In the days before TFATWS dropped Disney released a clip from the second episode in which Bucky and Sam bicker about wizards and Redwing. It's a classic MCU kind of moment, meta and quippy and demonstrative of the characters' playful, bickering friendship.
Other parts of 102 showcase the same dynamic. We get staring contests, marriage counseling. And the underlying premise seems to be that these two have problems they need to work out.
Except in fact the episode doesn't really lay out what those problems are. Their first scene together, the Redwing/wizards bit, lays out what we might call the Plot Journey of the series, the Euro Mystery Super Soldier Thanksgiving Turkey Hand Mask Group.
But the more personal level of their series journey and relationship, which we'd also expect to be front and center here, is barely mentioned. Bucky shows up asking about why Sam gave up the shield. But his vibe is Your fifth grade best friend telling you you shouldn't have stolen that candy bar from CVS, not Guy who just watched his friend betray the last wish of the most important man in his life. (#BuckyCapIsEndgame)
And even if he had come on stronger, the scene's real estate is tilted entirely toward the Turkey Mask story. The comedy is in fact one long riff on that.
The same happens in the Bucky/Sam shrink scene. The shrink says she's brought these together to work out their differences. Hijinks ensue. But until the very end of the scene, there's nothing underpinning those gags, no sense of the deeper pain or conflict that the comedy is emerging from or resisting. The only moment of real conflict we've seen between these two characters at this point is Sam coming out of Isaiah's house furious that no one told him there had been a black super soldier. It's a doozy of a moment, precisely because it speaks so specifically to Sam's own story and struggles.
Sam giving up the shield could be equally personal for Bucky. Not only is it a betrayal of Steve, it's a betrayal of everything Bucky's been through. There's a moment in the shrink scene where Sam says his decision has nothing to do with Bucky. It's an outrageous claim. Bucky was fighting alongside Steve and a version of that shield long before Sam was born. He gave his life to the belief in what that shield stood for, and endured 70 years of hell as a result. Of course Sam's choice has something to do with him.
But instead
until the very end, when Bucky finally shares his own self-doubt as a result of
Sam's choice--a great moment, the scene plays as just two kids goofing around in front
of their annoyed teacher. And it's fun to watch to some extent, but it also feels disconnected from anything real.
There's that old saw, If you're having trouble at the end of your movie, look to Act One. TFATWS doesn't give us real stakes and conflict in the Bucky/Sam relationship at the start, just laughs. And so then at the end when we need them, they're not there.
For me the other takeaway is the relationship between comedy and conflict. One of the key principles of improv is don't chase the laugh. It won't work, and it'll make the scene feel artificial.
Instead, be true to the scene and the relationship, and the comedy will not only, it'll strengthen and clarify the relationship you're building.
In the main Sam/Bucky scenes in 102, we get a lot of jokes. But disconnected from the real stakes and issues of their lives, the scenes start to feel well, scripted. Honestly, it makes sense that the wizard scene would be used in trailers. It feels like that's what it was written for.
Tomorrow for contrast I'm going to look at the Bucky & Sam/John Walker scenes in 102. The same interrelationship between comedy and character or conflict is at work, but the results are much stronger.
