To be honest, when I first heard about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series I was not as amazed as I was with WandaVison. Both titular characters are out of my personal preferences as I like tech and magic-oriented powers more, but surprisingly the pilot was quite refreshing, and I cannot wait for the next episode.
After a few seconds of a quiet intro, we find ourselves in an action-packed series of scenes which in the end gives a unique taste to the combat style of Falcon and it was a pleasure to watch. Surprisingly, Bucky’s story was kind of peaceful and calm compared to his past actions. The two characters have not shared any screen time during the first episode, but their parallel is obvious: trying to figure out who they are in a world without Captain America.
Neither Anthony Mackie’s nor Sebastian Stan’s acting is more interesting than it was as a supporting character, but I think the series has the potential to show their real skills in the upcoming episodes. The pilot brings some old and new faces as well, so we get Don Cheadle (Rhodey/War Machine) right in the first episode, and I am more than happy they gave us his more serious tone instead of the comic-relief he was in some of the other movies.
Visual- and audio wise the series continues the legacy of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, in a very confident way. Musically it is not a big surprise, since Henry Jackman also did the score for the movie mentioned above. As usual, his tones are a great mix of traditional movie scores and modern aspects of music. Action scenes and effects are also working so far, let us hope the creators were not in a rush when making them like they were with WandaVision.
Even though it is just six episodes, director Kari Skogland is not in a hurry and this gives great characteristics to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The pilot will not explode the internet, but it sets the tone for the upcoming episodes and makes us eagerly wait for the next one, so great job after all.
