I saw the live riff with friends in Minneapolis, and when the movie came out we were kinda shocked at how many were different.

I imagine we’ll eventually move to plastic cards.

No.  Because those assholes could still catch it and spread to the rare people who can’t be vaccinated for legitimate medical reasons.

Have you ever had to show your Social Security card to a government agent, though?   It’s pretty rare but it does sometimes happen, and I can see them refusing to accept it since the paper can’t be examined.

I really doubt that’s what they were going for, but it sure is what came through.

Absolutely!  He was the best thing in the episode, and considering the company he’s in, that’s a high compliment.

They can’t have it both ways...they can’t show society basically back to normal except for when the story calls for it not to be. That’s what I meant by lazy writing.

If you watch the actual scenes, you see people going about their business like everything is normal again. The only time you hear about the impact of the blip is when the plot needs you to. The world itself doesn’t seem or feel different at all though.

But they’re also very lucrative.  Which is why that whole plot is silly.

Sam also may have some celebrity status, but that doesn’t just grant you money. You still have to work, and doesn’t seem like Sam wants to start doing commercials or reality TV.

But they are taking pains to let the after effects truly permeate throughout the MCU.

Hard to believe that a Black man who’s spent time in the military would be blind to racism, systemic or otherwise.

I’m really just shocked hes doing govt contracts with high tech gear and is still broke

So is Sam a government contractor? He sure isn’t active-duty.

That’s a separate continuity, though.

as you dig into the implications of things like that, it seems like the MCU can never be about anything else.

But of course, Torres also tries to arrest someone in Switzerland, so....though that seems to be more of a dumb moment on his part.

Fair enough. Upon further thought I think I expected something more substantial when the guards ran out than, “They’ve got the money!”

Or that he wouldn’t be making serious money as a government contractor doing all his crazy secret missions.

Yeah, “money concerns” was one of the things that defined Marvel comics.