Sam Wilson, a.k.a. The Falcon, has gone back to working for the US Air Force and learns of a new threat on the horizon whilst dealing with family troubles back in Louisiana. Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes desperately tries to reintegrate into society but struggles with nightmares of his past as the Winter Soldier.
Tropes:
- Action Prologue: The first scene features an airborne battle with Sam rescuing a kidnapped military captain from the LAF.
- Aerial Canyon Chase: Sam chases Batroc and his wingsuit-wearing mooks through a canyon in Tunisia.
- The Aloner: Bucky has been isolated from everyone else now that Steve is gone and is even ignoring Sam's text messages.
- Ambiguous Situation:
- It's implied that nobody but Sam and Bucky (as well as the not-appearing Bruce Banner) know what really happened to Steve after the Blip. As far as the world at large is concerned, Captain America is gone.
- Bucky could either be suffering typical PTSD or have some form of Brainwash Residue, as he does show some unusual tics in his regular behavior. HYDRA brainwashing is known to mess up its victims in unpredictable ways, so the latter is not outside the realm of possibility.
- And I Must Scream: In Civil War, Bucky tells Tony he remembers all of his victims. As it turns out, he was fully conscious under the brainwashing effects of HYDRA.
- Apologetic Attacker: Torres, wearing a Flag-Smasher mask, is briefly held at gunpoint by a Swiss policeman. They tussle, and Torres overpowers him before apologizing and making himself scarce.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: The LAF pilot spots Sam landing on the plane but is laughed off by the others, despite Sam being far from the only MCU hero capable of that.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: When listing out the rules for Bucky to make amends, Rule #1 being to do nothing illegal and Rule #2 (the most important one) to not hurt anyone, Bucky immediately questions why "not hurting people" isn't Rule #1. Raynor doesn't indulge him by stating the obvious (i.e. hurting people is illegal).
- The Atoner: Bucky has been trying to make amends for his time as the Winter Soldier as part of his therapy, by bringing to justice the people he helped put in power and by befriending an old man whose son The Winter Soldier killed.
- Atrocious Alias: Sam describes the Flag-Smashers as "bad guys giving themselves bad names," though Torres alleges that there are even worse names.
- Attack Drone: Redwing is still one, with significant improvements. Not only does it now possess a laser with which to cut through hard surfaces (such as airplane metal), it also has miniaturized missiles and a Gatling gun that can neutralize helicopters.
- Automated Automobiles: Bucky puts a device on the corrupt congresswoman's car that allows him to remote control it. He uses it to scare her a bit until a SWAT team arrives to arrest her.
- Bad Liar:
- Not used to having conversations with civilians, Bucky keeps letting slip his true identity to Yori and Leah. However, he quickly covers it up, and it's too far-fetched for them to believe in the first place.
- Played straight with his therapist, however. He keeps insisting that he hasn't had a nightmare recently, to which she responds that Bucky's been there long enough that she knows exactly when he's lying to her.
- Barrier-Busting Blow: In the flashback, the Winter Soldier attacks one of his targets by punching through the wall behind the man and dragging him through the resulting hole.
- Break Out the Museum Piece: Technically, as at the beginning, Sam donates the shield to the Smithsonian, but days later, the Government decides to give it to John Walker as the new Captain America.
- The Cameo:
- Batroc returns and, as with his previous outing, he gives a superhero a run for his money, even surviving their encounter. This time, however, it's Sam fighting him and not Cap.
- James Rhodes appears at Cap's shield-returning ceremony at the Smithsonian to talk to Sam and ask why he didn't take up the mantle.
- Call-Back:
- Sam carries the shield to the Smithsonian event in the same case that Steve had it in when he gave it to Sam at the end of Endgame.
- Bucky is seen sleeping on the floor while having nightmares. One specific trauma discussed both by Sam and Steve (in the former's debut film with the Winter Soldier, no less) would be how returning veterans would find their bed "too soft", complicating their adjustment to civilian life.
- When the subject of his dating history comes up, Bucky notes that he hasn't been on a date since 1943. In other words, the double date that he and Steve had back in The First Avenger.
- Cassandra Truth: Bucky tells Leah that he is 106 years old. She believes that it’s a joke, and the two laugh it off.
- Catapult Nightmare: Bucky's dream about killing Yori's son ends right as Bucky shoots him; he jerks upright as he wakes up.
- Commonality Connection:
- Rhodey's talk with Sam about picking up Captain America's mantle has the unspoken undercurrent that they are both the best friends of the two former leaders of the Avengers, one who is dead and the other retired, and they both have to continue their respective legacies.
- Bucky's therapist Dr. Raynor used to be a soldier, so she understands that someone who has killed before will be haunted by the guilt in moments of quiet and uses this knowledge to call Bucky out on his bullshit for wanting peace in his freedom.
- Conspicuous Gloves: Bucky's date notices his gloves (which he wears to hide his vibranium arm since only wearing one glove would be odd). He claims to have bad circulation, which technically isn't a lie.
- Continuity Nod:
- One of the photographs in the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian is an image of Steve using a door from a cab as a makeshift shield to deflect bullets from a HYDRA assassin. While the image used is just a still frame from Captain America: The First Avenger, sure enough, there actually was a person taking photographs of Steve
doing that in the original scene. - The text of the Smithsonian exhibit also mentions that Steve Rogers had gotten help during his time on the lam post-Civil War from contacts within S.H.I.E.L.D., making this the first MCU installment other than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to acknowledge the agency's continued existence and second period of public operations after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
- Bucky uses a device to remotely control a regular sedan. One can guess where he got that tech.
- This isn't the first time that Bucky has broken up a fight in an alleyway. Leah also points out Bucky not being drunk, which is an allusion to Bucky's friend who also has that same disposition.
- Bucky being set up on a date by an older gentleman refers to the time his best friend received similar treatment by Stan Lee in a deleted scene.
- Again, like his friend, Bucky has his own list, although his is a lot less fun.
- One of the photographs in the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian is an image of Steve using a door from a cab as a makeshift shield to deflect bullets from a HYDRA assassin. While the image used is just a still frame from Captain America: The First Avenger, sure enough, there actually was a person taking photographs of Steve
- Crazy-Prepared: Batroc has multiple contingencies in place for his kidnapping in the opening sequence. This includes helicopters for secondary and tertiary extraction and dedicated gunships to try to take out any pursuers. However, Sam is just that good at handling everything thrown his way.
- Creator Cameo: The list of "Vanished" in the Smithsonian includes many people who worked for Marvel Studios, such as prop makers, production assistants, storyboard artists, and dialect coaches.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The shootout in the flashback doesn't even last a minute, with The Winter Soldier killing everyone in the room without suffering so much as a scratch.
- Dark Reprise: Captain America's theme from Captain America: The Winter Soldier gets a somber but no less bombastic reprise when John Walker is introduced as Captain America at the end of the episode.
- Dark Secret: Bucky killed Yori's son during a mission due to him witnessing the then-Winter Soldier assassinating a target, and Bucky still feels guilty about it.
- Deadly Dodging: During the opening rescue, Sam has to deal with a couple of gunships. After a lucky shot disables Redwing, it looks like Sam's in trouble, especially when they fire heat-seeking missiles. Until he sends their missiles back at them.
- Decoy Getaway: Karli Morgenthau hands out Flag-Smasher masks to a flashmob, right as her compatriots are about to escape.
- Disney Villain Death: During Sam's rescue mission, four or five of Batroc's men fall to their deaths.
- Double-Meaning Title: "New World Order" could refer to the way of life in the post-Endgame world; it could also refer to the borderless world society that the Flag-Smashers wish to instate.
- Drinking Game: Bucky's date with Leah the bartender is a game of Battleship where every wrong guess results in the guesser taking a sip.
- The Dutiful Son: Sarah portrays herself in this light. She makes it a point to remind Sam that while he was off fighting evil with the Avengers, she stayed at their Louisiana home, managing their family's fishing business.
- Eye Scream: Torres reveals to Sam that the stomp to the face that he received from Dovich after he attempted to arrest him hit him so hard, it fractured his orbital bone.
- Fan Disservice: We get a shot of Bucky wearing nothing but his boxers, but it's in the context of him waking from a very distressing Catapult Nightmare that ended on an innocent civilian being murdered.
- Finishing Stomp: Torres puts up a brief fight against Dovich, but he quickly gets Punched Across the Room and knocked unconscious with a stomp hard enough to fracture his orbital bone.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Other than Wakanda, this is the first time that Bucky has been able to live in peace as a civilian, and he is still weirded out by mundane stuff, like a maneki neko that won't stop moving its arm.
- Flashmob: The Flag Smashers set one up as a distraction for a robbery by pulling together strangers, handing out masks, and then getting them moving.
- Foreshadowing: When Bucky takes out his book to scratch Senator Atwood off his list, you can barely make out the name Y. Nakajima as the first name on the next page.
- Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Bucky has received a pardon by the government, granting him amnesty from his past actions as the Winter Soldier as well as being a fugitive for not signing the Sokovia Accords. However, it's not unconditional; to make sure he doesn't relapse, he must attend mandatory counseling sessions to come to terms with his past and make amends in a responsible and legal way.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus:
- Bucky's list of names. One of those included is "H. Zemo".
- An audio version. During his date with Leah, Bucky turns around, looking distracted while Leah pulls out a game of Battleship. A close listen will reveal police sirens in the distance, and Bucky probably heard them and got paranoid due to his past as a fugitive.
- Guilt-Induced Nightmare: Bucky has a nightmare in which he relives killing Yori's son to cover up an assassination.
- Heroism Won't Pay the Bills: Discussed in the Wilsons' bank meeting. Despite being an Avenger and elite military operative, Sam can't get a loan for his family's business on his name alone when he has no financial records for the previous five years (even though, for those five years, he didn't exist), and Stark Industries evidently didn't have him on their payroll.
- Hollywood Board Games: Leah invites Bucky to play strip Battleship to cheer him up. Whoever misses a hit has to drink a shot. This conveys Leah's considerate and playful nature as well as subtly nodding to her profession — she's a bartender, so she's got to know lots of Drinking Games. It also represents that despite Bucky's terrible actions while brainwashed, there's hope for a better future.
- I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: One LAF terrorist opens fire on Sam inside the hijacked USAF plane with an automatic weapon. The bullets ricochet off the shield, one of which ends up hitting the pilot.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Played with: Bucky's a younger-looking man looking after an old, distraught father, Yori Nakajima — but considering he's actually a century-old, Yori is technically younger than he is. This is also Played for Drama, as it is eventually revealed that Bucky's friendship with Yori is his ongoing attempt to atone for murdering his son as the Winter Soldier — who had the misfortune of being on-site during one of the Soldier's assassination missions.
- Jerkass Has a Point: The banker makes a ruthless point that countless people are trying to apply for a loan after the last five years of societal collapse and economic downturn. It's not uncommon for banks, real estate companies, etc., to tighten their restrictions and pretexts for accepting applications to deal with a large surplus of applicants. On top of that, Sam is not really a good candidate for a loan. While he may be earning a lot of money as an elite military contractor, the jobs that he takes are very high risk. If he dies, the bank will not get its money back.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Explained and discussed during Bucky's counseling session. Senator Atwood got into power through Bucky's actions thanks to HYDRA's manipulations. Because she wasn't a direct member of HYDRA, she escaped punishment. Years later, Bucky discovered that she was continuing to abuse the power she gained through him, so he planted a listening device on her car and provided the incriminating audio to the authorities, leading to her arrest.
- Leave No Witnesses: What happened to Yori Nakajima's son— Bucky killed him after he witnessed the then-Winter Soldier assassinating a target. Bucky feels intensely guilty about this in the present day.
- Legacy Character: Sam decides not to take up the mantle of Captain America and donates the shield to the Smithsonian, only for the U.S. Government to turn around and give the shield to a new Captain America of their choice to fight the Flag-Smashers.
- Leitmotif: Henry Jackman's rendition of the various characters' themes in The Winter Soldier and Civil War show up throughout the episode.
- Falcon's motif appears as he chases after the LAF terrorists in the beginning scene of the episode.
- The Winter Soldier's haunting melody plays over Bucky's nightmare flashback.
- A Dark Reprise of Captain America's rousing theme from "Taking a Stand" plays over John Walker's first appearance.
- Maneki Neko: Bucky notices one of these in the bar where Leah works and stops its arm for a moment. It resumes once he lets go.
- The Matchmaker: While the two are having lunch, Yori tells Leah, their bartender, that Bucky wants to go out with her. She accepts.
- Meta Casting: A variant. Sam Wilson is revealed to be involved in his family's fishing business in Louisiana and is frustrated at the idea of having to sell it due to his sister falling on hard times. His actor is from New Orleans and has a strong passion for fishing; he once bragged that he could fish year-round by being in Louisiana in the winter and New York in the summer. Since the comic book character is from Harlem, this is likely drawn intentionally from Mackie's life.
- Misguided Missile: Falcon flies right next to an enemy helicopter during the Aerial Canyon Chase as guided missiles target him. One of the missiles hits the helicopter as a result.
- Must Make Amends: Bucky has a list of people to whom he must make amends for what he's done as the Winter Soldier. Some were victims or relatives or such, while others are ones that HYDRA helped out. Once he has made amends, he has to follow Raynor's Rule Number 3, which is saying, "I am not the Winter Soldier. I am James Bucky Barnes, and you are part of my efforts to make amends."
- Morally Bankrupt Banker: The banker that Sam and Sarah meet asks a series of vaguely insulting questions about how Sam made a living as an Avenger. He also treats Sam as not having existed for five years like something suspicious, even though it applies to a randomly distributed entire half of the human race. This is despite Sam actually having a high-paying (albeit high-risk) job as a government contractor. After denying them a loan based on nonspecific changing circumstances, he then has the audacity to try and get a second selfie with Sam. Racism is also cited, as Sarah openly wonders if they've been really denied a loan simply because they're black, which unfortunately has a significant historical precedent in America.
- My Name Is Inigo Montoya: Bucky is under orders to say this to anyone that he stops in the name of atonement, introducing himself as James "Bucky" Barnes. Justified because it draws a clear line between who he was as the Winter Soldier and who he is now.
- Mythology Gag:
- The first name on Bucky's list is "A. Rostov". Col. Andre Rostov was a KGB officer in the comics and the villain known as the Red Barbarian.
- Batroc is seen in the opening wearing a purple jacket and yellow undershirt, evoking the colors of his comic book costume.
- The first issue of Captain America #1 where Cap punches Hitler can be seen on display at the Smithsonian.
- Needle in a Stack of Needles: Torres joins a Flag-Smasher flash mob where everyone is handed a mask. A message then instructs them to run as a superpowered mook breaks out of the bank with bags of cash. With everyone scattering, the police have no idea who to target.
- Never Gets Drunk: Leah the bartender remarks that Bucky can drink a lot. He and his best friend have that in common.
- Never Trust a Trailer: In the Official Trailer, a closeup of Sam is shown where he assures Bucky that he does have a plan. In this episode, the same shot is used, but instead, it's with Sam telling Torres that he's found another way to keep going after he fixes his jetpack, with Bucky never directly interacting with Sam during the course of the episode.
- Noodle Incident: Bucky mentions that he's tried online dating at some point. Apparently, the hundred-year-old cyborg super-soldier was weirded out by what he saw.
- Now What?: Bucky's therapist tells him that he is now free due to his pardon from the government; Bucky point-blank asks her, "To do what?"
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Bucky's neighbor Yori, and the serving girl he goes on a date with, talk about how hard it is not knowing how or why Yori's son died, unaware that Bucky has just had a nightmare about killing said son during one of his assassination missions as The Winter Soldier in order to Leave No Witnesses.
- Outliving One's Offspring:
- Yori is burdened with grief over his son's death and the cause of death being unknown in particular.
- Leah discusses the trope, pointing out that while terms exist for a husband outliving his wife and a child outliving their parent, the lack of an equivalent one for a parent outliving their child emphasizes its tragic nature. It is not supposed to happen, ever.
- The Pardon: Bucky has been officially pardoned for the crimes that he committed as the Winter Soldier, as well as being a fugitive after not signing the Sokovia Accords. That said, it's not unconditional; to maintain its legitimacy, he has to attend regular therapy sessions to ensure his stability.
- Past Experience Nightmare: Bucky has been having nightmares about the people that he killed as the Winter Soldier, especially the innocent ones.
- Precision F-Strike: The therapist tells Bucky that what he's saying is "utter bullshit," thereby confirming this show ain't WandaVision.
- Prefers Rocks to Pillows: Bucky is shown sleeping on his apartment floor with only a pillow, a blanket, and no mattress. Considering that he's been a soldier for nearly a hundred years, it's understandable.
- Refusal of the Call: Sam places Captain America's shield in the Smithsonian, unwilling and uncomfortable with taking up Steve's mantle. Unfortunately, the United States government has other ideas and selects their own Captain America.
- Sarcastic Confession: Bucky's date asks how old he is. He tells her the truth: 106. They laugh.
- Shout-Out:
- Dr. Raynor shares her last name with Jim Raynor, similarly a foul-mouthed military veteran who serves as an advisor to the protagonist.
- The corrupt senator that Bucky exposes is named Atwood (director Kari Skogland had previously worked on the book's Hulu adaptation).
- The Shrink: Bucky is seeing Dr. Raynor, a therapist with military experience. She is helping him with his Winter Soldier issues.
- Starter Villain: Georges Batroc serves as the first antagonist that Sam goes up against. It's stated that he and his crew were taking advantage of the post-Endgame chaos to earn an easy payday, and there's no indication in this episode that he has any ties to the Flag Smashers.
- Stuka Scream: The plane that was hijacked by Batroc briefly makes a Stuka siren sound when it starts plunging after one of the bullets that bounced off Falcon's wings-in-shield-mode kills the pilot, despite being a Lockheed C-130 "Hercules" and not a Junker 87 "Stuka".
- That Man Is Dead: Bucky's therapy involves directly distancing himself from his former identity as the Winter Soldier. Rule number 3 of his amends is that he says to the person, "I am no longer the Winter Soldier. I am James Bucky Barnes, and you're part of my efforts to make amends."
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Part of Bucky's atonement process involves making amends with those he interacted with during his time as the Winter Soldier. That includes sparing the life of a corrupt senator and her associates so a band of SWAT agents can apprehend them. Justified because it's explicitly said that he's not allowed to hurt anyone or break the law, to distance him from the attack dog that HYDRA turned him into.
- Truth in Television:
- Sarah accuses the banker of not giving them a loan because they're black. Textually, this isn't the case, since the Banker goes on to (somewhat) validly argue that most financial institutes have tightened their requirements after the Snap and his hands are tied in the matter, but racial discrimination like this has actually been an enormous problem for African-Americans, as historically banks have been able to choose the flimsiest of pretexts to deny loans, while actually choosing to deny them for racist reasons. Anthony Mackie actually starred in a film regarding this very problem.
- Bucky's behaviour is largely stemming from his guilt and trauma over being the Winter Soldier, but it also greatly mirrors the experience of both returning vets and former inmates when they return to civilian life. What we see of Bucky's life specifically, such as him sleeping on the floor and waking up from traumatic memories, speaks much to the former, while his therapy sessions (which are explicitly a requirement of his pardon) and his attempts to make amends for his crimes mirror the experiences of the latter. If one cut out the Brainwashed and Crazy Super-Soldier angle, it'd seem a very realistic portrayal of both experiences.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Institutionally, the U.S. government comes off like one. Sam willingly surrendered Captain America's shield as a permanent exhibit to the Smithsonian, publicly acknowledging that no-one has the right to claim the heavy moral high ground that Captain America represents just yet. By the end of the episode, the U.S. government openly declares that they have "a new Captain America" and they even gave him Captain America's shield. Then again, it's very likely that — much like how Steve and Sam were treated in Civil War — the U.S. government treats them and their equipment as U.S. government property, which they will use as they see fit.
- Unreliable Expositor: Bucky claims to have followed Raynor's three rules, though he's lying about the first two. Although the second rule being broken could be justified as self-defense due to the Mook pulling a gun on him.
- The Unsmile: Part of Bucky's amends process is renouncing his Winter Soldier identity and affirming his true one with a smile. It looks awkward and pained, especially when given to a corrupt senator who benefited from his crimes.
- Verbal Backspace: Bucky tells Nakimora that "I haven't danced since 1943. Feels like."
- Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Subverted as it's the opposite here. The Super Soldier Steve took down Batroc fairly easily back in The Winter Soldier, but he proves a significantly harder challenge for Sam, who lacks any superhuman abilities.
- Warrior Therapist: Bucky's therapist was a soldier herself and doesn't trust Bucky when he says that all he wants now that he's free is peace.
- Wham Shot:
- Viewers may have their suspicions about Yori's son, and the memorial in his apartment confirms he's the man Bucky just had a nightmare about, who The Winter Soldier killed for witnessing an assassination.
- The final scene has the U.S. government revealing that it has appointed a new Captain America, and he now holds the shield that Sam gifted to the Smithsonian.
- What Happened to the Mouse?:
- In-universe, everybody's wondering where Captain America/Steve Rogers is. There's a rumor that he's on the moon, looking down at the world, and that Sam brought him there.
- In the opening action scene, Sam dives out of a hijacked Air Force C-17 flying on autopilot after its hijacker pilot is killed by crossfire. Whatever happened to the plane with its only occupants now dead is never addressed.
- Writer on Board: The scene in which Sam and his sister were trying to get a loan was meant to evoke the image of a black family being denied a loan by a racist institution, which is why the reasons for denying Sam the loan were either punishing him for heroism (he didn't have a regular salary as an Avenger, his current job as a military contractor is dangerous) or for things that weren't his fault (he was blipped out of existence for five years). The fact that Sam betrayed his former employer, went to prison, and was a fugitive for two years is never given as a reason for denying the loan. It might have even added an interesting layer to Sam's later interactions with Zemo if his deception in Civil War continued to have practical consequences for Sam. But a perfectly valid reason for denying Sam the loan based on what was entirely Sam's choice would have undermined the Does This Remind You of Anything? that they were going for.
- Also, despite being an Avengers fanboy, the loan officer never suggests getting Pepper Potts to cosign. But again, an obvious and easily workable solution wouldn't match what they were trying to invoke.
