The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 recap: Truth

In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5, ‘Truth’, John Walker faces the music, Sam Wilson has an existential crisis, and Bucky Barnes learns the meaning of family.

The Disney Plus show went into dark territory in the previous episode, and we see the fallout from those events. Following Lemar Hoskins/ Battlestar’s death at the hands of Karli Morgenthau, John Walker, the new Captain America, brutally murdered Karli’s associate. And the whole world saw it.

Clearly the super-soldier serum John took affected him, and not in a good way. When confronted by the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, John can barely contain his rage. He’s strong and ruthless and he almost wins the fight.

But some nifty teamwork between the protagonists ensured John wouldn’t walk away from his crimes, or with the Captain America shield. That’s not the end of his story though.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 – Repercussions

To the surprise of many, John Walker actually does face the consequences of his actions in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5.

The title and authority of Captain America is stripped from him and he is given a ‘not-honourable’ discharge. He will no longer have any rank nor the benefits of having been a soldier.

Throughout his hearing, John struggles to actually be heard. The representatives of the government have seen the evidence and decided John’s fate—what he thinks is immaterial.

As the representatives strip John of everything that made him special, he has but one thing to tell them: “You made me”.

Unlike Steve Rogers, who fought for his beliefs in his country and his friends, John fought for the country that had always told him what to do. And now he’s being punished for being the soldier they made him into.

John Walker isn’t blameless—his bloodlust clearly existed within him if he could so easily kill a man the moment the serum coursed through his veins. But he was built this way by the military he served in.

Even as John tries to come to terms with his future, his mind is still on the shield, on being Captain America. His wife, Olivia (Gabrielle Byndloss), brings him back to Earth by reminding John that he has one important duty left—to speak with Lemar’s family.

But first, they’re paid a visit by a mysterious figure in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5. Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) doesn’t tell John and Olivia much about herself. She does commend John for taking the serum and for killing the Flagsmasher.

Valentina believes that the serum has now made John a valuable asset to certain people—though she doesn’t mention whom. She does ask him to answer her call, whenever that may be.

Interestingly, Valentina’s parting gift is to tell John that the shield doesn’t technically belong to the US government. Does that mean anyone can have the shield?

Before John can think about that, he needs to meet Lemar’s family. They’re obviously upset but they’re glad to know the person who killed their son is dead. John doesn’t correct them—he sits there and bald-facedly lies to this grieving family who love him about avenging their son’s death.

One can’t help but wonder if there’s something seriously wrong with John. Does he believe his own lie? And if that is the case, how on Earth did he get cleared to take on the mantle of Captain America?

Because by the end of the episode, John is holed up in a workshop working hard to build his very own shield. That’s very stable behaviour, isn’t it? /sarcasm

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 – Legacy of the Shield

Meanwhile, Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes are dealing with their own fallout from John’s actions in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5. The fight with John left them hurt—Falcon’s wings are broken and even Bucky’s cybernetic arm got a little singed.

But the US government sweeps in to ‘handle’ the situation, giving the two heroes unexpected time off. Sam’s new friend, Joaquin Torres, promises to keep him abreast of the situation with the government and Karli.

Bucky decides to find Zemo, who had pretty much signposted his whereabouts in the past few episodes. Having lost everyone and everything, Zemo is saying his goodbyes to Sokovia. That’s where Bucky finds him and threatens to kill him.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Zemo since Captain America: Civil War, it’s that Zemo doesn’t fear death. He welcomes it. So, when Bucky doesn’t kill him, Zemo is surprised and a little heart-broken.

Especially when Ayo and the Dora Milaje arrive to take Zemo to the Raft. It’s not a pleasant place to be, as Team Cap found out. But that’s presumably where Zemo will spend the rest of his life.

Before Ayo leaves, she asks Bucky to stay away from Wakanda for a while. He understands, but he still needs one more favour from her. What it is, we will find out much later.

While Bucky’s on his mission, Sam has a mission of his own in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5. He goes to meet Isaiah Bradley, and he’s got the Captain America shield with him. Isaiah wants nothing to do with that shield, and he isn’t afraid to tell Sam that.

Sam just wants to understand. How did it go so wrong with Isaiah? Why was the country searching for a new Captain America? Why wasn’t Isaiah the natural choice?

It’s time for Sam to hear the harsh truths. Isaiah was a soldier with the 332^nd group—based on the real Tuskegee airmen. Like their real-life counterparts, Isaiah’s group was injected with something. They were told it was tetanus—it was the super-serum.

Unlike Isaiah, his comrades in arms didn’t react well to the serum. Not that the government cared. The men started dying off, but a few remained and ended up being captured. The higher-ups wanted to destroy the POW camp so the ‘evidence’ of the super-serum wouldn’t be found.

To the government, these men were no more than vials of blood—to Isaiah, these were his friends. He braved the elements to save his comrades—just as another super-soldier years before had done.

Sadly, Isaiah’s friends succumbed to the serum. As for Isaiah, he was sent to prison for his act of insubordination and hidden away from the world to be experimented on further. For 30 years.

A kindly nurse took pity on Isaiah and declared him dead so he could be free. But by then, Isaiah’s wife had passed on. All Isaiah has left of his wife are the letters she’d written him that he wasn’t allowed to receive. The nurse had managed to save them for him.

Sam is understandably moved by the story. But he truly believes that things are different and that he can bring about change. Isaiah thinks Sam is foolish for believing this. Captain America is a blond-haired, blue-eyed man. According to Isaiah, no Black man will be accepted as Captain America. More importantly, Isaiah believes no self-respecting Black man should take on the mantle.

These words get in Sam’s head. And they stay there throughout The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5. Even as Sam heads home to Louisiana to help his sister, Sarah, bring some life back into their family’s boat.

With no loan from the bank, the Wilson family have little money to revamp their boat and keep their family business afloat. But their parents were loved in the community and they helped with no desire for anything in return. It’s time to call in some favours.

The whole community comes together to help with the boat, including one new member—Bucky. Sam’s frenemy isn’t big on words, but he shows his affection through his actions.

Bucky is surprisingly helpful with the boat, and he even works well with Sam. Without his wings, Sam is open to new possibilities and he works hard on the project.

In their free time, Sam and Bucky train with the shield. With Isaiah’s words rattling in his brain, John’s fall from grace, and the imminent threat that is the Flagsmashers, Sam has a lot to think about.

As for Bucky, he realises that his and Steve’s decision to hand the shield to Sam was short-sighted. Neither considered what it meant to ask a Black man to take the mantle of Captain America. They were looking at the shield from a privileged point of view. And now look at the mess.

Once Bucky leaves, Sam has a heart-to-heart with Sarah, who tells him that he can’t let Isaiah’s words colour his decisions. Sam is an Avenger and a Black man—he’s been fighting two wars for years without the right tools.

Now, it’s time for Sam to equip himself for the fight. He begins training to become Captain America, despite what Isaiah said. A lot of running, a lot of push-ups, a lot of missing the shield and almost being decapitated by it.

But Sam is finally ready to fight with the shield by his side. And he’s got a gift from Bucky and Wakanda to help him become a new kind of hero.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 – A New Movement

Sam is going to need that shield if he and Bucky are to win against the Flagsmashers. With the GRC having rounded up everyone from their camps for ‘harbouring’ the Flagsmashers, Karli and her crew decide to take the fight to the enemy.

But Karli needs some help and she gets it from an unusual source. In Madripoor’s Hightown, Sharon Carter makes a call to Georges Batroc asking him to go on another mission for her. Wait, another mission? It looks like Sharon ordered Batroc to kidnap the general way back in Episode 1 of the show.

And now Sharon has sent Batroc to help Karli, even though he’s not interested in the Flagsmashers’ cause—he just wants to kill the Falcon. Is Sharon so upset about being abandoned by Team Cap that she’s taking revenge on them? Is Sharon the Power Broker? So many questions and just one episode left!

As The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 enters its closing moments, we see the GRC meeting to discuss the fate of millions of refugees. As they carelessly argue about the futures of so many people, the lights go out and the Flagsmashers make their move. Sam and Bucky had better hurry.

Final Thoughts – The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 Sets Up an Exciting Finale

It’s almost unbelievable that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5 is the show’s penultimate episode. With so many characters and memorable arcs, it feels like the show has much more to say than can be wrapped up in one final episode.

This fifth instalment had a lot going for it. There were some excellent points made about racial discrimination and its implications in the modern world.

We also got some delightful banter between Sam and Bucky, along with some heartfelt moments of self-reflection. They’ve both helped each other grow immensely, and one hopes that they will come to see each other as friends eventually.

The mystery surrounding Valentina and John’s new partnership doesn’t look like it’s going to be solved next week. Will there even be time?

And is anyone else seeing some parallels between John and Iron Man? Could John be the eventual leader of the Jury or the Thunderbolts, as some are surmising? One gets the feeling that Marvel has more in the pipeline than they’re letting on.

The finale of this show is going to be action-packed but hopefully, very powerful. If Sam does indeed become the next Captain America, it will have to be in the finale, with Bucky by his side, and maybe Joaquin Torres as the new Falcon. We can’t wait for this one.

What did you think of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is airing weekly on Disney Plus.