Trailer drops tonight and I can't wait.

This and The Eternals are the two Marvel things I'm looking forward to the most.

...is Wanda is having psychic breaks and creating pocket universes that resemble TV shows. And somehow this ties into the next Dr. Strange movie.

It's a slow burn, but that fire is getting HOT.

It's a mystery, and each week they pull off an increasingly thick layer.

They're halfway through the season, and they've already laid the foundation for multiple future characters and major story arcs. It's incredibly ambitious, and they're mostly nailing it.


Hell, we're halfway through the season and they just brought in

SERIOUS SPOILER













The Quicksilver from the X-Men shows.

hopefully, they pull the whole thing off. I also hope they take it there and do a Full House. Either way, it looks intriguing.

But I'm finally starting to feel the fatigue.

This is coming from a diehard comic book fan. And as a teenager Marvel Comics was my lifeline.

But seriously the last 30 minutes of Endgame gave me pretty much everything I could want from a superhero franchise. I feel like the moment Captain America grabbed Mjolnir, I was DONE. It might have forever ruined MCU movies for me. How do you even top that?

I guess I'll see Black Widow, The Eternals and whatever show is going to be on Disney+, but I can't say that any of it excites me. Thor 4 is way more promising, but mostly because of Taika Watiti--and even so, that doesn't come out until 2021 or 22. I feel like I ran a marathon and now I have to jog my ass home and immediately start training for another marathon.

If the DCEU hadn't shat the bed so quickly I would have been excited to see how that unfolded. I don't know. Maybe Birds of Prey will be a welcome change of pace.

Hopefully Kevin Feige foresaw fans feeling like this and is about to throw a curveball.

I’ll stick around to see what they do with the X-Men and Fantastic 4

and betrayed some of the essence of what made Avengers movies and the MCU as a whole, work so well.

I've gone ad nauseum about this in so many forums, but just saying, they left something on the table..

>But I'm finally starting to feel the fatigue.
>
>This is coming from a diehard comic book fan. And as a
>teenager Marvel Comics was my lifeline.
>
>But seriously the last 30 minutes of Endgame gave me pretty
>much everything I could want from a superhero franchise. I
>feel like the moment Captain America grabbed Mjolnir, I was
>DONE. It might have forever ruined MCU movies for me. How do
>you even top that?
>
>I guess I'll see Black Widow, The Eternals and whatever show
>is going to be on Disney+, but I can't say that any of it
>excites me. Thor 4 is way more promising, but mostly because
>of Taika Watiti--and even so, that doesn't come out until 2021
>or 22. I feel like I ran a marathon and now I have to jog my
>ass home and immediately start training for another marathon.
>
>
>If the DCEU hadn't shat the bed so quickly I would have been
>excited to see how that unfolded. I don't know. Maybe Birds of
>Prey will be a welcome change of pace.
>
>Hopefully Kevin Feige foresaw fans feeling like this and is
>about to throw a curveball.

>But seriously the last 30 minutes of Endgame gave me pretty
>much everything I could want from a superhero franchise. I
>feel like the moment Captain America grabbed Mjolnir, I was
>DONE. It might have forever ruined MCU movies for me. How do
>you even top that?

Well, considering who just showed up at the end of WandaVision, they kind of just did that.

There's still a ridiculous amount of material to mine going forward, especially with the Fox acquisition. We can get a proper Secret Wars.

We're getting Secret Invasion as a series.

We got Kang the Conqueror coming soon.

Fantastic 4 and Doctor Doom waiting in the wings.

The X-Men, which all by itself could prop up a massive cinematic universe, and would have if Fox knew what they were doing.

They'll fuck around and bring Onslaught to the big screen one day, which, while not terribly well received in the fandom, could make for a massive- and very good- Phase arc.

They've only scratched the surface. There's so much left.

>But I'm finally starting to feel the fatigue.
>
>This is coming from a diehard comic book fan. And as a
>teenager Marvel Comics was my lifeline.
>
>But seriously the last 30 minutes of Endgame gave me pretty
>much everything I could want from a superhero franchise. I
>feel like the moment Captain America grabbed Mjolnir, I was
>DONE. It might have forever ruined MCU movies for me. How do
>you even top that?
>
>I guess I'll see Black Widow, The Eternals and whatever show
>is going to be on Disney+, but I can't say that any of it
>excites me. Thor 4 is way more promising, but mostly because
>of Taika Watiti--and even so, that doesn't come out until 2021
>or 22. I feel like I ran a marathon and now I have to jog my
>ass home and immediately start training for another marathon.
>
>
>If the DCEU hadn't shat the bed so quickly I would have been
>excited to see how that unfolded. I don't know. Maybe Birds of
>Prey will be a welcome change of pace.
>
>Hopefully Kevin Feige foresaw fans feeling like this and is
>about to throw a curveball.

https://twitter.com/MarvelStudios/status/1358564490107899909?s=190

Marvel has stockpiled a ton of goodwill so far that while I may not know what they are planning on doing, I have faith it will work (for the most part). Pulling off Guardians was proof enough for me.

I’m along for the ride no matter what.

but with what they've pulled off so far, I'll watch the whole thing and find out.

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
I'm an advocate for working smarter, not harder. If you just
focus on working hard you end up making someone else rich and
not having much to show for it. (c) mad

and if Sam and Bucky get charged with treason against the US Govt for
not falling in line with this new Cap the powers that be are about to prop up.

Obviously this is all gonna wrap up in some big action stuff, but it's good to see pretty early on that Black Panther isn't going to remain an anomaly.


Bummed I looked at the Wikipedia page to confirm if that was Edie Falco before the episode was over, spoiled the surprise at the end of the episode (assuming you don't read the press, I guess) and I'm already kind of bummed out this won't be longer. There's a little Watchmen/The Boys flavor in there as well.


What a palette cleanser after Justice League this morning.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

This feels like a movie and this episode was awesome as we got big Marvel action but also a lot of character work that's so well done and probably would've been cut if this was in theaters.

But yeah, this was the first half of the first act. Not complaining, just an observation.

I'm enjoying how these shows are giving us what's happening with the world and people post IW/EG. Its obvious these shows are the bridges between the phases, which I guess Agents of SHIELD was trying to do.

The stuff with Sam and his sister was great and I enjoyed the opening with Batroc. I'm always happy to see George St. Pierre, so it looks like he could possibly return and I like that they just aren't killing off folks.


The Buckey stuff was good and you know it's going to be some good action. Hopefully we get more WS flashbacks.


Like bwood said, it feels like the First Act and I for one enjoy the slow build that appears to be happening with the Marvel series.

..its not just the character & plot development that's evolving.

*If you haven't watched Disney Gallery for the Mandalorian, do yourself a favor and check it out.

That said, Falcon and the Winter Soldier is showing balance/pacing in a way that most people have never seen on tv. Mackie & Stan are kicking ass in action AND acting, showing the range we've yet to see from them in film.



*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

>..its not just the character & plot development that's
>evolving.
>
>*If you haven't watched Disney Gallery for the Mandalorian, do
>yourself a favor and check it out.
>
>That said, Falcon and the Winter Soldier is showing
>balance/pacing in a way that most people have never seen on
>tv. Mackie & Stan are kicking ass in action AND acting,
>showing the range we've yet to see from them in film.
>
>

^yep all of this. and yeah we REALLY dug that Disney Gallery stuff on the Mandalorian too.


�
have you listened to
her stuff?
v

http://www.meshell.com/site/
https://www.facebook.com/officialmeshell?fref=ts
http://www.freemyheart.com


RIP David Williams:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Williams_(guitarist)

Loved the action stuff AND the character stuff.
think im gonna enjoy Marvel TV more than Marvel movies because of that, they'll be able to have enough time to flesh out characters more, give them reasons and motivations which can the actions more impactful.

"...which can make their action situations more impactful".

you've got good actors here, nice to finally give them a range of material that allows them to act! :) i've never cared for or appreciated either character HALF as much as i do now only after one episode (i mean, i always thought they were ok, but NOW i actually GIVE a sheet, ya know?)

very well done!

DC is in 4hrs lol

----------

IG @erichrigonan

not that the first episode wasn't a good story, but Snyder's movie packs way more in 4 hours than this could in 30 mins.

it's *four hours*


www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

Instead of each having intro sections within the 4hrs with everyone getting slow motion montages so its not wasted in ensemble movie. They rushed the Marvel blueprint they set just to catch up and compete


----------

IG @erichrigonan

..We could end all arguments about how whack DC's approach to their own cinematic universe with the simple fact that DC clearly microwaved their storyline to play catch up with Marvel.

Superman & Batman alone need years to develop & build a bond (not just desperation).


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

and even that i couldve used 2-3 movies. I wanted more of him hiding out and hearing stories about this mythical person who keeps showing up in places

----------

IG @erichrigonan

*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

the LSU question got a huge laugh out of me for several reasons

Fun shit. Hit high points on characters, plot, comedy, all that. Like Wanda, I’m coming in with low expectations and no speculation.

Really loving it so far. Episode 2 had a lot of character work and plot. Plus bringing Isiash Bradley into it?!

Now onto Act 2. And fuck John Walker and the new negro.

>Really loving it so far. Episode 2 had a lot of character
>work and plot. Plus bringing Isiash Bradley into it?!
>
>Now onto Act 2. And fuck John Walker and the new negro.>

the whole ep i was like "why does Walkers buddy 'Hoskins/Battlestar" look so familiar to me?? Did i go to school with him or somethin?"

then it hit me...i swear in that ep, dude could be Pete Davidson's(from SNL) long lost black twin brother...

🤣🤣🤣

Oh shit...

I was trying to figure out why I just didn't like dude and it's cause he's Black Pete Davidson.

...so i didnt mean it as a knock to either at all, just an observation that, yeah they could be Bros' from other Mos'.

>Really loving it so far. Episode 2 had a lot of character
>work and plot. Plus bringing Isiash Bradley into it?!
The Isiah Bradley stuff was great and it looks like they're going to really get into race. That scene with Sam and Buck talking to the Psych, I felt like Sam wanted to say he didn't keep the shield because the world wouldn't accept a Black Cap and Isiah Bradley is proof of that.

>Now onto Act 2. And fuck John Walker and the new negro.
Russel is doing a good job of being punchable, US Agent was never really a well liked character in the comics so I'm enjoying hating him.

New negro, cuz is pure coonery.

>>Really loving it so far. Episode 2 had a lot of character
>>work and plot. Plus bringing Isiash Bradley into it?!
>The Isiah Bradley stuff was great and it looks like they're
>going to really get into race. That scene with Sam and Buck
>talking to the Psych, I felt like Sam wanted to say he didn't
>keep the shield because the world wouldn't accept a Black Cap
>and Isiah Bradley is proof of that.


YO! The racial aspects are starting to rear its head. And that moment with Sam and Bucky with the cops had me on the verge of puking. I've had so many encounters like that with police.

TBH, I always liked Sam more than Bucky in the MCU. This show completely changed that. Sam is an idoit and Bucky I feel is the only one who's rational.

>>Now onto Act 2. And fuck John Walker and the new negro.
>Russel is doing a good job of being punchable, US Agent was
>never really a well liked character in the comics so I'm
>enjoying hating him.
>
>New negro, cuz is pure coonery.
>

Wyatt Russell always plays the smarmy, know-it-all, laughs at everything white guy I hate. His face (especially when he had the beard and long hair) was SO punchable. The only time I liked him as an actor was in Overlord. He actually showed he had range. Now he's back to playing that same fucking role he's always playing the same dude only with Cap's shield. And it makes me sick.

And yeah this new negro seems like a house negro.

He's easy to hate. I don't even like looking at him.

And that's in anything.

But in this? Dude can't even wear the CA helmet. That shit looks like a goofy ass Halloween costume.

I'll enjoy watching him get his ass handed to him though.

>The Isiah Bradley stuff was great and it looks like they're
>going to really get into race. That scene with Sam and Buck
>talking to the Psych, I felt like Sam wanted to say he didn't
>keep the shield because the world wouldn't accept a Black Cap
>and Isiah Bradley is proof of that.

One of the things I love about this feeling like a one movie vs. a regular TV show is the opportunity to take one large story arc and have the time to explore character motives/background like this. A large theme to this entire series seems to be Sam coming to terms with Cap passing the mantle to him. Showing his internal struggle and the reasons why he turned it down, along with fully proving that he is the one worthy of it. The racial dynamic definitely looms like it will be explored. They wouldn’t have time to do that in a movie besides a throwaway line that hints at it.

But here you have John Walker as the full in Cap - an all American white guy who has a Black sidekick, Black wife, even had a full HBCU style marching band. Add in Isaiah Bradley and how he was treated, the way Sam was treated at the bank and by the police, that therapist scene showing that Sam has some issues to work through separate from Bucky, and you can see this is really building to something for his character.

Sam was already a 3-dimensional character. I could care less about him before this. The line is blurred between TV and movie actors after these two MCU shows, but I think his movie star stock will go up with this.

There are moments of bad CGI or cheesy dialog at times in these shows that reminds me that it is a TV show (much like the Mandolorian), but I appreciate that we could never get this type of character development in one movie (maybe 8 movies like Iron Man).

I have a feeling that when I finally see Bucky and Falcon/Cap on the big screen again I will appreciate them so much more.

The more I think about it, I kinda wish they'd gone full character building on this one. The humor is some of the best in the franchise just because of their timing together, but it also made their dynamic a little too hot and cold depending on what the scene asked for.

Also, did we really need that whole infiltration/truck fight sequence? That was lowkey one of the least sensible fight scenes in a superhero thing period, people and items just popping up like a SNES brawler. I'd have rather had a longer conversation with Bradley (I learned more about what makes his character important/interesting from episode recaps than the episode itself) and a little more time talking about what made the snap so beneficial for the people that stayed.


Oh well!


I really like how they're characterizing Walker as white privilege and a lowkey kind of scumbag, too. I winced a little every time he referred to Barnes as "Bucky" and had a little eye popping moment when he used a pistol in the truck fight. This kinda feels like a different, heightened shade of what he did in Ingrid Goes West, where he mostly presents as a very good guy but ultimately he's out for what's best for himself.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

..I understand that Bucky's holding back (begrudgingly), but c'mon.




*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

Plus a healthy dose of 24.


Weird episode but entertaining.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

I'm giddy as I'm typing this. Episode pacing was different but not that much to complain about.

Really excited to see the Powerbroker. I have so many thoughts about where this could go but after WV, I'm stopping and just enjoying how good this show is.

Like, hell yeah, Wolverine would thrive in this beautiful shithole. And they fell for Sam's facsimile costume like they fall for Logan's eye patch when he goes there as Patch.

I'm going in low-to-no expectations, so I definitely didn't see the Dora Milajae chick popping up.

Since this is Act 2, we're getting to the meat and potatoes of action and storytelling going hand in hand. Lots of surprises here too.

If Zemo becomes an antihero, that'd be crazy.

Shout out to Derek Kolstad. Dude knows how to write great action scripts.

This feels like the Daredevil season one pacing...we are cooking now.

Madripoor was well done....great setup for it being a setting in future series.


Just enough surprises, just enough action. Well done.

I loved WandaVision, but I was definitely ready to wrap when that finale hit.

They may be nailing a sweet spot here, especially if they get renewed.

They referenced the Flag Smashers smuggling vaccines, but never said what for (along with several dubbed audio moments which may have come from reshoots/rewrites). Was there originally a plotline involving a pandemic/virus which needed to be changed once we had a real life Covid pandemic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbYnh0TTBN8&t=520s

This episode went off!!!

Loving this show so much!

Can't wait to see the fallout from this episode.

A couple of the small things I loved in this episode...spoilers of course:




The relief on Bucky's face in that flashback of him realizing that he is free. Contrast that with a couple episodes ago when the therapist told him he was free and his response was "free to do what?" shows that in the time that's passed, he's gotten more troubled/dark. Also, he definitely owes Ayo since Zemo's gotten away. He's gonna need to help in getting him back.

The contrast between Sam and Lemar's answer to the question of whether they'd take the serum. Same instantly says no, while Lemar says yes - justifying the decision that Walker had already made.

The Flag Smasher dude who said he actually looked up to Captain America was the one who got killed by the shield at the end.

Speaking of that ending scene, all the onlookers with their cameras filming Walker felt like a callback to T'Challa and Klaw from Black Panther - when T'Challa realized that "the world was watching" he showed restraint. Walker on the other hand saw people filming and just brutally kept on going. Iconic shot with the shield having blood on it.

Random thought - it's interesting how they cast the actress from Solo who played Enfys Nest (Erin Kellyman) to essentially play the same character here. In both cases she is the leader of a rebel/revolutionary group who are seen as terrorists because of how they go about their quests, but are when she takes her mask off she is an innocent looking young woman who is much more sympathetic.

This nigga is the wooooorst! I can only imagine the racist shit swirling in his brain after they got mopped by the Dora Milaje.

I love how shook Karli was after killing Hoskins, aka Fake Pete Rock. Like, “That wasn’t necessarily my goal, but we’re here now.” She’s kinda hot, to me.

Everybody trying to “help” Bucky and Sam keep flying off on their own agendas.

For real for real....this was amazing.

Ayo dismantled Bucky’s arm? I gasped...clutched my invisible pearls 😂. That was such a violation.

About Lamar: When they were going up the steps, Lamar was first, while fake Cap was behind him crouching behind the shield. I knew then Lamar wouldn’t make it.

>Ayo dismantled Bucky’s arm? I gasped...clutched my
>invisible pearls 😂. That was such a violation.

and said FUUUUUUUCK THIS and juiced up lmao

hands down the best ep of this yet. desperately needed too cause them first 3 were ropey

..That's always been the basis of great storytelling.

Marvel/Disney has its flaws, but its killing it with pacing.

I'm looking forward to just how creative things will get moving forward.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

They are fighting each other with knives, and weapons and someone gets hit real bad so EVERYONE stops fighting??

Was it just a game?

Kharli murdered people with a car bomb. WTF would she or her crew hesitate like that?

Oh - to set up future plot points??

I mean if they kill Lemar then Cap murders them *in the room* without pausing and letting them run away. Then somehow a tape gets out - that make more sense.

This was just dumb and clunky they way the did it.

I hope it picks up right at the same spot and Sam and Bucky take the sheild from him.

All that said I'll keep watching because fuck it it's on TV and it's not as bad as say an episode of House.

Note:I do like Zemo now though - he's completely relatable in this show in a way he wasn't in the movie.

>Note:I do like Zemo now though - he's completely relatable in
>this show in a way he wasn't in the movie.

Nor in the comics

>They are fighting each other with knives, and weapons and
>someone gets hit real bad so EVERYONE stops fighting??

I liked the episode but that was goofy as shit. I just looked past it for all of the 'Murica symbolism at the end.

*Battlestar gets his chest caved in*

John Walker: TIME OUT! TIME OUT!

*Everybody takes 5*

John Walker: TIME IN!

*John murders dude with the shield*

People keep saying they're blurring the line between movies and TV but between the semi-truck fight and this...I don't watch the modern DC stuff but I'm flashing back to fight scenes from Smallville and Buffy and whatnot with the editing and coherence. If Zemo was the priority, why's he slipping out with a comedic grin on his face like it's a Scooby Doo episode?


Andy Greenwald said something I found pretty smart on The Watch, and he's read a lot of the source material but usually seems to have a level head about Marvel generally: Falcon/WS has a lot of good ideas, but it's not necessarily making a case for the ideas outside of just laying them on the table.


It's kinda weird this is only 6 episodes with all the shit they're trying to cover here, and while the show talked a big game about honestly dealing with Sam as Cap and Sam's role as a hero in the world in general, I think the show FEELS more interested in trying to make big screen action work on a "TV budget" and being kind of a buddy cop show. The dance club scene was the key for me - there's zero point to it, but we got a meme so who cares!


Again, I like the show and I really, really hope it sticks the landing on the parts I'm most interested in, but I'm reading over the top praise for what's going on here just being happy for those folks. 'Cause right now this show's like a sloppy joe - full of flavor but a real mess.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

the building than with the hesitation when she accidentally killed Lemar. They are positioning her and the Flag Smashers to be sympathetic characters, and for that to work if she was gonna bomb a building they needed to give more of a reason to not believe she was straight up cold blooded. All we got was the small reaction from the henchman dude, and her saying that it was the only language they would understand.

I think this issue is because of the missing vaccine/pandemic plot that I posted about up above. There is a lot in this show that is unexplained or uneven because it looks like they did rewrites/reshoots to take that out since we have a real pandemic in real life. (How did Mama Donya actually die? They sad tuberculosis at one point but it was a clear overdub. Why were they smuggling vaccines at the beginning?)

Being a bit shook after killing Lemar makes sense first because that wasn't the intention. That entire fight was the Flag Smashers on defense because fake Cap came in ready to take them down. They weren't specifically attacking fake Cap and the crew, but trying to escape. They also are still getting used to being super soldiers, and there are times when they aren't fully aware of their strength. The punch that killed Lemar was intended for fake Cap who had shown that he was enhanced by that point, not Lemar. The Flag Smashers instantly knew once seeing Lemar was dead that they had effed up - that's why they immediately got the heck out of there.

>That entire fight was the
>Flag Smashers on defense because fake Cap came in ready to
>take them down. They weren't specifically attacking fake Cap
>and the crew, but trying to escape. They also are still
>getting used to being super soldiers, and there are times when
>they aren't fully aware of their strength. The punch that
>killed Lemar was intended for fake Cap who had shown that he
>was enhanced by that point, not Lemar. The Flag Smashers
>instantly knew once seeing Lemar was dead that they had effed
>up - that's why they immediately got the heck out of there.

Not quite. The whole meetup with Sam was a ruse knowing that "fake Cap" would follow/track Sam. The Flag Smashers wanted "fake Cap" neutralised obviously not knowing that he was "suped" up

I think she legit wanted to convince Same to work with her (and I believe that before the end of the season, that's actually what will happen) but Walker effed it up. If that does end up happening, it goes back to my issue with her bombing those innocent people. They didn't show enough to explain her motivation for doing that an remaining sympathetic. So maybe I'm just wrong about her ending up working with Sam.

Either way though, it wasn't her intent to kill Lemar, so she and the Flag Smashers were shook when it happened because they knew fake Cap was bout to fake Cap it up.

I rewatched tonight and saw the line she said about separating them and killing Captain America.

>Not quite. The whole meetup with Sam was a ruse knowing that
>"fake Cap" would follow/track Sam. The Flag Smashers wanted
>"fake Cap" neutralised obviously not knowing that he was
>"suped" up

In addition to your complaints about logic being ditched here and there solely for narrative reasons, I also find it strange that the visuals feel so all over the place. Certain individual shots are incredible, and the occasional action beat really shines too... but then you have some action scenes cut to hell incomprehensibly, some shitty green screen, some low-rent cable TV looking dialogue scenes.

If it wasn't for the characters I know, I'd struggle to distinguish this from, say, most NBC hour-long action thriller TV shows.

... that said, I often watch and enjoy those shows, so I'll of course keep watching here, lol. Because the bits that work *really* work. But it's clear which of the moments they care about and which of the (many) moments are largely perfunctory.

It reminds me of when I saw Ludacris live fifteen years ago. He sleepwalked through the non-singles for the most part... but then when Southern Hospitality's beat came through the speakers, he'd fucking spring to life. I'm getting a similar vibe here.

I’ve mentioned it a few times in this thread, but it’s clear that they completely removed a plot line about a vaccine and pandemic due to it being too close to reality (especially if that plot ended up being that the pandemic was from a virus deliberately released from Madripoor, an Asian government in the MCU.)

This video talks about some of the clear reshoots, and scenes with dialogue added in later on top of separate footage, along with plot points that don’t currently make sense. It seems like they cut out the pandemic plot and then just randomly threaded together other elements with the Flag Smashers that don’t really add up...

https://youtu.be/VhKIAHABGac

The one things that's been baffling me is how they just took a super regular ass dude and gave him the shield. Like no Stark/Shield tech at all. Just John Homegrown with a shield and a .45?

Not even an assault rifle. And gave him a regular ass dude as a sidekick? How did the U.S. Government NOT expect his ass to get mopped up on the regular. He doesn't even have like some howling commandos dudes following him around.

Makes no sense. At all.

Other than that though, loving the show.
______________________________________________________________________________

"To Each His Reach"

but.....

Fuck aliens.

>The one things that's been baffling me is how they just took
>a super regular ass dude and gave him the shield. Like no
>Stark/Shield tech at all. Just John Homegrown with a shield
>and a .45?

who better than a soldier who has been indoctrinated on apple pie? besides, they were reeling after Sam said no thanks and I suspect some of the forces behind that decision to name Walker will be revealed over the last couple eps.


>
>Not even an assault rifle. And gave him a regular ass dude as
>a sidekick? How did the U.S. Government NOT expect his ass to
>get mopped up on the regular. He doesn't even have like some
>howling commandos dudes following him around.
>
>Makes no sense. At all.
>
>Other than that though, loving the show.
>______________________________________________________________________________
>
>"To Each His Reach"
>
>but.....
>
>Fuck aliens.

but they got him doing missions as if he is Steve Rogers.

Also, they have a LOT of story lines to resolve in these last two episodes. Along the line above, if Walker works for the military/US government, who do Sam and Bucky work for? We talked about it earlier in this thread, but they haven’t come back to that plot point about Sam not having funding. Who does he take orders from? Is Fury involved in any way? Other Avengers? Working for/with the government? Or are they just doing this on their own?

So in addition fake Cap and the Flag Smashers, they still need to resolve what’s up with the power broker, and Sharon Carter’s involvement, Zemo’s resolution along with Wakanda chasing him down, Sam and Bucky’s relationship/partnership since they left that hanging with the therapist, Sam coming to terms with taking the shield, and the entire Isaiah Bradley plot point. All in the last two episodes. That is a LOT.

And yeah, the Dora Milaje mopped Not-My-Cap's a$$

Lamar gets the silent clock

while Steve is the only one to pass the purity test, he never wanted the serum in the first place. he wanted to fight as a runt. that was the only way. Walker is tainted because he was the peak of regular human condition and his ego can't bear getting beat by someone else.

Hilarious that some Black women whupping that ass was his final indignation, not the meta revolutionaries.

I'm amused at the depiction that Hydra/Soviet Union are the only entities that would have manipulated a Winter Solider and not the non-SHIELD American Empire....

while Steve is the only one to pass the purity test, he never wanted the serum in the first place. he wanted to fight as a runt. that was the only way. Walker is tainted because he was the peak of regular human condition and his ego can't bear getting beat by someone else.

Hilarious that some Black women whupping that ass was his final indignation, not the meta revolutionaries.

I'm amused at the depiction that Hydra/Soviet Union are the only entities that would have manipulated a Winter Solider and not the non-SHIELD American Empire....

That's an L. Not one of them noticed him getting away? What would the punishment be for them in Wakanda?

2. Why is there even a debate on taking the super soldier serum? No side effects, long life, enhanced strength that's a no brainer and should have been a requirement for the new Captain America
and Lemar to take. They had to make it blue like viagra too huh?

Just a FYI, there's a mid-credits scene.

But yeah, the character work throughput this is incredible.

Everything is coming together nicely.

Can't wait for the final episode next week.

legit one of the most unpredictable cameos in recent memory.

That was cool.

>

I had forgot about batroc too

She either is, or was supposed to be in Black Widow, if the drop dates hadn't gotten pushed.

Which leads me to think one of the big bads in the next phase will be Leviathan.

I loved the Bradley scene. The Sam/Bucky scenes were great too, and Wyatt Russell deserves credit for the work he’s putting in with that character.

Been a minute.

Anyway I don't know where to jump in here, but I think the show is "okay". It gers better with every ep, but lacks the creativity that went into WandaVision. I dig it though. Daniel Brühl is the standout for me. He seemed to be enjoying flexibg out a character that was previously kind of weak.

At least they aren't trolling us this time (Quicksilver).

I hope to be here more often again (if y'all remember me lol), just logging on with my phone instead of my work computer isn't as user friendly.

Let me see what else y'all talking about.

What's good BigWorm?!

I really think it was their strongest episode. And like Wyatt Russell is cool an’ all, but the less John Walker the better imho. He just takes to much time and agency away from Sam and Bucky.

But yeah. I really liked this one.

they spent so much time on that boat in this episode that i feel like Karli gonna blow that shit up next week...

d

"But rest assured, in my luxurious house built on the backs of people darker than me, I am sipping fine scotch and scoffing at how stupid you are." - bshelly

I’m with ya. If Karli blows that shit up, we take the streets.

"But rest assured, in my luxurious house built on the backs of people darker than me, I am sipping fine scotch and scoffing at how stupid you are." - bshelly

high six figure work for nothing

This was one of 2 Phase 4 projects that I was anticipating. And boy did it live up to my expectations.

This was a six hour movie with no fat. At all.

Really hope Chloe Zhao's ETERNALS delivers.

Seeing that Isaiah Bradley exhibit. Knew it was coming and it still got me.

That shit hit hard.

Everything was good with the exception of one thing that was so obvious early on, but even that I can ignore.

My episode highlights were:
-Sam's speech
-Sam and Isiah Bradley together
-Bucky finally getting that closure
-Zemo calling plays from the Raft was lit

That part I talked about early on with the world not handling a Black Cap, just the way that Sam addressed it man. People can complain that it wasn't as good as WandaVision or it was slow etc... But for me the message that this series put out was all worth and above anything else.


On other notes, glad we get US Agent now. With Val talking about things about to get weird is that either a hint at a Hydra return or Secret Invasion? I'm happy they didn't just throw away Wyatt Russell, for as much hate he was getting dude did a helluva job with the role. I wouldn't want anyone else to play US Agent.

Lastly, I need more Zemo in the MCU.

side note JLD is still fine as hell to me.

Though I'm not excited for Danery's to be on the series. If they make her who I think they might, I'm not gonna like it. I probably wont like if Oliva Coleman is in that role either.

Probably butchered that a bit, but Mackie really rode that and made it land in a way that was really impressive. That speech lept out of superhero fantasy shit into the real world in a way most of this stuff doesn't, even the "what does it all mean" crises of Civil War. Even in the MCU, it's the politicians that hold the actual power and they'd rather spend their time arguing over symbols and identities instead of the human condition overall, which AT LEAST Sam is trying to defend and improve any way he can.


Like you said, I could complain a lot but nothing was HUGELY off with this show, and they did nail this One Big Thing that's pretty cool for a multinational corporate product like this to get out the door.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

Felt like this show just got sloppier and sloppier as it went along. Almost had the opposite problem of WandaVision where instead of being too repetitive and flirty with the audience this just wanted to throw every single thing at the wall. Glad people seemed to like it so much but to me this felt like three seasons of a TV show crammed into one - and the fight choreography was just lame, IMO. I loved the Morgenthau actress but her character was so weird and underutilized, she may as well have been a bad dream Sam had. Same with Zemo, at the end of the day his whole thing boiled down to a couple internet memes and contrived escapes, right?

Really dig the new Cap though, his suit could still use a little work but he can pretty clearly cover a lot of Cap AND Iron Man ground in future fights with a little BP sprinkled in. Veep seems like a perfect spike of energy for this franchise, Bucky and US Agent are in interesting places (though is Agent comic relief now??) and, uh, Miss Carter’s got all the poison gas she needs now, I guess?

I just can’t shake the thought I had when they were loading up those prisoner vans - for all the cinematic heft and money Marvel put behind Phase 3, how does this show feel like something from the USA or TNT drama block half the time? As snack food goes it was cool this had some substance (especially compared to other MCU films) but so far Marvel feels back in Phase 1 or 2 when it comes to figuring out how to make their thing work on TV.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

>Felt like this show just got sloppier and sloppier as it went
>along. Almost had the opposite problem of WandaVision where
>instead of being too repetitive and flirty with the audience
>this just wanted to throw every single thing at the wall. Glad
>people seemed to like it so much but to me this felt like
>three seasons of a TV show crammed into one - and the fight
>choreography was just lame, IMO. I loved the Morgenthau
>actress but her character was so weird and underutilized, she
>may as well have been a bad dream Sam had. Same with Zemo, at
>the end of the day his whole thing boiled down to a couple
>internet memes and contrived escapes, right?
>
>Really dig the new Cap though, his suit could still use a
>little work but he can pretty clearly cover a lot of Cap AND
>Iron Man ground in future fights with a little BP sprinkled
>in. Veep seems like a perfect spike of energy for this
>franchise, Bucky and US Agent are in interesting places
>(though is Agent comic relief now??) and, uh, Miss Carter’s
>got all the poison gas she needs now, I guess?
>
>I just can’t shake the thought I had when they were loading
>up those prisoner vans - for all the cinematic heft and money
>Marvel put behind Phase 3, how does this show feel like
>something from the USA or TNT drama block half the time? As
>snack food goes it was cool this had some substance
>(especially compared to other MCU films) but so far Marvel
>feels back in Phase 1 or 2 when it comes to figuring out how
>to make their thing work on TV.

they laid out a bunch of complicated themes throughout, but except for US Agent, tied a lot of things up too neatly. There wasn't exactly a conflict over Sam taking the shield this go round, after they had stripped Walker of it, he never got U.S. permission did he?

His connection to Karli seemed a bit contrived. I don't think they spent enough time interacting to get to that point as fast as they did.

I mean not for nothing, Sharon's Power Broker arc seems a bit of a knockoff of James Spader's Raymond Reddington in the Blacklist.

I think last week's episode was the best one. Maybe on watching the whole thing I'll come away differently but the last ep seemed to get away from them a bit...

I feel like they set this up for a second season, even though I thought it was a limited series...

But seriously. I know Falcon's Cap costume is true to the comics, but maybe it shouldn't have been. It might be one of the siliest costumes in the franchise.

Nah. They shoulda made the US Agent scene the post cred and put Sharon’s dumb ass on the cutting room floor.

I loved this episode and the last two, but this show was trying to be too many things. It was best when it focused on Sam, and for half the season the treated Sam and Bucky as guys just along for the ride while Zemo and Walker had all of the agency.

Overall though, it was better than the Netflix jawns, so it’s got that going for it.

>Nah. They shoulda made the US Agent scene the post cred and
>put Sharon’s dumb ass on the cutting room floor.
>
>I loved this episode and the last two, but this show was
>trying to be too many things. It was best when it focused on
>Sam, and for half the season the treated Sam and Bucky as guys
>just along for the ride while Zemo and Walker had all of the
>agency.
>
>Overall though, it was better than the Netflix jawns, so
>it’s got that going for it.

I don’t think this is better than Daredevil. I like it though.

seasons of any TV show, any genre. This ain’t that. But DD (especially season 1) doesn’t even feel like a superhero show.


>I don’t think this is better than Daredevil. I like it
>though.

But (to me) it has the opposite problem this show does in that it was overlong. There is too much filler for me in it.

Hard to picture that translating on the big screen when it already looks so corny on TV

Comic correct (ish), but yeah...tone the colors down and something about that neck collar/goggle setup doesn't look as cool as someone thought it did

I loved seeing that shit get swiped out of the air and beat to shit. Get that homemade ass shit outta here, fam.

Overall, the series was enjoyable but didn't give me that "Oh shit, what's gonna happen next?" feeling like WV did.

Also, I'm at the point now of don't tell me or tease me about approval for a second season unless you're about to spin the block and drop again later this year.

It's a goddamn shame, because I enjoyed the show on the whole, but good grief, the budgetary restrictions are *very much felt* in these action sequences. Everything's cut to shit, the CGI is way more noticeable, half the scenes take place in dingy empty warehouses and shit.

Like, if you give this show John Wick level action, it's an all-timer superhero TV show. But instead, the superhero shit ends up being my least favorite part. Really like the cast and characters, liked a lot of the writing with this series... but the action makes the end result hover between okay and fine for me. Kind of a shame.

Similar to the Mortal Kombat movie and my hopes for those fights with Joe Taslim on board, I'm not saying that John Wick or Filipino martial artists have a monopoly on good action these days but...like pornography, you know it when you see it, and both these things were big letdowns.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

How does having a shield and wings protect him when he's hit in the ribs by a super soldier??

Oh, it doesn't??

He needs the serum or I can't see how he competes.

I mean Iron Man at least had some of the suit at almost all times.

They need to juice him up.

He's got a pretty unique set of armor in that it's a suit from Wakanda with vibranium wings and a jetpack along with the vibranium shield. It isn't clear yet whether or not there is vibranium weave in the suit itself like Black Panther's - I'd guess not.

He never had the serum in the comics. The ability to fly but not with the serum differentiates him from Steve, and he'll have a different fighting style because of it. He can essentially be a combination of Ironman and Captain America - having that PLUS the serum would make him overpowered.

They also made a point of him specifically saying he wouldn't take the serum to contrast against Walker - and I think that the entire point of this season has been to show that he's worthy of being Cap and that the serum isn't what makes Captain America who he is.

Sam can carry that shield and mantle because he, like Steve, upholds the ideals and values of a leader worth following.

And I agree to the extent that Sam's story is about him choosing to forge his own identity, and I think that's a good thing.

But without that serum, Steve's wide-eyed idealism and heroic mindset wouldn't have stopped Red Skull, much less a thousand other things.

Caps tactical mind and dedication to maximizing his gifts put that serum to the best possible use.

So I also agree that what made Steve a Captain America worth following were things that had nothing to do with the serum, and Walker hammered that point home.

Far as Sam taking punches from super soldiers, that's a long time flaw in the way Cap has been framed this entire time.

The serum supposedly takes a person to the peak of human potential. In Steve's case, that meant he could jump out of a plan at skydiving heights, and land as though he jumped five feet, and hold a goddamned helicopter as it's trying to take off.

Meanwhile, plain old humans like Batroc are able to hang with Steve in a fight. Maybe Steve is pulling punches or whatever, but there shouldn't even be a competition there. I was hoping Sam's suit would be loaded with vibranium, but apparently not, apart from the wings.

Sam has the goods to be Cap, because *who* Cap is, is about more than the serum. But *what* Steve is/was, absolutely depended on that serum.

When Sam took dude and his grandson to see the statue he was like "Where's the cash?! They locked his ass up for 30 years and he just gets a statue? Where is the compensation?!" Then they showed homegirl getting a pardon and her job back (cash). He said its good and entertaining but there is still social programming in there.

I think Castro kinda/mighta touched on this a little above re: money.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-questlove-supreme-53194211/episode/anthony-mackie-81463377/

I wish it wasn't over cell phone/internet due to the sound quality - but DUDE IS FUNNY!

That last comment he said has me laughing out loud real quick in a store.

https://screenrant.com/falcon-winter-soldier-finale-failed-disappointing-reason/