The John Walker Rewrite - Changing Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Click here to sign up for CuriosityStream and get a free Nebula subscription curiositystream.com/nando
Redemptions are tricky and John Walker's redemption in Falcon and the Winter Soldier left a lot of fans unsatisfied. So let's see if we can do something to make it a little more impactful.
The Nando v Movies Merch Store - store.nebula.app/collections/...
MOSTLY NITPICKING PODCAST
iTunes I apple.co/2lMcoVv
Google I tinyurl.com/y6nnxte5
Stitcher I bit.ly/2NbZFZ4
Spotify I spoti.fi/2Oc5Qg4
OTHER STUFF
Patreon I / nandovmovies
Discord I / discord
Reddit I / nandovmovies
Twitter I / nandovmovies
Facebook I / nandovmovies
Instagram I / nandovmovies
Music by Epidemic Sound

[@rabbidluigi]

I took the redemption as a way of keeping Walker away from being a straight-up villain. He's done plenty before in the series that sets him up as a villain but saving the hostages keeps him in a confusing grey area that can angle him towards being more of an anti-hero than a cut-and-dry bad guy.

[@LiveHedgehog]

Plus it's a little resolution to his arc of repeatedly trying and failing to apprehend Karli. It'd make him just look comedically incompetent if he tried and failed again to stop her.

[@AdamSmith-jb2lf]

Huh. Fancy seeing you here. Nice shout, Rabbid!

[@NinjaDude6040]

Exactly, i didn't see him saving the hostages as a redemption, instead a representation that he "makes the right calls in battle" like Lemar said. This doesn't make up for everything he did before.

[@FULANODETAL]

@@NinjaDude6040 also for some reason a 1,63 metres chick with no COMBAT training is able to defeat walker that is 1,88 and trained with the US RANGERS.. EVEN WITH SUERUM.

[@odd435]

This is a beautiful way to put it. It was never about a full redemption, it’s a point of conflict for the character which CAN lead to redemption in the future. They never redeemed the character, they only showed that the character, living an insane justice fueled illusion, can be rehabilitated.

[@IraRossD]

“Why did Walker save those people.” Um, why wouldn’t he? Did you forget episode 4 where the last line of the scene where he’s talking with his buddy about hypothetically taking the serum, his buddy says, “Think of all the lives we could’ve saved.” That’s the last line, symbolizing that it’s what cinches the decision for Walker. He was enraged after his friend was murdered, and generally doesn’t handle pressure well, but ultimately is already a pretty decent person. It was absolutely in character to save those people.

[@tuffdude7795]

Yeah he has a lot of flaws and is a horrible Captain America, but he isn't evil. He is more like Iron Man in Civil War. In that movie he was controlled by his emotions. Similarly Walker operates on his emotions as well. He is quick to anger, impatient, prone to violence, etc. However, he still tries to do the right thing. Usually he makes the wrong choice and does something bad, but he will still make the right choice every now and then.

[@ddakji.artist]

Yea i was puzzled by Nando's take on this. Seemed like he was trying to find a flatten John Walker's character as a 24/7 temper tantrum maniac

[@Superiorspider-man1605]

Yeah i really don’t think this guy watched the show, really misunderstood the characters

[@tuffdude7795]

@@Superiorspider-man1605 I like a lot of this channels videos, but whenever is wrong he usually gets it really wrong.

[@darkmaster539]

Yeah, this. It never says he's a bad person at all. He's just not the perfect person for the powers like Steve was.

[@_cat_smith_]

Thing I want to say about the Eagle Shield: it would work so much better, subtextually, because the eagle shield's wings would be blades/prongs, reflecting how John uses his shield primarily as a weapon.

[@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt]

In fairness, so do Steve and Sam. The shield is a weapon

[@Lav6019]

@@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt technically you're correct (the best kind of correct). Though I do love symbolism in mediums

[@_cat_smith_]

@@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt yeah, I suppose the point (pun intended) is that I can't remember seeing Walker ever use the shield to defend himself, except maybe in the fight with Bucky and Sam in E5, whereas Sam and Steve used it as a defensive tool almost immediately in their tenures

[@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt]

@@_cat_smith_ if i remember right he does use it a lot defensively, especially before getting the serum. Back then most fights against powered people he can only hide behind the shield and get wacked repeatedly, like against the wakandans.

[@Mr_Case_Time]

It’s interesting. Sam killed bad guys. Even Steve killed bad guys. Is the Flagsmasher’s death worse somehow because he yielded first? What if one of Sam’s or Steve’s victims would have yielded if given the chance? I’m not sure if it’s inconsistent writing, or maybe I’m just missing something.

[@manyagaver1946]

I think it’s different to a lot of people because we don’t know the people Sam and Steve killed except like the super bad guys. To be clear, I agree with you but I think that’s why people see it so differently

[@Mr_Case_Time]

@@manyagaver1946 you’re right, that’s what it is. The faceless, nameless Hydra soldiers that were killed had just as much zeal for their cause as the Flagsmashers, but we didn’t get a chance to get to know them so it’s just like, “Oh well, just another guy getting killed by the Avengers”.

[@AllWIllFall2Me]

There is, legally (and many argue morally), a difference between killing an opponent who is actively fighting you, and one who has surrendered. Now, yes, as you point out, this is a grey area, since we can assume most people would give up when they knew themselves to be overpowered. But generally, people will agree that you do not have an onus to provide mercy to someone actively endangering you, and if that results in their death before they can be subdued, that's regrettable but not actively wrong.

[@Mr_Case_Time]

@@AllWIllFall2Me I see what you’re saying. Justice would have been served if the guy had been arrested, but what ended up happening was revenge. And you can’t try to arrest everyone on a battlefield.

[@Remix-pr4xd]

@@Mr_Case_Time Plus didn’t Sam send a dude slowly plummeting to his death in ep1 without trying to save him.

[@thenorthian3667]

Walker got medals in the army for saving people. So I actually completely agree with the decision to have him save the people over chasing Karli. I don't see that as a total redemption, but shows his original values are still inside him.

[@Kraven83]

Excellent observation

[@manyagaver1946]

It was a little rushed but I like John. He isn’t redeemed in my opinion. They are keeping him in a grey area and I’m excited to see what happens.

[@coruscanta]

@@BeautifulEarthJa the comment said that he isn’t redeemed? Not sure what you mean.

[@manyagaver1946]

@@BeautifulEarthJa I said he wasn’t redeemed

[@Merione]

I agree. He wasn't redeemed because he didn't *need* a redemption, in my opinion. I liked him from the start and he's never been a villain to me. He did what his character would have done anyway.

[@obliviouz]

@@Merione Exactly. He's a great demonstration of what would happen if a competent soldier who's also just a flawed person was placed in that situation (high stress, high expectations, utterly indefinite goals and strategies) and THEN hit with the super soldier serum. Yeah, he's impatient, blunt, a little arrogant, and a rule-follower. But the hostage van scene shows that deep down, when he's allowed to act freely and on his own terms, he's not a bad person. And he never was.

[@spider-jonah-man7148]

I didn’t see it as out of character. He’s always been trying to do what he thinks is right from the beginning

[@moistmanatee484]

I can see why Marvel wanted to have Walker end the show as more of an anti-hero/not-very-great-hero for his future endeavors in the MCU, and more specifically the Thunderbolts. He's probably going to be the "straight man" to the rest of the Thunderbolts team, or at least the most "heroic" of the team, kind of like Rick Flagg in Suicide Squad.

[@Mathadar]

That is what I said to my wife as well when we watched it. I couldn't think of Rick Flagg's name, but I imagine him being exactly like Rick Flagg in there, especially since he has the Super Soldier serum. He can actually do more to keep the Thunderbolts/Dark Avengers in line, especially since they are criminals, like for example, Baron Zemo.

[@fire2box]

John and his friend were talking about the serum and a key moment in it was " how many lives could we of saved that day if we had" referring back to the worst day in his life when he got the three medal of honors. I think saving the hostages from certain death like that is him doing exactly that.

[@Funky_Player2]

Yeah

[@bruced09]

Not to mention how Walker said along the lines of “I want to do the right thing, being Captain America makes me feel that way.” And he loses that... so the truck is his chance to do that again

[@TAJMofficial]

*have

[@pongsatonrattanapriyanuch7331]

Yeah, this, I'm not sure if most viewers or a writer understand what it takes to earn a medal of honor(in modern times), you don't earn that by killing enemies you earn it by saving people.

[@Fuhrerjehova]

I didn't have any problems with his "redemption". Just because what you said. Walker is not a bad guy, he's just the wrong guy. But the wrong guy that can still make the right decisions. Sometimes. Because the thing is, Walker cares, and more than that, he feels a sense of duty. I did not really see it as a redemption. More a show of how complex the character is.

[@SeanORaigh]

He's definitely a bad guy. The complexity doesn't make that any less true.

[@spam_1224]

@@SeanORaigh give me one reason hes a bad guy.

[@SilverSpireZ]

Walker and Zemo were easily the best parts of the show. I just wish we got more of them.

[@upjohn1715]

Yup

[@tonto_kemosabe]

Sam, Buck, and Zemo is the dream team.

[@Riddler208]

Indeed!

[@andrescampos7881]

i Think his Arc is meant to be incomplete, like he is a Bad guy, but there are still sparks of Captain America, to make him fall even more with Dark Avengers or something

[@ricardoospina5970]

I don't think Walker was the Bad guy in the story, I think he was an antagonist instead. He wasn't an evil dude, he often made the wrong decision and had things repeatedly blow up in his face.

[@Reach42a]

@@ricardoospina5970 This this this. Antagonist is not inherently synonymous with evil. He's flawed no doubt, and his a great deal of darkness in him, but he isn't an evil human being.

[@myanafav6886]

He's more antihero, it's so clearly to see that after the end of episode six.

[@SeanORaigh]

@@anomalous5549 he's the only bad guy the series has.

[@SeanORaigh]

@@myanafav6886 definitely not an anti-hero. Maybe an anti-villain at best.

[@timuryeldiren9104]

Honestly it didnt feel forced imo. Walker never put his own goals about saving ppl. Sure he gets angry quickly, but nothing he ever did brought innocent ppl in danger. His duty as a soldier is to save the ones that cant protect themselves, so of course he protects the ppl in the truck.

[@Kekkersboy]

I saw him lying to Lamar's parents was about sparing them pain in their eyes, as well as a promise to himself that he will take down his murderer.

[@nont18411]

It’s about bringing them closure

[@damyr55]

Same

[@TheShanicpower]

*Lemar

[@Reach42a]

@@nont18411 Exactttttly, I see all these takes trying to roast him over that but like...what would it have done but given them more anguish? The only alternative is what? At best he swears revenge? That doesn't help the Hoskins. You can see (and Malcom Spellman has pointed it out) that even doing that absolutely rips him apart on a personal level.

[@nont18411]

@@Reach42a Anything Walker does is villainous because the evil music so he is evil (the audience is so easily manipulated)

[@camerondaniels2931]

I kinda disagree I feel this was the first time Walker had a cut and dry you must choose moment and letting him try to save those people shows who he really is Walker in his conversation with Lamar that you referenced actually talks about how many people could of been saved if he had the serum back then to show you he wants to help he’s just more normal morally gray like a wolverine or punisher they would have killed that flagsmasher too in my opinion

[@camerondaniels2931]

I guess you could say he’s not a white knight character but more dark

[@bobsandwich3431]

Punisher would have 100% done the same things.

[@joshheralal8758]

@@bobsandwich3431 Not the Punisher from MAX.

[@isabelleoh-criner6697]

I agree with you but why is there not a single punctuation mark in this entire comment? Had me a little confused partway through 😅

[@julianxamo7835]

Nah that would have made him TOO unlikable, he's supposed to be an anti-hero, not a villain, you said it yourself, but without that moment he's just a villain, plain and simple, that moment keeps his character gray

[@SeanORaigh]

If he was supposed to be an anti-hero the writers failed. He's an anti-villain at best.

[@jdsjigglypuff9419]

As if my Friday wasn't already great enough

[@xxmikeymooxx]

*tuesday

[@jdsjigglypuff9419]

@@xxmikeymooxx what planet are you on bro

[@xxmikeymooxx]

@@jdsjigglypuff9419 the same as you

[@jdsjigglypuff9419]

@@xxmikeymooxx wdym Tuesday

[@xxmikeymooxx]

@@jdsjigglypuff9419 you said Friday but you should have said Tuesday

[@BaronPorkface]

Not everyone who has a temper problem is a perma-berserker.

[@mdtisthebest6249]

Nerds think any form of aggression is evil

[@raphaeldelaghetto85]

I think the ambiguity in Walker’s turn, makes him way more interesting moving forward. If he were a full on bad guy at the end, it would’ve been very clear they were just setting up an evil Avengers team but now it’s a little more nuanced.

[@jacktease27]

Why does John save the hostages? Where in the series is he shown to not care for human life (the flag smasher doesn't count cause he was taking revenge in a moment of angry). It makes sense for the character to save the hostages. I'll take a character doing things in line with what we know about them instead of, bad characters has to do bad things cause they're bad

[@deandreclark280]

His redemption arc was very lazy and rushed I wish y'all John walker fans would admit that

[@SeiferVII]

@@deandreclark280 I can't believe he has fans, the comments in this video are weirding me out.

[@Operation_Bagel]

@@deandreclark280 Still the best part of the show though

[@Operation_Bagel]

@@SeiferVII Yeah because when you think for yourself instead of just following what the show wants you to believe you'll see he was never a bad guy and him killing the terrorist is gray and questionable at worst. #WeWalkWithWalker

[@theguywithsomething8634]

@@Operation_Bagel "Gray and questionable at worst." The dude he killed was not responsible for the deaths of anyone. He was actively trying to help those in need because their governments wouldn't. He was unarmed, and had clearly surrendered. And Walker killed him in cold blood in a violent rage, then lied by saying said unarmed guy (who was just another normal displaced dude before he got the serum like, a few months ago, hardly a trained killer) was responsible for a crime Walker was well aware he didn't commit. It wasn't even a quick death, that was brutal. Oh, but he was a terrorist, which automatically makes what Walker did to him "morally grey at worst." Nah dude. Nothing morally grey about killing an unarmed innocent man who's surrendered and is begging for their life.

[@Tsuusetsu]

I also do not 'love to hate' walker. I find myself rooting for him. I like heros that struggle with being a hero. Perfect hero's are boring. I find superman and batman incredibly boring. I see walker and say " Go on man, you can do it, I believe that you can become a true hero. " And then I hate him for a moment when he makes the wrong decision, but that's what makes him fun. I cheer waiting for those small victories where he does make the right choice, and leads him to becoming better.

[@stewlew8449]

Going to have to disagree with that respectively. Go with your cut with remembering all the bad things but then remember that reporter showing why he was picked to become captain America, what battlestar thought of him, how he got his medal of honour. Use those memories to show why he saved the GRC representatives and that he is a complicated character. Not a complete villain

[@CaptainPikeachu]

People keep saying he has a redemption arc except he doesn’t have a redemption at all. Saving the hostages and helping the fight isn’t “redemption”, Walker was established from the beginning as someone who wants to do the right thing and help people, he just doesn’t always have the right way to do it. He’s not evil or bad, everything he does is emotionally understandable. Him saving those hostages is incredibly in-character. What he got was not redemption, it was the writers reminding the viewers that he’s not a complete monster that some people think he is, that when lives are on the line, he does care and will do the right thing. That’s the character they established. Walker has THREE Medals of Honor, he works in hostage rescue, you don’t get that unless you genuinely do care and would put your life on the line for people. His story wasn’t a rushed redemption because it was never intended to be, they didn’t intend to redeem him, but to continue to establish that Walker is a guy who’s gonna walk the moral lines, he’s not a full on hero but he’s not a complete uncaring villain either and that’s okay. Also, having Walker make an active choice to not save the hostages would not only flatten the character to an irredeemable villain, but it would also do a disservice to the character itself, a character who earned THREE Medals of Honor awarded for courage and self sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty. It would have ensured that there was nothing for him to do to ever change how he’s viewed in the eyes of viewers as a monster, they would never think he’s done enough to earn true redemption. What John Walker got in the last episode is not redemption, he simply hit a stop sign, his story isn’t ending, it’s just going onto the next stage, and as producer Nate Moore even said, John is not redeemed, that John doesn’t even think he’s redeemed either. There’s still more paths for John to walk, and there could be highs and lows, it doesn’t have to be a giant trajectory downward and plummeting.

[@JesseGolo]

I agree. I find calling it a redemption is bit much.

[@Kodiie]

Could not agree more. People want Walker to be a villain yet sympathize with Karli 🤦🏾‍♀️. Very scary what people took away from this show.

[@manyagaver1946]

I totally agree, it’s not a redemption arc it’s a keeping this character interesting arc. This isn’t punching n@zis anymore, there is a lot of grey to be explored in the MCU.

[@Nomalos]

Yeah it would be ridiculous if he suddenly gave up the lives of those innocents for vengeance. Since he is a pretty vanilla solider dude who had a couple bad days. Even if being striped of everything shook him to his core, could that really shift him that far?

[@tuffdude7795]

@@Kodiie It is ok to sympathize with Karli. It doesn't mean what she did was right, but that you understand where she is coming from.

[@jerichobrandon3571]

making him okay with letting the innocents die when the only time we saw him being okay with somenone's life being taken was in episode 4 when he killed that guy (whom in his eyes is a terrorist that killed innocents) don't really make sense right?..besides making him a full-on villain in the finale would be too on the nose doesn't it? instead of it being vague and interesting

[@waffledee4651]

I don’t think saving the hostages is a redemption, it’s just the start of one. We’ll see how they follow this up

[@coruscanta]

The problem is that the show kinda acts like it’s a redemption for him. Sam and Bucky have one moment where they worry about him going off on his own and then when the press show up they just give Walker a little nod and keep walking. I’m also excited to see how the follow it up, though the director’s comments don’t fill me with hope.

[@garenthal9638]

@@coruscanta I mean if Sam was wanting to help Karli and refused to call her a terrorist, why wouldn’t he want to give Walker another chance

[@coruscanta]

@@garenthal9638 there’s a big difference between giving him another chance and acting like nothing happened.

[@blataybragg7778]

I gotta disagree here. Everything you say about Walker still stands, him saving the hostages just proves he's not a monster throughout everything. He can still be an antagonist/antihero and try to still do the right thing. There's clearly going to be more to him. He was always about trying to do the right thing, he doesn't do bad things because he's evil.

[@The-boy_7.]

I need to disagree with you. Since marvel clearly has future plans for him (Thunderbolts) I think it would have worked better if we the audience are left feeling he’s more of a villain before he gets his redemption arc in those future projects and not awkwardly shoved into the final episode.

[@eew8060]

I agree @blataybragg

[@sbotstudios]

The Other part of Valentina Allegra de Fountaine’s story is in Black Widow. She was supposed to be in Black Widow first.

[@cheeseisjar3058]

Wait really??? Where did you hear this? Tell me your secrets

[@klaykid117]

Yeah thanks to the pandemic we're missing a big piece of the puzzle. This is like watching the incredible hulk instead of Iron Man first so Tony Stark showing up at the end makes no sense to you

[@loganbigmo]

@@cheeseisjar3058 Variety published that article the day episode 5 came out, after an interview with Marvel.

[@sunphoenix1231]

@@cheeseisjar3058 As well as the original release dates, Black Widow was last may and falcon and winter soldier was supposed to be last August.

[@FranciscoRamirez-nb4uu]

well she had more screen time in the show than in the movie

[@thepudgyninja]

I actually don't have a problem with Walker saving the truck. I think that the character is capable of making the right decision sometimes. I think that his action shows that he is redeemable, not that he is redeemed. The problem I have with the episode/characterization is that the other characters DO treat him like he's completely redeemed, like when you see him joking around with Bucky. Dude should have saved the truck and gotten no recognition for it at all, still be disgraced. Then it's an interesting journey to see which way he goes.

[@what._._._]

this is exactly what i thought

[@aripocki]

Same

[@kirannkornat7761]

Karli never thought anyone’s life mattered though and I feel Walker wanted an explanation for why he had to die.

[@twodogsandadingo3331]

The lying to the family is a real thing soldiers do to allow family's a chance at peace tbf

[@cameroncooper9831]

I like John Walker because he’s real. To me it looks like he will be someone who wants to make the right decisions, but struggles along the way and falls short of that. Extremely relatable. Also - are we still pretending Steve Rodgers never killed anyone? Lol.

[@_Nikolas_]

How is it relevant that Steve Rodgers killed people?

[@cameroncooper9831]

@@_Nikolas_ people demonize John Walker for killing the flag smasher ( surrendering or not ) when Steve Rodger for sure killed people tooo

[@_Nikolas_]

@@cameroncooper9831 You can't just say "surrendering or not" and expect me to act as if it doesn't play a big role. Steve only killed people who were an imidiate danger to him or others. Most of them also were Hydra's soldiers in *WW2.* WORLD WAR TWO, *SOLDIERS.*

[@harshalshetty9865]

​@@_Nikolas_that flag smasher wasn't a soldier?

[@_Nikolas_]

@@harshalshetty9865 You can't compare a flag smasher to WW2 N@zis. That's what I'm trying to say

[@mikeczech7608]

“Loved this show. Great show. Fantastic show. I would, however, like to change one little everything about it.”

[@IraRossD]

“His human friend wears a bulletproof vest, he says “jurisdiction” one time, and he uses his influence as Cap to get Bucky out of holding and back into action after his therapy. Clearly, he’s a cop.”

[@bjornzexi535]

LOL right, even reading into it, it seems more like a comment on the reality of US intervention in foreign affairs? Not to mention this video is more or less based on his interpretation that Walker has received a full redemption by the end

[@Ceob]

I get what you mean, but I just don't think Walker is as bad as you think. He did have some virtue to become the new Captain America and he hinted at having issues with the US government when discussing the things he did at war.

[@orthranus3352]

Sorry m8, but you're just wrong here. It makes perfect sense for the perfect soldier to defend authority over pursuing personal vengeance. If the lawful character, whose only saving grace is his lawfulness, went for personal vengeance then he would have no redeeming features amongst the massive list of character flaws.

[@deandreclark280]

It really didn't make sense. He didn't earn that redemption arc.

[@orthranus3352]

@@deandreclark280 It's not a redemption arc though. It's him choosing between maintaining the values that made him an unworthy successor and becoming consumed by revenge. Not being evil is not a virtue.

[@Mathadar]

What do you mean we don't like Walker? I liked him a lot. He literally was both suffering from PTSD, and lost his childhood friend mere moments before he killed someone. That is going to mess with him for years. He didn't want everything he sacrificed to be in vain, he had to stop the Flag Smashers, and likely Val called him, and told him where to show up. So he did, and instead of making the bad, rash decision, he remembered what his deceased friend kept telling him. He made the right choice, this time. What the heck was hard to understand about that?

[@officiallyunofficial1]

He made the right choice because he saw what the true Captain America does after Sam took the title. He still has the desire to do what's right, and he finally saw what the right decision looks like. Though I still like your ending more

[@tuffdude7795]

Yeah he isn't pure evil or always going to make the wrong choice. He has a lot of flaws and lacks emotional control, but he still tries to do right. He is just usually very wrong about what is actually right.

[@SunnyGoesIn1D]

Then why do all the set up all the way up to Val and USagent foreshadowing just to do a lukewarm redemption/Sike moment. It's just about it not being earned or convincing.

[@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt]

True captain america is Steve Rogers, not Sam

[@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt]

@@tuffdude7795 not really no, he is usually right. Just people dont like to see what it takes to get the job done

[@nont18411]

He is not inspired by Sam. He just let go of the pressure from being Cap and be himself.

[@Likeomgitznich]

I took the moment Walker lied to Lamars family, that short little pause, as his internal reflection that he is doing the wrong thing. He is hurting and lying to the people he loves. I think that is where his thought process changed.

[@maninthetrenchcoat5603]

I took it as the man is still delusional that Dovich killed Lemar and is hiding the truth from himself as well.

[@Boysif_]

I actually like that point a lot!

[@barianfool5569]

I don't see him lying to Lemar family as a evil act more of a person trying to ease their pain.

[@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt]

Lying was the best thing there. What gain is there to be truthful that his killer is still out there?

[@barianfool5569]

@@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt I mean imagine if John told the family the truth and then later on while watching tv they see the new captain America angel carry the terrorist that killed their son Then it gets worse as he goes on to defend her.

[@buddhidev7877]

I have no change about Walker's arc, but I wanna change the Flag smasher's arc

[@duartevader2101]

I really liked him. I thought he was the best part of the series.

[@AbjectPermanence]

Comparing the US Agent costume's horizontal bars to the chest design of the Winter Soldier costume is really interesting. I hadn't noticed that.

[@MorKmbt]

I think Sam beating up Walker in front of a cheering crowd feels way too cheesy, almost like Rocky 5 “Touch me and I’ll sue!” “Sue me for what?” With the pastor cheering for Rocky in the background

[@wazirmuhammad8999]

Yeah that's why he is a youtuber, not any actual film director.

[@Reach42a]

Walker saving the van is him making the right decision in the heat of battle, that's Lemar's legacy being honored through him. We've been told over and over that at the bare minimum he *wants* to do the right, it's just that he fails in doing so. He puts all of himself into being Cap (I took him putting his medals into the shield as being symbolic for that in a way), and even then he still fails. But, when the chips are down, we see that ultimately he is not a wicked human being. Him saving the van makes sense when put up against what we're told about him, and from what he tells us. What comes after (the quips and paling around) felt sudden, out of nowhere, and could've gone without. But (at least recently, judging by the 2020 US Agent series and the show) Walker isn't meant to truly become some loathable figure, because he just isn't evil. He isn't Omni-Man, or Homelander (seriously what kind of atrocious comparisons are those?), he's an extremely flawed human being, but not a bad one, not totally. Also, like a lot of the comments here, I think he isn't necessarily redeemed, this was just to keep him gray, not black. He (hopefully) has a lot more story to tell, and we'll continue to see more of him going forward, or at least I hope so, as he's one of my faves. Side note: I think John might be more commentary on why soldiers becoming cops (something incredibly common for combat personnel irl bc its one of the few fields they have transferrable skills for) and the militarization of the police is bad. But he's just as much commentary on the treatment of veterans, and of the military's absolutely abysmal mental health apparatus, there's a reason vet suicide is so high. I work for the VA, and the amount of people who I speak to who might as well be quoting John in that courtroom is astounding, and utterly heartbreaking.

[@alexvashus1606]

Was anyone else really disappointed they killed Batroc?

[@Kraven83]

Yep, felt so rushed and unsatisfying.

[@rhyssmith4218]

John was Not Equipped to deal with the flag smashers. He began to realise this especially after his encounter with the wakandans.

[@Jasonwolf1495]

Honestly I was really happy when the series was Falcon and the Winter Soldier, because I adored the idea of Falcon not wanting to be captain America. Falcon is Falcon and should stay falcon. No one should be Captain America. I'd much prefer the whole point to be "Captain America was a man and a symbol, but no one else is the same man so no one else can be the same symbol." USAgent is great because its not captain America, they show that there can't be another captain america.

[@tajaniscott]

Nando: Do we like him? No we don't! Not yet! Me: Should I tell him guys?

[@GERMANYkev]

People should love to hate him? I hate that I love this guy... Russell nails it!

[@Kekkersboy]

Yeah. Sorry i was always on his side. I saw his final episode as him being himself, more himself that he's been in a while. He's someone who never should have been cap, didn't believe he should be cap, but also could never turn it down. Seeing it as a way to make sense of the trauma in his life

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

that you agree? lol

[@dontlookatme9692]

Well I like him from start

[@tajaniscott]

@@BeautifulEarthJa yup

[@sbotstudios]

John Walker’s purpose is to set up The Dark Avengers.

[@IcyDiamond]

Norman Osborn in the MCU let’s go!

[@extremetoast5723]

Kind of sad that his purpose in this and Monica’s purpose in WV boiled down to just setting up future characters. It’s like Marvels saying ‘hey thanks for watching, be sure to tune in in the future where we might give you a payoff!’

[@Carabas72]

@@IcyDiamond I doubt it'll be Osborn's Dark Avengers. Making a Sony character that central to your big main story is too risky.

[@jadenmamangon9016]

Also I heard from MatPat that originally a character from Black Widow was going to set up the Dark Avengers.

[@Timewarpiaman]

@@IcyDiamond I think Iron Man's counterpart will be someone else. Either Iron Monger 2.0 (Ezekial Stane, the son of the first Iron Monger) Or even more out there Detroit Steel. Detroit isn't as popular as Iron Monger 2.0 BUT he can bring back Justin Hammer.

[@JTeam45]

Sorry, man. Your version of events betrays John Walker's character. He was meant to be a flawed Captain America, not an evil one.

[@imnothappyaboutthis3596]

When lamar said john always does the right thing that isn’t true as no one can always make the right decision or do the right thing (not even steve in civil war did the right things...he did honourable and loyal things but not right) and that is why that scene is not out of character for john he might be quick to anger and trigger happy but in the series he had never been in that position to chose saving hostages or to go after karli and he knows the right thing to do that’s why he takes a second to think about it because deep down it’s a win for him the people that took his power away die while he chases karli and hopefully kills her but he knows this is clearly not the right thing to do in that situation so he makes the right call following his characterization of someone who might be quick to anger and trigger happy and also wanting to do the right thing as much as possible....and come on you are telling me you want to cut out that score...you monster

[@JamesLawner]

A complete missed opportunity to not have John Walker say Ultimate!Cap's line, "You think this A stands for France?!"

[@Dr_Procrastinator]

I believe John's redemption could have had a bit of an expansion but i do believe it should be kept. John isn't a bad guy, he's just the wrong guy as you said.

[@bartandaelus359]

The take on Walker and the winter soldier around the 4 minute mark is so on point and articulate the feelings that myself and likely many others had without knowing exactly how to frame it.

[@rhyssmith4218]

The super human flag smashers could have been easily taken out had Sam bothered to keep his guns. I kinda get why Bucky doesn’t carry his cause the whole I don’t wanna be the winter soldier thing but Sam is a solider and has used them in the past, his drone uses guns, why doesn’t he use them to take down the flag smashers

[@TheNo15]

Why am I seeing so many people say Walker needs some kind of redemption or that there's some kind of redemption moment in the show? Walker hasn't actually done anything wrong, besides maybe killing the terrorist too violently and in public. If he had just killed him outright, I wouldn't have cared, but imo there's not a huge moral difference there. I find it confusing that he'd still need a redemption arc when there's nothing to redeem.

[@wasifali112]

One small change I'd make is the whole standoff with Bucky & Sam. I think if they were going to redeem him this way is by him willingly give up the shield. The guilt drowns him, he owns up to the family of Lemar & gives up until he's reached out by Val in the last episode.

[@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt]

Guilt of what? Killing a terrorist? Dude had it coming

[@wasifali112]

@@MarcosGarcia-ot2lt the guilt of not listening to Sam & getting Lemar killed. Also Karli had it coming. Not the dude.

[@anthrowahine]

I'm ok with Walker having saved the van, he's not meant to be a fully evil person at that point. Yes, he is in a rage over losing everything, but perhaps his thought process could be that he's saving the lives he couldn't before. I didn't see him killing the flag smasher as him belong evil, but as him grieving. I don't feel that his character had quite gone dark enough to warrant him allowing innocent people to die. Maybe this is a mini redemption, but him partnering up with bucky and san afterwards, that felt unjustified. I think, after he saved the van, he should have ran after Karli, and we don't see them when Sam comes in to save the van a second time. We should next see them when Sam goes to find them, with Sharon. Maybe have Sam get between them, Karl run, Walker throws Sam off a little tok hard and goes after her, and Sam goes after them both. Make it a corridor so Sam can't really as well to catch up and has to rely on his regular human form. If you want to have Sharon make her big revel then, have Sharon knock out Walker, talk to Karl, then have Sam show up. Have the fight, Walker wakes up and joins the fray, and Sam telling him to calm down. Have him have a moment of pause, and Sharon then shoots Karli. Have Karli fall against Walker (she wasn't trying to protect him), tell him she is sorry, and die. Have Walker conflicted, Sam grab Karli and bring her out give his speech, and Walker walk out, see the speech and the praise for saving the van, and show him contemplating unhappily Sam being Captain America, that that praise should go to him. Then have him meet with the Contess.

[@ae8710]

I dont think Walker saving the hostages was a turn in his character. He was always about keeping people safe - his words in his interview in episode 2 I think. Like you said, he is not an evil guy. Lamar did say in the heat of battle he makes the right choices. Saving the hostages was the right choice when he was in the middle of chaos

[@mr.moviemafia]

Even if it wasn’t executed perfectly, I’m fine with it because his final U.S. Agent scene seemingly sets up the possibility of Walker still being an antagonist.

[@FULANODETAL]

nope marvel writters arenot so clever

[@TheShanicpower]

@@FULANODETAL That’s hardly a super clever move to make.

[@FULANODETAL]

@@TheShanicpower wel lhes a guy who lost the temper very easily..thats is weird for a US ranger veteran.. also he lied a lot,also after being beated by bucky ,at the end act like they were pals... also for some reason he cannot beat a 1,63 redhaired chick that got no combat training at all..also didnt save the hostagues..¿how he knew where they were in the middle of newyork?.. i cant find any ark,,and ARK is frank castle mcu did.he erased all remains of his old life by killing RUSSOOOOOO,,,and embrace 100% punisher by massacring 2 gangs at the end...

[@thepapavulture8322]

@@FULANODETAL You know nothing about the character U.S. Agent and that's okay.

[@FULANODETAL]

@@thepapavulture8322 i talk about the series..so he lose the temper too easy.he lies to battlestar family.he plans poorly the actions..and after all of that he is back to to The same place he started.. And also he is defeated in the last episode by a 1.63 m chick even he inyected the suerum..also he build a shield than last 30 secounds... I smell poorly written character

[@jessesturre]

This is one of the better John Walker analyses i've seen so far. He is my favorite new MCU character we got in 2021 because he is so complicated and interesting. I really really hope we'll get to see him way more in the future

[@ttm77777]

when he saves the hostages i think it would be super out of character if he didnt. he wants to do the right thing but gets overwhelmed, so if they were in a fight and walker left to save the hostages then yes, it would be off, but since he was away and had to go fight or go save it makes sense to save, since hes already feeling bad about lemar. he always wanted to save people, he just did it the wrong way, so if he decided to not save people would be really weird. but i didnt really like that hes all buddy buddy with bucky and sam but thats another problem. edit after watching the vid: i also really like the rewrite and of he was to go after her this is the way to do it.

[@timross5351]

It's not about redemption; Walker made the right choice because that is what a soldier is supposed to do in that situation. Sure, it could have gone either way (letting hostages die to capture an enemy bigwig is a thing that happens, or so Hollywood tells me), but Walker is a decorated soldier and quite capable of doing the Right Thing. Narratively, it shows that Walker is a hero, but one on a dark path, one that can still fall. At least that is how I took it. I don't count it as a full redemption.

[@LiveHedgehog]

I don't really understand why you don't like that John saves the truck full of people instead of going after Karli. You seem to want him to have ended this series beaten down, humiliated? Him saving the truck is the resolution to his arc. Throughout the show he was constantly making decisions based on anger, rage, etc. and it NEVER worked out for him. Most of this episode was his trying and failing to beat Karli and the Flag Smashers through brute force. When given the choice between saving the truck full of people or pursuing Karli, he finally makes the right choice. He realises that he's failed time and time again with stopping her, and instead makes the right decision. He earns the right to become the anti-hero US Agent in that moment. You're wrong when you say the audience doesn't like John Walker. The audience is very split on whether they like him or not. You and thousands others don't like him, but thousands of others DO like him. Which is kind-of the point. He's a divisive figure.

[@natth6462]

I do like him

[@bobsandwich3431]

I honestly think more people liked him by the end than hated him. Ive seen countless comments saying zemo and walker were the best characters in the show

[@kalamari1611]

I think I would’ve wanted Bucky and John to have confrontation or fight in episode 6, while Sam goes to the public and handled Karli to be a symbol and stuff while Bucky handles John to make sure he doesn’t ruin any progress

[@geekheaven2656]

Walker's decent into madness was by far my favorite part of the show, and one of my favorite characters to follow in a long time. That was up until episode 6 where they butchered his character with a rushed redemption rather than a proper one or an even further decent into madness.

[@doloepicmusic]

I think Walkers fall into US Agent was supposed to show what could have been with Steve, if he wasn’t the perfect moral candidate to have the SS serum. On paper, Walker is the perfect soldier which the show details in episode 2, but marvel painted a character profile for Steve Rogers in the last two movies to really make him the most likable fictional character ever. From saving Wanda n vision to calling Thor’s hammer against thanos, to going back in time n living his life with Peggy, they gave OG Cap the perfect story arc in 2 movies. There’s so much talk about the serum that only a handful of people in the MCU had a real relationship with and what in can do to people, then have John Walker optimize it in real time

[@Operation_Bagel]

I liked him since episode 2 #WeWalkWithWalker

[@JesseGolo]

The idea that Walker is bad for hunting down the Flagsmashers and going to places they hid is totally ruined by the Dora 'we go where we want and do what we want' Milaje.

[@ThePiachu]

The flag smasher wasn't an enemy soldier, since they were not a part of any country's armed forces. They were insurgents at best and terrorists at worst. Important distinction, since they are not covered by the Geneva Convention and so on. But yeah, that show was so tonally all over the place...

[@bloodangelphil]

Part of me wonders if any of the recent Marvel stuff will hold up a few years on, like how people go back to Civil War, Winter Soldier, or the earlier phases.

[@GarysReview]

This is the video I’ve been waiting for!

[@spiraljumper74]

There was so much wrong with Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I don’t think it can be fixed by one small change, or several big ones. I don’t think a firm owned by Disney can ever produce a piece of art that carries the themes this show was going for in a satisfying way.

[@MetaNiteFM]

Your explanation of Walker going from being a foil for Sam to becoming a foil for Bucky is so spot on and I didn’t put that together before. I think with some minor tweaks that could’ve been made clearer but that’s a super interesting reading.

[@aripocki]

A smaller snip change would be if Val calls John and persuades him to save the politicians, saying it's "what's best for him." It sets up a few things: John does "the right thing" without being fully redeemed and it's open-ended whether he really would have made that choice or not, and like the Winter Soldier parallel you mentioned, shows that he's fully under control of the corrupt system.

[@fqwgads]

Great insight seeing how they drew parallels to him being a cop. I wish they played up that angle even more - instead of his superiors disciplining him, imagine if they made excuses for his bad behavior, enabling him further.

[@tuffdude7795]

I think they would have if it wasn't caught on camera. They would have praised him if he did the same thing, but no bystanders saw.

[@samlasalle3853]

I definitely agree. Walker was more interesting as a complex person who was the wrong person to be Captain America and a product of a flawed system than as a redeemed man. Maybe give him a redemption way in the future, but he has not earned it and is a better character without it, at least right now.

[@lukezietse5000]

what really annoys me is the Lincoln quote he uses in episode six: "Mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice." when that's like the opposite of his philosophy. His whole thing was the bad guys get punished as they deserve even if it makes the world a worse place while Sam is the one who believes in redemptive mercy for the sake of a better world. I swear, it feels like the showrunners bonked their heads and forgot their own writing a la GOT.

[@theshanaman7805]

We never learned his philosophy though he killed a lad sure but that was a crime of passion and doesn’t really tell us about his philosophy

[@xtreme666bio]

I would have liked it if he responded to Bucky saying that quote was related to Lamar somehow. Maybe if Lamar had it in a notebook, or they alluded to it earlier in the show, perhaps during the super soldier serum conversation. That way he could decide to honor his friend instead of avenge him.

[@genesisp3884]

I thinknit shows the way he thinks about himself, not who he actually is. Also, using a Lincoln quote is interesting especially when you hear some (not all) Republicans try to justify racist policies by claiming that they are the party of Lincoln. It is a way for him to rebrand. He was dishonorably discharged because he got "bad press" from killing the guy. By saving people and acting all heroic, he is trying to salvage his career.

[@mariomouse8265]

@@genesisp3884 it’s a really problematic quote too because Lincoln was talking about THE CONFEDERACY receiving said “mercy”. In a show that’s primarily about Black Americans and how they suffered for the US only to be unrecognized.

[@dioveshaj1944]

I think MCU's version of us agent is the most compelling villain along with killmonger that they ever wrote,guddos marvel

[@gahlainrigh5927]

... did you forget all the times the Avengers have straight-up killed opposition without even the chance for surrender. Walker isn't a killer. The smashers are killers. They blew up a building with innocents inside, and they're always armed. There is no disarming of them, and no police can safely hold them. And the smasher he killed never actually surrendered. He tried to be friendly with bucky and falcon yet they repeatedly mistreated him simply because he wasn't steve and he was forced into a role he didn't think he could fill in the firstplace. Eventually he got tired of asking them to help him and asked that they stop coddling terrorists. he's plenty likeable infact there's been an effect coined, called the John walker effect, where the villain is more likeable than the mc.

[@HiAdventureCast]

I think I would keep Walker the same and build Karli up as a more compelling antagonist. Karli and Walker were both Sam's foils. They were both extreme versions of "Captain America" and Sam was able to find the middle ground.

[@TexasKing100]

If they really wanted to give him the redemption, it wouldve been better to see him have a flashback to Lamar saying you always make the right choice, then have him finally make the right choice

[@antismo9998]

Would've been too on the nose, I feel

[@Hesauce]

@@antismo9998 but at least it would justify Walker going against everything we've seen him do. It's on the nose, but it gives the audience something to latch onto so that Walker's redemption seems more believable, rather than him suddenly making the right call despite never having done so before Edit: Corrected for spelling

[@obliviouz]

@@Hesauce No - that's what effectively happened, it was just apparently too subtle for you. He had a conversation with Lemar where Lemar reminded him that he has 3 Medals of Honor for a reason. Walker welded those MoHs to the inside of his shield, and he looked at that during the final fight, to remind himself of who he was, and to do the right thing like those Medals are meant to represent.

[@Hesauce]

@@obliviouz oh, don't get me wrong, I was able to follow it, that's why I specified "the audience" rather than talking about myself personally. I believe it's better to make it obvious but have everyone get it, rather than make it subtle but only allow some people, like ourselves to appreciate it

[@victornieves1794]

@@Hesauce He didn’t go against everything we’ve seen him do. It was already stated that he received multiple awards for saving lives during his time in the military before he became Captain America. Him saving the hostages is very in character for him.

[@jasonfrancese8359]

9:48 Weird that people say that, forgetting that we already got an amazing Madame Hydra as the villain of season 4 of Agents of SHIELD. Like, just watch that show if you want spy stuff.

[@markjmadias4165]

A question sir...What do you believe was the impetus for Walker affixing one of his Medals of Valor to his homespun shield?

[@arnumorales]

Wow, this is the best video Nando has done in the recent months IMHO.

[@Frir10]

I completely agree. This is what I was mainly missing in the show.

[@Franiac32]

Sometimes your videos frustrate me because they point out an obvious flaw I had missed, but this time it was just exactly what I've been thinking since the show ended, only much more concise. Thank you!

[@AnitaSleap1080z]

World's best soldier and the world's best man. Loved that.

[@LeRoySlim]

When you go as deep as the patterns on the suits separate meanings - That's when you know you're top tier. WOW - Keep those brainwaves flowing baby. Legitimately great stuff.

[@wulptices]

rip “walking back walker”, a phrase ive now had stuck in my head for WEEKS

[@davidgallego1652]

You are wrong about Walker

[@mr.darthmaster2132]

John Walker is my favorite new character.

[@osmanyousif7849]

Love this. Can your next video be on rewriting Mortal Kombat 2021, and what it was missing?

[@ElColt]

My man over here forgot the serum brings out the real self of who take it. GGs bro work your critiques better.

[@FULANODETAL]

ah SAM killed about 12 people in first episode...Walker killed a TERRORIST who dont surrender and get dischargued...

[@alphabettical1]

Haven't gotten to your solve yet, but t h a n k y o u for making your points. It's exactly what I felt but I brushed it off as me expecting too much from Marvel. It felt like they were setting up the dynamics and themes that you mentioned, but I thought maybe I was filling in the gaps with my own hopes for the storytelling.

[@bigwilly43729]

We have got to get over this "liking" nonsense. Who cares if the audience likes Walker? Make his actions jive with who he's been established to be. He ends up operating in some kind of gray area, which is perfectly in-line with this show, where everything is in some gray area.

[@ricardoospina5970]

I like the way Walker got characterized, why should characters always make the right decision, Tony Stark built an Army of killer robots, a crazy AI, was an arms dealer, and made battle suits, he was one of the top heroes in the MCU. I hope Walker becomes just a guy with super powers that sometimes does the right thing and sometimes doesn't.

[@bigwilly43729]

@@ricardoospina5970 I agree with Nando that he needs to earn the redemption; I just don’t like the idea of the writer saying they wanted the audience to “like” him. Either we will or we won’t, that shouldn’t be the priority.

[@ricardoospina5970]

@@bigwilly43729 But who says he is redeemed? We liked Black Widow, but was she redeemed for all the murders she did in her past? What about Loki?

[@bigwilly43729]

@@ricardoospina5970 we never actually see the things BW does. We only get little snippets. Even if they are horrible actions, her story is told as a redemption, with her ultimately sacrificing herself basically for the whole universe. I’m not saying Walker got redeemed, but wanting the audience to like him makes me feel like that’s what they wanted, which is fine, but he’s got to earn it more than pulling that van back.

[@Shutterbug5269]

Am I the only one who hates the way the helmet frames Walker's face? He looks like a troll in it at the wrong angle.

[@MarkusB37]

I need to ask, will you ever conclude your defenders rewrite post credit scene cause I, and I assume a lot of other people, would really love to see that.

[@pauljohnson271]

Great stuff. Keep it up!

[@NandovMovies]

Thanks Paul!

[@nirast2561]

Am I the only one who DIDN'T see a redemption? Walker stopped to think, just for ONE moment, what the right thing to do is, and did. Just this once! He's still as flawed and angry as before. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the only scene in the show where he has to choose between saving civilians and pursuing his target. This proves that, when push comes to shove, he'll prioritise saving civilians.

[@evelyncastillo1094]

Why did I only now get the notification for this?? Posted two days ago