Creepy "Stranger-Danger" Man Giving Out Candies

Point being made, I thought, was that Zemo knows the Latvians well enough to know how to get information from them.

For all we know, kids there respond better to a vaguely ominous man chanting nursery rhymes. Or possibly he knew he'd get their attention, then win them over by referring to his son. He also knows that candy isn't enough by itself, so he gives her cash as well.

Seems like in real life a lot of Eastern European cultures are very pragmatic that way. It's why I knew "Joe Millionaire" season 2 would fail when they used exclusively European models as contestants. No way would they stick around, knowing he's not actually a millionaire, and the winner actually did take off at the end.

Regardless, it was one of many neat things we get to see Zemo do that shows how in command he is of any situation, despite having no actual powers.

One of my favorite tactics came late in the episode, where he drops all pretense and talks straight to Sam about Karli.

Note that he does this only AFTER he asks Sam whether he'd take the serum and complimenting Sam's lack of hesitation. He's building a "just us regular guys" rapport with Sam. Then he speaks earnestly, using Sam's actual name for the first time.

At this point, Zemo knows manipulation won't work, extortion won't work, and the head-tilt won't work ... so he relies on brutal honesty.