'Echo' Series Spoiler-Free Review
Image Source: IGN
It would be a mistake to compare Echo to Netflix’s Daredevil. While it is the first MCU show to officially get a Mature rating, many elements are tame compared to Daredevil. The show is not nearly as dark, in both lighting and content as Daredevil is. It’s a shame the show only got five episodes because it could’ve benefitted from being longer. However, it still managed to tell a beautiful, and interesting story from start to finish.
After the events of Hawkeye, Maya Lopez is on the run. If you haven’t seen Hawkeye, don’t worry, because the first episode uses clips from the show, and gives a summary about Maya and what happened. She decides to go home and lay low in Tamaha, Oklahoma, and seek out those who were once close to her. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned, and Fisk tracks her down. With the power of her ancestors coursing through her, she can fight Fisk, but this time, on her turf.
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Image Source: Beebom
One of the elements that makes this show so special, is how her heritage is front and center. Throughout the show, we get a glimpse of women from different times, and fighting back. All of these women are important to Maya’s story, and it's beautiful to see how it all comes back to Maya in the end. The show also did a great job of respecting the culture of Native Americans. Marvel even worked closely with the Choctaw Nation, to make sure they created an authentic representation of their culture. Maya is deaf. Her community has learned sign language, to communicate, which is something you would hope that people who care about you would do. Even various members of the mafia she was a part of in New York knew it. The only one who didn’t was Fisk. Yes, he hired an interpreter, but he never cared to learn. He may say he cares about her, but his actions speak louder.
The coolest parts of the show, however, are when the events are shown from Maya’s POV. There will be no sound; we see and hear how she does. It’s an element that added something extra to the fights and whatever was happening around her. The final fight was something special and was worth the wait. The entire finale was special and is one of my favorite Marvel show finales. I don’t want to give too much away, you’ll just have to watch and see what I mean.
Alaqua Cox kills it as Maya Lopez. So much so, that it’s hard to believe that this is the actress’s first role. Vincent D'Onofrio is back as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin and his performance is absolutely chilling. While we don’t see him be as violent as we have in the past, it’s even creepier seeing a more human side of him. He acts like he cares about Maya, and maybe deep down he does, or once did, but right now, all he can think about is getting her back, and will do anything to bring her back to him. I don’t know who else could play this role as well as Vincent D’Onofrio, because he is incredible as Kingpin.
Image Source: Hollywood Reporter
My biggest issue with the show is that it felt too short. Not only were five episodes not enough, each episode length could’ve been longer as well. It felt like we were just getting to know Maya and the people around her, and then it was over. I wish we were able to spend a bit more time with her and the amazing cast of supporting characters. The fights were well done but could’ve benefitted from being longer. With there being so much MCU burnout lately, it was nice to take a step back from multiversal threats and focus more on street-level crimes. Hopefully, this isn’t the end of Maya’s story either, as she’s too great of a character to be done with.
Rating: 8.5/10
All episodes of Echo are now available on Disney+.
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