'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier' web series episode 3 review: Old 'friends' reunited

The first two episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier have been one shocking revelation after another. From a new, more aggressive Captain America to the fact that there are super-soldiers in the wild committing blatant acts of terrorism, the world of this series is rapidly falling into chaos.

And in the midst of this, of course, is Baron Zemo; the man responsible for the Sokovia Accords massacre.

Taking off right from where Bucky and Sam left at the end of episode 2, following a nasty confrontation with the new Cap, the third episode, titled "Power Broker", but actually lacking the actual Power Broker in question, carries hints of a deeper conspiracy shown through its world-building.

The episode starts off with a masterful prison break orchestrated by Bucky to get Zemo into the fold, and from there goes world-hopping to Madripoor so that our heroes (and villain) can find out who recreated the super-soldier serum, meeting some old friends on the way.

The third episode of this show is once again a solid continuation of the show. There is a lot of standard Marvel action fare, but lying beyond that is that hint of espionage and subterfuge that just completes the package.

The episode also effectively tackles Bucky's hatred of his own past, which is brought out largely through him embracing the identity of the Winter Soldier once again - clearly, he's been working out. It's also nice to see that Baron Zemo has not lost his touch and is a powder keg who our heroes cannot possibly trust, but have no choice but to work with since he does share a hatred of the idea of the super-soldier serum being in the wild.

On the other hand, the episode clears the air a little bit on the Flag Smashers' leader, Karli Morgenthau, who is clearly shown as a sympathetic figure with great regrets, but is going down a path from where there can be no return. Sure, they're fighting supposed corruption from a council that is aimed at helping people who returned at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but it's not entirely clear assault, theft and causing an explosion (possibly killing a lot of people) is a good idea.

Overall, the episode is yet another strong entry in the show, and one with promises of more layers unravelling and fresh confrontations as time goes on.