Avoiding the Fridge

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has done an exceptional job in bringing several characters from the history of Captain America into the MCU, and through it all they have kept up excellent writing the entire way. I was worried early on that they were headed for a classic example of a girl in the refrigerator, but they were able to take that trope and spin it on its head in a thrilling way.

What is the girl in the refrigerator? The girl in the refrigerator is one of the most controversial troupes in all of Comics if not in all of literature. It extends from the basic damsel in distress stereotype but takes it to a tragic end. The term originally was coined by the Author Gail Simone back in 1999 in reference to a story in Green Lantern #54. In the story Kyle Rayner, the Green Lantern at the time, came home to find his girl friend Alexandra DeWitt killed and stuffed into his refrigerator. The concept of creating a female character with no plans for development, but only with the purpose of being the reason for the main character to exact revenge on a villain.

At the beginning of the second episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier “The Star Spangled Man” we are introduced to John Walker as the new Captain America. As part of his backstory, we are introduced to his Wife Olivia Walker, player by Gabrielle Byndloss, and his best friend Lemar “Battlestar” Hoskins, played by Cle Bennett. My first reaction was dread that the character of Olivia Walker was being introduced just to be the girl in the fridge.

To understand this reaction, you need to know the Marvel Comics version of John Walker. He was introduced by Mark Gruenwald in Captain America #327 in early 1987 when Steve Rodgers gave up the title. Like in the Show John Walker was assigned as the replacement Captain America by the US government. He was originally created by Gruenwald as an opposite of Steve Rodgers. As John Walker’s story progressed in the comics he becomes more and more extreme, finally snapping when his parents are killed after his identity is revealed by some of his former allies. He kills several of the group that killed his parents as well as mortally wounding the two former allies that revealed his secret.

It was obvious from the start that the Falcon and the Winter Soldier was planning to base most of the story trajectory for John Walker on this storyline. However, in the entire episode we are not shown any glimpse of Walker’s parents. Only his wife, so as the show unwound I was concerned that they had introduced Gabrielle Byndloss’ character only to later kill her as motivation for Walker going over the edge. With the lack of mention of her anywhere else in episode 2 or 3 it only made me concerned more than they would never develop her as a character before they killed her off.

That brings us to episode 4 “The Whole World is Watching” All of the characters are in pursuit of the Flag Smashers in order to stop them and or get the super soldier serum that they have in their possession. Baron Zemo finally corners the leader and proceeds to destroy the remaining vials of the serum when he is stopped by Walker who after the dust settles discovers and pockets the last remaining vial of the serum. At first we do not know if Walker has taken the serum as the character split up and regroup. Later Zemo asks Sam if he would take the serum given the opportunity in a moment that is reflected later on when Walker asks Lemar the same question. It is only in the final fight that we realize that Walker has take the serum as he begins to display superhuman strength in the final fight against the Flag Smashers. It is quickly obvious in the final fight that the person most outmatched in this is Lemar Hoskins as he is thrown around like a rag doll by the Flag Smashers. The fight comes to an abrupt end when Lemar is thrown against a cement column and collapses to the floor apparently dead. Causing Walker to fly into a homicidal rage and beat one of the flag smashers to death with Captain America’s Shield.

It is a bold choice to have Lemar be the one that is killed in order to release Walker’s rage. It pays off in several ways. Lemar is a character that has had a little bit of time to develop. In the scene where Walker asks Lemar about taking the serum, they reflect back on their time together in Afghanistan and the shared tragedy that built the bond between the two of them. We have seen him alongside Walker for the last few episodes. He has not only been Walker’s entire support system when things are going wrong, but he obviously was the light at the end of the tunnel when Walker allowed the dark thoughts inside him to creep out. Not having his calming influence beside Walker will clearly make him more reckless and violent. It also prevents them from killing off a character that has had no time to develop, not that Lemar was given a lot of time, but he was developed more than Walker’s wife or his parents, who have not even been mentioned.

As much as I am disappointed to see a character that I loved from the comics killed off very quickly in the series. I am thrilled that the writers of the show found a way to bring John Walker to the point of rage that they needed from him while still giving us a more rounded character to care about as well.