hannahrhen:
Okay, I’m supposed to be working right now, but I got to get this off my chest and see what you guys think–
So, WHY was Sam being such a dick to Bucky? Yes, it’s funny as hell, but I keep finding myself chewing on it as a characterization choice and trying to decide what it says about Sam.
Because Sam works with emotionally damaged vets, and he has SEEN SOME SHIT. He also knows who Bucky Barnes was, and what he means to Steve. So are we to think that, because Bucky kicked his ass a couple of times, he’s going to be blatantly rude to Bucky? Really? Some have theorized he’s jealous of Steve and Bucky’s friendship, but … I highly doubt that, canonically. (Can make for fun fic, tho.)
What I WANT TO BELIEVE is that, in some cut scene, after they got in the bug, he tried to talk to Bucky, tried to put his VA counselor hat on and have a normal conversation, and Bucky told him to go fuck himself. Maybe repeatedly. Maybe kicking the back of Sam’s seat to get him to shut up. Because the only thing that works for me for Sam’s character is if he gave it the ol’ college try–having *some* kind of convo with Bucky–and Bucky shat upon him, and Sam was like, “Okay, so that’s how it is–good to know,” and turned that aggro up to 11.
That is my favorite idea, but I’m curious what other people think?
I go with “Sam gives Bucky shit because he’s treating him like a human being.” Cause honestly, I saw their interactions less as hate or being a dick and more the way a couple of pre-teen siblings get along. As someone with three sibs myself, if one of us did something to piss the other off (”you flushed the toilet while I was showering!”), you’d better believe the petty war would start. That seat would not be getting moved forward, it’d be getting scooted backward as soon as the request was made. And this would go back and forth pretty much until our mom made us stop.
So to me, this is Sam’s way of showing Bucky that he’s not afraid of him, that he trusts him to react like a human being, that he’s not worried Bucky’s gonna turn into a murder-bot if Sam pisses him off. He’s not treating him like a ticking bomb, and at the same time, he’s acknowledging that their history includes some messy stuff. But by reacting to that mess with such little jabs, he’s also downplaying how big the mess was – he’s reducing what happened between them in Winter Soldier to the level of dumb shit that happens between siblings. He’s making it something deserving of petty little paybacks, instead of something Bucky needs to carry a heavy burden of guilt over.
It’s his subtle way of saying, “Okay, you’re on the team now. You’re part of the family, which means I would fight the demons of hell to keep you safe. But that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to give you shit, just that nobody else gets to touch you. And I still owe you payback for that helicarrier crap, so screw you and your legroom.”
I mean seriously. This is one hundred percent Sam treating Bucky as an equal, letting him know there are no genuine hard feelings about what’s happened in the past. And it’s Bucky responding in kind. This is Sam and Bucky respecting and trusting each other enough to joke around over trivial shit. The “You couldn’t have done that earlier?” / “I really hate you.” exchange is them being bros.
