That needs to happen. Whether or not that means there will not be a second season to this show is anyone's guess. I would gladly take both.
Yay
- Zemo sheming from behind bars
Yes, the Zemo part was pitch perfect for the character. He said he was no longer trying to kill Bucky...but that had nothing to do with the Flag Smashers.
Nay
- Sharon being the Power Broker aft all. Way to ruin the Carter name!
Everyone does not live up to the reputation of a predecessor. She is her own person, not just Peggy's relative.
- Karli's flagsmasher allies not speaking up, despite being uncomfortable with her decisions.
If you're referring to her scene where she chooses to kill the hostages, then the scene was illustrating what has happened in real world terror groups and cults, where being uncomfortable does not mean they have the will / spine to step up and stop what is happening, or separate themselves from the situation. Ultimately, they were willing to support her worldview and continue their mission--including trying to kill the hostages.
I will never be ok with what they've done to Sharon, but I think I've accepted it at this point. The more I consider it, the more I see what I think they were going for.
She's the anti-Sam. Confronted with a world where she has to fight, every day, not just to be recognized or appreciated but just to feel safe and have the same opportunities that so many (you can read that "so many" as so many straight, white dudes, but it goes beyond that) take for granted. But unlike Sam, who looks to the fight and sees all the people that have been trampled and crushed beneath it and is therefore driven to carry on that fight not just for himself but in their honor, Sharon is broken by that world. She gives up. What does she owe the world? It's a broken, screwed up place that would eat her alive, spit her out, and bury her. Why fight to make that better? Why make that effort, face that struggle, risk that failure? It's far easier to just embrace the shitstorm and climb to the top of the steaming pile. And you crush or bury anyone who stands in your way, because they'd do it to you if they could.
Interesting analysis, but one must also consider that she--unlike Sam and Steve--had to be more of a morally gray character from the start, since she worked for SHIELD. The very nature of that organization means its members are involved with acts the average person might find unethical at the least, deplorable at its worst. That was one of the reasons Steve had ethical issues with Fury for a number of reasons. Sharon essentially saying "fuck it all--I'm using my skills to build my life elsewhere" is not so wild a choice for her, if one uses her professional life as a character foundation.
She didn't have the patience to accept small victories, or gradual change. Only grand gestures and all or nothing, earthshaking transformation were good enough for her. She didn't want to progress the struggle, she wanted to win it forever. And that led her down a path that consumed her.
...and her hardcore beliefs was the reason why at two points in this series--the bombing and in E6, attempting to kill the hostages--she was either questioned or received pushback (though weak in the end) from her companions. The extremes of political ideology rarely if ever leave room to explore options that do not feed into their own, ironically "one world" mentality, which is why Sam--despite
repeated attempts to reason with her--was never going to break through. Her final act was to ignore then attempt to murder him. As it turns out, Zemo--of all people--was right about her all along.
John was, and remains, entitled.
Yes x1000.
Devoted to service, to doing all the ugly things that other people asked him to do in the name of keeping the world upright in the face of chaos. But he never had to face the struggle. Not really. And when he got a look at what that world looked like, when he ran into a world that wouldn't bend to him just because of the color of his skin, or the cut of his uniform, or the sheer weight of the government he represented he stumbled, he fell.
I referred to him as entitled early on, and yes, despite being married to black woman & having a black best friend, his behavior about what his job and
position was seemed to be born of the very kind of "I'm white and I say so" culture that people like have had to deal with time after time in both professional and private situations. Walker just assumed he held a "natural" authoritarian position, which would allow him to slip into a role (Captain America) he never understood, because being Cap was--for Steve and now Sam--as much about who you are (naturally) in your
soul and the character it shapes in correcting the ills of the world as it was just serving. Only Walker believed service was being a
fist who cannot be denied...an image that sought rewards that only an entitled man expects.
.
But he learns from his stumbles, gets back up, and goes back out there to try and do better. He may fail, he certainly isn't perfect. He already shows signs of backsliding, of forgetting the lessons he's learned, in his final scene debuting his new look. For John the struggle to make the world better is never going to be easy because he'll have to be reminded that it even exists, that he has advantages others don't. But still he carries on.
I think the backsliding you refer to will never be controlled or disciplined as it should be by his new employer. She seems like the type who will
encourage his behavior, hence the reason she approached him in the first place.
Looked at in that light, she makes an interesting foil for Sam. Someone who he might try to save, once he realizes how far she is gone. But whom more likely needs to be stopped.
Interesting that you put it that way, as it was Sam (in
Captain America: The Winter Soldier) who once told Steve that Bucky was the kind of man you have to stop. Steve disagreed, and ultimately, that did turn out for the better for all parties involved. It remains to be seen if he takes the Steve route once he learns he's been betrayed by Sharon.
