Flag Smashers needed so much more context to their motives and characteristics.

I think this show just suffered from being too short. Had it been longer, a lot of these points could’ve been done really well.

That Justin Hammer cos-play was seriously tight and underrated.

If not a slow build for the formation of the Flag-Smashers, I wouldn't mind a "Copperhead" episode for Karli on how she became radicalized, preferably after Walker smashed her compatriot's head in. They could also do a B-story on Walker's background on what happened in Afghanistan that parallels with Karli's story and how trauma can affect two different people similarly but end up with very different endpoints.

I definetely felt the Walker arc was missing one beat between his demotion and his redemption and I am glad to see I am not the only one who noticed

If they were going to be about The Blip, they deserved an entire flashback episode that would explain their pov. It was too hypothetical a motivation without seeing The Blip from their perspective.

I remember literally yelling at my TV during the flagsmasher scenes: "WHAT ARE YOU?" "DO YOU CARE ABOUT PEOPLE OR DON'T YOU? STOP SWITCHING BETWEEN THE TWO AND THINKING THAT MAKES YOU LOOK NUANCED!" Your version definitely sounds more coherent and has an arc to it

I think it would have been interesting if Karli had rejected Sharon's "join me" offer and Sharon killed her before Sam showed up, passing it off as self defense. And/or Karli lives, having dirt on Sharon as the power broker, and having to deal with the can of worms she opened, maybe taking on the Nomad title?

I like Point Three because it is very on brand for Captain AMERICA to remove a non-American leader by force only to have it make everything worse.

Maybe it’s just me but I really like how Zemo was in this series. It feels like he’s moving along his character arc while still remaining consistent to who he used to be. He’s a new man in a lot of ways

I really wanted Bucky to get a new identity, to embrace the White Wolf identity. I feel it could have been explored really easily with just a few small tweaks to current scenes and added a scene at the end, so that maybe the next thing can be Captain America and the White Wolf, instead of another Captain America and the Winter Soldier.

One thing that's always annoyed me about bucky is dat he is like them villains you get in a game that are so strong but as soon as you defeat them and get to use them they are so much weaker - he was a complete menace in TWS and should be finessing the flagsmashers 3 at a time especially with a VIBRANIUM arm

Karli needed some kind of dialogue that wasn't just explaining her ideology or reminiscing about a dead lady we never met

i'm always astounded by how quickly and how well you come up with these adjustments to improve stories. kevin feige should be scrambling for your phone number

I really like the idea of Karli being less violent, and the Flag smashers becoming radicalized. It would have made them much more interesting, and shown how Walker's brute force approach might make sense on paper, but only leads to more conflict and chaos.

Season 3 of Daredevil is a flawless and perfect masterpiece

I liked the Flag Smashers having a connection to the blip. Rather than just being a generic group of anarchist militants fighting for a world that MIGHT work and MIGHT be better, they're anarchist militants fighting for a world that DID work and WAS better. That's way, way more sympathetic to the average viewer, who when they think "anarchist" pictures the wasteland punks from Road Warrior. It also demonstrates the state of transition this world is in and gives a sense of consequence and worldbuilding to the recent movies.

This series was way too short. Six episodes are not enough for the development of the Flag Smashers + Bucky's recovery from cPTSD + the origin of Sam's Captain America identity etc etc...

I don't know if Walker is really redeemed by the end of the story, or if anyone in-universe thinks he is. We never see Sam or Bucky or anyone acknowledge him as redeemed; they just tolerate fighting alongside him in a stressful situation. He gets the US Agent suit from the Contessa, and we don't have any evidence that she's affiliated with the actual US government and no one from the government actually acknowledges him during the episode. BUT,,, BUT I think WALKER thinks he's been redeemed - he had his big "hero moment" (that doesn't really do anything), he "helped" stop the Flag Smashers, and didn't do anything "too bad". He has done just enough to make himself think that he's okay now, that he's made up for his action so that he doesn't have to really look at who he actually is as a person. Which will be an interesting launching point for whatever happens next with his character.

Walker to me was like Poindexter, a soldier beyond anything, but missing the morals of those heroes they resembled. Having Agent be portrayed as a real hero at the end of the season didn't feel as satisfying as opposed to him continuing his fall from grace and sticking to his own methods of getting the job done.

i understood "better during the blip" as just meaning that during the blip the world didnt really have borders and that after it the borders came back, not that it was literally better during the blip

Compelling vid. My one nitpick (not unlike your podcast which is great) is that the Blip is the biggest event humanity has ever experienced, period. Sam’s speech to the senators at the end of episode 6 about having a common struggle wouldn’t work there if the Flag Smashers aren’t tied to the blip. It’s the only event in human history that every single person on the planet has experienced, and any speech about refugees, or drug cartels, or whatever else, (while being incredibly importance to address in the real world and likely more directly relatable to our world) wouldn’t resonate with the people he’s speaking to like the blip does.

Bucky has definitely gotten nerfed ever since he reappears in Infinity War. One of his first moments in the Winter Soldier is catching the shield in mid-air without flinching, however John can throw the shield hard enough at Bucky to send him flying through the air, even tho he has a stronger arm.

You're my new best friend for saying Speed Racer was perfect

Personally I really like John Walker going through a very slow redemption, cause I like to see people become better. But the way you have John be more Brutal with Sam being compassionate would be cool

One of my biggest nit picks is that becoming a super soldier feels really cheap. If all it takes is one shot and it doesn't physically make your muscles get swol at all, then we should clearly see that this isn't as powerful as the Steve Rodgers serum. Someone looking like a twig and being put on the same level as Steve in strength doesn't sit right.

A lot of people stick on the idea that the Flagsmashers "think it was better during the blip." They lament the injustice that the people returning has brought, they talk about that a lot, but I'm pretty sure that they never literally say "it was better when everyone was dead." Their problem is in the fact that people are being harmed in the here-and-now, their problem is with powerful people like the GRC causing harm through their bad decisions. They don't attack people who returned to life or blame them for anything, they attack GRC officials, and they blame people in power. They never state that they have a problem with people returning to life. They definitely don't seek to return to the time when everyone was gone. They're not supportive of genocide, nor do they ever say "Thanos was right" or anything at all like that. The idea that they "think things were better during the blip" is attributed to them by Joaquin Torres , a member of the US military who is tracking them as wanted criminals. That's not representative of their actual ideology, it's a misunderstanding of it painted onto them by a political opponent who wants to lock them up.

Another change I'd add: Have Sam declare "FALCON PUNCH!" when punching someone at least once (seriously, the reference is RIGHT there and no one ever has the idea to use it in spite of several movies and a whole series!)

That third change is Literally the best rewrite for anything on KZfaq. Brilliant.

The death was impactful especially since he used to be a captain america fan

we need u in the marvel writers room😂😁

0:40 I was just listening to the video, and thought Nando was saying “Cats (the movie) was perfect”

Potential alternate change regarding the 'redemption arc' for Walker: still let him decide to try and save the van rather than chase Carly, but have it be because he has noticed there are public with cameras/phones watching not because he suddenly wants to do the right thing. Maybe even throw in a line when Val talks to him and she suggests he might need to repair his public image in some way in order for him to be fully recruited.

Anyone think it’s nutty that Don Cheadle had the “and” credit for the series, and yet cameos in a single episode? I can’t help but feel that he was part of the mysterious cut plot, and salivate at the idea of cut Rhodey footage actually being out there, an entire War Machine sub plot that will never see the light of day.

Really great changes! I do think the blip could work well, however. It presents an interesting dilemma, like Tom Hanks coming home in Cast Away only to find his wife with another husband. The problem is that we are not shown the consequences of people coming back, and they are only really brought up too late in the series.

Personally I thought that although Walker's redemption was abrupt, it kind of makes sense considering the fact that before the finale he got a job offer from Valentina. Walker was belittled by both Sam and Bucky, his best friend was killed, and he was disgraced by the government. Recieving a second chance to become a superhero likely uplifted his spirits prior to the events of the finale.

Torres always felt way more dodgy to me than Sharron did.

8:03 an excellent idea because it mirrors exactly what happened to Walker.

0:40 I agree, Cats (2019) *is* perfect

Val is assembling her "Avengers" like Fury is way back in Phase 1.

Falcon + Winter Soldier really didn’t work for me, but this really would have been a huge improvement.

Been having the same feeling about tying the blip to all of this. It actually came to mind when Sam tried to get the bank loan and again when he’s talking to the GRC. It probably needs to be addressed in a different show, but the Avengers reinserted nearly 4 billion people into the world in an instant, without consulting any governments about how reintegrating those people would be done. Does the world have the resources for those people? Food, shelter? How will it be distributed. Money? There’s a lot of minutiae, but the long & short of it is that they did the exact thing the Sokovia Accords were made for. Avengers do some world-altering event & just go home afterwards, leaving everyone else to deal with the aftermath, which is exactly how you get a group like the Flag Smashers formed. Awesome video like always.

I'd really like to hear what you have to say about Walker. After the finale, I'm still a little confused on how the show wants us to see him since his 'redemption' was walked back with the U.S. Agent reveal.

One super weird point for me in the finale is when Sam carries Karli's body down to the ambulance crew outside. Meanwhile, he leaves Sharon who has just been shot and is bleeding out to make her own way down. I get that Sam isn't happy that Sharon killed Karli before he could get through to her, but he doesn't know at this point that she's the Power Broker and engineered these events. He doesn't have our viewer insight into her motives yet he potentially leaves her to die while he carries the already dead Karli to the ambulances? I mean, Sharon saved Sam's life in exactly the same way back in Madripoor and he didn't seem to have any problem with her killing a bunch of people that time, but suddenly he's going to leave her to bleed and make her own way down? They clearly wrote the scene with the end goal of Sam delivering the dead Karli and launching into his speech and didn't think through what a real human would do in that situation (i.e. help his living friend) and it really took me out of the scene.

I thought that walker being redeemed just happened to happen because his character was being consistent. With his willing to save the innocent being consistent to what we learn about him in episode 2

One thing I strongly disagree with is Walker shouldn’t have been more brutal. I don’t think he should get a redemption, but Lamar and others constantly tell us that he’s a hero and I want us to see that he could have been

Starting the video knowing the mingled joy and sadness it will bring. All the while unable to stop myself. Yes please do a video on Walker.

Uhhh John Walker. We’re missing MAJOR character elements his supposed “worst day ever” as a combat soldier. Throughout the show we see these odds close-ups of John that don’t really go anywhere or make coherent sense to his character’s feelings. I think if we saw a PTSD event with John it would make more sense that A.) he cares for Lamar and B.) suffers from his trauma. Doing so would have made the show, a show based on the mantle of Cap’s legacy, so much better and would’ve added depth to the MCU.

its a pure councidence that you made this video after I was up all noght thinking about some of the misses that the Flag Smasher storyline has. Great job on these changes btw!

yes, yes, your plot here is much more coherent and much better! the show's plot is all over the place

i think the blip worked well, but only in sam's speech at the end, where he compares it to the amount of power the governments are wielding over peoples' lives trying to correct the blip. the introduction to karli's point of view should've been that the blip is an opportunity to move past the corrupt parts of the old world order i also think killing off karli to just replace her with an evil guy is a bit lazy. it doesn't jive with the theme of sam's speech, that they should try to understand why people go to such extreme lengths, if you just replace them with an unsympathetic character to escalate the situation instead i think killing karli's SO and losing the angel on her shoulder would work much better, both because it foreshadows what she will do next through parallels with walker, for whom lamar was also the angel on his shoulder, and because it demonstrates on a personal level that violent means will always have collateral that leads to more violence the whole sharon power broker thing shouldn't have been a thing. it did nothing for the story and would've needed much more time to flesh out properly. zemo was great, but they could have gotten what they needed out of him narratively from a simple jail visit.

This is once again great. I really wish someone could remake all the MCU films and shows with your changes, they’re great! Marvel Studios really needs to hire you.

Such a nice video Nando. It really sounds great your version of the story. I hope that if this show gets a season 2, they could fill the plot holes left in S1.

Once again, I want to see your version more than what I saw. How have companies not come to you with their scripts yet?!

Nando, I freaking love your changes, dude. For real. Lol Making Karli more sympathetic would have been a smarter move for sure. And I am VERY excited to see your video on John Walker. :) He has got to be one of the most compelling and well written antagonists we've gotten in the MCU. While it was nice to see that he wasn't COMPLETELY antagonistic near the end, a much more brutal Walker would definitely be more interesting. Maybe that's what we'll see more from him in the future.

This rewrite genuinely would have fixed all the problems I had with CATWS so thanks for that!

[pulls up a chair] 🍿

Lol’ed at “Power Broker WooOOOooo”

I really liked the building of the movement idea. I agree with your last video that the flag smashers seemed to just be escalading in urgency without any reason in the narrative until the literal last ep.

I definitely didn't like Walker getting redeemed. Felt like we were missing a scene that would have led to make it make sense. I think all the issues coulda been fixed if we had 8 episodes so there could be more connecting scenes to get us where we need

We really need MCU content that takes place during the blip I hope the Black widow movie takes place during that

Too bad John Walker ends up being completely irrelevant to the conclusion...

As someone who works on these shows, I can say that they definitely need you on their writing team!!!

Now that would have made this perfect!! Leaning into Karli as a leader. A person who saw the closet thing to world peace in years and used the chance she got to make it like that again. She's like Steve, a person with no power gaining a chance and using it to its fullest to help others. Not to mention the showing of how movements for positive change get corrupted, twisted and destroyed by those in power to justify their actions.

I think the blip motivation is fine as it is I but your series rewrite of the flag smashers is spot on, beautifully said.

“The flagsmashers fell flat for me” So...flatsmashers?

Amazing ideas man ! Wish they put more thought into it but I’m here for some Stankie interactions ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

I loved John Walker. He was such a great character.

I liked the redemption of Walker. Ad you say, his character had nuance, lots of it

I was so confused as to what Carly goal was and I believe that was a pandemic thing because it was such a bizarre choice that they tired to remedy in episode 4 but didn’t really work with Sam telling buck that he understands Carly’s stance. They really just needed a flashback of the world during the blip outside of what we saw in endgame because that was such an interesting concept of the world having to move on Thanos, it made sense to tie it together but they fell through on why they were tie the two together

I would definitely watch your version of Falcon and Winter Soldier.

I feel like every change Nando proposes always feels too real and close to home. I like the mcu world being different from our own. I watch these movies to escape to a far cooler world rather than be reminded of the depressing one we already live in.

I don't think usagent has been redeemed, since he's working for the clearly evil lady, he's just been given depth. It was weird that the boys didn't say anything when he showed up though.

Well, you did an excellent job with this, Nando. A+

This video is spot on. Flag Smashers needed a proper back story.

Why is it called "Falcon and the Winter Soldier"? Shouldn't be called "Falcon and Bucky"? Isn't the whole point about Bucky's character is that he's NOT the Winter Soldier anymore?? And that Bucky's trying to put that behind him.

The show gave me a lot of hints of ideas. Ideas that could've made the norms of the Blip not only more compelling, but deepen the idea that maybe even just a little bit that Thanos had a point. The idea is this: that in the wake of the snap, the structure of the world was shaken so heavily that it broke down a number of its systems of injustice. People banded together in ways they'd never done before amidst the crisis, institutional oppression and racism were broken down in the wake of severe need. Nations came together like never before. Once the blip period ended and people started coming back... that progress changed. Sure, many would have had their hearts changed by the social progress they'd witnessed in those 5 years. But also many would've just been happy to restore the old in the wake of their loved ones returning. Those who left rich, powerful, important would all obviously want to still be those things 5 seconds later from their perspective. If they had fleshed out this idea more, then that makes the Flag Smashers' conflict one that everyone who stayed, not just refugees, can relate to on some level whether they reject it or not. Even Sam, when harassed by the cop, could experience this - the first cop is operating on the norms of America pre-snap, whereas the second cop could talk down the first and mention that things aren't like that anymore. It could frame an America that was split between those who wanted to keep / restore things to the way they'd been, and an America that was ready to move forward in the wake of needing each other.

Awesome and insightful once again!

I really like your take, it's way more coherent!

I do want the Netflix avengers to be on Disney.

Lol your thumbnail looks almost identical to brown table’s. Great video

Paddington *2* was perfect

Nando back at it again with his Midas touch! 🙏 Honestly, this version would have been so much more impactful.

It took me almost an entire month of distance to this show to actually be able to watch this XD I also liked the show way more than I didn't and also way more than I thought I would (it's actually one of my favorite marvel things in a while. Easily beat out wandavision) but now I think I can appreciate your take XD so here we go

I was on board until point 3, and my initial reaction was "nope". But then I heard you out, and I think that you're right. The only change that I would make is to HAVE the Power Broker (not Sharon Carter) be the one in the background. Karli stole the serum, but the others were given it by the Power Broker. With Karli gone, the Power Broker does what they do best... broker... um... power. They install Batroc at the head to turn it into a violent organization.

I really liked Walker being kinda redeemed. He's not a bad guy he's what Tommy Lee Jones character wanted in the first movie. The perfect soldier getting super powers. The problem is he is not the person to represent America but he still wants to do the right thing but struggles because he is not Captain America. He's the sympathetic villain that actually works unlike the Flag Smashers. It makes him a tragic character going into presumingly the Thunderbolts. It also makes Thunderbolt Ross more villainous for exploiting this guy who thinks he deserves everything. He can play into that desire that Walker has and exploit it. It allows for a really interesting villain.

Oh this is a great Idea. I actually love this

My headcanon is that cause the world was at its worst during the blip, the world actually joined together, no borders, no countries. However when everyone came back it went back to normal, now I recognise that they never really bring this up, but i think if they were to tweak some things, they could very well make that story line

I kind of agree with your second point but I think them already being formed is nice because it gives precedent for the theory that they are former members of sky / daisies organization from agents of shield. and for the first point I think it's nice that we got a something realistic blip-related that talked about the state of the MCU during the blip, I think we should have gotten a movie in between Infinity war and endgame that takes place during the blip and shows that stuff does actually get better because of it which gives precedent that Thanos was right, but I think this works too

I mean, thanks for these videos. Your ideas are more interesting and engaging than the official releases 100% of the time, but when are you going to start writing/promoting spec scripts so we can all start benefiting from you on the big screen?

If Walker had gotten off, regardless of the video evidence, that would have been a realistic, harsh event that everyone would have to deal with in their own way

One thing this change does from my perspective is that Sam couldn't say "don't call them terrorists" at the end of the finale because we have no example of why we shouldn't. If Karli doesn't start as a terrorist but ultimately someone who you can empathize with and understand then it invalidates the entire core message that we shouldn't use titles for people to get around issues because if we do then the issues will continue to cause terrorism/crime.

So, I think what they're setting up here with Val and Walker and Zemo's re-capture is the Thunderbolts (in name at least, I suspect the actual team will draw on various teams from the comics). I fully expect Val will crop up in a few different movies and shows recruiting for the team, a parallel to Fury's recruitment of the Avengers, so I think going with the Dark Avengers would be too on the nose (although maybe they'll get unofficially referred to by that name at some point). I also think they'll ostensibly be showcased as a team of heroes (at least initially) in the first instance, so Dark Avengers would be a weird name. However of course I fully expect their tactics to put them on a collision course with the actual Avengers. Some other neat things that line up here: Zemo was sent to the Raft. One character we know has been heavily involved with the Raft is General "Thunderbolt" Ross. We know Emil Blonsky/Abomination is also on the Raft and both Ross and Blonsky are going to be part of the She-Hulk series in some way, so they've definitely bot been forgotten in the MCU. My guess is either that Ross is working for Val or vice versa (or they're both working for the same organisation) and they will use the Raft as a recruitment tool for other members of the new team. If Ross ends up being the public face of the team, it would be a nice little twist that that's where the "Thunderbolts" name comes from (I think this is not the case in the comics but it lines up too neatly in the MCU). Maybe Blonksy's involvement in She-Hulk will even centre around Ross trying to get him released so that he can be employed again as a super soldier, and I'm fully expecting a post credits scene in Black Widow with Val trying to recruit someone - maybe Taskmaster but also maybe Yelena (although Yelena's also meant to be appearing in the Hawkeye series, so Val might appear as part of that instead). If I'm right, I expect the initial line-up of the Thunderbolts to feature Zemo, Walker/US Agent (as a Cap parallel), Abomination (as a Hulk parallel) and potentially a Black Widow parallel in Yelena. They could spend some time setting this up and then have the team appear properly together in a future Avengers movie, as a foil to the new Avengers (in the same way that Mysterio took the wind out of Peter's sails in Far From Home, making him doubt his worthiness and stand back to let the seemingly more experienced hero take the lead), only for the Avengers to realise the team are not as heroic as they claim and end up clashing.

Really like your tweaks - except - I still think the blip was needed for flag smashers as it showed them the better world - otherwise I again love your changes!

This is literally what I would’ve loved to see this and what I think was the ideal goal of the show

I can't wait for your take on LOKI

A thing about the blip that I think would make an awsome premise for a series with a very similar theme to this: a few years spent with a much reduced world population would result in vastly reduced production, as well as massive redistribution (during previous mass deaths there are indication that global equality has increased sizeably). Reintroducing the previous level of population (with retained property rights, which seems to be what Far From Home states happened) should in turn result in massive displacement of people who have moved into a more well-off position, as well as vast increases in poverty due to the mismatch in production and number of consumers/needy. It is not hard to imagine the nation state becomming a much less relevant premise during a several year long period of vastly reduced inequality and way fewer reasons for state level competition, only to snap back to the forefront in a situation where poverty driven migration causes massive refugee-crisis and border closures. A great setting for Flag Smashers. In such a context, vaccines would perhaps not be the most important resources (pretty important though, if half the worlds population have forgone several years of evolving resistans and immunity to new strains of old diseases), but basic necessities such as food, medicine etc. would be in short supply. Using those building blocks it should be possible to tell a version of this story with fewer McGuffins and stakes which feel more connected to Endgame.

Thanks for the musings, a great alternative view on Flag-Smasher. On a side, why did Sharon Carter NOT take the super-serum? Or do you think she take it and we just don't know?

This all works soooo well

Stop making me lose interest in the real thing! Every time a 'One Small Change' video comes out I'm getting into your vision so much that I lose my adoration for the real project 🥴🤪 LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!! Marvel hire him alreadyyy