FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER EPISODES SERIES

For someone who has dedicated their lives to the military, to get anything other than an honorable discharge, that's a big deal. At the same time, I don't think we let him off the hook. We put him through this journey, and as he was cracking up mentally, he had this huge defining moment where the truth is, for all the flaws and craziness of him in that moment, when it was about taking on the righteous cause, he stepped up in that moment. All of those conversations are in the DNA of John Walker, and we didn't set out to say John Walker would be good or bad or redeemed by the end of this thing. There is definitely some iconography and some attributes about this country that we don't like that are embodied in him, but he is also the story of veterans, right? Who sacrificed so much for this country and this country may not even be capable of taking care of them the way they should.

He surpassed anything that you could try and do intellectually in your head. Like, there was no way to write the layers to Walker the way Wyatt conveyed them. Spellman: We tried to be careful with Walker, and Wyatt took everything and made it nuanced beyond.

FALCON AND WINTER SOLDIER EPISODES SERIES

But did the series let Walker off too easy, all things considered? In a defining moment, he's presented a chance to get revenge or save innocent bystanders, and he chooses the latter. Wielding a homemade shield, Walker refuses to step down and instead inserts himself into the battle between Sam and Bucky and the Flag Smashers. But when Walker goes rogue, illicitly takes super soldier serum and kills a Flag Smasher on camera, he's stripped of his title and rank. How do you solve a problem like John Walker? Wyatt Russell's highly decorated veteran makes his MCU debut in the premiere, ushered in as the new Captain America. But at the end of the day, we thought, 'No, let's just hang on right to the living end to finalize the end reveal.' We had a few different swings at that, and this seemed to be the best of the best. So, I'm never afraid of just throw it all out and build it all up again. Experimentation is a big part of how you find the best of the best. Skogland: We always knew it wanted to be there, but we tried it in other places. The post-credits scene sees Sharon pardoned for her past and reinstated to her old job, only for the newly appointed Agent Carter to turn around, phone a contact and inform them that she now has all sorts of government secrets to sell. She's now in a position where she can go on an interesting journey for better or for worse. And the assumption she's going to just be good or bad or that we've determined what her future is, no. And to me, Sharon, as a character, was allowed to grow up. What would she have to do? Hustle and fight and use her skills to stay alive.

Where it came from was, it wasn't like Marvel said, 'Oh, we're going to just destroy the Carter legacy.' We sat down and said, 'When was the last time we saw Sharon?' In Civil War, right? And what happened to her? She was completely abandoned by the world's intelligence agencies. It was a blast to write this character, who comes from Marvel royalty and is expected to be the princess of Marvel and kind of looks like that, just chopping people's heads off. But also, Emily has such an innocent baby face. Spellman: We had a blast with it because it's A) the Carter legacy, as sort of the pristine family of MCU. They wanted to keep some of the title intact so that you would get that evolution. The spirit of it was to show this evolution that a new Cap was born. Unless something else happens, right? I don't think 'Captain America and the Winter Soldier' was intended to even trigger the fans in that way. And the Winter Soldier, in my opinion, is gone. I believe personally - and I only know as far as what we did on this series - Bucky has gone through his battle and his test and has now emerged with a clean slate. This is my opinion: I think the spirit of it came from simply wanting to honor the journey of the series, and had they said, 'Captain America and James 'Bucky' Barnes,' the poetry of what the series meant might not have landed. Malcolm Spellman: I'd have to ask Marvel if they expected people to be as triggered by the Bucky part of it, the Winter Soldier part of it.

Bucky, however, remains the Winter Soldier, despite having spent the season unburdening himself from his time as a brain-washed assassin and embracing a new identity as White Wolf. The finale ends with an updated title card honoring Sam's new mantle as Captain America.

Falcon and winter soldier episodes