Falcon & The Winter Soldier: Why Bucky Said He Failed Twice

Warning: SPOILERS for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Finale - "One World, One People," and Bucky's storyline.

In The Falcon and The Winter Soldier's finale, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) told Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) that he failed twice but what did he mean? Bucky and the new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), took on the Flag-Smashers and stopped their attempt to kidnap members of the Global Repatriation Council in New York City. With help from John Walker (Wyatt Russell), the superheroes won, so Bucky won't count stopping the Flag-Smashers as one of his failures.

When they clashed in Latvia, Karli had previously tried to convince Sam of the righteousness of her cause in the hopes that the Falcon would join them, or at least halt his pursuit of the Flag-Smashers. In New York, Karli attempted to sway Bucky when he entered the GRC building, which was being evacuated as part of Morgenthau and the Flag-Smashers' plan. After one of the Flag-Smashers' supporters handed Bucky a cell phone, Karli asked Barnes: "Aren't you tired of fighting for the wrong side, Mr. Barnes? I'm fighting for something bigger than myself. And with all the bodies you've collected, have you ever been able to say the same?" Bucky replied, "You don't think I've fought for something bigger than myself? That's all I ever tried to do and I failed twice." It was a telling comment about Bucky's state of mind and how he sees his past efforts.

Examining the two times Bucky believes he failed at fighting for something bigger than himself, the obvious wars he's referring to are World War II and the Avengers' conflict with Thanos (Josh Brolin). When Bucky Barnes enlisted in the U.S. Army, he truly believed in the cause of beating the Nazis, just like his childhood friend Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). As to his failure, Bucky is likely referring to how he fell from a train while fighting Hydra alongside Captain America in Siberia in 1945. But there's actually a previous failure of a kind Bucky could also be thinking about, which is when his regiment, the 107th Infantry, became Hydra POWs. This is when Bucky was experimented on with the Super-Soldier Serum by Arnim Zola (Toby Jones) before he was rescued by Captain America. To Barnes, his role in WWII must equate to one gigantic failure on his part.

Sam as Captain America and Bucky in Falcon and Winter Soldier

The second great failure Bucky must be referring to is Thanos defeating the Avengers during Avengers: Infinity War. While the superheroes and the armies of Wakanda defeated the Children of Thanos, they failed to stop the Mad Titan himself. Thanos's Infinity Gauntlet snap wiped out half of all life in the universe and Bucky was among the billions who turned to dust. It's hard to argue with Barnes that this was a failure, and indeed, the Avengers who survived had to cope with the fact that they lost to Thanos for five years.

Yet Bucky also isn't giving himself enough credit for taking part in the Avengers' greatest victory when every superhero and defender of Earth finally killed Thanos and his invasion force in Avengers: Endgame. It's true Bucky only played a small role in that win, but he has just as much right to be proud of coming out on the victorious side as anyone else who was there. But then, that triumph was also tainted with the death of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), whose funeral Bucky attended, and Steve Rogers' departure from the timeline.

In truth, Bucky has fought in practically every war since World War II as the Winter Soldier, and he rarely failed his missions. But Barnes can't count the numerous assassinations and crimes he performed as victories and Bucky has been trying to atone for them since he came back to life in the Blip. Not being able to help Steve Rogers stop the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) during World War II and failing to stop Thanos the first time must be the twin failures Bucky is referring to, but he ended The Falcon and The Winter Soldier with a huge and well-deserved win.

Next: Captain America and The Winter Soldier: Why Bucky's Name Didn't Change