Sam mentioned Steve is gone more than once in this episode, so old man Steve didn't really stick around to be with his friends after all, and that makes me sad that they would write him like that. Neither Bucky nor Sam's storylines revolve around him (which they should not) but you can't honestly say that was "in character" of him. That is why it was so hard for me to get behind Steve's ending. (Aside from Steve literally having to sit and not stop upcoming events that will happen, the man who sees "a situation going south he can't ignore it") I wanted to like his ending but honestly couldn't.
One day, fandom as a whole will learn the difference between 'this character is OOC based on the fandom's interpretation based on fanfic, art, headcanons, meta, etc' and 'this character is OOC based on the actual canon of the movie/TV show/book'
Old!Man!Steve doesn’t owe Sam or Bucky anything, including ‘sticking around’ - and this is assuming he’s even still alive in this timeline. We have no idea. But acting like the same person who dropped the shield at Tony’s feet, left Bucky in Wakanda (yes, this was at Bucky’s request), peaced out and left Wanda to her own devices, and dropped off the grid for over 2 years, and left Nat by herself in the compound to move back to Brooklyn post-snap, would be “out of character” for him to also say “hey, I’ve lived my life, now it’s time for you - Sam and Bucky - to live yours” is patently ridiculous.
And the events that have happened in this timeline have ALREADY happened - there’s nothing Steve could do to stop them. Rhodey and Bruce and Scott literally WENT OVER THIS in Endgame, and Bruce and The Ancient One also had a conversation about it. Steve going back in time to be with Peggy (if that is indeed what happened - again, we don’t know, all canon shows us is them dancing) opened an alternate timeline.
When Sam told Bucky he needed to stop looking for other people to tell him who he was, this honestly could apply to the Stucky fandom as well - Steve’s input is NOT the important thing for either character to move on with their journeys and lives.
