I find the difference in Sam and Bucky's responses to Isaiah very interesting. Bucky initially seems to think of him as almost a tool or a resource, to go back to when they're out of other options. Sam's immediate response when they leave Isaiah's house is to ask why, for decades, nobody knew there was a Black super soldier. Sam instantly recognizes and expresses the racial element inherent to that conversation, especially since from his perspective, Bucky likely seemed to be thinking of Isaiah as an asset instead of a person.
And Bucky responds with "I didn't tell anyone, because he had already been through enough." This is something I have a lot of thoughts on. Was it Bucky's right to decide that for Isaiah? What if talking about it could have gotten him released? Gotten him some justice? Was it too late for that after Bucky came back to himself, or should he have tried anyway? Would Bucky saying something have been giving Isaiah his agency back, or removing the last of it (Isaiah clearly did not want people to know he even existed, so by throwing him into the spotlight, would it have been going against what he wanted)?
It's an inherently complex decision to make, but in the end, I think Bucky said what he did because he knew that for himself, a fellow super soldier who was tested and experimented on without his consent, he would have wanted to be left alone. That's what he wanted in Wakanda, and he wanted to give that same consideration to Isaiah. That's why he came to him as a last resort: he didn't want to treat him like an asset.
Isaiah never got the chance to express what he wanted, because he was forced into things he never wanted to be part of. And that's something that both Sam and Bucky can relate to: Sam, as a Black man, and Bucky, as the Winter Soldier.
And I think this highlights the core of the show--that is, that Sam and Bucky have two very different perspectives on life, because of how different the two of them are, and that the world interacts with them in very different ways that make it difficult for them to understand each other. As it relates to Isaiah, Sam sees what Bucky doesn't, which is that leaving the Black super soldier in obscurity had negative consequences because of racism (consequences for Isaiah on a personal level, and probably for Black people on a societal level). Bucky sees what Sam doesn't, which is that when you go through something like what both he and Isaiah did, you don't want to have to fight anymore. And because of their very different backgrounds, they're only able to understand their differences when they communicate about it.
I think that's what the therapy session was about as well. Sam tells Bucky that he doesn't, and can't, understand why he gave up the shield; Bucky tells Sam that he doesn't understand why what happens to the shield means so much to Bucky. Both of them are justified in their pain, but neither of them know how to express it well, and instead, they end up hurting each other.
I think the show will focus on exploring both of their perspectives and showing them come to an understanding that they are very different, but that that can be a valuable thing, if they only learn how to utilize it. And I think that can even be extended to the viewers--given our different backgrounds, we'll all notice and analyze different things about the show and what it portrays, and as long as we're willing to have conversations about it, that can be a way for all of us to learn.
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