Check this out as Marvel talks Power Broker for the first time since the finale of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Emily VanCamp, Erin Kellyman, Malcolm Spellman and more all had a chat with Marvel.com. Here the team opened up about Sharon’s transformation into an antagonist in the MCU. Or, as I like to think of this article, trying to defend why this was a good idea for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
First up the Power Broker herself,
Emily VanCamp
“I remember Malcolm [Spellman] saying, ‘Oh, wait until you see what’s happening!’ I was so confused, I didn’t really know what they were talking about in the very beginning. I’d only read maybe one script and was wondering if they were talking about these fight sequences. When I found out that Sharon is in fact the Power Broker, it made perfect sense,” explained the star. “It really solidifies what all of this means for Sharon. We’re meeting this whole new version of her, and this kind of character, unfortunately, is the sad product of the series of events where she was abandoned and left to her own devices. It is very fitting that she was hurt and scorned and went rogue.”
Narrator: ‘It would not, in fact, make perfect sense.‘
I get the feeling that Sharon should be more understanding actually, considering half of the population of the entire Universe disappeared for 5 years. ‘They forgot about poor old me, so now I’m gonna hurt everyone mwuhahahah!’ Sharon was one of billions who went missing that day. Is it any surprise that Cap and the other runaways were a bit busy? There is not a massive amount of time between Civil War and Infinity War. That period is literally the only time Steve and the Mystery Inc. gang can go find Sharon. When we add in the fact they were on the run themselves and far more famous than Sharon, was she really left behind?
Hold up! Lets, hear the rest before I get too critical.
Defendant A
Head writer Malcolm Spellman added his own thoughts on this transformative process.
“Having Sharon be anchored in Madripoor meant this inherent intersection between who she was and who she’s going to become.”
Well explained Malcolm, I’m glad you attended this interview. Next!
Defendant B
Co-executive producer Zoie Nagelhout explained where Sharon’s head is at.
“We knew if we were going to bring Sharon Carter back, we had to redefine her. She put her neck out to help our guys and she was literally just left in the darkness of the aftermath of’ Civil War’. She essentially had her arc offscreen, and we’re now catching up on what she experienced [during that time]. You uncover the mystery of why she has changed and who she has become.”
I’m going to need further elaboration here Zoie?
“There’s always that question of not losing the remnants of the character and keeping elements of her, but still fully exploring what happens to you when you’re forced to survive for years. Your key mode is survival; it does something to a person.”
Ok, I feel like I am starting to get this a little, maybe?
Key Witness
It’s Erin Kellyman who played fan favorite ( warning! sarcasm detector is maxed out) Karli Morgenthau. Kellyman is able to give us a little more backstory on Karli’s relationship with Sharon.
“Sharon recruited Karli at a younger age and trained her,” explained Kellyman. “She was going to create this little army of super soldiers. In Episode 6, we learn [Sharon] wanted to control the world while I wanted to change it. That’s why Karli left and created the group, the Flag Smashers. Sharon trained Karli for everything—she’s the reason Karli knows everything she knows, fighting-wise.”
Verdict: Guilty Of Bad Writing
Hey this is just my opinion, but despite these explanations, the Sharon/Power Broker story just didn’t work for me. There are two gripes I have about this transformation. One is that it was all made far too obvious from Episode 3 onwards. On Episode 3 I theorized that Sharon could be the Power Broker and it still felt exciting. However as the episodes wore on, instead of being a mystery, it all became academic.
My second gripe is related to Kellyman’s comments above. I never felt like a truly understood either Morgenthau, nor Carter in this show. There clearly was a backstory to these two characters that was discussed, but we are never shown this on screen. That was a mistake. I think we needed a flashback episode before the finale which revealed Sharon’s role then and explained her and Karli’s motivations and experiences a bit more thoroughly. I might have felt like I had more sympathy for Karli and more Empathy with Sharon. However, I didn’t, and reading about what could have been after the fact doesn’t help the show for me.
RELATED: How Julie Louis-Dreyfus Was Kept Secret In The Falcon And The Winter Soldier
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was divisive in the LRM team. Not quite The Last Jedi divisive, but still. I was one of the more critical members and there were varying degrees from me through to Nick who absolutely loved it. Least, I think Nick was most positive? It’s hard to say in the crazy aftermath of finale day. We discussed the show on our Discord and some readers joined in with their thoughts too.
Just to be clear I didn’t dislike The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but I also felt it was one of the weaker MCU projects thus far. I just felt like joking round with this article. However, Sharon’s turn to Power Broker and the lack of any revealing PoV from Morgenthau were two of my main issues.
A 50-minute flashback featuring Sharon and Karli’s life during the blip would have gone a long way to rectify these issues for me. What do you think of these comments as Marvel talks Power Broker and the character’s creation? Do you think it was just fine the way it was? Do you agree with me that a backstory episode for both would have really helped the show? Leave any thoughts below as always.
FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS
Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
