WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Finale, "One World, One People," now streaming on Disney+.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier certainly painted John Walker (Wyatt Russell) in a tragic light as he tried to live up to the symbol of Captain America. He was bred into war and engineered to be a killer, all in the name of liberty -- something that wasn't surprising given what was shown in the Captain America films, with world powers jockeying for dominance and control. However, while some viewers expected his dark turn as the new Cap, the finale stunned many by offering him a path to atonement. Yet, it was too good to be true, as that redemption arc quickly went from heroic to twisted in setting up his next chapter.
Walker lost the shield to Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and began fashioning his new one in the previous episode. Clearly, he wasn't letting go of the Cap mantle and how Karli murdered Battlestar. So when he arrived to seek revenge in New York at the Global Repatriation Council summit, it seems safe to say that audiences expected the worst. He did go into berserker mode, fighting off Flag Smashers to get to Karli, all while Bucky tried to save the hostages in a non-lethal manner.
But his moment of triumph came when one of the vans full of the council members was about to plunge into a construction site. With Bucky below fighting, there was no one up top to grab the van; that is, until Walker showed up. He had the option of chasing after Karli, but instead, he remembered the hero inside and grabbed the back of the van, helping briefly steady it. Seeing him shake off his crazed look and dilated pupils says a lot: he is a good man who just got lost in the machine.
Unfortunately, the Flag Smashers attacked again and they all fell to the ground. But as he and Bucky looked up, they were inspired, seeing Sam as the new Cap pushing the van back up using his wings, jet pack and the Redwing drones. It culminated in Walker and Bucky helping round up the other terrorists without killing, with both actually impressed with and endorsing the other.
Sadly, as motivated as Walker was by Sam and his speech urging the council to revise the Patch Act that was going to displace refugees, the finale then had Walker suiting up in a black suit, becoming the US Agent. At this point, it seems he's been forgiven by the government but it's telling that he's happy to be working under Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
It could be pride or ego that has him so excited, or the fact that he gets to be an instrument of destruction again. He may just be trying to outdo Sam and Bucky in a friendly rivalry, but the fact that he's still mentally unstable, doesn't appear to have sought treatment for the serum aftereffects and is still willing to go into the field shows that he hasn't really learned his lesson and might be doomed to repeat the same mistakes. He may couch it with laughs and jokes with his wife, but it's a dark turn filled with enormous pressure, as the flawed Walker is willingly putting himself back out as a ticking time bomb.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. The entire first season is available to stream on Disney+.