The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 6 review: Live reaction to the finale

Click on the links below to jump to the moment from the final episode.

• The Beginning of the end
• Our new Cap: "I'm Captain America"
• Redwing lives
• The Power Broker arrives
• Bucky confesses
• Sam's speech
• Post-credits scene
• Series overview

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier live blog review

09:13:
One final thing...

Oh hey, remember when we all thought Wyatt Russell had slipped up and told us Chris Evans would have a cameo in the finale? Truly, he played us. A round of applause for the new US Agent. Maybe he has a future in espionage after all.

08:44:
Series overview

On the whole, and to steal some slightly laboured sports cliché, Marvel's second Disney Plus series has been a show of two halves. On the one hand it's had some serious strengths: the Isaiah Bradley storyline, Wyatt Russell's John Walker, the idea of Sam finding his feet as a new Cap – but on the other it had an unconvincing villain in Karli Morgenthau, a lot of pointless milling around and baggy, often slow storylines.

Much as I liked Zemo, you probably could have cut him out of this series (save him for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier season two) and made a more focused, exciting series. It's possible that some of these issues were COVID-related, of course; rumour has it that the Flag-Smashers storyline was particularly affected, which might be why it feels so thin – but I'd still say as a series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was less successful with WandaVision.

Read more: How to watch all the Marvel movies in order

And that's fine! As with the Marvel movies, you'd hope that all of these Disney Plus series will scratch different itches for different fans, and I'm sure some people loved where The Falcon and the Winter Soldier went with the material.

For me, on the whole it didn't quite live up to expectations. Though I'll definitely be intrigued to see where they go if they have a season two – or rather, if Captain America and the Winter Soldier gets a season one.

But that's certainly it for this series, and for this particular live review. Thanks so much for joining us, and remember: if you talk sternly enough, powerful political bigwigs will always do what you say. At least we think that's the lesson from this episode.

Goodbye!

08:42:
And barring any more surprise post-credits scenes, that's the end! A pretty action-packed instalment overall, possibly to a fault, but I think Sam's Captain America rollout was about as good as could be expected. Certainly, he knows how to fling that shield.

08:39:
Post-credits scene

In a special hearing, Sharon is offered a full pardon and a position in her old division. Was it really that easy? She should have tried it ages ago.

"Welcome home Agent Carter."

Unfortunately, Sharon has decided to keep being a baddie, offering government secrets, weapons and prototypes to her shadowy contacts from within her new position. And in front of the American Flag?!? The panning camera seems to suggest.

08:36:
The world was saved, so it's time for a celebratory cookout! Really, more Marvel projects should end with a big barbecue where everyone has a nice time. Maybe now Sam will get some money and be able to save the boat.

And the final credits roll – with a new title! Captain America and the Winter Soldier. So maybe they weren't lying when they said there might not be a second series for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, those tricky Marvel types.

08:33:
"What you doing here, Black Falcon." I do enjoy how Eli Bradley, Isaiah's grandson, lurks behind doors and in out-of-focus areas. Could he possibly be important, hmm? Young Avengers fans might know.

Anyway, Sam's really here to talk to Isaiah, who seems to think it's fine that Sam is Captain America now. Sam's managed to give him a slot in the Smithsonian exhibition about Steve Rogers as well, which is rather sweet. Surprising the US government let him depict their horrible crimes so openly, but hey, he does seem to be able to push powerful politicians around pretty easily.

"Now they'll never forget what you did for this country... never."

08:31: Bucky confesses
Bucky finally goes and tells his friend that he killed his son, which may be a comfort but probably also robbed this nice old guy of his only friend. With that, Bucky seems to have crossed all the people he's wronged off the list but he's also back on the outside looking in. At least he got his therapist a nice present.

08:28:
A load of Flag-Smashers looked set to escape but then they got blown up by some random old man instead. Weird. Anyway it seems like the GRC took what Sam said on board.

Elsewhere, Julia Lous-Drefus's Valentina has tapped Walker for his new gig: cosplaying as his comic-book counterpart USAgent, a name she is able to say with a straight face, proving her serious acting chops.

"Things are about to get weird," she tells him.

08:27:
Despite not being officially licensed in any way, everyone has decided to start calling Sam Cap. I guess it's true what they say: dress for the job you want, even if it is as a Star-spangled Sentinel of Liberty.

08:25:
Anyway, Sam basically winds up his little speech (handily broadcast to the world), and Bucky sums it up for us handily. "Sorry I was texting, but I heard Black man, stars and stripes."

08:22:
Sam's speech
Sam is thanked by the GRC – but he's not happy with how they talk about the Flag-Smashers.

"We finally have a common struggle now," he says, noting that now everyone can feel how to be helpless because of...Thanos? Not exactly sure how that tracks but let's go with it.

"Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people who are going to hate me for it," he says of his shield, lack of super serum and no blonde hair and blue eyes.

"The only power I have is the belief that we can do better." That does sound like Captain America.

08:21:
Karli has Sam in her sights. Not exactly his most auspicious beginnings as the new Cap, but the injured Sharon busts in to take her down instead. "I'm sorry," Karli tearfully tells Sam as she passes on – presumably for just how confusing her plan was.

08:19:
Not to be too nerdy or whatever, but I do like how Sam uses his Falcon kit to be a different sort of Cap. Flying about, bracing himself with his wings, I just think it's neat.

That said, Karli is beating the feathers out of him, and he probably could do with some super-soldier serum. Sadly, the two super-soldiers on his team (Bucky and Walker) are elsewhere not killing the Flag-Smashers and quoting Lincoln. I guess we can call that personal growth?

08:17:
Sharon is here, and is "disappointed" in Karli. In the least shocking twist ever, it seems like she's the Power Broker.

"So you're the Power Broker." Le gasp! Batroc spells it out. And Sharon kills him for trying to blackmail her, but takes a bullet in the process.

08:15:
The Power Broker arrives

Karli is less impressed with Sam's new look and, while I think all the hostages have now been saved, a bunch of smoke bombs crash in that I'm guessing must come from the mysterious Power Broker. If not, I'll just change this heading later. You can't stop me! I'm Power (Broker) mad!

Also, John now seems to be part of the gang for some reason.

08:12:
Honestly, with all these masks I did get a bit confused about who Karli was fighting. Though I did think it was odd that she'd grown about a foot to take on Bucky, so maybe I should have guessed.

Despite getting his face kicked in, poor John Walker does finally get a hero moment as he tries to hold and save a bust full of hostages but jet-pack Sam (and tiny Redwing) manage to nab the glory as well as the sweet thread. Man, Walker just cannot catch a break.

"That's the Black Falcon!"

"No, that's Captain America."

08:10:
Well, it seems like Sam has inherited his predecessor's magic ability to only have bullets fired at him hit the vibranium shield. Handy, as he gets set to take down another helicopter, just like he did in episode one.

In other shield news, turns out the rubbish one John made from tinfoil and cardboard isn't much use. Who knew?

08:06:
Well, Karli's gang are clearly getting sick of her methods. But they're still going to follow her, even if she does decide to kill the hostages instead of negotiating with them.

Accordingly, Bucky's cool motorbike attack is derailed when she sets a van of hostages alight. Luckily, Captain America is – oh wait, no, it's the wrong one. Surely Karli can defuse this situation.

"I don't want to kill people who don't matter," she tells him, of his dead best friend. Hmm.

08:05:
Redwing lives!
Surely that shield cannot help his aerodynamics. But at least Sam has his little robot buddy back! I've always been sad this Falcon doesn't have a pet telepathic bird like he does in the comics (seriously), but at least they nod to it with this little drone.

08:03:
Do I wish they hadn't started with quite so much action, so I could have an easier time of it? Maybe, but it's certainly exciting, and nice to see this series get to the point so swiftly.

And frankly, I'd watch Sam throwing that shield, jumping out of a window and flying to catch it anytime. Very cool. Imagine how silly he would have felt if he dropped it, and it just shot off into the background.

08:01:
Also like 2014's The Winter Soldier, this new Captain America is having a touch time with Batroc, who famously never skips leg day, while Bucky is gulled into chatting with Karli and letting her escape.

07:58:
I'm Captain America

We knew Sam was staying off camera for a reason – and it's because he had some sweet new threads! Feels weird that Wakandans would have made such an Imperialist costume but hey, hey, looks good in it and it finally ready to take on Steve Rogers' mantle.

"I'm Captain America," he tells a bystander.

"I thought Captain America was on the moon," he's told.

07:56:
We open with Karli's merry band of reprobates (somehow, I had totally forgotten Batroc had joined them for...reasons...) and the GRC is their target. Sam and Bucky are on site, along with Sharon (who has borrowed some of that nifty face-changing tech from The Winter Soldier, this series' main/only Marvel reference point.

Then, Karli's lot unleash a deadly gas.

07:55:
Recap

Walker was fired! Bucky was sad! Karli was angry! Isaiah was also angry! A room was red! These little recaps are always handy for clues about where the episode is going, but this time it's not exactly a mystery.

Then straight into that big Marvel Studios logo, and here we go (properly this time).

07:54:

Oh hey, by the looks of things the episode is already available. This has happened a few times. Time to go!

07:45:
The beginning of the end

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Hello and welcome to our live review of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier finale! After a penultimate episode that tied up most of the emotional arcs, sent Zemo back to jail and stripped John Walker of his Captain America-ship it's not entirely clear what we'll be faced with in this final hour, but if all we do get to see is Anthony Mackie in a sparkly new Captain America suit (or a sneaky Chris Evans cameo), we'll still consider it time well spent.

We'll be kicking off properly in the next 15 minutes or so when the episode officially drops on Disney Plus, and reacting live as and when the fists, shields and snappy one-liners fly. Join for every moment, or check out the full rundown once you've finished watching the episode – the choice is yours, though make it wisely.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier streams exclusively on Disney Plus. You can sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now. Check out the rest of our Sci-fi and Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.