“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” made its debut on Disney+ on Friday, March 19. After the resounding success of “WandaVision,” fans were anxiously awaiting this series. 

I was excited to get back into my weekly Marvel grind after the lull week between the season finale of “WandaVision” and the kickoff of “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” However, I was slightly disappointed, primarily because I missed the intrigue and subtlety of “WandaVision’s” plot. 

“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” has none of the subtlety of the early episodes of “WandaVision,” where fans had to guess what was happening behind the scenes rather than knowing outright. The episode starts off with high-action scenes and quickly progresses into character development of both Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). The viewer gets an insight into Sam’s home life with his sister and Bucky’s attempts to make amends after his dark history with Hydra, a terrorist organization. While character development is highly important, the episode felt like it was being dragged out far too long.

Additionally, the first episode did not include any scenes of Sam and Bucky together. I loved their characters together in previous Marvel movies, but I was unfortunately deprived of the duo in episode one. However, the dynamic meetup of Sam and Bucky during episode two more than made up for the boredom of the first. 

My favorite thing about the show, by far, is the introduction of therapy into the lives of both Sam and Bucky. Throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the creators have addressed various mental health issues, but have never forced the characters to deal with them in healthy ways. Even Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) in “WandaVision” went so far as to create an entire alternate reality in dealing with her grief. This inclusion of therapy helps to destigmatize it for many viewers and create an environment where people can seek help without thinking themselves “unworthy” of the help. 

Despite my initial disappointments, I still enjoyed “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” I would give it a 7/10, but it could go up as the show progresses.