A step up from WandaVision, and I like the mismatched pair concept, but this show is all over the place; plotting seems to be a real albatross for the small-screen MCU.

It starts out fine with a high-flying opening (Falcon in all of his glory), but soon settles into a story grind; six episodes of Sam denying himself the shield when it was a forgone conclusion; the awkward comment on US imperialism named John Walker; there are several other elements at play but they're not handled smoothly - for all that's going on here, this should never feel like a snooze.