Don’t expect to watch the most recent episode of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” with your children — it might be a little too edgy.
The third episode of the series — titled “The Power Broker” — features Sam (Anthony Mackie), Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and Zemo (Daniel Brühl) searching for the origin of the Super Soldier Serum. It takes them to places across the world, including Madripoor (more on that here). They even link up with another Marvel character, which I won’t spoil here.
There are parts of this new episode that will make you laugh. Mackie and Stan are once again the perfect duo for this series. There’s also a fun scene with a snake that might be one of the most hilarious sequences in this show.
All that said, the third episode is way too edgy for children, and it’s something you may want to check out when your children aren’t around to watch. I know I’m saying that about a Disney+ series. But, here we are. Let’s dive into it.
This isn’t an episode for children or young teens
Marvel has always featured violence and some content that’s questionable for children. But for the most part, Marvel hasn’t ever really been any darker than “Star Wars” or “Star Trek.” It’s a little edgy — which is why it is full of PG-13 ratings — but not so much that you would want to skip content. We rarely see any sexual content. There is some mature content here and there, but nothing overly noticeable.
But this episode of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” is one of the more edgy pieces of Marvel content we’ve gotten to date. It felt like there were a few more curse words in the episode, which might be courtesy of the episode being on Disney+ streaming as opposed to a movie theater. The violence is heavy, too. There are straight-up murders shown on screen that leave little to the imagination. Do you remember how people freaked out about Batman shooting people in the “Batman v. Superman” film? Well, that’s exactly what we get here, as Sharon Carter shoots people without remorse. Thankfully, there’s not much blood shown on screen.
There’s also the general feel of the city Madripoor. We get a brief scene where we see people in Madripoor partying in what feels like a club. Dark lights, trance music and bodies close together. (The scene ends quicker than expected, so part of me wonders if filming was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic). We hear about how the city is full of dark things and crime. It’s definitely darker than the bar scene in “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones,” but more like something you’d see in “The Dark Knight.”
Of course, there’s a lot worse content out there. But as far as Marvel goes, this episode featured some of the edgiest moments yet. I doubt the show leans into this moving forward. It was probably a way to show off a troubled city like Madripoor. But yeah, if you’re trying to avoid any of that hard PG-13 stuff, this might be an episode to skip through.
You should still watch the beginning and the ending, though
If you skip through some of the darker parts of the show, you’ll wind up getting enough information to understand everything. The opening sequence at the jail is full of comedy and excitement. It’s enough to set the stage for what’s happening in the episode. Later in the episode, you’ll get a sense of where we’re going.
There are parts of the episode that made me laugh. Stan and Mackie have great chemistry together that has built up well. But the middle chunk of the episode is a lot of violence, fighting, some partying and a lot of dialogue about how Madripoor is a crime-filled city. It’s a lot of skippable content.
But the ending is a must-see. Granted there are multiple endings in this episode so you’ll probably be confused about when the episode will end. But I'd say the final five minutes present the most interesting tidbits of information yet about where we’re going.
The final scene of the episode stands out even more because of what it sets up next, and it has direct connections to previous Marvel projects. If you’re a fan of Easter eggs and clues to where the MCU is going, then you’ll love the final scene.