We can see the difference in Marvel movies and Marvel television on display in the first episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: TV has a more limited budget. The episode opens with a thrilling action sequence that is absolutely first rate, and lasts about 9 minutes of the roughly 44 minute runtime. Almost none of the rest of the episode contains any action at all, focusing instead on telling us more about the lives of Sam Wilson (Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier). This is not bad. It ranges from funny to touching stuff, but in comparison to the thrilling action at the beginning, it's more than a touch boring.

But there is hope. The primary storyline has been set up and with good characters and an interesting story as the foundation, there's a good chance that the remaining five episodes will yield a satisfying conclusion.