I have a hard time staying with this show, too.
I enjoy it but I'm not burning down my to-do list to get to it first thing Friday like I was with the early Netflix Marvel shows or WandaVision.
Winter Solider's toxic masculinity works for me because he's a man out of time and the internalizing of feelings and not dealing with them seems apropos of somebody that read the Hobbit when it came out.
I think that is what was referenced to earlier about the toxic masculinity. I suspect Bucky dealing with with emotions and guilt will have a payoff later. I wouldn't expect either of my WWII war hero grandfathers to embrace modern mental health without some machismo resistance first. One of my grandfathers looked upon about his fellow sailors for being "shell shocked" aka what we now call PTSD. They weren't "man enough" to handle it. My other grandfather who fought in Manila, Bougainvill, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and other Pacific Theater beach storms I think would be more like how Bucky reacted in the first 2 episodes, so that actually worked for me. I could see that grandfather coming around to it and I suspect Bucky will, too. I hope there's more of that after episode 2.
My main issue is that the plot just seems to be about moving towards the next action set piece, a gripe I had with other other Captain America sequels. After Black Panther, Captain Marvel, IW/Endgame, and especially WandaVision ... I want a little more storytelling than just "standard superhero fare". Maybe this gets better after episode 2 but like I said, I am in no hurry. There just doesn't seem to be that "oomph" that makes me rabid to watch it the second I can. I still enjoy it and want to finish it, it just feels like it is lacking some pop. IMHO.