Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie reprise their respective roles as Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson from the film series, with Wyatt Russell, Erin Kellyman, Danny Ramirez, Georges St-Pierre, Adepero Oduye, and Don Cheadle also starring.

The episode received positive reviews from critics, with praise going to its opening aerial battle, the characterization of Wilson and Barnes, and the racial themes included.

The episode received several accolades, including a Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award nomination for Cheadle's role as James Rhodes.

Six months after half of all life returned from the Blip,[a] the U.S. Air Force sends Sam Wilson to stop a plane hijacking over Tunisia by the terrorist group LAF, led by Georges Batroc.

With ground support from first lieutenant Joaquin Torres, Wilson fights the terrorists and rescues Air Force Captain Vassant before they cross into Libyan airspace and cause an international incident.

He offers to use his status as a famous superhero to help them get a new loan, but they are turned down due to the business's poor profits and Wilson's lack of income during his five-year absence.

[4] Kari Skogland was hired to direct the miniseries a month later,[5] and executive produced alongside Spellman and Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and Nate Moore.

Feige suggested this approach because he felt the two characters had always existed within the larger context of MCU films and needed to be introduced to the audience as individuals before being brought together as a team in future episodes.

[13] Spellman revealed that specifics of the scene were debated "all the way up to the top" at Marvel Studios to ensure it would resonate with audiences due to the struggle for Black people to obtain bank loans that it depicts.

[15] The central conflict that Spellman and Marvel wanted to explore with the series was whether Wilson would become Captain America after being handed the shield by Steve Rogers at the end of Endgame.

They went through many different versions before settling on the final storyline: Wilson chooses to give up the shield early in the episode, and then John Walker is introduced as the new government-approved Captain America at the end.

[19] He was confident in exploring that interpretation of betrayal as the writers' room mostly consisted of Black people who were equipped to candidly portray the difficulties that the first African-American superhero would face.

Spellman felt it would be dishonest to "tell a story about a Black man holding that shield without his identity making him very, very ambivalent about whether or not it's a good thing".

Skogland said Rhodes was a mentor for Wilson in the series, while Spellman said the two characters have a shorthand that allows the audience to "fill in the blanks" when the pair pause during the scene.

[19] Spellman also felt that it was apparent to audiences that the scene features the two main Black superheroes from the MCU having a quiet moment together and said there is an underlying suggestion that Rhodes has filled the role left by his friend Tony Stark / Iron Man and is wondering why Wilson has not done the same for Rogers.

Many iterations of this scene were discussed, including a version where Wilson and Rhodes talk while flying in their respective superhero suits, but ultimately a quieter and more poignant direction was taken with the pair walking around a museum exhibit.

[22] The episode stars Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Wyatt Russell as John Walker, Erin Kellyman as Karli Morgenthau, Danny Ramirez as Joaquin Torres, Georges St-Pierre as Georges Batroc, Adepero Oduye as Sarah Wilson, and Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes.

[23][24]: 44:02–44:40  Also appearing are Desmond Chiam, Dani Deetté, and Indya Bussey as the Flag Smashers Dovich, Gigi, and DeeDee, respectively,[24]: 45:11  Amy Aquino as Barnes's therapist Dr. Raynor,[25] Chase River McGhee and Aaron Haynes as Wilson's nephews Cass and AJ,[26][24]: 45:11  Ken Takemoto as Yori,[25] Ian Gregg as Unique,[24]: 45:11  Miki Ishikawa as Leah,[27] Vince Pisani as a loan officer,[24]: 45:11  Alphie Hyorth as a government official,[16] Rebecca Lines as Senator Atwood,[25] Jon Briddell as Major Hill, Miles Brew as Colonel Vassant, Charles Black as Carlos, and Akie Kotabe as Yori's son RJ.

[36][37]: 40:05–40:55 Feige encouraged Skogland to use her own directing style rather than trying to match with the MCU films, and she chose to use different camera work that was "more off-kilter than Marvel usually is" to create a more intimate feeling.

[38] For Barnes's therapy scene, Skogland and Dillon wanted to convey how uncomfortable he was by putting the camera close to Stan on unusual angles with a wide lens.

Conversely, Wilson's scenes in Louisiana were meant to feel "very warm and inviting, and just more attractive",[39] with Dillon and Skogland taking a natural approach to the cinematographer to make sure it did not look like a superhero film.

[40] Skogland and Dillon used low angles for the introduction of Walker as Captain America,[16][41] emulating a traditional character reveal but "overd[oing] it a bit" to reflect his personality.

In addition to helicopters and planes, the sequence includes several villain characters in wingsuits which gave Wilson the opportunity to chase other people in the air.

[47] Other changes they made included adjustments to costumes, depth-of-field effects, and emulating the look of a fisheye lens to give the impression that certain shots were filmed with a GoPro camera.

[57] Using its proprietary Automatic Content Recognition technology on opted-in smart TVs, Samba TV reported that 1.7 million households watched the episode in its opening weekend.

The site's critical consensus reads, "An ambitious blend of big screen action and intimate storytelling, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier's opening episode makes a strong case that smaller MCU moments can still pack a serious punch.

"[60] Giving the episode a "B+", Matt Webb Mitovich from TVLine said it promised feature film-quality action and overdue insight into Wilson and Barnes.

[64] Entertainment Weekly's Chancellor Agard felt the opening set piece was Marvel wanting to prove that the series would match the production value of the films.

Misra was surprised with how inventive the opening sequence was, likening it to Top Gun (1986), and enjoyed the characterization; she was hopeful the next episode would include scenes of Wilson and Barnes together.