The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Episode 4 Intel Report

What we’re doing will outlive the legacy of that shield. – Flag Smasher

All things converge in the fourth episode of Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

In Episode 4, “The Whole World Is Watching,” Sam Wilson (Falcon) and Bucky Barnes (Winter Soldier) try to de-escalate the situation with the Flag Smashers. Unfortunately for our duo, Karli Morgenthau and John Walker make choices that cannot be undone.

Stream Episode 4 “The Whole World Is Watching” of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier now on Disney+, and read on to discover some notable highlights from our Intel Report below!

Where are we off to? Who are the latest key players? What do we know so far? Read the latest Intel Report and find out!

•    John Walker
•    Lemar Hoskins 

•    Baron Zemo
•    Sarah Wilson
•    Sharon Carter
•    Ayo and the Dora Milaje

•    Karli Morgenthau and the Flag Smashers
•    Power Broker

•    Mama Donya Madani

•    Wakanda
•    Riga, Latvia
•    Madripoor
•    Graveyard
•    Delacroix, Louisiana

White Wolf, You Are Free

In a flashback, six years ago in Wakanda, Bucky Barnes sits across from Ayo as she prepares to test him. Afraid to hurt Ayo and others, Bucky steels himself as Ayo begins to recite the Winter Soldier programming in Russian.

With rage and fear surging through him as he remembers his actions as the Winter Soldier, Ayo continues to slowly recite the Winter Soldier programming code words. When she’s done, Bucky’s breathing slows as he’s overwhelmed with relief. He’s reborn and free from the hold Hydra placed on him.

In present day, Ayo expresses her disappointment in his betrayal. She and Shuri removed the programming from him, and for him to turn around and free Zemo – the man responsible for murdering the previous King of Wakanda, T’Chaka. She gives Bucky eight hours before she and the Dora Milaje return to claim Zemo.

Radicalized Beyond Repair

Zemo is touched that Bucky would defend him to the Dora, but Sam Wilson reminds him that no one is defending him. In fact, he’s more culpable for the murder of Dr. Wilfred Nagel.

Sam, Bucky and Zemo are interrupted by a news alert about Karli Morgenthau bombing a GRC Supply Depot resulting in 11 injuries and three fatalities. The news report that the Flag Smashers have a list of demands, and that more attacks will occur if their demands aren’t met in full. 

Zemo states he has the will to complete the mission at hand, but will Sam and Bucky? Zemo believes Sam’s clouded; seeing something in Karli that doesn’t exist, calling her a “supremacist,” and explaining that Super Soldiers will always trouble people due to their warped aspirations. It’s those warped aspirations that led to the Nazis, to Ultron, and to the Avengers. Sam concedes that while Karli is radicalized, he believes they can find a peaceful way to stop her. Zemo believes the situation will escalate resulting in Sam killing Karli, or Karli killing Sam.

Bucky argues that Zemo could be wrong; the serum never corrupted Steve Rogers, to which Zemo retorts, “But there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?”

Running on borrowed time – between the Dora Milaje’s countdown and the Flag Smasher’s next attack – Sam suggests they find any leads on Karli’s whereabouts. If Donya Madani was a pillar of the community, the entire community would come together for a ceremony like how his neighborhood came together when his aunt passed away when he was a kid.

One World, One People

Elsewhere, the Flag Smashers listen to a news report of their last raid. They learn that one of the GRC casualties was a father of two who had only been on the job for one week. In reaction to the Flag Smashers’ actions, the GRC has begun drafting new legislation known as the Patch Act, which seeks to restore traditional border regulations and fast track the “return to normalcy.” 

Sam, Bucky and Zemo wander a refugee enclave in search for anyone who knows Donya Madani. Zemo remarks how much the area has changed from when he was a kid. As Sam wanders room to room, he clocks a number of supplies and equipment provided to the community by the Flag Smashers, such as yarn and computer monitors. Coming across a teacher and some children, he asks if they know of the refugee Donya Madani. The teacher retorts that this community is not full of refugees as they “have nothing to seek refuge from,” and that they’re “Internationally Displaced Persons.” He knows who Sam is, but he cannot help. The community does not trust the GRC, who have not delivered on their promised help, nor the Avengers. While Sam and Bucky have no leads, Zemo has luck with the children in the courtyard luring their trust with a bag full of Turkish Delights. 

Touched by what he saw in the enclave, Sam understands why the community is willing to protect Karli – while the world has given up on these people, Karli hasn’t. He understands the appeal of what the world was after Thanos’ snap. For five years, people were “welcomed into countries” that had previously kept them out with barbed wire. There was no division; everyone came together to rebuild. But after the Blip, everything was forced back to the way things were before Thanos. Bucky is dubious believing Karli is no different than Zemo and the others the Avengers have fought. Sam defends her saying she’s different because she’s not motivated by the same things.

Meanwhile, Zemo relays that he learned the funeral is that same day; however, he won’t be dispensing any the details any time soon as he prefers to keep his leverage. Sam instead calls Sharon Carter and asks if she has any more tricks up her sleeve, to which, she nonchalantly responds that she “may or may not have access to a satellite or two.” Before hanging up, she warns Sam that he needs to see this through; if Karli disappears and the serum isn’t recovered, Madripoor is about to get real nasty if the Power Broker has his way.

The World Needs New Heroes

Heading to a graveyard, Karli and Nico recover the remaining serum, hidden away in a gravestone belonging to Nico’s grandfather. Karli expresses doubts about creating more Super Soldiers for their cause, but Nico departs some wisdom he learned from his grandfather, a WW2 resistance fighter – “If you’re doing something, and it makes you scared, it’s probably because it’s the right thing.” He shares with Karli growing up, knowing his father’s WW2 stories fighting Nazis, he believed in decent people in the world like Captain America. He didn’t think there would be another as the world grew more complicated, but he believes in her. “People are lost; they need a leader who looks like them, who understands their pain. Someone who understands that today’s heroes don’t have the luxury of keeping their hands clean. What we’re doing will outlive the legacy of that shield.”

Revitalized, Karli exclaims the shield should be destroyed and they will not forget all the people that got left behind. But first, they need to pay their respects to Mama Donya.

Who Are the Supremacists?

John Walker and Lemar Hoskins catch up with Sam, Bucky and Zemo — because two Avengers can’t just walk around Latvia without drawing attention. What they really want to know is why would they would break Zemo out of prison, to which Bucky retorts, “He did that himself, technically.”

Walker wants to ambush Karli at the memorial and take her by surprise. Sam shuts that down over concerns that many civilians will be around and could lead to a high risk of causalities. Instead, he thinks he can still reason with her one-on-one, noting she’s in a vulnerable state following this loss of a maternal figure. Walker allows Sam 10 minutes before they do things his way.

During Mama Donya’s eulogy, Karli expresses remorse sharing that she never knew her parents or any other family. How being alone was worse than being hungry, cold, or scared, but thankfully Mama Donya was there to save her and love her. The lesson is they have to look out for one another because they can’t trust others to do it. Noticing Sam watching from afar, Karli delivers her last remaining words to him, “She taught me that we have to do for each other, because they won’t. We know who they are. They impose struggle and hardship on us. They label us criminals for pushing back, but the struggle is what brings us all together – people who have nothing in common,” before reaffirming the Flag Smasher’s credo, “For we all are simply one world, one people. So live accordingly.”

Using his background of counseling soldiers, Sam cautiously approaches Karli and tries to appeal to her. He assures her he wants the same things she wants, relating to her frustrations and sense of helplessness. However, he just doesn’t support her approach. Reaching common ground, Sam remarks that “someone who knows more about Super Soldiers than anyone on the planet,” aka Zemo, warned him that she was a supremacist. Karli admonishes the label because everything she and the Flag Smashers are doing is to end supremacy. Who he needs to look at are the corporations and the beasts who run them.

Just as Sam connects with Karli, an impatient and agitated Walker barges into the room ruining the moment. Betrayed, Karli believes that everything they shared with each other was a lie and that he works with Walker and the very people who harm her cause. Karli gives chase as Walker, Hoskins, Bucky, and Zemo split up trying to find her in the maze of a building. As Karli rushes to escape and conceal the serum still in her possession, Zemo shoots Karli in the stomach revealing the vials. Realizing what they are, Zemo puts his gun away and begins to smash the serum, while Nico runs into the room and helps Karli escape. As Zemo continues to destroy the serum, John knocks him out with the shield. Assessing the damage, Walker pockets one remaining vial of the serum that wasn’t destroyed by Zemo.

Recovering in a safe space, Karli patches up her wound and expresses sadness that she waited too long with the serum and worries about their fight. She’s grateful that fate brought them together and connected them, but she wishes there were a dozen more of them fighting along for their cause. The Flag Smashers reassure her that they’re still stronger, but it will be a hard battle, but they will need to deal with all of them, and that includes Sam Wilson. They get another threatening message from the Power Broker: “You play revolutionary on borrowed time, little girl. I want the serum back, or I will find you, and I will end you.” They cannot fight two wars and win, but Karli assures them she’ll handle the Power Broker when the time comes. Karli proposes splitting up the team at hand without Sam being tangled in the fight, and killing Captain America.

The Dora Milaje Have Jurisdiction Anywhere They Are

Back at Zemo’s apartment, Zemo asks Sam if he had ever been offered the serum. No, Sam states, and if hypothetically he was, he adamantly would not take it. Impressed by Sam’s lack of hesitation, Zemo tells Sam that he cannot hold out hope that he will be able to save Karli. They must prevent her and her acolytes from being revered as another faction of gods among real people; Super Soldiers cannot be allowed to exist. Bucky interrupts the argument to discuss Walker stating he knows crazy when he sees it, and the shield has only made him more unhinged.

Walker and Hoskins barge into the flat. Upset he lost Karli again, he demands they hand over Zemo. Sam refuses because Walker has overstepped, and Zemo has proven himself far more useful than Walker has. Before they fight each other, the Dora Milaje arrive to take Zemo. Walker doesn’t take the Dora seriously; Sam assures him that he’d better fight Bucky rather than the Dora. Walker dismisses them saying they have no jurisdiction, to which Ayo responds, “The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje finds themselves to be.” Further patronizing the Dora Milaje, Walker places his hand on Ayo leading to an all-out brawl. 

As the Dora fight with Walker and Hoskins, and Bucky heckling Walker from the sidelines, Zemo uses the opportunity to escape. Walker is humiliated by how outclassed he is, going against women who aren’t even Super Soldiers, while Bucky is in disbelief that Ayo was able to easily pop off his Wakandan Vibranium arm. Discovering Zemo’s escape, the Dora leave to pursue the criminal. 

Reflecting on their defeat, Walker asks his best friend if he would have taken the serum, to which Hoskins responds, of course, no hesitation. Hoskins reassures his friend that things didn’t go as planned but all is not lost. Continuing his thought, he wants to know why Lemar isn’t worried about the serum changing the person. Hoskins responds the power just makes the person more of themselves, ie. Karli Morgenthau vs. Steve Rogers. Besides, Walker has three Medals of Honor and consistently makes the right decision in the heat of battle, so Hoskins isn’t worried. Walker still has doubts; he feels he was only given three Badges of Excellence just to make him forget the worst day of his life. Those awarded medals are a long way from feeling right, but for the first time, being Captain America feels right.

No More Hiding Behind the Shield

To separate Sam from the direct fight, Karli calls Sarah on the phone introducing herself. Sarah reveals she’s heard about her and the Flag Smashers on the news. She explains she’s calling Sarah because she doesn’t want to hurt or kill Sam, that she thought she could trust him, but that he works for the new Captain America. Sarah remarks that not everyone chose this new Cap, and why should she care, “My world doesn’t matter to America so why should I care about its mascot?” All of which is to say, Sam is not working for that man. Reaffirmed that Sam is an honest man, Karli wants another chat with Sam, but to ensure he complies, she wants Sarah to deliver the rendezvous point, but for him to understand the gravity of the situation, Sarah’s life and the lives of her sons/his nephews, AJ and Cass, hang in the balance.

Upset, Sam goes to meet with Karli, but with Bucky by his side. Sam demands she ends this now, but she assures him, she doesn’t want to hurt him, but he’s “a tool in the regimes [she’s] looking to destroy.” She tells him to join her, or to do the world a favor and let her go. Before the convo goes any further, Sharon sends Sam coordinates of the Flag Smashers and Walker; it was a bait and switch. Karli, Sam, and Bucky disperse as they try to reach Walker’s location first.

The Flag Smashers have taken Hoskins hostage in an abandoned building. As Walker tries to find him, we see glimpses of intense strength as he throws the shield clean through a wall and flings the Flag Smashers across rooms, which causes Sam to question, “What did you do?” In a skirmish between all parties, Hoskins regains consciousness and stumbles into the room and crashes into Karli to prevent her from killing Walker. Enraged, Karli grabs Hoskins and slams him across the wall, killing him instantly. Horrified, Karli and the Flag Smashers flee, as Walker, Sam and Bucky take a moment to process everything.

In his despair of witnessing his best friend’s death, Walker pursues a Flag Smasher out into a populated town square. Walker pins the rebel to the ground, who pleads he didn’t do it. Blinded by rage and grief, Walker delivers several fatal blows with the shield.  Sam and Bucky arrive too late to stop it, while Karli, hidden within the growing crowd, all look on in horror. Walker, breathing heavily, looks up and sees a crowd of people all recording him on their cellphones, as he stands in the center with his face, hands, and shield all covered in blood…

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