My Goddamn TFATWS Essay

CW: This essay is about about trauma, including everything Bucky was subjected to, as well as mentions of interpersonal trauma, sexual assault, and incest. It also discusses victim-blaming at length. SPOILERS ABOUND.

I was already planning to write my opinions about Bucky in TFATWS, and then a lovely anon sent me the article by Rotem Rusak, “How Falcon and The Winter Soldier Villainizes Trauma.” So I figured I’d comment on the article and offer other opinions in a huge-ass essay that maybe five people will actually read. 

I have real respect for Rusak, especially this essay on Stucky, much of which I agree with. I think Rusak’s most recent essay was well composed in many ways, and it seems like it was quite moving for some folks. I get where she’s coming from, I really do, and I can see why reading the show this way would be extremely upsetting. I respect this essay and its place in an ongoing conversation about the show. I also strongly disagree with pretty much her entire premise. 

I’d like to offer a completely different interpretation of TFATWS where Bucky is not fragilized, is an agent of his own healing, and does not need to be the subject of our own interpretation of what his healing has to be. I’ll also attempt to make the argument that assuming his fragility and diminishing his many, many acts of meaningful agency in TFATWS is a disservice to this character. 

I really like this interpretation of the show and it makes sense of some things that seemed inconsistent to me before. But (similar to what another poster said) I think it’s a flaw in the show that viewers have to put in a lot of work and already be super invested in Bucky to get something like this out of it. Because I don’t think this is an intuitive reading.

Just to zero in on Raynor because it’s an easy example of how ambiguous the show is. OP and I think she’s an intentionally written bad therapist. But if you go on a more general fandom space like the TFATWS reddit, you’ll see maybe 1/3 or ½ of people saying that Raynor is a good therapist who’s just tough on Bucky because that’s what he needs. With this level of disagreement, the creators didn’t do a good job getting across how we were supposed to see her. Back to Bucky. IMO, there’s always been this discrepancy in the MCU between what we’re shown onscreen, and how Bucky is described verbally–not just by himself and other characters, but by the creators. We see that he’s forced to kill people, deprived of agency to the point that he (iconically!) doesn’t know his own name. But verbally, he’s framed like a redeemed villain, or a morally gray hero with a checkered past. To the point that I often see casual fans not knowing that Bucky isn’t a redeemed villain type of character.

Personally, I loved 90% of the Bucky content in the show–I loved Bucky’s personality in the show, the changes he went through, his relationships with Sam and Zemo, etc. The Wakanda flashback was great at showing how Bucky felt about being mind-controlled, from his perspective. But as usual, some of what I was told verbally seemed to contradict what I was being shown.

There’s a difference between Bucky understandably feeling guilt for what happened, and the way characters always avoid saying Bucky was mind-controlled. Instead, they talk about what Bucky is or does (i.e. “I don’t do that anymore”). I was just watching ep 2, and I noticed that Isaiah is left with the impression that Bucky’s affiliated with Hydra because Bucky gives a typically vague response–“I’m not a killer anymore”–instead of explaining that he wasn’t fighting Isaiah by choice.

In the world of the story, I like this particular instance. I can see it as a mildly self-sabotaging habit, where Bucky makes himself look like a villain because he’s uncomfortable sharing the details, or doesn’t want to seem like he’s making excuses. But if he’s not going to summarize his actual backstory for the audience, someone else has to do it. And no one does it. And it gets confusing what the intent is, because it affects how the show is read. Like, any mildly attentive fan knows that Sam used to be a counselor. But when it was relevant in TFATWS, he had a line where the audience was verbally reminded that he used to be a counselor. Then we knew we were supposed to be thinking about that.

If it wasn’t for that line, less attentive viewers might not know that Sam used to be a counselor, and for fans who did know, we couldn’t be sure whether it’s supposed to be related to the scenes with Karli and Bucky.

For me, this is like if Sam being a former counselor was referenced in every episode, but no one would actually say the word counselor and kept saying, “Hey Sam, remember that thing you used to do? Maybe you should do it again.” Sure, there could be an in-character interpretation of why no one will say the word counselor, but it still would make it hard to follow the show.

As a side note, some of these conversations have an unnecessary element of treating Bucky as a real person and implying that people who criticize his arc are somehow criticizing a real survivor’s decisions. Sure, Bucky has agency in the story but in the real world where we’re discussing him, he’s just a character whose portrayal is crafted by everyone who works on the show. Fans aren’t disrespecting anyone’s agency if they don’t like how Bucky is portrayed in the show.

(And regardless of what our opinions are, I bet a lot of us are trauma survivors with that being tied in to our opinions. So can we all just be nice to each other about our Bucky feelings even if we don’t have the same ones?)

Cheers friend, we completely agree! 

The project of my article had nothing to do with Bucky’s agency as a character in the world he himself inhabits, and everything to do with the choices the writers made in our world and why! While I appreciate the work done in the above analysis, I think from the get go, OP and I are simply not discussing the same things.

I don’t suggest Bucky is villainized, I suggest his trauma is, because instead of allowing him to come to terms with what was done to him, the narrative reckons only with the damage he did (while having not an iota control). This I believe to be a purposeful narrative choice made by Marvel.

While I confess I have not had time to fully read OP’s response, I believe, based on Assumption 2, that my project was perhaps misunderstood.

“Assumption 2: Bucky Barnes is fully capable of making his own informed choices. Because I focus so much on Bucky’s many, many acts of agency in TFATWS, I can anticipate concerns about how capable he is in making his own choices, especially after his history of brainwashing.” In my article the overwhelming assumption is Bucky Barnes is not capable of making any choices because Bucky Barnes is a fictional character. Every decision Bucky makes is made for him by corporation and possibly, in my most generous imagination, a writing team. Bucky has no agency, not in TFATWS nor in any other work, just as no character has agency in the world because characters do not exist. My question is not why did a fictional character choose a set of actions, but why did a set of people in the world approach the story of Bucky in this specific fashion. I have no doubts Bucky would feel guilty about everything that happened to him, that he would want to atone and grapple with it. My question is where was a strong voice in the narrative reminding him he was not in fact morally responsible or guilty? Why are these the choices Marvel made in tackling his story? I don’t think that can be answered by discussing the character as an agentic figure who chose to do anything he did (because the whole point of the article is that he’s a written character), nor by looking at the intricacies of what we believe he might have felt. Television is a visual narrative and I cannot see Bucky’s thoughts. Of course, I can speculate about what they might be, but again, my project is not about Bucky’s inner state, it’s about what was made explicit on our screens and what wasn’t. Though one could say, well surely, it doesn’t all have to be spelled out. It surely doesn’t, but then it’s important to consider, what was spelled out? What wasn’t? Why is that? 

I appreciate all the conversation around my piece and thank everyone for taking the time to engage with it! 

Below is my edited response to Rotem Rusak’s (indirect) comments about my essay (see above), as well as additional comments. I just had to respond to the content, because some of it is totally boggling to me and my brain wouldn’t let it go. 

My Goddamn TFATWS Essay

CW: This essay is about about trauma, including everything Bucky was subjected to, as well as mentions of interpersonal trauma, sexual assault, and incest. It also discusses victim-blaming at length. SPOILERS ABOUND.

I was already planning to write my opinions about Bucky in TFATWS, and then a lovely anon sent me the article by Rotem Rusak, “How Falcon and The Winter Soldier Villainizes Trauma.” So I figured I’d comment on the article and offer other opinions in a huge-ass essay that maybe five people will actually read. 

I have real respect for Rusak, especially this essay on Stucky, much of which I agree with. I think Rusak’s most recent essay was well composed in many ways, and it seems like it was quite moving for some folks. I get where she’s coming from, I really do, and I can see why reading the show this way would be extremely upsetting. I respect this essay and its place in an ongoing conversation about the show. I also strongly disagree with pretty much her entire premise. 

I’d like to offer a completely different interpretation of TFATWS where Bucky is not fragilized, is an agent of his own healing, and does not need to be the subject of our own interpretation of what his healing has to be. I’ll also attempt to make the argument that assuming his fragility and diminishing his many, many acts of meaningful agency in TFATWS is a disservice to this character. 

I really like this interpretation of the show and it makes sense of some things that seemed inconsistent to me before. But (similar to what another poster said) I think it’s a flaw in the show that viewers have to put in a lot of work and already be super invested in Bucky to get something like this out of it. Because I don’t think this is an intuitive reading.

Just to zero in on Raynor because it’s an easy example of how ambiguous the show is. OP and I think she’s an intentionally written bad therapist. But if you go on a more general fandom space like the TFATWS reddit, you’ll see maybe 1/3 or ½ of people saying that Raynor is a good therapist who’s just tough on Bucky because that’s what he needs. With this level of disagreement, the creators didn’t do a good job getting across how we were supposed to see her. Back to Bucky. IMO, there’s always been this discrepancy in the MCU between what we’re shown onscreen, and how Bucky is described verbally–not just by himself and other characters, but by the creators. We see that he’s forced to kill people, deprived of agency to the point that he (iconically!) doesn’t know his own name. But verbally, he’s framed like a redeemed villain, or a morally gray hero with a checkered past. To the point that I often see casual fans not knowing that Bucky isn’t a redeemed villain type of character.

Personally, I loved 90% of the Bucky content in the show–I loved Bucky’s personality in the show, the changes he went through, his relationships with Sam and Zemo, etc. The Wakanda flashback was great at showing how Bucky felt about being mind-controlled, from his perspective. But as usual, some of what I was told verbally seemed to contradict what I was being shown.

There’s a difference between Bucky understandably feeling guilt for what happened, and the way characters always avoid saying Bucky was mind-controlled. Instead, they talk about what Bucky is or does (i.e. “I don’t do that anymore”). I was just watching ep 2, and I noticed that Isaiah is left with the impression that Bucky’s affiliated with Hydra because Bucky gives a typically vague response–“I’m not a killer anymore”–instead of explaining that he wasn’t fighting Isaiah by choice.

In the world of the story, I like this particular instance. I can see it as a mildly self-sabotaging habit, where Bucky makes himself look like a villain because he’s uncomfortable sharing the details, or doesn’t want to seem like he’s making excuses. But if he’s not going to summarize his actual backstory for the audience, someone else has to do it. And no one does it. And it gets confusing what the intent is, because it affects how the show is read. Like, any mildly attentive fan knows that Sam used to be a counselor. But when it was relevant in TFATWS, he had a line where the audience was verbally reminded that he used to be a counselor. Then we knew we were supposed to be thinking about that.

If it wasn’t for that line, less attentive viewers might not know that Sam used to be a counselor, and for fans who did know, we couldn’t be sure whether it’s supposed to be related to the scenes with Karli and Bucky.

For me, this is like if Sam being a former counselor was referenced in every episode, but no one would actually say the word counselor and kept saying, “Hey Sam, remember that thing you used to do? Maybe you should do it again.” Sure, there could be an in-character interpretation of why no one will say the word counselor, but it still would make it hard to follow the show.

As a side note, some of these conversations have an unnecessary element of treating Bucky as a real person and implying that people who criticize his arc are somehow criticizing a real survivor’s decisions. Sure, Bucky has agency in the story but in the real world where we’re discussing him, he’s just a character whose portrayal is crafted by everyone who works on the show. Fans aren’t disrespecting anyone’s agency if they don’t like how Bucky is portrayed in the show.

(And regardless of what our opinions are, I bet a lot of us are trauma survivors with that being tied in to our opinions. So can we all just be nice to each other about our Bucky feelings even if we don’t have the same ones?)

I appreciate this thoughtful response and others like it, and I admit that I made assumptions about the viewing audience in writing this essay. And of additional note, I might not have even felt compelled to write this at all if Rotem Ruzak did not make a series of presumptuous statements about how Bucky fans and trauma survivors must have viewed the show. (e.g., we did not find this arc satisfying, we must have all been horrified by his therapy - which, as you note, we clearly were not!). That certainly rubbed me the wrong way, but it was definitely not my intention to speak for everyone in response. I tried to be up front that this is just an impassioned opinion piece from a person of a certain background, not a dictate. And yes, a good amount of my energy with this essay was directed toward a particular movement within fandom that seems to crave the ongoing victimization and fragilization of Bucky on camera, to the extent that I’m not sure what would ever be enough for them.

You’re right that this is definitely a critical reading of the show, not a passive one. I can see how the casual observer may take something different from it. But I have a nagging question in these discussions of whether the TFATWS narrative provides enough context for Bucky’s history: Is TFATWS intended to be a stand-alone story where one could and should be able to casually walk into it and firmly understand the characters and plot without consuming the MCU before it?

There seem to be plenty of signs that this is not intended to be a stand-alone, if we’re talking about what’s discussed and what’s not discussed expositionally. What happened to half the population? I don’t recall Thanos being mentioned in any meaningful way and, in fact, is hilariously (and confusingly) referred to as “Dr. Space Cape” by Sarah. Other things up for question for a brand new viewer: What happened to Steve Rogers? (Not even I know the answer to this one, and I wonder if I should.) Why did he give Sam the shield in the first place, practically speaking, and why does he sound like an old man? Is he dead? Is he really on the moon? How did Sam even get caught up in this Avenging business in the first place? Why does Bucky have a metal arm and what’s up with his relationship to Wakanda? There are so, so many unaddressed questions both in terms of plot and character. My understanding of this series is that it serves as an extension for loyal MCU fans and also an entry point for new fans with the expectation that they’ll do at least a bit of cursory internet research on the title characters, if not watch everything Disney+ has in their MCU menu.

I suppose I have a hard time believing that any brand new viewer who becomes even a little invested in TFATWS would watch this in a complete vacuum without at least Googling Bucky’s history and finding plenty about his victimhood, thereby being able to better understand and evaluate the show’s trauma and recovery content. We see plenty of legacy characters introduced with a similar degree of depth (or lack thereof, including Zemo and Sharon). So I’m not sure how many expositional lines would even be considered when writing this show. And I think they actually did a fair job of giving us a fair gist of the important parts as we follow Bucky through his distress around his past, his efforts to make things right in therapy, and the multiple references to getting his mind back from Hydra, among other things. And if someone is an even more casual viewer, to the extent that they wouldn’t do one bit of research on his past, I wonder if they would think about any of this very deeply at all and would just take the show’s word for it that bad things happened and he’s working on making things right.

On that note, as for Bucky’s portrayal as a bad guy versus good guy, I could definitely see how people could come away with a more ambiguous read than what I did, especially if they’re not deeply invested in his backstory. But I do think there is enough balance of evidence in the narrative to at least cast serious doubt on a straight villain read. He’s shown as a character who does good things and not good things and seems to have something to account for in his violent past with Hydra. This actually isn’t much of a departure from the way I read him through a much deeper analysis.

As for the assessment of the therapy, I also admit to having an unusually keen eye and strong opinions about what therapy looks like. As for people seeing this as a good portrayal, I don’t know if this is maybe because of assumptions of automatic competence due to her role as therapist or a product of almost universally terrible portrayals of therapy on in film and TV. It makes me wonder if people think that good therapy looks like a rapid exchange of condescension, dick-swinging, and provocation.

I don’t expect everyone to look at this show the way I do. Although coming at this from a cumulative experience of trauma work with many people, it was also never my intention to speak for all survivors. You do make an excellent point about my emphasis on agency and how that could come across as a presumption that folks with different opinions are unconcerned with it. That also was not my intent. I just found it a valuable fulcrum around which to position my argument.

If people want to read the show as an unfair portrayal or a victim blaming narrative, I think that’s just fine, and I would be concerned if we all looked at it the same way. I’m a big fan of agency, which I hope is obvious, and I don’t expect universal or even wide scale agreement with this. I just wanted to offer a strong response to this particular author’s assertions, especially the parts where she presumes to speak for me as a fan and as a person who has experienced trauma. And for as strongly as my essay is worded, I’m not deeply wedded to my opinions about this. As you point out, Bucky is not a real person we are arguing about. For me, it was more about what’s in the narrative and what is not, which is always an excellent subject for debate because we will all read different things.

I know I’m putting way too much thought and effort into this. But I find the debate and analysis enjoyable and one of the best parts of being in fandom. And though I vehemently disagree with what Rusak wrote, I always tried to stick to critiquing the analysis and not the author. I don’t bear a single ounce of ill will toward her or anyone who has a different opinion, not even the person who called me a talentless dipshit (I don’t totally disagree!).

My Goddamn TFATWS Essay

CW: This essay is about about trauma, including everything Bucky was subjected to, as well as mentions of interpersonal trauma, sexual assault, and incest. It also discusses victim-blaming at length. SPOILERS ABOUND.

I was already planning to write my opinions about Bucky in TFATWS, and then a lovely anon sent me the article by Rotem Rusak, “How Falcon and The Winter Soldier Villainizes Trauma.” So I figured I’d comment on the article and offer other opinions in a huge-ass essay that maybe five people will actually read. 

I have real respect for Rusak, especially this essay on Stucky, much of which I agree with. I think Rusak’s most recent essay was well composed in many ways, and it seems like it was quite moving for some folks. I get where she’s coming from, I really do, and I can see why reading the show this way would be extremely upsetting. I respect this essay and its place in an ongoing conversation about the show. I also strongly disagree with pretty much her entire premise. 

I’d like to offer a completely different interpretation of TFATWS where Bucky is not fragilized, is an agent of his own healing, and does not need to be the subject of our own interpretation of what his healing has to be. I’ll also attempt to make the argument that assuming his fragility and diminishing his many, many acts of meaningful agency in TFATWS is a disservice to this character. 

Excellent interpretation and worthwhile read. I think the arm moment was understandably disturbing from Bucky’s POV, but I don’t agree with the rest of the OP’s part of that analysis. There was an edit, but still.

To date, the Wakandan’s have been extremely generous to Bucky… and he ultimately betrayed them. Full stop. He released the man who extensibly killed their king. And even upon learning of his betrayal, Ayo still gave him time to glean what he could from Zemo because she trusted him (and they go way back).

I think it certainly was a power move to disengage Bucky’s arm like that, but only because she had already told him to stay out of their way in recapturing Zemo in the first place. And given the Dora’s extreme skill in inflicting violence on ppl, this seemed like a slap on the wrist compared to what they arguably could have done to anyone who wasn’t Bucky (i.e. someone they don’t have a personal relationship with).

Some argued that the Wakandan’s should have told Bucky about the fail safe, and yeah as a Bucky fan I felt bad that he didn’t know his arm could be disengaged like that, but should they have told him? Really? I mean, the royal family are clearly very sympathetic to his trauma, but they are still an agency who realizes the potential destructive capabilities that Bucky possesses. They’ve seen first hand what the Winter Soldier can do. And as much as they clearly want to help Bucky recover and kindly offered him a new arm, I think they’re still shrewd enough to realize that they don’t want that power to ever turn on them again.

Bucky is a fav sure, but being a fav doesn’t mean the Wakandan’s were totally wrong or that Bucky was completely right. Both are operating from their own perspectives and as such, are following various courses of action that suit their purposes best. Bucky knew what he was doing by releasing Zemo and therefore has to deal with the potential fallout of his actions.

Agreed with all else. Certain ppl in the fandom want Bucky’s fragility and victimhood to be the main component of his personality. Like forever. They can’t seem to wrap their minds around the person Bucky can be unless he’s having a breakdown in a corner somewhere, and/or others aren’t halting their lives to prop up Bucky’s breakdowns. Who is Bucky Barnes if not a poor meow meow who’s trauma must constantly be revisited (lest we ever forget that it happened), and whose agency can never fully be his own (because he has to be taken care of by <insert x>)?

The trend I see of ppl reacting like this to Bucky are Stucky’s. Not all, but a lot. There’s something very toxic in their interpretation of Steve and Bucky’s relationship that lends itself to Bucky being in a state of perpetual victimhood. Don’t understand it, can’t wrap my mind around it, want nothing to do with it.

Re: the arm scene - I really appreciate a more thorough explanation of this. Thank you for elucidating this concern, because I keep seeing it pop up and was curious about what, specifically, people disagreed with.

You’re right that I was writing this from Bucky’s perspective specifically as it pertains to his ability to act with agency, as well as my perceived violations of his autonomy. I don’t disagree that Bucky betrayed Wakanda and Ayo. In fact, I note it in my essay, and I think this represents an interesting moral convolution for Bucky. He was willing to betray the country that helped him over and over, in addition to the woman with whom he has clearly built a strong bond.

It’s not the fact that this was done to him at all that upsets me so much (though I would still find it disturbing). It’s the fact that it was Ayo specifically. For context, my work with people with trauma has highly sensitized me to the amount of trust and safety that must be established to do this work. It’s a deeply intimate and vulnerable process. I can only imagine how much Bucky would have had to entrust her to allow her to do that with him, to use his code words on him, to see him be that vulnerable. All in the service of helping him reclaim his autonomy. Also, in an arrangement like this, the therapist figure is also absolutely in a position of power. And we see Ayo in the Wakanda scene as a figure of both emotional AND physical power.

That is why this move, conducted by Ayo, felt so egregious to me. She was instrumental in helping him become free, and here she is invading his bodily autonomy because she was (very rightfully) upset with him. I’m not arguing that this wasn’t a betrayal. There is a lot of betrayal going on here, so I understand her actions. However, I had a very strong reaction to this in the context of previously built trust and safety. This betrayal was also intensely personal, individualized, whereas Bucky’s was a betrayal of Wakanda generally rather than Ayo singularly.

I suppose I’ll just ask this: Is it okay for someone in a position of power to violate someone’s bodily integrity (through amputation, of all things) when feeling betrayed, even if their feelings are justified? Is it okay for anyone to violate another person’s bodily integrity when they’re upset with them? This crosses a line for me.

My initial reaction to Ayo disengaging his arm was more wtf, in that I didn’t realize that was a thing that could happen, and less wtf concern for Bucky. We’d only just been given the flashback earlier in that episode, so the connection the two of them obviously have, hadn’t resonated enough for me to feel like she betrayed him. Upon rewatch and further review:

Ayo: the man who chose us, who chose me to protect him

Bucky: I understand

Ayo: Vey little of our loss and our shame

So she’s like, the man that chose me to protect him is dead and now you broke the man responsible for his death (zemo) out of prison - wtf. Line crossed. In that convo, she had also reminded Bucky of how they helped him to deprogram the Winter Soldier trigger words, ostensibly to show imo, that Bucky’s actions betrayed both her position as a Dora (the shame that she spoke of) and her personally (because she’d been the one to help him root out Hydra’s control). So Bucky’s betrayal to her was both singular and general.

I don’t have anything in real life to fairly compare Bucky’s bodily autonomy with, so I’ll just stick to what we’re presented with in the MCU. The MCU universe is filled with ppl who have immense destructive capabilities. Some are on a micro level (Natasha, Bucky, etc) others are macro (hulk - world destroyer, Scarlett witch, etc). In Bucky’s case, he has immense lethal skill without any enhancements, but ultimately, his arm is his biggest weapon. That’s the position the Wakandan’s clearly take as well seeing as they built a fail safe into his arm.

In the fight between Ayo and Bucky, she doesn’t attempt to harm him or damage any part of his body or mind other than to disengage his arm. Their existing relationship aside, this is the actual reason Shuri/Wakanda put the fail safe there in the first place. So he can’t use his arm against them or can’t be forced to use his arm against them. For me, it would be similar to the hulk going berserk and his friends using their hypothetical surprise fail safe to disengage him so he reverts back to Bruce banner. Does this sorta violate Bruce/Hulks autonomy? Maybe, but it’s also par for the course in their world, (not saying it’s right), and can’t really be compared with anything from our irl lens.

To answer your last question I don’t think it’s ‘fair’ for someone to do this to a non-super powered human. Do I think it’s understandable, given the super powered ppl that exist in their universe, if still ethically ambiguous at its core? Yes I do.

To summarize, the whole exchange between them is murky, but if anything, Bucky and Ayo both violated each other’s trust. I don’t think what Ayo did to Bucky was any more or less severe than what Bucky did to her, and I’m kinda triggered by the implication that this great wrong was done to Bucky without taking into account the great wrong that Bucky did as well. That’s really my overarching point.

I’m going to make one last comment on this, because I honestly don’t think I have any more points I could make. We very well might just fundamentally disagree about this, and that’s totally okay. I think it’s a good conversation to have. I welcome any response you have to this, especially if you have an alternative interpretation to offer. 

I wholeheartedly agree that this whole situation is very morally murky. You make a great point about the level of betrayal against Ayo. I definitely missed the extent to which this was also deeply personal and an immense betrayal against her specifically as well as generally. I also completely agree that having a fail-safe on this arm makes total sense, in the event that Bucky is out of control and violent.

But I just want to present the actual events of this scene:

-Walker and Hoskins come to claim Zemo

-Dora Milaje also come to claim Zemo

-Walker stupidly lays hands on Ayo, despite being amply warned by Sam to not be an idiot 

-Walker and Hoskins fight with Dora Milaje while Sam and Bucky watch and comment

-Ayo is about to run Walker through with a spear. Bucky stops her spear physically and asks her to stop so they can talk

-Sam tries to stop another member of the Dora Milaje from running Hoskins through with a spear while he lies on the ground

(Quick reminder - Walker, Hoskins, and the Dora Milaje are there for the exact same reasons and are actually allies in this scenario)

-Sam defends himself against Dora Milaje attacks

-Ayo continues fighting Bucky with her spear. He tries to get her to stop. Every move he makes against her is a defensive one. He does not make a single move to fight her back

-She decides she’s tired of him defending himself against her attacks and amputates his arm

Literally all she had to do was stop attacking him. But she decided that she was going to activate her “fail-safe” to stop his actions of self-defense against her. She took away his ability to defend himself simply because she could. To show him that she has this power.

I mean, A++ intimidation. If I’m being objective about it, like, holy shit.

Watching this all again, I personally think this is a pretty disturbing portrayal of Ayo and the Dora Milaje that doesn’t seem consistent with anything we’ve seen from them before. We have always seen them as a group of very highly trained, disciplined, and ethically upright people. But this scene shows them as being willing to stab people while they’re lying helpless on the ground (Hoskins) and do what Ayo did to Bucky. I love the Dora Milaje. They are pretty much the most badass humans on earth, and I actually squee any time they show up. But something feels off about this sequence. I dunno.

Anyway, I’m really not trying to woobify Bucky here, God knows I don’t want to do that. But even setting aside the topic of whose betrayal is worse (which may not be possible to decide, since it’s subjective and complex), I don’t think I’ll ever conclude that what happened here wasn’t shitty.

Yes, I’m going to fundamentally disagree on this one.

Ayo and the Dora made their position very clear. Time was up and they were taking Zemo back (don’t get in our way). Period. Citing how we were first introduced to the Dora in Civil War wherein Ayo told Natasha “move or you will be moved.”

Not really sure how any part of their interaction with Sam, Bucky, Walker and Hoskins shows behavior or a position that’s different than how they were first presented to us…don’t get in our way. The following is kinda circular and wordy, but here goes: Ayo really didn’t need to just stop attacking Bucky. He’s defending himself from her attacks bc he put himself in the middle. She’s attacking him because he put himself in the middle. She removes his arm because he put himself in the middle. I mean that’s really the long and short of it. Getting Zemo is what she’s been tasked to do (and also a matter of pride), and nothing will get in her way. As a favor to Bucky, she gave him extra time to use Zemo as he saw fit, but he still just. Gets in the middle.

The only thing that feels kinda ‘off’ in that sequence to me was how stunned Bucky looked when his arm came off, because of how non-emotive (prob not a real word) he’d been in episodes prior. His look of shock (and maybe betrayal) was palpable. I mean, I felt that. It was f****d up, but Bucky ultimately made everything jump off by breaking Zemo out of prison, and then getting involved in the Dora’s fight to bring Zemo back in the first place. All 4 men inserted themselves in the Dora’s retrieval, which is why all 4 were put down. What would have been actually ooc/disturbing is if Ayo had fought Bucky upon first seeing him (no questions asked), disengaged his arm, taken it for misusing it, beat up the remaining 3, and grabbed Zemo. Same result, very different approach.

I think it’s totally fine to think what Ayo did was shitty (the whole thing is ambiguous and left up to interpretation), but what Bucky did was really just as shitty - arguably more depending on perspective. Every time I read something about this particular showdown, I feel like that part (Bucky’s involvement), is being left out of the conversation.

Again that’s really my only point. To emphasize that the things happening to Bucky in ep 4 (up to and including his confrontation with the Dora), aren’t happening to him in a vacuum. They’re a direct result/response to his actions.

I love this. Touché with the “move, or you will be moved” framework, because that helps me understand their actions in this scene a lot better.

I’m going to go back to the original essay and reference our conversation, because I think it’s super important to fairly consider a) how both parties play into this, b) what’s at stake for both of them, and most important for my thesis, c) that Bucky did something really dick. I’m all about Bucky doing bad shit of his own volition, in addition to good shit, and I’m really glad it was written into the show. Hooray volition!

In terms of my view of this scene, I’ve settled in some gray space where I think the whole thing just sucks for everyone. I think that’s not a bad place to be.

Thanks so much for this conversation!

My Goddamn TFATWS Essay

CW: This essay is about about trauma, including everything Bucky was subjected to, as well as mentions of interpersonal trauma, sexual assault, and incest. It also discusses victim-blaming at length. SPOILERS ABOUND.

I was already planning to write my opinions about Bucky in TFATWS, and then a lovely anon sent me the article by Rotem Rusak, “How Falcon and The Winter Soldier Villainizes Trauma.” So I figured I’d comment on the article and offer other opinions in a huge-ass essay that maybe five people will actually read. 

I have real respect for Rusak, especially this essay on Stucky, much of which I agree with. I think Rusak’s most recent essay was well composed in many ways, and it seems like it was quite moving for some folks. I get where she’s coming from, I really do, and I can see why reading the show this way would be extremely upsetting. I respect this essay and its place in an ongoing conversation about the show. I also strongly disagree with pretty much her entire premise. 

I’d like to offer a completely different interpretation of TFATWS where Bucky is not fragilized, is an agent of his own healing, and does not need to be the subject of our own interpretation of what his healing has to be. I’ll also attempt to make the argument that assuming his fragility and diminishing his many, many acts of meaningful agency in TFATWS is a disservice to this character. 

Okay, I cannot stress enough what a great, insightful essay this is, thanks so much @dreadnought-dear-captain for putting in the time and effort to write all of this down and put some things into perspective! It definitely helped me a lot in getting a better understanding of what’s going on in the show, so I genuinely appreciate your thoughts.

I’ll also share my two cents here, mostly because I need to sort through and revise some of my own takes and interpretations, and because I’d like to address a problem I keep coming back to when I examine the storytelling at play here. Of course I’m nothing like an expert on trauma, so everything I can attribute here comes from the perspective of a literary scholar and will focus on narratology, the pacing and the writing of the story and Bucky as a character. I don’t pretend to have any kind of psychological insight that would allow me to comment on the exellent above analysis of Bucky’s arc.

Let me start by saying that I wholeheartedly agree with what OP said. I agree with the reading of Bucky wanting to take responsibility and making amends, and that it actually helps him and has a positive effect on him. I agree with him having probably worked through a lot of his trauma off screen before and after Civil War, and that he had already reached the understanding that he wasn’t to blame by that point.

The thing is, all of that is really just a matter of interpretation. The narrative could and maybe even should have been tweaked to address and validate this reading of Bucky’s recovery process, which in my opinion is sadly mostly kept as implications. This is why I also agree with the idea that the general audience needs some more on-screen cues to support that reading of Bucky working through his trauma as it’s outlined above.

Everything that’s said by OP about moral injury and repair work, trauma and responsibility vs. culpability makes perfect sense now that it’s been very comprehensively and perspicuously explained here. I learned a lot, reading through all of it. But I’d argue that, in order to reach any of these insights, you have to put in a lot of time and thought, which many viewers of the show won’t do, so Bucky’s arc is definitely still ambiguous and at the very best merely hinted at to a large chunk of the audience. And yes, I know that casual viewers generally don’t watch for deep character studies of what they see on screen, but there’s a case to be made that that’s especially why it’s important to make certain narrative points more explicit.

I’d say that one easy way in which this could’ve been achieved would’ve been the inclusion of more flashback scenes of Bucky’s coming to terms with his victimhood or choosing to engage in reparative actions. Seeing him struggle and coming to terms with certain aspects of his past would’ve helped tons to fully grasp what Marvel is trying and only somewhat succeeding to do here. That Wakanda scene with Ayo was so powerful and meaningful, but to me it still feels like they only included it to remind the audience that Bucky’s triggers are supposed to be gone. This wasn’t necessarily a character-driven decision.

Why would more scenes like this have been helpful? Because while it’s not strictly necessary for us to see him in other, and especially earlier stages along his journey to recovery, the more casual viewers won’t have put in the same thought and reasoning with Bucky’s situation or mental state. We as devoted fans have reached conclusions that help us comprehend these insights; the average audience would’ve arguably needed more pointers by on-screen acknowledgements of certain implications, especially from previous movies. This isn’t a problem specific to Bucky, or even the show itself - it’s just how the MCU works and, in some cases, it simply doesn’t work well.

On a little side note: This is why one or two more episodes would’ve been extremely helpful to un-rush this process. The show starts off with a slow pacing, and the first episode does a very good job of establishing both Bucky’s and Sam’s situation. I just wish they would’ve returned to this slow pace towards the ending, to really drive home how far they’ve come over the course of the series.

As it is, the narrative may not directly (re-)inforce any victim-blaming reading, but in my opinion it doesn’t do enough to fully negate a reading to that effect either, as a lot of reactions to the series have clearly shown. I also agree with the claims that the show doesn’t seem to even understand some of the implications towards either interpretation.

One thing I’d like to stress is that I also absolutely agree with the take that Bucky shouldn’t and needn’t be kit-gloved by either narrative or viewers; him getting to use the skills he was forced to use as the Winter Soldier for his own purposes instead sends the right message of him reclaiming himself, and fuck but him being such a badass while also showing his complex characterisation was a joy to watch! And at no point did I get the impression that he’s fragile or needs to be wrapped in blankets and reassured of his inncence at all times.

The thing about storytelling is that it lives from the audience seeing and experiencing emotional situations with the characters; ‘show don’t tell’ is a thing for a reason. And yes, you could argue - and I’d agree - that the way Bucky’s portayed in the show is an example of this. However, it’s an example that only works with a high level of background knowledge and investment in the character. Again, this isn’t a problem for us here on tumblr dot com, but the casual audience may draw 'wrong’/more problematic conclusions because of it.

Anyway, to wrap this probably very incoherent collection of thoughts up, everything that OP said does make sense to me now - but that’s only after repeated and intense rewatching and seriously engaging with secondary sources. And I’ll be honest, some of those did more harm than good in helping me make sense of things, and death of the author should definitely be applied here.

In short, I agree with the wonderful above analysis; all I can add is the fact that the plot, the characters, and the dynamic of the show altogether would’ve benefited from occasional reminders or explicit confirmations of the things that were or are implied in the writing and acting. I understand that that’s not always possible, but given that it’s a show that lives on things that were established as far back as 10+ years ago, it wouldn’t have hurt to put in the time and effort.

First off, thank you for the kind words. I love a literary/narratological take on this, because I do not have training or education in this. I agree with a lot of what you’ve said here, particularly as it pertains to what the casual viewer would take from this. I do wonder if the casual viewer would be as invested in Bucky’s recovery arc - as in, I wonder if they would even see anything gaping in the recovery narrative - if they haven’t been super emotionally invested in Bucky’s journey for years. Like if I pulled someone in off the streets and showed them everything, would they feel like there was something missing in his recovery arc, or would they be fine with what’s there? I really don’t know.

I think I’m really interested to know, genuinely curious, as to which missing part of his recovery journey would hit the mark for folks who want more on-screen stuff. This also includes me.

As I was writing this, I had a thought - I wonder if part of why I am so adamant that Bucky’s word is good enough is because of the burden victims often have to “prove” that they were victimized. Like, “ok, prove to me you were sexually abused 10 years ago,” or “okay, prove to me that you actually said no.” Does that make sense? Like, shit, why do we need to see all the evidence for victimhood to be believed? This is a very emotional response, of course. From a narratological perspective, I do see what you’re saying. 

Okay, so back the question about what we might want in these illustrative scenes. Do we want to see Bucky experiencing big emotions like sadness and despair? Do we want to see full-on anguish porn? Do we want to see him actively coming to the realization in a big ah-ha moment? Do we want more moral repair acts? Do we want to see him communicating his victimhood to someone? And what do we want him to say? If we had the chance to write three scenes to show missing parts, what would we pick and why? I imagine we might get a dozen different answers if we asked a dozen different folks. 

I think I would watch a whole limited series of Bucky just puttering around his various apartments over the years, thinking and journaling and making ramen noodles and eating snack cakes and pacing around and playing the piano and watching soccer. I would also watch a whole series of him doing effective psychotherapy with a competent therapist, just because I just really want to know in more detail how his mind works. 

Anyway, thank you for the response!!

My Goddamn TFATWS Essay

CW: This essay is about about trauma, including everything Bucky was subjected to, as well as mentions of interpersonal trauma, sexual assault, and incest. It also discusses victim-blaming at length. SPOILERS ABOUND.

I was already planning to write my opinions about Bucky in TFATWS, and then a lovely anon sent me the article by Rotem Rusak, “How Falcon and The Winter Soldier Villainizes Trauma.” So I figured I’d comment on the article and offer other opinions in a huge-ass essay that maybe five people will actually read. 

I have real respect for Rusak, especially this essay on Stucky, much of which I agree with. I think Rusak’s most recent essay was well composed in many ways, and it seems like it was quite moving for some folks. I get where she’s coming from, I really do, and I can see why reading the show this way would be extremely upsetting. I respect this essay and its place in an ongoing conversation about the show. I also strongly disagree with pretty much her entire premise. 

I’d like to offer a completely different interpretation of TFATWS where Bucky is not fragilized, is an agent of his own healing, and does not need to be the subject of our own interpretation of what his healing has to be. I’ll also attempt to make the argument that assuming his fragility and diminishing his many, many acts of meaningful agency in TFATWS is a disservice to this character. 

Excellent interpretation and worthwhile read. I think the arm moment was understandably disturbing from Bucky’s POV, but I don’t agree with the rest of the OP’s part of that analysis. There was an edit, but still.

To date, the Wakandan’s have been extremely generous to Bucky… and he ultimately betrayed them. Full stop. He released the man who extensibly killed their king. And even upon learning of his betrayal, Ayo still gave him time to glean what he could from Zemo because she trusted him (and they go way back).

I think it certainly was a power move to disengage Bucky’s arm like that, but only because she had already told him to stay out of their way in recapturing Zemo in the first place. And given the Dora’s extreme skill in inflicting violence on ppl, this seemed like a slap on the wrist compared to what they arguably could have done to anyone who wasn’t Bucky (i.e. someone they don’t have a personal relationship with).

Some argued that the Wakandan’s should have told Bucky about the fail safe, and yeah as a Bucky fan I felt bad that he didn’t know his arm could be disengaged like that, but should they have told him? Really? I mean, the royal family are clearly very sympathetic to his trauma, but they are still an agency who realizes the potential destructive capabilities that Bucky possesses. They’ve seen first hand what the Winter Soldier can do. And as much as they clearly want to help Bucky recover and kindly offered him a new arm, I think they’re still shrewd enough to realize that they don’t want that power to ever turn on them again.

Bucky is a fav sure, but being a fav doesn’t mean the Wakandan’s were totally wrong or that Bucky was completely right. Both are operating from their own perspectives and as such, are following various courses of action that suit their purposes best. Bucky knew what he was doing by releasing Zemo and therefore has to deal with the potential fallout of his actions.

Agreed with all else. Certain ppl in the fandom want Bucky’s fragility and victimhood to be the main component of his personality. Like forever. They can’t seem to wrap their minds around the person Bucky can be unless he’s having a breakdown in a corner somewhere, and/or others aren’t halting their lives to prop up Bucky’s breakdowns. Who is Bucky Barnes if not a poor meow meow who’s trauma must constantly be revisited (lest we ever forget that it happened), and whose agency can never fully be his own (because he has to be taken care of by <insert x>)?

The trend I see of ppl reacting like this to Bucky are Stucky’s. Not all, but a lot. There’s something very toxic in their interpretation of Steve and Bucky’s relationship that lends itself to Bucky being in a state of perpetual victimhood. Don’t understand it, can’t wrap my mind around it, want nothing to do with it.

Re: the arm scene - I really appreciate a more thorough explanation of this. Thank you for elucidating this concern, because I keep seeing it pop up and was curious about what, specifically, people disagreed with.

You’re right that I was writing this from Bucky’s perspective specifically as it pertains to his ability to act with agency, as well as my perceived violations of his autonomy. I don’t disagree that Bucky betrayed Wakanda and Ayo. In fact, I note it in my essay, and I think this represents an interesting moral convolution for Bucky. He was willing to betray the country that helped him over and over, in addition to the woman with whom he has clearly built a strong bond.

It’s not the fact that this was done to him at all that upsets me so much (though I would still find it disturbing). It’s the fact that it was Ayo specifically. For context, my work with people with trauma has highly sensitized me to the amount of trust and safety that must be established to do this work. It’s a deeply intimate and vulnerable process. I can only imagine how much Bucky would have had to entrust her to allow her to do that with him, to use his code words on him, to see him be that vulnerable. All in the service of helping him reclaim his autonomy. Also, in an arrangement like this, the therapist figure is also absolutely in a position of power. And we see Ayo in the Wakanda scene as a figure of both emotional AND physical power.

That is why this move, conducted by Ayo, felt so egregious to me. She was instrumental in helping him become free, and here she is invading his bodily autonomy because she was (very rightfully) upset with him. I’m not arguing that this wasn’t a betrayal. There is a lot of betrayal going on here, so I understand her actions. However, I had a very strong reaction to this in the context of previously built trust and safety. This betrayal was also intensely personal, individualized, whereas Bucky’s was a betrayal of Wakanda generally rather than Ayo singularly.

I suppose I’ll just ask this: Is it okay for someone in a position of power to violate someone’s bodily integrity (through amputation, of all things) when feeling betrayed, even if their feelings are justified? Is it okay for anyone to violate another person’s bodily integrity when they’re upset with them? This crosses a line for me.

My initial reaction to Ayo disengaging his arm was more wtf, in that I didn’t realize that was a thing that could happen, and less wtf concern for Bucky. We’d only just been given the flashback earlier in that episode, so the connection the two of them obviously have, hadn’t resonated enough for me to feel like she betrayed him. Upon rewatch and further review:

Ayo: the man who chose us, who chose me to protect him

Bucky: I understand

Ayo: Vey little of our loss and our shame

So she’s like, the man that chose me to protect him is dead and now you broke the man responsible for his death (zemo) out of prison - wtf. Line crossed. In that convo, she had also reminded Bucky of how they helped him to deprogram the Winter Soldier trigger words, ostensibly to show imo, that Bucky’s actions betrayed both her position as a Dora (the shame that she spoke of) and her personally (because she’d been the one to help him root out Hydra’s control). So Bucky’s betrayal to her was both singular and general.

I don’t have anything in real life to fairly compare Bucky’s bodily autonomy with, so I’ll just stick to what we’re presented with in the MCU. The MCU universe is filled with ppl who have immense destructive capabilities. Some are on a micro level (Natasha, Bucky, etc) others are macro (hulk - world destroyer, Scarlett witch, etc). In Bucky’s case, he has immense lethal skill without any enhancements, but ultimately, his arm is his biggest weapon. That’s the position the Wakandan’s clearly take as well seeing as they built a fail safe into his arm.

In the fight between Ayo and Bucky, she doesn’t attempt to harm him or damage any part of his body or mind other than to disengage his arm. Their existing relationship aside, this is the actual reason Shuri/Wakanda put the fail safe there in the first place. So he can’t use his arm against them or can’t be forced to use his arm against them. For me, it would be similar to the hulk going berserk and his friends using their hypothetical surprise fail safe to disengage him so he reverts back to Bruce banner. Does this sorta violate Bruce/Hulks autonomy? Maybe, but it’s also par for the course in their world, (not saying it’s right), and can’t really be compared with anything from our irl lens.

To answer your last question I don’t think it’s ‘fair’ for someone to do this to a non-super powered human. Do I think it’s understandable, given the super powered ppl that exist in their universe, if still ethically ambiguous at its core? Yes I do.

To summarize, the whole exchange between them is murky, but if anything, Bucky and Ayo both violated each other’s trust. I don’t think what Ayo did to Bucky was any more or less severe than what Bucky did to her, and I’m kinda triggered by the implication that this great wrong was done to Bucky without taking into account the great wrong that Bucky did as well. That’s really my overarching point.

I’m going to make one last comment on this, because I honestly don’t think I have any more points I could make. We very well might just fundamentally disagree about this, and that’s totally okay. I think it’s a good conversation to have. I welcome any response you have to this, especially if you have an alternative interpretation to offer. 

I wholeheartedly agree that this whole situation is very morally murky. You make a great point about the level of betrayal against Ayo. I definitely missed the extent to which this was also deeply personal and an immense betrayal against her specifically as well as generally. I also completely agree that having a fail-safe on this arm makes total sense, in the event that Bucky is out of control and violent.

But I just want to present the actual events of this scene:

-Walker and Hoskins come to claim Zemo

-Dora Milaje also come to claim Zemo

-Walker stupidly lays hands on Ayo, despite being amply warned by Sam to not be an idiot 

-Walker and Hoskins fight with Dora Milaje while Sam and Bucky watch and comment

-Ayo is about to run Walker through with a spear. Bucky stops her spear physically and asks her to stop so they can talk

-Sam tries to stop another member of the Dora Milaje from running Hoskins through with a spear while he lies on the ground

(Quick reminder - Walker, Hoskins, and the Dora Milaje are there for the exact same reasons and are actually allies in this scenario)

-Sam defends himself against Dora Milaje attacks

-Ayo continues fighting Bucky with her spear. He tries to get her to stop. Every move he makes against her is a defensive one. He does not make a single move to fight her back

-She decides she’s tired of him defending himself against her attacks and amputates his arm

Literally all she had to do was stop attacking him. But she decided that she was going to activate her “fail-safe” to stop his actions of self-defense against her. She took away his ability to defend himself simply because she could. To show him that she has this power.

I mean, A++ intimidation. If I’m being objective about it, like, holy shit.

Watching this all again, I personally think this is a pretty disturbing portrayal of Ayo and the Dora Milaje that doesn’t seem consistent with anything we’ve seen from them before. We have always seen them as a group of very highly trained, disciplined, and ethically upright people. But this scene shows them as being willing to stab people while they’re lying helpless on the ground (Hoskins) and do what Ayo did to Bucky. I love the Dora Milaje. They are pretty much the most badass humans on earth, and I actually squee any time they show up. But something feels off about this sequence. I dunno.

Anyway, I’m really not trying to woobify Bucky here, God knows I don’t want to do that. But even setting aside the topic of whose betrayal is worse (which may not be possible to decide, since it’s subjective and complex), I don’t think I’ll ever conclude that what happened here wasn’t shitty.

My Goddamn TFATWS Essay

CW: This essay is about about trauma, including everything Bucky was subjected to, as well as mentions of interpersonal trauma, sexual assault, and incest. It also discusses victim-blaming at length. SPOILERS ABOUND.

I was already planning to write my opinions about Bucky in TFATWS, and then a lovely anon sent me the article by Rotem Rusak, “How Falcon and The Winter Soldier Villainizes Trauma.” So I figured I’d comment on the article and offer other opinions in a huge-ass essay that maybe five people will actually read. 

I have real respect for Rusak, especially this essay on Stucky, much of which I agree with. I think Rusak’s most recent essay was well composed in many ways, and it seems like it was quite moving for some folks. I get where she’s coming from, I really do, and I can see why reading the show this way would be extremely upsetting. I respect this essay and its place in an ongoing conversation about the show. I also strongly disagree with pretty much her entire premise. 

I’d like to offer a completely different interpretation of TFATWS where Bucky is not fragilized, is an agent of his own healing, and does not need to be the subject of our own interpretation of what his healing has to be. I’ll also attempt to make the argument that assuming his fragility and diminishing his many, many acts of meaningful agency in TFATWS is a disservice to this character. 

Excellent interpretation and worthwhile read. I think the arm moment was understandably disturbing from Bucky’s POV, but I don’t agree with the rest of the OP’s part of that analysis. There was an edit, but still.

To date, the Wakandan’s have been extremely generous to Bucky… and he ultimately betrayed them. Full stop. He released the man who extensibly killed their king. And even upon learning of his betrayal, Ayo still gave him time to glean what he could from Zemo because she trusted him (and they go way back).

I think it certainly was a power move to disengage Bucky’s arm like that, but only because she had already told him to stay out of their way in recapturing Zemo in the first place. And given the Dora’s extreme skill in inflicting violence on ppl, this seemed like a slap on the wrist compared to what they arguably could have done to anyone who wasn’t Bucky (i.e. someone they don’t have a personal relationship with).

Some argued that the Wakandan’s should have told Bucky about the fail safe, and yeah as a Bucky fan I felt bad that he didn’t know his arm could be disengaged like that, but should they have told him? Really? I mean, the royal family are clearly very sympathetic to his trauma, but they are still an agency who realizes the potential destructive capabilities that Bucky possesses. They’ve seen first hand what the Winter Soldier can do. And as much as they clearly want to help Bucky recover and kindly offered him a new arm, I think they’re still shrewd enough to realize that they don’t want that power to ever turn on them again.

Bucky is a fav sure, but being a fav doesn’t mean the Wakandan’s were totally wrong or that Bucky was completely right. Both are operating from their own perspectives and as such, are following various courses of action that suit their purposes best. Bucky knew what he was doing by releasing Zemo and therefore has to deal with the potential fallout of his actions.

Agreed with all else. Certain ppl in the fandom want Bucky’s fragility and victimhood to be the main component of his personality. Like forever. They can’t seem to wrap their minds around the person Bucky can be unless he’s having a breakdown in a corner somewhere, and/or others aren’t halting their lives to prop up Bucky’s breakdowns. Who is Bucky Barnes if not a poor meow meow who’s trauma must constantly be revisited (lest we ever forget that it happened), and whose agency can never fully be his own (because he has to be taken care of by <insert x>)?

The trend I see of ppl reacting like this to Bucky are Stucky’s. Not all, but a lot. There’s something very toxic in their interpretation of Steve and Bucky’s relationship that lends itself to Bucky being in a state of perpetual victimhood. Don’t understand it, can’t wrap my mind around it, want nothing to do with it.

Re: the arm scene - I really appreciate a more thorough explanation of this. Thank you for elucidating this concern, because I keep seeing it pop up and was curious about what, specifically, people disagreed with.

You’re right that I was writing this from Bucky’s perspective specifically as it pertains to his ability to act with agency, as well as my perceived violations of his autonomy. I don’t disagree that Bucky betrayed Wakanda and Ayo. In fact, I note it in my essay, and I think this represents an interesting moral convolution for Bucky. He was willing to betray the country that helped him over and over, in addition to the woman with whom he has clearly built a strong bond.

It’s not the fact that this was done to him at all that upsets me so much (though I would still find it disturbing). It’s the fact that it was Ayo specifically. For context, my work with people with trauma has highly sensitized me to the amount of trust and safety that must be established to do this work. It’s a deeply intimate and vulnerable process. I can only imagine how much Bucky would have had to entrust her to allow her to do that with him, to use his code words on him, to see him be that vulnerable. All in the service of helping him reclaim his autonomy. Also, in an arrangement like this, the therapist figure is also absolutely in a position of power. And we see Ayo in the Wakanda scene as a figure of both emotional AND physical power.

That is why this move, conducted by Ayo, felt so egregious to me. She was instrumental in helping him become free, and here she is invading his bodily autonomy because she was (very rightfully) upset with him. I’m not arguing that this wasn’t a betrayal. There is a lot of betrayal going on here, so I understand her actions. However, I had a very strong reaction to this in the context of previously built trust and safety. This betrayal was also intensely personal, individualized, whereas Bucky’s was a betrayal of Wakanda generally rather than Ayo singularly.

I suppose I’ll just ask this: Is it okay for someone in a position of power to violate someone’s bodily integrity (through amputation, of all things) when feeling betrayed, even if their feelings are justified? Is it okay for anyone to violate another person’s bodily integrity when they’re upset with them? This crosses a line for me.