I know we’re all suffering over Infinity War or whatever, but you know what my major takeaway was re: Steve and Bucky? It’s that Bucky has been awake for a while and Steve has been visiting Wakanda on a regular basis. I’m fully serious about this; I’m not attempting to “fix” a problem with canon by making a fluffy headcanon. This is the first blush impression I got from the movie, and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Why?
We joke about Steve’s “depression beard” a lot, but actually, Steve looks really good in this movie. That guy has been eating a lot of fruit, moisturizing, and getting his beauty sleep. Bucky also looks shockingly healthy and relaxed compared to the last time we saw him. They both seem to be physically and mentally healthier, which doesn’t point to Bucky being freshly de-iced and still processing the worst of his shit. It also doesn’t point to Steve working himself to death and being forcibly separated from his best friend.
Steve seems to have a friendly and relatively informal relationship with T’Challa, which suggests to me that they’ve spent some time together. The other Avengers don’t appear to be very familiar with Wakanda, but Steve knows exactly where he’s going and what he’s doing.
On top of that, the Avengers seem to have more than adequate funding and appear to be working, but they no longer have the backing of the US government or Stark Industries. Where did they get the resources to do this? Where are their missions coming from? Sure, they’re likely doing their own supervillain hunting and probably some residual Hydra mop-up, but I’m guessing they’re being bankrolled by T’Challa and probably doing a fair bit of collaborative work with Wakandan intelligence. Steve would feel the need to repay T’Challa’s kindness, but what do you get the man who has everything? If you’re Steve, probably loyalty and black ops missions.
When Steve and Bucky greet each other, it feels warm, but also routine, suggesting that this isn’t their first contact since Civil War. This is a greeting you’d expect between two people who last saw each other maybe one or two weeks ago and text each other pictures of what they ate for lunch, not two people who have a lot of unresolved shit and haven’t spoken in years. The tension and sadness you see at the end of Civil War is absent in Infinity War.
Finally, the relationship between Wanda and Vision establishes that it’s possible for Avengers to go off alone for a day or two without any significant notice or concern from the others. Clearly it’s not unheard of for them to take short breaks to do personal stuff.
My take on all this? Bucky’s been up and about for a fairly long time, doing some Wholesome Farm Labor, babysitting some Charming Wakandan Children, and generally getting better. Steve and the Avengers have been running whatever missions come up, and when there’s a break in the action, Steve comes to Wakanda, says hi to T’Challa, and spends a day or two with Bucky. Maybe he takes the opportunity to finally get a full 8 hours of sleep in Bucky’s little hut. I’m just saying; they both look way less tired in this movie. Those are the faces of people who have taken some quality naps together.
So everybody’s healthier and happier than expected! Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
People who are disappointed by Steve’s reaction or (apparent) lack thereof after Bucky dissolved really don’t grasp Steve Rogers at all. This isn’t like fanfic. In fanfic, Steve sometimes, sort-of, semi works through his problems in a sometimes dubious but mostly healthy way.
Canon Steve doesn’t do that.
This is a man who buried his last living relative and was ready to refuse to live with Bucky because he didn’t want to appear weak.
This is a man who, after watching someone he loved literally slip through his hands and die, separated himself from the undoubtedly well-meaning Commandos, and Peggy (until she ultimately sought him out) and cried and attempted to get drunk in a bombed out bar because he was their leader and he couldn’t, wouldn’t let himself fall apart in front of the men that follow him into battle and trust him with their lives.
This is a man who has grown used to the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he now feels that weight more than ever. This situation with Thanos is so much more than any situation has ever been, in every way.
So he cannot be Steve Rogers. He cannot mourn for his best friend, he cannot scream at the top of his lungs, or pull his hair, or weep, or wail, or break. Despite how much he might want to. Despite how he feels. Because, whether the official title is his or not, whether he wants it or not, he needs to be a captain. He needs to be The Captain. With Stark gone, with his people – everyone he trusts and loves – gone… if you think for a second Steve Rogers is not going to beat back his anguish and pain immediately after suffering tremendous, soul-rending loss to do what needs to be done, you are dead wrong.
An alternative to being disappointed, is to really think about who Steve is. He is self-sacrificial to a fault; he swallows the knives of duty with a bitter smile until he all but chokes on them, keeps going even when blood runs down his chin and his throat is in shreds. Emotional, yes, he feels deeply, but only when it’s “safe” to; when he doesn’t have to be on, when he doesn’t have to be anything other than body, and mass, and fractured soul. Unfortunately he doesn’t feel safe that often. A soldier, yes, that’s who he was trained to be, but inherently, that’s just who Steve is.
His soft “oh g-d” at the end – about Bucky, about Sam and T’Challa and everyone – was as much emotion and devastation and fear as Steve Rogers was going to let himself show. Just a second, just a moment. And then… Then he’s going to get up, he’s going to throw his shoulders back, and he’s going to go back to work.
He literally ran his hand through Bucky and picked up part of him. Did people want him flailing in Bucky ashes and sobbing? I mean, really.
And his face when they’re gathered at the end, and he literally *falls over onto his ass* – yes, that’s a man in shock. He is very, very clearly devastated, and at this point nothing is even real; he can’t even process properly to really start grieving yet.
Bucky Barnes sees a fucking raccoon firing a machine gun while cackling like a maniac and instead of losing his shit he just shrugs, picks it up and spins it around Mary Poppins style
Can we talk about how beautiful and healthy Bucky looks here and who we should thank for this?
From now on Ryan Coogler should be the only director to touch Bucky’s character. He didn’t have to give so much thought to this, since it was only a small post credit scene, but I guess he is just too good at his job to half ass anything.
Look at how careful he is with the light, the angle, the colors, every single detail in this shot is made to highlight Bucky’s peaceful state of mind, his vulnerability, his beauty inside and out and how kindness and care can uplift a person, doesn’t matter how damaged by life they were. He gives Bucky time to breathe and process before he speaks, to look around and contemplate, there’s no rush, the exchange between him and Shuri is short but it carries a lot of meaning and understanding. The choice for his hair was Ryan’s suggestion too and speaks volumes how he, as a director, is not afraid to demolish toxic masculinity and standards, the way he always portrays strong men in his movies with so much sensibility and vulnerability at the same time that he establishes how much strength it was required to get them to this point.
A huge contrast compared to the Russos’ constant greasy & sweaty aesthetic for him after The Winter Soldier.
What a visionary, he is truly one of the most talented directors of this generation and you can see it in every shot of any of his films.
Usta jak krew o smaku malinowym 