Things I LOVED about the show

1. Sam’s arc – I feel like Sam had to earn the mantle of Captain America for the audience to accept him and this show is the thesis for why Sam deserves the shield. He needs to learn what the shield means and it’s legacy before trying to fill such big shoes and this show shows not only why he is worthy of it but the weight of that decision and what it will mean for him as an American and also an African-American. From the loan scene to his final speech, every single allusion to race was so well handled that you never feel like the show hasn’t earned these conversations. The writing is just so so good that you feel like that the message is so clear and they don’t try to sugarcoat or wrap it unnecessary allegory because honestly a lot of people will purposefully try to misinterpret the meaning and messages of the show unless they explicitly spell out the problems.

2. Isaiah Bradley’s Storyline
3. Zemo – Baron Helmut Zemo stole every scene he was in. He is the perfect example of a loveable MCU anti-hero and I felt like they added so much depth and nuance to the barebones character they had created in Civil War. He chews the scenery and all his actions feel in-character.

Things I’m not sure about

1. John Walker – Such an interesting, nuanced and flawed character until the last episode when he takes a 180 degree turn and changes so much about himself. I was loving his characterization until the end where they tried to redeem him but the redemption didn’t feel earned at all. It was so forced and it left a bad taste in my mouth for what had been a crazy good arc for the first five episodes.
2. Sharon Carter – While I love that they dealt with the repercussions of her heroic actions in Civil War in such an unexpected way, the rest of her arc was so weird. The Power Broker thing just didn’t work for me and her inclusion in the finale was weird and unnecessary.
3. Bucky’s arc – I felt that it was so so interesting and had so much potential but they didn’t explore it enough and they should have gone into more depth. What we got was freaking amazing and so well-done, but I certainly could have done with fewer Flag Smashers and more Bucky character development.

Things I DID NOT love

Karli – I was not a fan of Karli as villain. Her actions were so random. The show keeps trying to make us sympathize with her and agree with her but it was also trying so hard to justify her as a villain and in the end, the contrast just didn’t work for me. I loved her conversations with Sam and a lot of her scenes were great but her actions just seem to undercut her character and she would say something and do something else and it just didn’t work for me personally.

All in all, I think FATWS is worth the price of admission just for its development of Sam and the Captain America mantle. Can’t wait to see where these characters go next!