Is The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Kid Friendly? Parents Guide

Wondering if The Falcon and The Winter Soldier on Disney+ is ok for kids? Marvel’s newest TV show is not as kid friendly as WandaVision, but it is back to the classic action-packed Marvel. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is rated TV-14 for violence and language, and as the episodes continue, it seems to get darker. The action starts right from the moment you press play on the first episode. Here’s what parents need to know in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Parents Guide. 

Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Parents Guide

More Phase 4 Marvel!! In The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, we see the effects of the aftermath of Avengers:Endgame (and Infinity War) on the two main characters -Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and James “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan) – and their families and loved ones. The emotional and even financial trauma runs deep. However, the world hasn’t changed and there are still bad guys out there. Since Captain America left, who will take on the shield? 

So far in the first four episodes parents need to know The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is a true TV-14 rating. Violence is pretty high with explosions, death, flashbacks, gun fights, knife fights, etc, but is typical Marvel movie action. 

Language

In the first 45-minute-ish episode, there was 2 uses of a**, 3 uses of sh*t, 1 use of bullsh*t, and a hell. In the second episode, there were about 8 more uses of sh*t, 1 use of damn and hell, 4 uses of a** and 1 use of a**hole. There are also uses of Deity like “oh my g-d” and “Sweet Jesus.” Episodes 3 and 4 are more of the same with sh*t being the swear word of choice.

Mature Content

Again lots of typical Marvel violence, shootings, explosions, close-up shots of punches in the face, knife fights, slitting throats, people dying. Some of it is pretty intense. 

Perhaps what may be harder for kids are the flashbacks and consequences of Bucky’s life as The Winter Soldier and being controlled as Hydra. There are some difficult scenes to watch, and can be quite sad. However, humor is often used to break up some of that weight. 

In the second episode, there is a situation of racism involving police officers and Sam.

Episodes 3 and 4 continue to get more violent. And in episode 4, one scene is particularly disturbing involving John Walker, the new Captain America.

Episode 5 adds a use of bastard, g-ddamn, and some other uses of damn. Plus there’s a difficult conversation over the mistreatment of blacks in America.

Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.

Is The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Appropriate for Kids Under 14? 

Is The Falcon and The Winter Soldier kid friendly? Technically no. But if your kids have seen all the other Marvel movies, then they’ll probably be ok. However on my rankings of kid-friendly Marvel movies, this one ranks pretty low, because it is getting darker each episode. There will be 6 episodes total of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

How does it compare to WandaVision? Is it even fair to compare it to WandaVision? When you’ve been waiting for new Marvel content for so long, I get why people want to compare the two. WandaVision took its time getting to the meat of it, while The Falcon and The Winter Soldier starts off with a bang. And with only 6 episodes, maybe it has to, but some of the violence and language seems unnecessary.

WandaVision was genius, and it’s so different than what people expected or what Marvel has offered us in the past. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has some really great aspects, and Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie shine. 

What the two have in common are they both delve deeper into who these characters are. How much did we really know about Wanda, Vision, Bucky, and Sam from The Avengers movies? You see Bucky in the first episode talking to a therapist and addressing his mental health. Bravo, Marvel, because Bucky has been through some stuff, and people need to know it’s ok to ask for help. You see Sam and his relationship with his sister (!!!) and the struggle of things that have happened while Sam was snapped.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier goes deep while still maintaining the core tenets of why we all fell in love with Marvel in the first place – kick-butt flawed heroes and storytelling. A warning: John Walker sucks and is making me mad. It’s hard to see someone else in a Captain America costume and that may be difficult for kids. 

The second episode gets better at the buddy-cop banter between Bucky and Sam. But I still really dislike the Star-Spangled Man. If you’re watching all the Marvel movies in order, then stick with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier!

Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.