“The world has been forever changed.”

Those words, spoken by Sam Wilson, kick off The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Marvel’s second new episodic series streaming on Disney+. It stars Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan returning in their respective roles from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The series is directed by Kari Skogland, who has directed episodes from popular series such as The Walking Dead, The Handmaid’s Tale and The Punisher. Series creator Malcolm Spellman (Empire) also wrote the first of the six episodes (as opposed to WandaVision‘s nine.)     

The series takes place after the events of Avengers Endgame; Sam Wilson now in possession of Captain America’s shield working alongside Bucky Barnes, with both of them feeling the absence of their friend. The challenge they face takes them across the globe as they face off against Baron Zemo who is back with a new plot. Daniel Bruhl returns to his role as Zemo, previously being the main antagonist in Captain America: Civil War. Emily VanCamp appears as her role of Sharon Carter from the same movie, and appears to be assisting the main duo in their endeavors.      

The first episode, “New World Order” begins in the time after Thanos’ Snap from Infinity War, now known as ‘the blip’, after criminals began taking advantage of the chaos to further their goals. Sam Wilson is working with the Air Force to stop said criminals at the beginning of the episode. Bucky Barnes’ story this episode begins with him experiencing nightmares of one of the many times he was working for Hydra as the brainwashed Winter Soldier.

Bucky is going through government-mandated therapy to monitor his condition out of worry he may return to his hypnotized state. Attempting to make amends for his actions as The Winter Soldier he gets a politician arrested that Hydra made him get elected. The two of them are trying to adjust to their normal lives after they both returned from being Snapped.      

While they’re adjusting to their lives, a group called The Flag Smashers begins making trouble around the world. Sam is beginning to look into this problem during this episode in his capacity as an Air Force asset, but it’s only the beginning of a much larger story.

With good action, theatrical-level cinematography, several interesting plots beginning to brew and a very special guest star, the first episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is a great way to start off this six-episode series.