Starring Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is only halfway finished with its first season, but has already garnered plenty of media attention with its touching on important topics such as racism, and its tie-ins to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The show follows Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson in the post-Thanos world, and how they navigate a new Captain America, and also a new worldwide crime organization known as the Flag Smashers. 

Knowing the history Barnes and Wilson have from previous films such as “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Captain America: Civil War,” fans have been anticipating a rocky start to the pair’s new friendship, and have enjoyed their snarky comments and back and forth bickering. Barnes has a history, to say the least, which has been touched on well by the series, showing him making amendment efforts with those he has wronged. On the other hand, Wilson has revealed his sister and nephews in his Louisiana lakeside hometown that has problems of its own. 

While Barnes and Wilson have been rebuilding their own lives after The Blip, also known as the five years of Thanos’s extinction of half of all life, crime has been brewing in the form of rebellion. The Flag Smashers, led by the young orphan Karli Morganthau, claim that life was better during The Blip, for those that survived. This introduces more intriguing social commentary about how the world takes care of displaced people, and what life is really like for the homeless population around the world. Fans have taken to Twitter to continue this discussion, which is exactly what the show’s director Kari Skogland intended. 

Skogland, in an interview with Hollywood Reporter, tells her audience about how she wanted to put her own personal stamp on the Marvel Universe, while also connecting it to modern-day social issues. 

Wilson, after inheriting Captain America’s shield shortly before his assumed death, decided it was the best decision to turn the shield over to the United States government, where it was supposed to be kept for display purposes only. Contrary to this assumption, the government used the shield in a different way than expected. John Walker, also known as U.S. Soldier, was given the shield and deemed the new Captain America. Wilson and Barnes, both unhappy with this decision, decided to go rogue and take on the Flag Smashers on their own. 

As the show picks up the pace in anticipation for the latter half of the season, fans are brewing up theories and predictions faster than ever before. After the build-up of suspense that “WandaVision” brought Marvel fans, the ending of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” has a lot to live up to. If this show is anything like any other Marvel projects, there are still plenty of surprises in store for Barnes and Wilson this season.