Truth (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier)

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"Truth"
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode
The fifth of several art posters released for the series, with art by graphic designer Doaly
Episode no.Episode 5
Directed byKari Skogland
Written byDalan Musson
Produced byMalcolm Spellman
Cinematography byP.J. Dillon
Editing by
Original release dateApril 16, 2021 (2021-04-16)
Running time60 minutes
Cast
  • Lemar Hoskins / Battlestar
  • Isaiah Bradley
  • Desmond Chiam as Dovich
  • Dani Deetee as Gigi
  • Indya Bussey as DeeDee
  • Renes Rivera as Lennox
  • Tyler Dean Flores as Diego
  • Chase River McGhee as Cass
  • Aaron Haynes as AJ
  • Gabrielle Byndloss as Olivia Walker
  • Janeshia Adams-Ginyard as Nomble
  • Zola Williams as Yama
  • Elijah Richardson as
    Eli Bradley
  • Salem Murphy as Prime Minister Lacont
  • Jane Rumbaua as Ayla
  • Noah Mills as Nico
Episode chronology
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"One World, One People"
List of episodes

"Truth" is the fifth episode of the American television

John Walker faces consequences for his actions. The episode is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films of the franchise. It was written by Dalan Musson and directed by Kari Skogland
.

Atlanta metropolitan area
and in Prague.

"Truth" was released on the streaming service

Primetime Emmy Award
nomination.

Plot

After using

Joaquin Torres
and asks him to continue looking for the Flag Smashers.

Barnes finds

Lemar Hoskins
' family, and claims that the man he killed is the one who killed Hoskins.

Wilson returns to

Sarah fix the family boat, with assistance from several locals as well as Barnes, who delivers a briefcase from the Wakandans
to Wilson. Wilson and Barnes train with the shield and agree to move on from their pasts and work together.

Meanwhile, the Flag Smashers plan an attack on a

Georges Batroc, who wants to kill Wilson and was released from prison by Sharon Carter
. When Torres contacts Wilson and tells him the Flag Smashers have been detected in New York City, Wilson decides to intervene and opens the briefcase.

In a

mid-credits scene, Walker builds a new shield from scrap metal and his Medal of Honor
.

Production

Development

By October 2018,

Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Nate Moore.[6]: 15  The fifth episode, titled "Truth", was written by Dalan Musson.[7] It takes its name from the comic book Truth: Red, White & Black by Robert Morales and Kyle Baker, which tells the story of the character Isaiah Bradley, a Black man who became Captain America after being imprisoned and experimented on.[8]

Writing

Spellman felt episode five was the one in the series where "it just gets real", while Moore added the episode would tie many of the various plot threads together that "maybe felt disparate or not fully formed together" and "really gets to be the culmination of the theme" of legacy for the series.

S.H.I.E.L.D. in the comic books who could be the one to "embrace [Walker] after all he's been through" and set him on his new journey.[13] During the scene in which Ayo warns Bucky to stay away from Wakanda temporarily, Spellman felt that there was "still some energy there" between the two, noting that the Wakandans have previously dubbed him the "White Wolf" and that they also assisted Wilson by delivering his suit upon request.[11]

Mackie said the moment when Barnes said he never considered the implications of a Black man becoming Captain America was "the huge turning point" for Wilson, adding it was "a cathartic experience" and one that turned Wilson "completely on his head and moved him in the direction of accepting the idea of being Captain America".[14] Skogland identified Wilson's ability to hold the shield as allowing him to understand that "what defines a hero today is not the same ideal as it was when Steve first picked up the shield" and that it was strongly connected to the past. She sought to convey Wilson as accepting this "iconic historically white symbol" as a Black man through both public and private discussions.[15] Spellman had added that his visit to Isaiah Bradley was Sam "confronting the dragon", and identified him bringing Captain America's shield as being the "talisman". He felt Isaiah had personified Sam's doubts but also told the "truth" as he candidly revealed the punishments he received from the US government, and observed that following the encounter, Sam would have to make the decision as to whether or not he would choose to embrace his role as Captain America.[11] Isaiah candidly expressed his belief that America would not react positively to a Black Captain America, and Spellman wanted it to be a part of Sam's journey as he has to "live with that as he goes off and tries to make this work".[16] Sam's conversation with his sister was what Spellman felt to be the "final straw" in encouraging Sam to become Captain America, as she had previously made satirical jokes about America, but her conversation was "freeing him in that moment to basically jump into a stew and not know if he’s gonna be burned by it". He identified the part in which she said "I never thought you were running away" as her giving implicit permission to accept the role while also not "teasing him".[17] Ultimately, he wanted both Isaiah and Sarah to have valid arguments for Sam when he considered becoming Captain America, as he sought to have the "truth of the characters to make this journey difficult" and appropriately connected to the episode's title being "Truth".[18] Skogland had initial ideas on where the episode's mid-credits scene should be placed before using it on "Truth". She recognized it as an "important" moment, referencing Walker's previous comment in the episode to Hoskins about his reception of the Medal of Honor as being the "worst day of my [Walker's] life" which alluded to how soldiers "have to live in the life of the gray" and also indicated that "[h]e's hanging onto a falsehood, which he's living".[19]

Casting

The episode stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson,

Eli Bradley, Jane Rumbaua as Ayla, Salem Murphy as Lacont, and Noah Mills as Nico.[20]
: 55:24 

Ahead of the episode's release, Spellman teased that it would feature a big cameo appearance and said this would be a grounded character with a strong personality. He added that it would not be an Avenger,[21] while Moore specifically said the cameo would not be Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa / Black Panther, in response to speculation from fans.[22] Hoai-Tran Bui at /Film reported that the cameo would not be an existing MCU character and would instead be the introduction of an established comic book character to the MCU, portrayed by a well-known actor.[21] The episode reveals this cameo to be Louis-Dreyfus as de Fontaine.[23] Commentators likened the character's appearance to an "anti-Nick Fury", with speculation that she could be the Power Broker or another building block leading to the introduction of the Thunderbolts team in the MCU.[23][24] Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair reported that Louis-Dreyfus had been expected to first appear as de Fontaine in Black Widow (2021) before COVID-19 pandemic delays pushed that film's premiere until after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was released. Robinson said it was unclear if Louis-Dreyfus was still expected to appear in the film,[23] but she ultimately does appear in the film's post-credits scene, with Feige noting that this was originally intended to be the character's introduction but ended up being a reference to her appearance in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.[25] Spellman was unaware of the character's planned appearance in Black Widow when he decided to add her to the series.[13]

Filming

Filming took place at

Atlanta metropolitan area and in Prague.[28][29] Moore believed "Truth" was the series' strongest episode from an acting and filmmaking standpoint.[9] The action scene with Wilson, Barnes, and Walker took place in a warehouse location the production team had found a few days earlier. The stunt team had not prepared for the scene prior and had improvised and defined the fight choreography during filming.[30] The scene was filmed on location as they had seen sunlight coming through onto the location, and Dillon wanted to create scenes in which the characters were in the sunlight.[31] Louis-Dreyfus was on set for a couple days to film her role, and she was described as a "walking code-red-level Marvel secret" due to the secrecy surrounding her appearance. Russell said the actress was spontaneous with her performance, and described the character of de Fontaine as "endlessly interesting because [Louis-Dreyfus is] endlessly interesting".[32] Moore added that Louis-Dreyfus has a natural likability to her, that when she showed "those darker tendencies to her character, it's a little bit more surprising and entertaining" because it was unexpected.[10] Stan injured his ankle when jumping from a dock to a boat on the first day of filming, saying that he twisted it bad enough that he thought it was broken and initially could not walk on it.[33]

Visual effects

Visual effects for the episode were created by

Crafty Apes, and Rodeo FX.[34][20]: 56:46–56:62  The action sequence between Wilson, Barnes, and Walker used a stunt shield prop, with the blood being inserted digitally as the right amount of it couldn't be inserted during filming.[35] Production VFX supervisor Eric Leven stated that during the sequence, the shield was created using CG "nine times out of ten", as they wanted to depict the shield operating like a boomerang and creating a consistent design for it.[36] The actual stunt shield was also delicate as it was constructed from a thin layer of aluminum and would be damaged if touched. As such, the team used a rubber stunt shield on set, and performed digital replacements during post-production.[37]

Music

Selections from composer

Marvel Music and Hollywood Records on April 30, 2021.[38][39]

Marketing

On March 19, 2021, Marvel announced a series of posters that were created by various artists to correspond with the episodes of the series. The posters were released weekly ahead of each episode,[40][41][42] with the fifth poster, designed by graphic designer Doaly, being revealed on April 14.[43] After the episode's release, Marvel announced merchandise inspired by the episode as part of its weekly "Marvel Must Haves" promotion for each episode of the series, including apparel, accessories, and a Marvel Legends Captain America shield.[44]

Release

"Truth" was released on Disney+ on April 16, 2021.[45] The episode, along with the rest of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, will be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray on April 30, 2024.[46]

Reception

Audience viewership

Nielsen Media Research, who measure the number of minutes watched by United States audiences on television sets, listed The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as the most-watched original series across streaming services for the week of April 12 to 18, 2021. Between the first five episodes, which were available at the time, the series had 855 million minutes viewed, which was the highest total the series had achieved thus far.[47]

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average score of 8.4/10 based on 29 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "With epic fight scenes and emotional moments galore, 'Truth' fully lives up to the show's potential—while finally letting Sam grow into his."[48]

Rolling Stone's Alan Sepinwall felt "Truth" was easily the best episode of the series so far, feeling it was introspection-heavy but did not drag like previous episodes with that focus. He felt the opening fight between Wilson, Barnes, and Walker was inevitable and hit harder than the series' previous action sequences due to its emotion stakes, and he also felt Wilson's return to Louisiana was more "lived-in and entertaining" than similar scenes in the series' premiere, but he described Walker's visit to Hoskins' family as one of the series' "clunkiest" moments. Sepinwall noted that the Louisiana scenes would likely have been cut if this was a feature film rather than a series, and concluded that by setting up Wilson as a version of Captain America in contrast to Walker, the series was exploring "more complicated territory than the MCU has generally entered in the past... [and] by taking a step back from the story for a week, 'Truth' was able to dig in and really wrestle with all the implications of the choice Sam is making".[7] Sulagna Misra at The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" saying that even though Wilson's story was on a smaller scale than that of Barnes', because it was smaller and more relatable made the pair's "frank discussion" about what it means to be a Black person with the shield "feel so earned".[49]

Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Chancellor Agard agreed with Sepinwall that this was the best episode of the series so far, with Wilson and Barnes "taking some long-awaited and necessary steps forward". Agard likened the opening fight of the episode to the final fight between Steve Rogers, Barnes, and Tony Stark in Captain America: Civil War but felt the series was not intentionally trying to mimic that fight, especially since it was "not nearly as impactful because we only really care about two of the characters" in the episode fight. His favorite moments of the episode were Wilson's conversation with Bradley, and the scenes set in Louisiana, giving "Truth" a "B+".[50] Matt Purslow of IGN gave the episode a 7 out of 10, believing the focus on character weighed the episode down. Though "Truth" "features some of the show's most impactful moments so far, and further molds its characters in admirable ways", Purslow felt overall the episode "meanders, delays looming threats, and delivers underwhelming conclusions". One of the high points for Purslow was Wilson's conversation with Bradley, which was "a landmark moment" for the MCU, with the scene performed with "profound gravity" by the actors.[51]

Louis-Dreyfus' cameo was also discussed. Sepinwall called it "both startling and delightful" to see her appear, with a performance that was "caustic, smooth, and funny".[7] Robinson believed the character had "a lot of potential" for the MCU and felt Louis-Dreyfus was "an ideal choice" to be one of the MCU's next over arching villains.[23] Agard agreed with Robinson, believing casting Louis-Dreyfus in the role meant the MCU had "big plans for her".[50] However, Purslow did not think the cameo made any impact since there was no background for who de Fontaine was or any threat she may pose.[51] Following the episode's release, sales of Strange Tales #159, which was de Fontaine's first comic book appearance (in the "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." feature), increased in value on eBay, particularly those with high grades from Certified Guaranty Company denoting good condition.[52]

Accolades

For the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, John Nania, Aaron Toney, and Justin Eaton were nominated for Outstanding Stunt Performance for their work on the episode.[53]

References

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External links

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