‘Falcon and Winter Soldier’ Easter Eggs: 5 Things You May Have Missed in Episode 4

Okay, okay, okay—this is stupid. I know this is stupid. But this episode lacked any major character introductions or big plot reveals so, there’s this—and it’s not nothing. It’s not something, either. But…

After Karli Morgenthau’s terrorist act last episode, the Flag Smashers are shocked to hear that the Global Repatriation Council is drafting legislation called the Patch Act, which would restore traditional border regulations. So… the opposite of what the Smashers want.

When obsessive Marvel fans like myself hear the word “patch,” we think of Wolverine’s alter-ego, Patch, from the late 1980s. The X-Men were believed to be dead and he thought an eyepatch would disguise him. This has nothing to do with anything, except that Patch operated in Madripoor—the crime island that we first saw last week. The close proximity between Madripoor and Patch—we see Madripoor again in this episode!—made this worth me pointing out. In my mind. Whatever. Moving on!

In order to coax the kids of Riga into giving him information on Mama Donya’s funeral, Zemo sets out a bag of Turkish delight as bait. The confections are typically small cubes filled with nuts or dates bound together by a gel of starch and sugar. The colorful outer coating is dusted with sugar. It’s a popular treat, especially in Eastern Europe, the region Zemo calls home.

The show chose Turkish delight over Reese’s Pieces (which is reserved for when you want aliens to be compliant) because it’s a reference to C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In the novel, the White Witch uses Turkish delight to convince young Edmund Pevensie to bring his siblings into Narnia. Forget Klondike Bars—who would you sell out for Turkish delight?

After they completely wreck John Walker and Battlestar, the Dora Milaje are frustrated to see that fighting these dumb-asses allowed Zemo time to escape. Ayo (Florence Kasumba) rallies her troops to move out, and sees Yama (Zola Williams) holding Captain America’s shield. Ayo tells her to leave it, and she hands it back over to Walker.

This is a small moment, but it speaks volumes. After all, Captain America’s shield is made of vibranium—an indestructible metal that’s found only in Wakanda. This is, in fact, the first thing we learn about the shield back in Captain America: The First Avenger.

Knowing that, Ayo telling Yama to “leave it” feels like a big deal. After all, vibranium is only found in Wakanda and Wakanda was almost entirely secluded from the outside world until just a few years ago. How did the U.S. government get just enough vibranium to forge a shield way back in World War II? It’s not much of a stretch to think that Wakandans are (rightfully) not cool with having their most valuable resource plundered and turned into a star-spangled weapon. This explains why Yama deliberately picks it up—and probably why Ayo deliberately tells her to leave it. They’re not here to reclaim what was stolen from them (at least not yet).

Also, we gotta point out that the two Dora Milaje flanking Ayo are Yama (Williams) and Nomble (Janeshia Adams-Ginyard). Williams is a professional dancer and Adams-Ginyard is a stunt performer, and both of them appeared as member of the Dora Milaje in Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. And now both characters have names!

This is also far from Adams-Ginyard’s only role in the MCU; she was also the stunt double for Teyonah Parris in WandaVision and Danai Gurira in all of her MCU appearances.

After getting thoroughly defeated by three non-Super-Soldiers, Walker has a man to man talk with his partner Battlestar (Clé Bennett). Walker asks his old army buddy if he’d take the serum if given the chance, and Battlestar immediately says yes. He’s not afraid of any side effects either, because he reckons that the serum and all of its power just makes you more of who you already are. That echos what Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) said to Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) before the procedure back in Captain America: The First Avenger. If Battlestar was just taking a wild guess about the serum, the he’s a good guesser.

So… the ending. Captain America, supercharged with Super Soldier Serum, throws down with Karli and the Flag Smashers. And in a brutally shocking turn of events, Battlestar leaps into battle and takes a punch from the head Smasher—and he dies. He flies into a thick stone column with such force that his spine or neck or something gets shattered. It’s instant and it’s tragic. It’s a step too far; there’s a difference between blowing up a building and cavalierly talking about killing Captain America and actually killing someone unintentionally and violently with your own bare hands. Karli’s shook. The Flag Smashers, who already seemed to have doubts, run for it. And John Walker goes after them, cornering one in the middle of a crowd. He then decapitates the guy with his shield in front of dozens of onlookers, all with cellphones out. It’s harrowing and quite possibly the most gruesome moment in the entire MCU. Remember when Disney+ was billed as the all-family-friendly streaming service?

This does not happen in the comics. Marvel Comics’ Battlestar lives past his partnership with John Walker and is still alive today. But there is precedent for this in the comics. In Captain America #345, writer Mark Gruenwald pushed his new Cap past his breaking point when the far-right terrorist group the Watchdogs kidnapped Walker’s parents. Walker tried to save them, but his rescue mission was ill-planned and his parents were gunned down in a hail of bullets. Enraged, Walker beats every Watchdog to death (or close to it), including impaling one of them with their own rifle. From this point on, Walker’s damaged goods. His already tenuous control over his temper leaves him behind, and he becomes even more uncontrollable and relentless.

So if you thought this new Captain America was already unhinged, it’s only gonna get worse.

Stream The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+