One of the strange aspects of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’s premiere episode is that the two titular characters never talk to one another or are featured in the same room – but those who paid attention will note that there is a quick line of dialogue about an attempt at communication between the two heroes. When Bucky’s therapist (played by Amy Aquino) takes a look into the former soldier’s phone, one thing that she notes is that he has unanswered texts from “Sam” a.k.a. Sam Wilson a.k.a. Falcon.
Knowing that the two have a somewhat icy relationship, it may seem a bit strange to hear about this outreach – but according to Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, there is a very reasonable explanation for the texts… and also a rather good explanation for why Bucky chooses not to respond.
I spoke with the two The Falcon And The Winter Soldier stars last weekend during the virtual press day for the new Disney+ original, and I figured I’d use the opportunity to ask about the types of texts that Sam Wilson sends The Winter Soldier. Tapping into the brain of the character he’s played for nearly a decade now, Mackie came up with a quick and fantastic answer:
‘Hey, did you kill anybody today?’
When it comes to Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson is not a character who is ever seems hesitant about poking the bear, so to speak, and this encapsulates their dynamic perfectly. When you consider that The Winter Soldier was once of a mind to try and kill Falcon (and very nearly succeeded), this kind of ribbing is at least somewhat understandable from the flying Avenger.
On the other side of the coin, however, Bucky is obviously tortured by the extremely guilt he possess from his time as a brainwashed Hydra assassin, and the whole start of his arc in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier’s first episode is about him trying to fix that. As such, one can imagine that a text like “You kill anybody today?” might get under his skin a bit… so it’s entirely reasonable that he opted not to respond (and it’s likewise understandable that he might not want to open that bag of worms with his therapist when she brings it up).
This crazy relationship between the two heroes is unquestionably one of the things that makes us more excited to see how The Falcon And The Winter Soldier unfolds – so hopefully the series gets them together quickly in the next chapter. On that note, the second episode of the Disney+ (opens in new tab) six-part series will be launching this Friday, March 26 at 12am PST/1am EST, and we’re counting down the minutes.
