REVIEW: Assembled, Season 1 Episode Two 'The Making Of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier'

 REVIEW: Assembled, Season 1 Episode Two 'The Making Of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier'

It seems an obvious thing to say, but Marvel Studios' second television series 'The Falcon And The Winter Soldier' was a wildly different beast to WandaVision. Whereas the latter aimed to emulate various bygone eras in the world of U.S. sitcoms, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier was a more traditional MCU adventure. So it makes watching the Making Ofs of these two television shows a week apart a very interesting process. These are two contrasting behind the scenes processes, and it benefits Marvel's Assembled series greatly, because it offers variety early on into this run of behind the scenes features.

It's interesting hearing the thought process behind the conception of this series. Executive producers Kari Skogland, Zoie Nagelhout and Nate Moore, and head writer Malcolm Spellman talk so enthusiastically about how these TV Series allow them to dig deeper into the characters than in the films, and this is something I myself really love about these early Marvel Studios' shows. I really like that their focus is on the character, which is the most important element of the story, and I admire their decision to also offer a more grounded narrative compared to the rest of the MCU. It's a good approach for a TV Series within the MCU, and helps to distinguish the show away from the films.

It's also great to hear Anthony Mackie speak so openly about his experiences as a black man in America. It's a country that has such a deep racial problem, and it's clear that it's a subject that Anthony Mackie is very passionate about. He speaks well here, and it's not surprising to hear later in this behind the scenes programme that he was partly responsible for the amazing speech that Sam gives the Senator towards the end of the final episode. He should be proud of his contribution there, as it was one of the show's most stand-out moments for sure.

But what about the other co-lead of this series, the Winter Soldier? Well, we hear from the actor himself here, Sebastian Stan, and it's clear that he has a deep understanding of the character. The way he talks about Bucky, you truly get the sense that he lives and breathes the role that he plays. It's clearly a role within this larger universe that means a great deal to him, and I think this is one of the reasons why the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been more successful than its DC counterpart. It feels like the roles that they play mean more to the actors rather than simply another massive pay-check.

This 'Making Of' episode also delves deep into the problems caused by events beyond the show's control, and not just Covid. You see, originally they had planned to shoot in Puerto Rico, but when their planned location had suffered two earthquakes they had to relocate to Prague. And then, as luck would have it, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and they were forced to shut down completely. It seems like an extraordinary stroke of bad luck to them, but it's a huge testament to the cast and crew that they were able to adapt and overcome these challenges in order to complete the series. It's clear that a huge amount of planning and preparation had gone into getting the shoot ready for when they could start shooting again, and also for moving the Puerto Rico scenes to Prague, and they should be highly commended for their determination in the face of a highly difficult scenario beyond their control.

Something also admirable is the great deal of thought that went into the design of the John Walker Captain America suit. Costume designer Michael Crow details his thought process here regarding how he wanted to maintain a consistency with past Captain America suits, whilst also making it look more patriotic than ever before. The results are clear for all to see. It's an impressive suit for sure that absolutely achieves the mix that Michael Crow was going for, and looks fantastic on-screen. The costume designers always pull it out of the bag on these Marvel shows and films, but with The Falcon And The Winter Soldier suit they've truly excelled.

As has production designer Ray Chan, who we learn created the look of Madripoor by combining the look of Mozambique and Vietnam. As with WandaVision, there's some stunning attention to detail in creating this criminal underworld, such as the skulls in the bar or how Ray Chan incorporated a railway track to emulate a real location which he had visited on prior travels. The amount of work put into a behind the scenes job that is often overlooked is staggering, and these unsung heroes should be talked about more. You can't have a good series without a convincing backdrop, after all.

A series like this would also fall flat without convincing CGI - and that's something that visual effects supervisor Eric Leven seems to understand all too well. It's incredible how he mixes certain shots to make it look like a truck fight is taking place in Germany rather than Atlanta, for instance, or even to just simply tidy up Sam Wilson's Captain America costume so it doesn't crease whilst he speaks. What's most mind-blowing about the visual effects work is that it feels so real and authentic, because bad CGI can look so obvious and stand out like a sore thumb, but here the CGI is so convincing that you never find yourself questioning it as you watch. The visual effects supervisors make magic happen on-screen, and a lot of these shows and films would not be possible without their hard graft and work, so much respect goes to them.

Overall, 'The Making Of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier' is a strong display to the gigantic levels of effort that go into producing a show on this scale. It was clearly a challenging shoot for the cast and crew of this televisual production, but the fact that they pulled through despite all the odds is really testament to the determination and skill of all involved. It's a show that had something very important to say in its first (and hopefully not last, although we are getting a film) season, in regards to race and the idea of representing a symbol, and these ideas all came across perfectly in their finished product.

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What are your thoughts on The Making of The Falcon And The Winter Soldier? Let me know in the comments.