The ending of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier finally addressed what Bucky's future in the MCU will be, after the climactic confrontation with the Flag Smashers, and it won't be as a true Avenger. Even though the MCU has belatedly confirmed that the former Winter Soldier was officially considered an Avenger, Sam's logic in the penultimate episode of how Bucky could heal made it difficult for him to continue a symbolic path as an Avenger.

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier finale was criticized roundly for skipping over Bucky's true healing process, giving him a meager few moments with the father of the victim who haunted him. That exchange with Yori happened off-screen for the most part and the idea that Bucky could simply move on from that murder and all of his other Winter Soldier victims didn't quite ring true. He could have forgiven himself, but Sam's advice to him as they prepared to face off with the Flag Smashers told him to do the work. Rushing through that was deeply flawed, even if the show was set back by delays and necessary changes thanks to the pandemic.

Related: Why Phase 5 Still Needs Bucky's Solo Movie As Well As Captain America 4

Sam told Bucky that in order to heal, he would have to atone for what he did, and not to avenge. While there is a simple argument that that stops him from being an Avenger for purely semantic reasons, it more broadly speaks to what Bucky's future should be. While the ending rushed through his healing for a happy ending, Bucky should still be doing the work to atone for what Hydra's reprogramming has him do. Following the logic that Tony Stark established in The Avengers to reclaim the name of the abandoned SHIELD initiative when faced with Loki's invasion, Bucky seeking a path of vengeance would never settle his spirit.

Sam as Captain America and Bucky in Falcon and Winter Soldier

Bucky's problem was that he was seeking vengeance against an enemy that no longer existed. The Avengers, ironically, had wiped out what seemed to remain of Hydra after the concentrated campaign that culminated in Age Of Ultron's opening purge, leaving Bucky orphaned from his torment. In The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, Bucky's rage brought him perilously close to allowing the Winter Soldier to take over again and Sam Wilson's advice was meant to keep the wolves from the door in that respect. He recognized that his friend was seeking to punch his way out of his pain and that would lead to disaster.

While Bucky can forgive himself and speak to as many surviving family members as he likes, the path that takes him back to being an Avenger is the same one that takes him away from that peace. As he heartbreakingly revealed earlier in The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, the only peace he'd felt was in Wakanda, and the brief flash of happiness shown when he was embraced by Sam Wilson's family and community spoke to the same sort of environment. If Bucky goes back "to war", even a justified one, as he did after his Wakanda recuperation, he goes back to wrestling with the demons that threaten to take him back over the edge. His atonement isn't simply a matter of saying "sorry", it means not putting himself in that position again.

Next: What Bucky Finishing His Winter Soldier Book Means For His Future

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