The Falcon & The Winter Soldier: 10 Biggest Takeaways From Episode One

Ever since it was first announced, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been hugely anticipated by fans of the MCU. Allowing both Sam and Bucky to step forward from their previously supporting roles and essentially introduced fans to a Steve Rogers-less MCU, this series was always going to be good.

Though it was initially slated to open the franchise's foray onto Disney+, reshuffles in the schedule have now given it the unenviable task of following the absolute home run that was WandaVision.

The series set in Westview has simply heightened both expectations and excitement for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and episode one got it off to a strong start.

Both Sam and Bucky are now adapting to their individual lives in a post-Blip, post-Avengers world, and it looks very different for each of them. While Sam is struggling to make ends meet, Bucky is able to enjoy the closest thing he has had to a real life in almost 80 years.

The series promises to be a deep dive into each character, with the first episode setting the framework to create a truly exceptional chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are many threads and themes that have already been established, with some having the potential to impact the next five episodes in a big way.

During Captain America: Civil War, James Buchanan Barnes was a fugitive from the US government, and Sam Wilson went to Germany to help keep him that way. Falcon even went so far as to escape from prison, leaving both of them on the run from law.

Both were in breach of the Sokovia Accords, and when Infinity War began two years later, Sam was still on the run with Cap and Natasha, while Bucky was being treated by Shuri in Wakanda. Both were then snapped away, and after returning five years later, it was unsure if they would still be in the government's bad books.

WandaVision confirmed that the Sokovia Accords are still in play after the Blip, but after helping to bring half the population of Earth back to life, both Sam and Bucky have been pardoned for their roles in what happened in Germany.

One of the conditions of Bucky's pardon is that he attend regular therapy sessions, allowing him to live as normal a life as possible in Brooklyn, while there were no conditions for Sam that were made apparent. He is back working with the US Air Force, living very much as he did before he joined the Avengers.