Falcon & Winter Soldier Reveals Zemo’s Greatest Flaw

WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 4, “The Whole World Is Watching.”

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier brought Baron Zemo back, and it revealed the character’s greatest flaw. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been bringing various characters from Marvel Comics to the big screen for over ten years, and now that its Infinity Saga came to an end after the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, this universe is ready to move forward with a new era of content. What makes Phase 4 so exciting and interesting is that, unlike the previous phases, this one won’t just focus on movies but also TV shows, which will play an active part in this universe, contrary to what happened with Netflix’s Marvel shows.

Starting this new era was WandaVision, and Marvel fans are now enjoying a different TV show with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Set approximately six months after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the series follows Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who continues to serve as Falcon while also trying to decide whether or not to take the mantle of Captain America and thus follow Steve Rogers’ plans, and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who is still haunted by his dark past as the Winter Soldier. These two join forces to bring down a radical group known as the Flag Smashers, who got their hands on a recreation of the Super Soldier serum, and in order to stop them, Sam and Bucky had to ask another villain for help: Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl).

Zemo made his debut in Captain America: Civil War, and was the one who triggered the title conflict among the Avengers, as they were already divided due to the Sokovia Accords, but he gave them a little push to break the team from the inside. Zemo succeeded in destroying the Avengers, and at the end of Civil War, he was arrested and imprisoned at the Joint Counter Terrorist Center. Cut to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Bucky helped Zemo escape so he could help them track the Super Soldier serum and the Flag Smashers down, and while Zemo’s presence in the series has been quite entertaining (with his dance moves going viral), it has also shown his biggest flaw: he doesn’t believe in redemption, and not just his.

Although so far in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Zemo has been an ally by helping the title characters go after Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and the Flag Smashers, this doesn’t mean that his time in prison redeemed him. Zemo accepts that he’s a villain, and back in Civil War, once his plan was fulfilled, he tried to kill himself but was stopped by Black Panther and brought to justice. That side of him hasn’t really changed and he’s a dangerously smart man, so helping Sam and Bucky might be part of a bigger plan (and, obviously, helping them meant being freed from prison). In addition to all this, Zemo not only doesn’t believe in his own redemption but neither does he believe in that of others. This was seen in how he handled being face to face with Karli, as instead of reasoning with her, as Sam was doing minutes prior, he simply (and without hesitation) pointed at her and shot her.

While this makes him an even more dangerous villain in the MCU, it also allows him to make the hard calls when necessary, something that Sam and Bucky usually struggle with, which also gives him the potential to wipe people out before they can be redeemed, thus doing some good for the world – though for a big price, of course, as that still wouldn’t make him a “good guy”. Zemo is becoming one of the most interesting and fascinating characters in the MCU thanks to his arc in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and there’s still a lot to learn about him.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3286 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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