'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' is the second Disney+ show from Marvel Studios. Many characters reprised their roles from previous films with larger parts, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) both become titular characters, as oppose to supporting characters for Chris Evans' 'Steve Rogers'. We pick up with the characters in a post 'Avengers: Endgame' world; Sam has returned to the US Air Force and Bucky is just carrying on with life whilst trying to adjust to life after 'the Blip'.

The chemistry between the two main characters carries every episode and leads to some great comedic moments. Making these two the star of there own show gives them some well needed development and takes their arcs to the next level. The standout performances come from Wyatt Russell and Carl Lumbly as 'John Walker' and 'Isaiah Bradley' respectively. John Walker is an exceptional secondary villain who becomes the new Captain America. One that was handpicked to take up the mantle despite not doing anything to deserve it. Whilst Isaiah Bradley is a black Captain America from the Second World War, who was imprisoned and experimented on to test the super soldier serum, just to finally be removed from all records and pronounced dead. These two are perfect mirrors of each other and display the theme of legacy that runs throughout the show.

Henry Jackman (the composer) returns from the previous 'Captain America' films. His work is always exceptional but this time round he excels. He seamlessly brings scores back from previous movies, most notably 'The Winter Soldier' theme from 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier'. The effects throughout are perfect and I don't think there is an over reliance on CGI like there has been in previous Marvel pictures. I love the comic accuracy of the show, from Falcon's new suit to Madripoor, but the best example is Daniel Bruhl's 'Baron Zemo'. He returns from 'Captain America: Civil War' and is absolutely fantastic. They finally embrace him being a 'Baron' like in the comics and they elevate his motives to the next level, with his hate of the Flag Smashers.

The best episodes are; 1:2 ('The Star-Spangled Man'), 1:4 ('The World is Watching') and 1:5 ('Truth').

However, my main issue is the main villains 'The Flag Smashers'. The head of this terrorism group is Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and they don't pose a threat to the protagonists in the slightest. The acting is solid from her, but the writing is quite inconsistent for the group and her motives don't really make sense. I think it would've benefited with John Walker as the main antagonist instead because his arc is undoubtedly more interesting than Morgenthau's. Also, it is really obvious that they had to scrap a subplot that was in the original script. The plot line was reportedly centred around a global pandemic and was removed as it too closely resembles the current issues in real life. This could've been a reason behind the Flag Smashers inconsistency as they play a big part in that subplot.

Overall, I do think this show was an improvement on 'WandaVision' and nicely sets up future MCU titles that feature these characters. I can't wait to see where these characters go next and hope to see more of John Walker.

8.5/10.