yell while jumping out of an airplane and ragdolling his way down a bunch of trees.
• While searching through the warehouse, Sam makes note of Buck's stealth capabilities:
  Sam: Look at you, all stealthy. A little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther.
  Bucky: It's White Wolf, actually.
  Sam: (nonplussed) Huh?
• During the fight on the cargo trucks, Karli snaps Redwing over her knee. Bucky, being held down by two Flag-Smashers, takes the time to say that he's always wanted to do that (paying off a Brick Joke from the tree dive earlier), before getting socked in the face by a Flag-Smasher.
• While Sam and Bucky walk along the road, Walker and Hoskins arrive in a Jeep. Walker tries opening the door for them:
  John Walker: So that didn't go as planned, huh?
  (Sam and Bucky keep walking, not acknowledging him)
• When asked by Bucky if he's ever jumped on a grenade, a Moment of Awesome for Steve that was literally the reason that he became Captain America, Walker says that of course he has... it's something he can do with his helmet. (It's reinforced!)
• The fact that Walker also uses the term "Big Three" for the types of threats that Sam mentioned earlier. It gets even funnier, because he segues into a speech about working together and being stronger when fighting as one, and all Bucky and Sam do is keep going on like he wasn't there. They've heard rousing speeches from the man who knew how to give them, and John Walker just isn't cutting it, especially when he gives up outright with the speech and just tells them to hop in because "it's twenty miles to the airport and you need a ride", coming across less like Captain America and more like an exasperated guy telling his colleagues to get in the car so they can go home already.
• After Sam and Bucky accept the ride, Walker asks if Bucky "always stares like that." Sam just says, "you get used to it."
• Sam asks Lemar Hoskins if he has another name, as that's the only one he's given them so far:
  Sam: I see a guy hanging out of a helicopter in tactical gear, I need a lot more than "Lemar Hoskins".
  Battlestar: I'm Battlestar, John's partner.
  Bucky: Battlestar? (Beat) STOP THE CAR!
• A man offers the Flag-Smashers food and a place to sleep, saying that he and his wife cooked a recipe "using the finest chicken livers", which gives Karli pause.
• Outside Isaiah Bradley's house, Sam has a conversation with a kid who assumes that his name is "Black Falcon":
  Sam: Is it because I'm Black and I'm The Falcon?
  Kid: Well, technically, I mean, yes.
  Sam: So are you, like, Black Kid?
  Kid: (sighs defeatedly)
• Dr. Raynor attempts the "miracle exercise" with Sam and Bucky (asking the question "if you were to wake up and find a miracle had occurred, what would it be?") Bucky says that his miracle would be Sam talking less. Sam says he was thinking the same thing.
  • Raynor, finding herself with no other choice, has them do a "soul gazing" exercise, which Sam says is "right up [Bucky's] alley". She has them get close together, leading to some fumbling as to where their legs go.
    Sam: Why do you have to have your legs open, man?!
  • The two get into a staring contest moments after the exercise begins, forcing Raynor to snap at them and yell "Just blink! Sweet Jesus."
  • Towards the end, it's extremely obvious that Sam, whose eyes have begun to twitch and water, was about to lose. Which makes sense, considering Bucky has the supersoldier serum running through his veins.
• When Sam asks Bucky if he's really OK with sitting in a room with Zemo, he responds in the affirmative in a tone that simultaneously mixes frustration, offense, and immaturity in a way that ends up being hilarious.

Episode 3: "Power Broker"

• Bucky has just broken Zemo out of prison, and he and Sam are having another argument.
  Zemo: If I may...
  Bucky and Sam: NO!
  Zemo: [pauses, shrugs, then nods and speaks very quietly] ...apologies.
  • Before that, when Sam asks Bucky about his plan, he tries to first bring it up as all just a hypothetical. Sam does not buy it for a second.
• Zemo's butler provides him with wine on the plane and apologizes for it being warm because the fridge is out. He also doesn't know if any of the food is good. Zemo's reply makes him chuckle.
  Zemo: [in Sokovian] If it doesn't pass the smell test, give it to them^note Sam and Bucky.
• Sam has to go undercover in Madripoor as the "Smiling Tiger", a Fashion-Victim Villain with an Atrocious Alias. Sam says that the Smiling Tiger dresses "like a pimp", but Zemo insists that he's just a "fashion-forward black man."
• Sam, in order to maintain his disguise, is forced to drink a shot of alcohol with snake innards in it. The comedy comes from watching him struggle to maintain a straight face and his gag reflex at the same time.
  • The real funny part is that Sam's alias is Falcon, a bird that eats snakes.
  • Made even funnier by Bucky nodding approvingly in the background and Sam offering a weak thumbs-up gesture for the drink.
• When Sam and Bucky are first getting shot at by the Power Broker's bounty hunters and are forced to start running, what's Sam's main problem?
  Sam: (running for his life) I CAN'T RUN IN THESE HEELS!
• Though it's part of her spiel about how things went south for her, Sharon's line summing up her part in Civil War is pretty hilarious:
  Sharon: I stole Cap's shield. I also took the wings for (points to Sam) your ass, so that you could save (points to Bucky) his ass from (points to Zemo) his ass.
• We get a long awaited Call-Back to a bit from Captain America: Civil War.
  Sam: You're not gonna move your seat up, are you?
  Bucky: No.
• In a Call-Back to his first appearance, Sam brings up Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" in front of Bucky. Then Zemo joins in.
  Bucky: Well, I like '40s music, so...
  Sam: You didn't like it?
  Bucky: I liked it.
  Zemo: It's a masterpiece, James. Complete. Comprehensive. It captures the African-American experience.
  [beat]
  Sam: Wh... I... He's out of line, but he's right.
  • Picture it, a scion of European nobility, a scion of HYDRA nobility, the ones who were too Nazi for the Nazis, just perfectly captioned an artistic masterpiece beloved by the black community. Sam's brief moment of absolute shock. Beautiful. There are a lot of reasons why "He's out of line, but he's right." went viral.
  • Just in general, Zemo's ability to agree with or compliment Sam in the most casually condescending way possible at any opportunity.
• When Sharon mentions that she hasn't been given any sort of pardon for having stolen the shield, Sam expresses his disbelief:
  Sam: They cleared the Bionic Staring Machine, and he's killed almost everybody he's met.
• Bucky hangs a pretty big lampshade on Sharon having Took a Level in Jerkass:
  Sharon: Before you were his pet psychopath, you were Mr. America! Cap's best friend!
  Bucky: Wow. She's kind of awful now.
• While hiding out in Madripoor, Sharon tells the trio to "enjoy the party" while she looks for a way to track down Dr. Nagel. We then cut to them actually attending the party that Sharon is hosting, where we get a 3-second shot of Zemo dancing to the beat — and his "dancing" is little more than stiffly swaying back and forth and awkwardly pumping his fist to the music, all while keeping a completely stoic expression.
  • Even better, Zemo dancing at all was improvised by Daniel Brühl, and he didn't even think that it would make it into the final episode.
• When Sam questions Sharon on enjoying living in Madripoor during a shooting, she says it's "not terrible".
• Sam, Sharon, and Bucky prepare to shoot their way out.
  Bucky: All right! Wait for my signal!
  *Sam starts firing and charges in by himself*
  Bucky: Damn it!
  • When they catch up back together:
    Bucky: I thought we were going left!
    Sam: You went the wrong way!
    Bucky: I was clearing the way!
    Sam: I came out first, you're supposed to follow me!
    Bucky: And where are we now?
    Sharon: Guys, not the time! *runs out of ammo* I'm out!
    Bucky: ... this is a barricade!
    Sam: It's in every action movie!
  • What makes Sam's last line hilarious is that he, a former Avenger (trained by Captain America and Black Widow) and member of the United States Air Force^note Granted, he was a pararescue airman, is relying on tactics from Hollywood action films.
    • The Air-Force Pararescue Unit are their Special Forces guys, the ones sent to get OTHER Special Forces and wounded troops out of hairy situations. This makes Sam's answer somehow both funnier and frustrating at the same time.
• Sharon brings the others to her house in Hightown, explaining that the stolen art in her gallery is real. Bucky backs her on this, saying that the art in most museums are actually replicas, and that the real things are in underground galleries like Sharon's. Sam picks up his phone to fact-check this:
  Sam: Okay, guys, I see what you're doing. You're more worldly than good old Sam...
  Bucky: Yeah. What's Google say?
  Sam: (looking at his phone, amazed) No shit!
• Sharon takes them upstairs so that they can change clothes. She walks in on Sam with his shirt off and gives an appreciative "Much better."
• When Sam (as the Smiling Tiger) is forced to answer Sarah's call on speaker phone by Selby, Sarah at one point is heard chiding one of her kids (like most exasperated mothers do)!
  Sarah: Cass! What did I tell you about the Cheerios?! I don't have time for this!

Episode 4: "The Whole World Is Watching"

• Zemo mentions that, "whatever happened" to Nagel, he can't help anyone any more. Sam snaps that it isn't some great mystery, Zemo shot him right in front of them. Zemo waves this off like a minor difference in opinion.
• Sam being the no-nonsense Avenger that he is—and having spent some time as a counselor for veterans—straight up sees through Zemo's extortion effort and, as Zemo does the "stupid head tilt thing" that Sam just mentioned, Zemo side-eyes Sam and deliberately straightens his head, with a chagrined look that someone called him out on the pattern. Must be a Sokovian thing.
  • Even funnier, he has a Cathartic Exhalation after the two leave, showing that despite his smugness, he is way less confident about his control of the whole situation than he lets on.
• Sam ends up using some Ambiguous Syntax and Bucky needs to clarify what he really meant:
  Zemo: [Karli] is a supremacist. The very concept of a Super Soldier will always trouble people. It's that warped aspiration that led to Nazis, to Ultron, to the Avengers.
  Sam: Hey, those are our friends you're talking about.
  Bucky: The Avengers, not the Nazis.
• Afterwards, when the three are talking about where to find Karli, Sam recalls an experience with his Tití (his aunt) where everyone in the community came together to mourn her, and that it's very likely that Karli will also hold a funeral procession for Donya with several of her community members (Karli included) in attendance. And then Zemo chimes in that Sam's Tití (again, his aunt) would be proud of him.
• Zemo gets information from a young refugee, and when the others see her later, he refers to her as his "contact." Sam and Bucky just roll with it, but Walker clearly doesn't understand how an eight year-old girl can be helpful.
  Walker: What the hell is going on?
• After getting clocked in the head by Walker throwing the shield, Zemo is next seen lying on a couch with a towel covering his eyes and a drink in his hand, looking as if he's suffering a killer hangover.
• When Walker pisses off Ayo and starts a fight that he can't win, Sam and Bucky just watch without helping (at first). Bucky even shouts some faux-encouragement to Walker just to rub it in, while Zemo takes a swig of his liquor.
  Sam: We should do something.
  Bucky: Looking strong, John!
  • When Bucky simply continues to stare gleefully at Walker getting his ass handed to him, Sam finally nudges him and says "Bucky..." warningly, much like a preschool teacher asking their young students to do something that they don't want to.
• The fact that Zemo straight-up leaves in the ensuing chaos between John/Lemar, Sam/Bucky, and the Dora Milaje by way of a hidden exit in the bathroom. He does it so casually and nonchalantly that you'd think he was just going to relieve himself and come back. When Sam and Bucky discover Zemo's escape, Sam lampshades how Zemo used the exact same method that El Chapo used to escape prison multiple times.
• Bucky's look of complete abject shock when Ayo strikes the pressure points to make his vibranium arm fall off. Despite coming after a period of deescalation, it's fairly sad with context. But the way his arm suddenly flops out of its socket, and that his idea of communicating his distress is by making Puppy-Dog Eyes at Ayo, causes it to be a little hilarious.
• This line from John becomes hilarious when you remember how much trouble his predecessor had with knives previously.
  John: What's with all the knives?!
• When fighting the Flag-Smashers, Sam bends over to blast them with his jetpack exhaust in a manner that makes it look like Fartillery.

Episode 5: "Truth"

• While also an awesome move, how do Sam and Bucky take out Walker? By having Bucky swing Walker into Sam's flying kick like a baseball bat.
• Bucky at one point blatantly flirts with Sarah in front of Sam, who then warns the super soldier and former international terrorist that he'll ask his friend Carlos to cut Bucky up and feed him to the fish if he tries it again.
  • Bucky flirts with Sarah again the next day anyways. It's not as if he's gonna be scared of Sam's friend Carlos.
  • The way it is presented is what makes it truly funny. Bucky greets Sarah and smiles. Sarah returns the greeting and smiles. Sam stares and frowns. No other words are spoken.
• While fixing the boat, Sam isn't able to repair a leaking gas pipe and Bucky has to fix it instead. He does it with his flesh arm. After Sam asks Bucky why he didn't just use his metal arm, Bucky tersely responds that he's right-handed and often forgets that he has a metal arm in the first place.
  • Made extra funny in hindsight when Sam is having trouble removing the old metal cover on a railing on the boat, and Bucky effortlessly rips it off... with his metal arm. Also, Sam's expression to this is the perfect mix of "Thanks" and "Show-off".
• Though it was after the very harsh scene of Walker's revocation, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's arrival and conversation with John was very... jarringly humorous. She is completely nonchalant, and it honestly feels that she belongs in a different show than this Darker and Edgier character piece. (Of course, this is Julia Louis-Dreyfus we're talking about here.)
  Valentina: Well, these boots are not made for walkin'. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Actually, it's Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. I know it's hard, but I don't like to repeat myself, so you can just call me Val. But don't call me Val, just keep it in your head.
  • Walker's complete silence and bemused expression during this scene implies that he's just as surprised as the viewers probably are.
  • She even casually slips a compliment to Walker's wife in the middle of her offer when things start getting awkward. Not that it helps. Not that she cares.
• Bucky pointedly telling Sam that he's looking for a motel room and not-so-subtly hinting that he needs a place to stay. Sam even calls him out on the obvious ploy.
• Cass and AJ Wilson playing with the shield like it's a toy is both adorable and hilariously inappropriate, considering how much importance so many people place on that thing.
  • Even more hilarious is how they react when Bucky greets them. AJ hurriedly tells Cass to put the shield back into its case, and when it falls over, both boys simply run away without bothering to prop it back up. It's adorable enough that Bucky can only smile.
• Zemo nonchalantly greeting the Dora Milaje who are about to escort him away.
  Zemo: Ladies.
• When Sam first starts doing exercises with the shield, we see the results of the first attempt-- the shield cutting half-way through a tree. Cut to Sam and Bucky standing around trees covered with padding.
• During the course of the boat repairs, Bucky can be seen twirling around a tool like a knife and attempting to stab it into thin air.
  • There is a montage of Bucky and Sam working together to fix the boat, seemingly covering a great period of time, only to reveal that it basically only covered maybe a few hours tops before Sarah woke up, and that she sincerely believes they have no idea what they're doing and doesn't want them working on the boat unsupervised. Sam's only defense is that they thought they could fix it before she got out of bed.

Episode 6: "One World, One People"

• The Running Gag of not knowing the whereabouts of Steve Rogers continues:
  Sam: I'm Captain America.
  GRC Representative: I thought Captain America was on the moon.
• "Seriously, Bucky, you had one job!"
  • One can't help but to wonder if this is a Shout-Out/Call-Back to Thor: Ragnarok...
    Loki: (to Skurge) You had one job. Just the one!
  • Bucky and Sharon seem to settle into a vitriolic dynamic, as Bucky describes Sharon being their backup as "unfortunate".
• Sam and Batroc's little, uh... "reunion":
  Batroc: You cost me a lot of money. I wonder how much I can get for your new bird costume.
  Sam: Maybe a baguette and a few French fries?
  • Considering the first time "bird costume" came up, one wonders if Batroc got it from Sharon herself.
• The Flag-Smashers' Audience Participation Failure when Karli prompts them to say their slogan after she suggests killing hostages.
• While Sam is pursuing Diego in the helicopter, the confrontation causes a number of concrete tubes to fall off of a ship, nearly crushing Sam and forcing him under water to avoid them. He pops out from the river a moment later, pissed off, and snarls, "Boy, you just earned this ass-whoopin'!"
  • There's a 'Falcons don't do well underwater' joke there somewhere...
• After the last episode ended on the dramatic buildup of John Walker creating his own Captain America shield, when he finally uses it in this episode, it's rather anti-climatic. When he first tosses it at Karli, she manages to deflect it by kicking it. And by the end of the scuffle, it is completely dented up and destroyed.
• John quotes Abraham Lincoln ("Mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice") after the two ambush the remainder of Karli's Flag Smashers at the end. Bucky's reaction is utterly priceless.
  Bucky: Lincoln, really?
  John: Great man, great quote.
  Bucky: Not when you say it.
  • Note, as well, the unintended hilarity of Walker pulling out the Lincoln quote on the man named after his much-resented predecessor.
  • It also helps that John delivers the quote with a huge shit-eating grin, while waving a phone in the air, after several episodes of him being increasingly angry and frustrated. It makes for a serious Bathos moment.
• While it happens during a particularly tense moment, seeing Bucky nonchalantly grabbing yet another projectile out of the air makes you wonder how many damn times he's had to save his allies' asses doing so.
• The Running Gag of Falcon being called "Black Falcon" rears its ugly head once more.
• After Sam's speech, Bucky says he was too busy texting to pay attention to it adding he only caught "black man and the stars and stripes".
• The remaining Flag-Smashers are killed in an explosion, and as far as the law is concerned, the perpetrator is a mystery. We in the audience know that it was Oeznik who planted the bomb. In other words, The Butler Did It.
  • Another piece of dark humor in the expectation subversion. As the Flag-Smashers are being loaded into the truck, one of the officers whispers "One world, one people", which makes you expect that the Flag-Smashers will be broken out. Instead they all get blown up.
• Walker's reaction to his new U.S. Agent costume.
  Walker: It's the same! But black!
• Seeing Sam's nephew and another friend hang off of Bucky's arm at the end is equal parts wholesome and hilarious.
  • Speaking of which, while Bucky is holding the two kids up and showing off his super strength, he's doing it to impress Sarah.
  • Closer inspection of Bucky's dialogue as he's talking to Sarah has him discussing his interest in cohabiting with Sam, at that.
    Bucky: Sam and I were gonna live together. The truth is I would do it, it's just he's not good at sharing anything.
  • And meanwhile, Sam is taking photos with the locals, and one of the women Glomps him. He's Captain America. It comes with the territory.
• When the reporters crowd around Sam asking about the new suit and shield, one of them asks if his name is Captain Falcon.
• Later, someone tries to get Sam's attention by asking "Captain?" And he completely blanks until Sharon reminds him that that means him.

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Miscellaneous

• After the release of Episode 3, fans jokingly demanded Marvel to release an extended clip of Zemo dancing after Daniel Brühl said during an interview that there was more footage of Zemo dancing that was cut from the episode, dubbing it the "Zemo Cut". Marvel actually responded by releasing a one-hour long extended cut. And considering how quick they released it, one had to wonder if they knew how memetic it was and had it prepared beforehand.
• Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie recounted some stories about Daniel Bruhl and his ah, exploits ^note although their costar Wyatt Russell has claimed the two have an ongoing competition to see who can tell the biggest lie, so keep that in mind.
  Sebastian Stan: We were in Prague and we were staying in this hotel, and I was going to take the elevator, and - I'm waiting for the elevator, and it's finally like 'ding!' The doors part, and Daniel Brühl's sitting there in a robe and wet hair, and like, the actual mirrors of the elevator had been fogged up because he'd just come out of the steam room - like he'd carried the whole thing with him. I just remember him looking up as [the elevator dinged] with a deep - I saw like half of his chest, and he just looked at me like "Is this the fifth floor?" And I was like "oh God, this is only going to get more interesting now!"
  Anthony Mackie: So one day, we're sitting in the lobby, and they're shooting this— it was like a German... I don't know. There were like twenty actors from some German TV show in Germany, something. So, we come out and Brühl is like [he adopts an absolutely terrible attempt at Brühl's accent] "Oh, hello!" And he knows all of them. So he goes— he's speaking French, Spanish and German, and then he turns to me and he goes "Mackie-na! I am a big deal."
  Sebastian Stan: No, no, that's true, he— he used to go around calling Anthony "Ex Mackie-na" ^note Ex Machina. Like, "Where is Ex Mackie-na?"
• The crew was so determined that Julia Louis-Dreyfus' presence in the show not leak that she was smuggled into the set under a heavy cloak, much like what they did for Evan Peters in WandaVision. Thankfully, they were much more successful in covering up her appearance here, whereas Evan Peters' appearance was leaked relatively early on.
• In the Assembled behind-the-scenes documentary, Baron Zemo decides to film "Suitkovia", an infomercial advertising the many products of his Sokovian clothing line.
• In this Xbox commercial created as a tie-in for the series, Aaron (the Apple Store employee from Captain America: The Winter Soldier) demonstrates the Xbox to Sam Wilson. At the very end of the commercial, he reveals that his online handle is NoobMaster69.

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