TL;DR – There are clearly some rough edges where the production issues the show had shone through. But I do think it found its feet, and it could be the start of an interesting new direction for the MCU.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

End-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene in the final episode.

Echo Review –

It is an odd time for the MCU; projects falling to launch and land in cinemas, and failed opportunities like Secret Invasion making no impact in the cultural landscape are everywhere. But there has been hope here and there, and Marvel making a gamble is better than Marvel playing it safe. In that case, let us see if they can bring something new to the table.   

So, to set the scene, Maya (Darnell Besaw) has never had a normal childhood, as her mother (Katarina Ziervogel) was killed. At the same time, she was young, and her father (Zahn McClarnon) took her to New York and eventually brought her into his world, the same world that killed him. A world run by Mr Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio). He was a powerful man, a man with connections, a man that Echo (Alaqua Cox) would eventually have to betray, but not before he turned her into a murderer. You can turn against Fisk, but the man has a long reach, even when he was the man who had your father murdered. [the first half of the first episode basically catches you up to the end of Hawkeye with some added context]. Now from here, we will be looking at the series as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

From the start, I would say that this show does not give the best first impression. Most of the first episode is just a catch-up time, which is good if you have not watched Endgame or Hawkeye but probably a bit dull if you haven’t. It is not helped by the opening new action with Daredevil (Charlie Cox) being the weakest of the show’s fight scenes. I know they wanted to reminisce about the hallway fight from Daredevil, but the scene transitions were so noticeable that you wish they had just put a cut in. This is not helped by the fact that you can tell that there were production issues with the story and a lot of work in post-production to pull it all together.

However, while it might not have the best opening, it does quickly find its feet, and by the third episode, it is racing. Part of this is because they cast suck strong actors like Tantoo Cardinal, Zahn McClarnon & Graham Greene, who become anchors for the narrative, even when the story becomes a bit messy. This also extends to our lead actor, Alaqua Cox, who has to do so much of the emotional heavy lifting as the world constantly changes underneath her feet. Add in the complications of coming back to the family that both does and does not feel like coming home. All of this provides a good grounding for the story.

The core theme in this series is how the weight of your past ancestors can be a source of strength moving forward. When exploring Indigenous themes where generational trauma is a far too common experience, this re-shift coalescing in Echo and her mother bonding from beyond the grave hit hard. Indeed, where I think the show works the best is in the opening vignettes from the past that explore the matriarchal line going back to the foundation of the Choctaw people. They took risks in these sections and swung for the fences, and I wish there were more of that throughout the show.

Where you can see the shortening of the show’s narrative is in the family sections, where their roles get reduced to the minimum needed. Unfortunately, Bonnie (Devery Jacobs) kind of exists in the narrative to get kidnapped, and Biscuits (Cody Lightning) does not get a lot of depth in the show. I am sure there were more moments of character building that were left on the cutting room floor. I am not sure how well they represented the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma or American Sign Language, but from the number of consultants, it is clear that they did put the work in pre-production.      

Also, I have said it before, and I will repeat it, but Vincent D’Onofrio has a presence in anything that he does, even more so here when he also has a physical presence as well. Here, he works as he goes full-Gul Dukat, wondering why no one loves him while he continues to be completely and utterly selfish in everything he does. One of the things I liked that he got called on was that he purports to be a father figure for Echo but is the only person in her life who has never bothered to learn sign language. While the first episode was a bit rough, they find their feet when it comes to the action, and I think where we see that the most was in the roller-skating rink brawl. Echo gets to have her MacGyver moment, they brawl to Rob Zombie, and crank the lights up to red. I did like the moment they stalked each other in a laser tag arena. I am not sure the action goes anywhere near hard enough to warrant those warnings at the start of the show, but it works. Also, on that front, the music needle drops were perfect, even before we got to the Thunder Boys and Ottertrail Singers and Drummers in the season finale.       

In the end, do we recommend Echo? Yes, I think we would. Now, if you have watched the preceding MCU stuff, I would probably recommend skipping everything in that first episode until Echo gets back to her hometown, but it does come together after that.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Echo yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Echo
Directed by – Sydney Freeland & Catriona McKenzie
Written by – Marion Dayre, Josh Feldman, Steven Paul Judd, Ken Kristensen, Rebecca Roanhorse, Bobby Wilson, Jason Gavin, Shoshannah Stern, Chantelle M. Wells, Amy Rardin & Ellen Morton   
Created by – Marion Dayre
Based On – Character created by David Mack & Joe Quesada
Production/Distribution Companies – Marvel Spotlight, Marvel Studios, Hulu & Disney+
Starring – Alaqua Cox, Chaske Spencer, Tantoo Cardinal, Charlie Cox, Devery Jacobs, Zahn McClarnon, Cody Lightning, Graham Greene & Vincent D’Onofrio with Darnell Beshaw, Thomas E. Sullivan, Andrew Howard, Katarina Ziervogel, Morningstar Angeline, Tatanka Means, Dannie McCallum, Isabella Madrigal, Wren Zhawenim Gotts, Dakora Ray Herbert, Dallas Goldtooth, Jana Schmieding, Wes Jetton, Leander Suleiman, Tina Lameman, Juwan Lakota, William Belleau, Erin Ownbey, Lindsay Moser & Geraldine Keams and Braydee Cardinal, Panther Tiwa, Acosia Red Elk, Elizabeth Frances, Jula Harjo, Crickett Tiger, Cherokee Jack, David Midthunder, Doc Native, Anthony “Thosh” Collins, Phillip Bread, Seth Fairchild, Edith Snow, Ashley Change, Omid Zadar, Seth Austin, Sala Baker, Jeff Wolfe, Donte Walker, Eric Vanarsdale, Lucas Hogue, Doug Fitzerald, Graywolf Herrera, Donte Walker, Time Neff, Alexis Capozzi, Douglas Ridloff, Renee Alnert, Jeremy Merriman, Al Santos, Al Santos Jr, Max Tamane, Jamison Concha, Charles H Backus III, Lewis Perkins, Wendall Powerless, Maria Irizarrt, Nicole Pavatea, Joan Reigner Alyssa Jaramillo, Nicholas Limpy, Cactas Runsabove, Xavier Littlehead, Joseph Smith, Jordan Stasso, Cory Chavez, Toby Rhoads, Therien Paskemin, Mikayla Horse, Brandy Narcomey, Chante Falcon, Richie Palmer, Sr, ML Gemmill, Patrick Kiernan, Errol Louis, Jeremy Renner & Buzz
Episodes Covered – Chafa, Lowak, Tuklo, Taloa & Maya