Emily VanCamp says Sharon Carter's story is compelling enough and doesn't require a love interest on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Sharon first appeared in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent assigned by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to monitor Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and ended up helping defeat Hydra. Her story continued in Captain America: Civil War where, as a new C.I.A. agent, she joined up with Rogers once more to fight Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl). Her actions were deemed heroic but she was branded a criminal, much like Steve and the rest of the Avengers, and was forced underground.
This detail has audiences seeing a new side to Sharon Carter who is holding some resentment towards the duo. When Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) reunite with Sharon in episode 3 of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, titled, "Power Broker," the former government agent had been on the run for years. It turns out that, unlike each Avenger, Carter never received a pardon from the higher-ups.
In an interview with ET Online, VanCamp points to her character's strong story foundation as the reason Sharon doesn't need a love interest on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. "We already tried that with Steve," she points out. Not having a love story in the season is "one of the nice things" about returning to the role, she reveals:
"She doesn't need a love interest. We already tried that with Steve. It just got way too weird. And honestly, I think that one of the nice things about this Sharon and coming back to play this character is that we get to move away from the sort of love story of it all and explore Sharon as we see her now and what she's been through. It's more about that than trying to establish some kind of love connection. And it also would take away from their journeys, as well. They're both on their own separate journeys and together, and so it just-- I personally [think] there wouldn't have been room for that."
Considering how much is going on in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, giving Sharon Carter a love interest wouldn't make much sense. It is also worth looking at the many theories floating around regarding Sharon possibly being revealed as the Power Broker referenced in the episode. Whether she is or isn't the elusive figure remains to be seen. But she did become a semi-wealthy arts dealer, while in hiding, which leads to many questions about her past. The details of her journey will be intriguing to see once the show delve's further into her backstory.
Simply put, she doesn't need a love interest in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, even if Carter was romantically involved with Cap in the comics. Sharon did get her own comic storylines, eventually. From a storytelling perspective, it would make sense for Marvel to skip right to the good stuff. Given that she's been around for two movies, and now a TV show, her character deserves more than falling into certain cinematic gender tropes. It would be lazy storytelling if they brought her back only to put her in a love-triangle situation with Sam and Bucky. Much like the Disney+ series as a whole, Sharon Carter has way more potential than that.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier drops new episodes every Friday on Disney+.
More: Falcon and Winter Soldier Must Reveal Captain America’s Endgame Mystery
SOURCE: ET Online