I’m 95% sure this was his first time saving someone since he regained control of himself. Not defending someone, not keeping someone safe, but actually actively saving. We see how much effort he puts into it, I honestly thought his arm was going to give out and fall off at one point. He deliberately left the fight against the Flagsmashers once he saw innocent lives in need. 

He looks absolutely shocked when the fact that he saved them is observed. Almost like he completely forgets to react for a split second when the man stops to shake his hand and thank him for saving all of them before running away.

I feel like Bucky has said the words ‘thank you’ so many times to people since he escaped Hydra, but his reaction tells me the words have never been directed at him. Not when the stakes have been this high, at least. 

At the end of the gif you can see the small upturn of the corners of Bucky’s mouth before the man leaves. His metal arm has finally saved someone, finally done something good without being used to hurt anyone. He’s finally saved someone. 

I need a moment. Or 3000 moments.  

I absolutely agree! I feel like instead of a “how could she do that?” reaction, it was more of a “Oh, this is bad. I messed up.” kind of reaction. That’s what I got out of it. Like you said, it symbolized how the trust between them is broken now. And it took going there to make Bucky realize that. And when Ayo said, “Bast damn you, James,” the emotion that she put behind it didn’t seem like anger, but more like disappointment.

There’s so much depth to this relationship. I made a short post about it, which I assume is what this message is referring to. But there is so much more to it that I didn’t add. Like, vibranium is Wakanda’s cultural legacy. It is what made Wakanda what it is today. It’s also why Wakanda was so secluded and why it COULD cut itself off from the world the way it did. Obviously, Wakanda was not receptive to people who were not of the country, but they welcomed Bucky, embraced him, helped him, trusted him (if they didn’t trust him, they wouldn’t have had him live in peace in their country, around people, around children) and they gifted him with part of their legacy in the form of the vibranium arm. They gave him part of themselves and if I can remember correctly, this is the first time they willingly did that. Any other time someone from outside of Wakanda was in possession of vibranium, it was stolen and not freely given. 

Not to mention the forethought that had to go into Ayo helping Bucky. I know this is a little thing, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about. Maybe Ayo knows Russian. Maybe she doesn’t. I’m going to assume she doesn’t because why would she need to. But she learned and memorized his trigger words in order, in Russian. I don’t even remember all of them in English. She didn’t have to sit down and learn these words in a language other than her own, but she did. And she did it to help Bucky.

And can we talk about the intimacy in the way they said each others names? I’m not talking about romantic or physical intimacy at all, but rather the obvious closeness and connection that they had with each other. Florence and Sebastian really did their thing this episode. 

Also, with the name thing, maybe I have these feelings about it because both the names sound so foreign to the other’s tongue. With Bucky, we are used to him saying “Sam” or “Steve” or “Sharon” but not Ayo. And with Ayo, it may be “T’chaka” or “Shuri” but not James. It’s foreign, but they made it sound so familiar. 

And the nuance between calling him “White Wolf” and calling him “James” and the implications it must have with both of them. I wonder if she ever called him Bucky. And what the differences between the three are for them.

I’m practically vibrating right now, there’s just so much to it and it’s driving me crazy that people are only thinking about their relationship and the situation on just a surface level. 

Me:

One thing I loved about Sharon Carter’s scene where she took down a bunch of people is how stressed and even afraid she looks. She’s doesn’t look stoic like Black Widow, or cool and calm and confident like she’s having a great time kicking ass like you see in other fight scenes. Just LOOK at her facial expressions. This is someone who is trained, but she knows she’s one shot away from not making it out there alive. She’s battling for her life and you can SEE that.

Bucky internally: killing people is wrong killing people is wrong killing people is wrong killing people is wrong killing people is wrong killing people is wrong killing people is wrong

Sam’s reasons for giving up the shield are completely legitimate, understandable and valid. The shield has a weight and complexity and burden for Sam as a black man that it never had for Steve - something it’s clear Steve didn’t think of when he handed Sam the shield and expected him to just drop everything to become Captain America, just because Steve said so. It’s absolutely Sam’s right to decide not to take on the symbol of a country that has oppressed African-Americans for centuries. That’s his choice to make and his alone, because it’s his life - I’m struggling to see how anyone could condemn him for that. 

His reasons are completely valid and his intentions good, but it’s also factual that he ignored Steve’s last wishes, gave away the last remnant of his legacy, and inadvertently let the shield fall into the hands of someone who doesn’t deserve it and may use it for evil. None of that is Sam’s fault, but it’s only human that Bucky wouldn’t be happy with the way things have played out. By episode 3 he understands Sam’s reasons slightly better (just as Sam understands Bucky a little better), but you can’t just stop feeling how you feel over night, especially when it’s fuelled by mental health issues and tied so closely to the grieving process. It’s already been explicitly stated that Bucky isn’t doing well mentally, and is reacting emotionally and illogically to matters of the shield and super soldiers (as Sam said this very episode: “I know why this matters to you, but it’s pushing you off the deep end”). He’s never going to accept John Walker as Cap (nor should he), and he’s not going to let the last fragment of Steve that he has be destroyed, so all he can do is either continue trying to convince Sam that he made a mistake and he should take the shield, or take it for himself if Sam continues to reject it, to keep it out of the wrong hands. I’m struggling to see how anyone could condemn him for that, either.